Anti-Meal Spreaders

rileysowner

The reason people get corrected, although in my opinion not really attacked except for the whole broscience thing which I personally hate, is that when they say a person must eat a certain way, they are often taking things that are purely personal preference and saying those are the things that result in weight loss while ignoring that the weight loss is because of a caloric deficit. There is lots of scientific studies that show meal timing has no effect on weight loss. Yet many keep insisting it must be 5-6 small meals a day. That is fine if it works for you, but what if it doesn't. I personally prefer 3 meals or less a day. When I ate 5-6 I was constantly having to fight hunger and other than the fact that for health reasons I had to lose the weight, I would have quit the diet like I had many times before. Once I discovered it was all about what would help me stick with my caloric deficit, not how many meals I eat, I was freed to eat the way I personally prefer, and frankly that has worked just fine for me. If I had continued to think I must eat 5-6 meals a day, I probably would have given up long ago and put the weight back on. Now I have a way to eat that I can continue for the rest of my life because it is how I prefer to eat. Thus, when someone says a person must eat 5-6 meals I day, I will respond and say, "No, that is a myth with no scientific basis." Eat at the pattern and frequency that works for you. If that means no breakfast, that is fine as long as you stay within your calories. If that is 5-6 meals, as long as it keeps you within your calories, go for it. If it is eating all your calories before 7pm so you don't indulge in mindless eating, if that works for you and keeps you within your calories good for you.

Sytera

Their bodies, for one, would take some time to get used to the new meal plan. As bcattoes pointed out, while their bodies were adjusting, they may have issues staying away from food, fighting the urge to eat when they used to. Also, they may not sleep as well on an empty or full stomach, depending on when they were eating their 1-2 huge meals.

What if their bodies do actually need to eat spread out meals/snacks to process it all properly? What if eating a huge amount late at night did cause them to gain or stop losing weight? What if for those people their metabolism did take a hit eating less often? Yes, these are "what ifs", but no one has the answers because no one has done a study specifically on people who claim to need to eat at frequent intervals. Or if they have, I haven't seen it.

I'm a fan of making informed decisions. So far, I've only seen one side of the argument. Yes, it is scientific but there is another side to it, too, which hasn't been studied in depth.

rml_16

Their bodies, for one, would take some time to get used to the new meal plan. As bcattoes pointed out, while their bodies were adjusting, they may have issues staying away from food, fighting the urge to eat when they used to. Also, they may not sleep as well on an empty or full stomach, depending on when they were eating their 1-2 huge meals.

What if their bodies do actually need to eat spread out meals/snacks to process it all properly? What if eating a huge amount late at night did cause them to gain or stop losing weight? What if for those people their metabolism did take a hit eating less often? Yes, these are "what ifs", but no one has the answers because no one has done a study specifically on people who claim to need to eat at frequent intervals. Or if they have, I haven't seen it.

I'm a fan of making informed decisions. So far, I've only seen one side of the argument. Yes, it is scientific but there is another side to it, too, which hasn't been studied in depth.

I think the answer is not to fight about the science, but rather use trial and error for your own body to figure out what works FOR YOU.

When I offer advice, it's always in the context of, "This worked for me, so you may want to try it. But it may not work for you."

Sytera

Eat at the pattern and frequency that works for you. If that means no breakfast, that is fine as long as you stay within your calories. If that is 5-6 meals, as long as it keeps you within your calories, go for it. If it is eating all your calories before 7pm so you don't indulge in mindless eating, if that works for you and keeps you within your calories good for you.

Great point. Everyone is different and has different needs. I guess I just have an unrealistic dream of people respecting one another and offering sound advice instead of throwing out terms such as "broscience". I want to see all sides of everything and maybe that is from all the research I have done in making sound decisions for my children. Maybe I should just let this one go for now instead of continuing to question it.

rml_16

Eat at the pattern and frequency that works for you. If that means no breakfast, that is fine as long as you stay within your calories. If that is 5-6 meals, as long as it keeps you within your calories, go for it. If it is eating all your calories before 7pm so you don't indulge in mindless eating, if that works for you and keeps you within your calories good for you.

Great point. Everyone is different and has different needs. I guess I just have an unrealistic dream of people respecting one another and offering sound advice instead of throwing out terms such as "broscience". I want to see all sides of everything and maybe that is from all the research I have done in making sound decisions for my children. Maybe I should just let this one go for now instead of continuing to question it.

The brosicence term is usually invoked when people say, "It worked for me, so it WILL work for everyone else."

That just isn't the case much of the time. It's different than just offering options. Saying it's the be all and end all answer is the problem.

Acg67

Eat at the pattern and frequency that works for you. If that means no breakfast, that is fine as long as you stay within your calories. If that is 5-6 meals, as long as it keeps you within your calories, go for it. If it is eating all your calories before 7pm so you don't indulge in mindless eating, if that works for you and keeps you within your calories good for you.

Great point. Everyone is different and has different needs. I guess I just have an unrealistic dream of people respecting one another and offering sound advice instead of throwing out terms such as "broscience". I want to see all sides of everything and maybe that is from all the research I have done in making sound decisions for my children. Maybe I should just let this one go for now instead of continuing to question it.

I think you missed the numerous posts that agree that it is all personal preference but it becomes broscience or bad advice when someone says you MUST eat X times a day and then inserts some BS reason (keep blood sugar under control, speed up your metabolism, your body can only absorb 30g of pro per meal etc etc)

Sytera

My point is, what if THOSE people, the ones others are saying "you MUST ***" to, really DO need to do those things? What if they haven't tried it and it is what will work for their body? I don't see why it is BS to tell them they need to do something different that really may actually be what works for them.

rml_16

My point is, what if THOSE people, the ones others are saying "you MUST ***" to, really DO need to do those things? What if they haven't tried it and it is what will work for their body? I don't see why it is BS to tell them they need to do something different that really may actually be what works for them.

No one tells them not to do it. People tell them to quit telling others that they have to.

susannamarie

My point is, what if THOSE people, the ones others are saying "you MUST ***" to, really DO need to do those things? What if they haven't tried it and it is what will work for their body? I don't see why it is BS to tell them they need to do something different that really may actually be what works for them.

There is a real difference between "Have you tried" and "You need to". There is also a difference between helping psychologically and helping physiologically.

The frequent meals are not what is keeping your metabolism going. For some people, though, they keep blood sugar regulated, they keep food constantly going in so the person feels less hungry, or for people who are trying to increase calories, they increase the amount of food eaten without overfilling the belly.

So yes, when someone says "You need to eat 6 meals a day to keep your metabolism going", people will link to the studies showing this is false.

On the other hand, if someone asks for advice on controlling mealtime binging, someone might well say "perhaps you might try eat more frequent, smaller meals so that you aren't quite as hungry at mealtime", which is a perfectly legitimate point.

BreakingOath

It doesn't matter when you eat. Some days I have time to eat more meals than others so I spread them out and I also eat 3 meals a day. I am getting results with both of them.

cmriverside

This is my favorite hair-splitting thread so far today.


Relax, OP. People are going to argue if you say the sky is blue. Don't let it ruin your day, and if you stop trying to change people, your life will become infinitely happier.

Athijade

My point is, what if THOSE people, the ones others are saying "you MUST ***" to, really DO need to do those things? What if they haven't tried it and it is what will work for their body? I don't see why it is BS to tell them they need to do something different that really may actually be what works for them.

There is a difference in "You should try because it might work for you." and "You MUST do this because (insert reason that has no scientific backing." The first one is giving a suggestion. The second one is repeating misinformation and bad science. HUGE difference there.

So yes, if someone tells someone "You must eat 6 small meals every day because it keeps your metabolism going." then they should be called on it. Because it is scientifically false and repeating false information is harmful.

rml_16

This is my favorite hair-splitting thread so far today.


Relax, OP. People are going to argue if you say the sky is blue. Don't let it ruin your day, and if you stop trying to change people, your life will become infinitely happier.

No one is arguing with her. She doesn't seem to comprehend what's being said and we're trying to explain it.

Sytera

No one is arguing with her. She doesn't seem to comprehend what's being said and we're trying to explain it.

I comprehend it perfectly well so don't imply that I am not intelligent.

How do you know the reason a person gives for doing such & such is unscientific for that specific person? Have you tested that person? Do you know everything about their medical history or body composition? Do you know how their metabolism works?

I'm not unhappy debating things like this. I know I can't change people. However, I can try to get a better understanding of things and try to get others to look at things from both sides.

MelKut

I tend to eat when I'm hungry

No really, I eat every 3 hours on average (between 2-4 hours). Sometimes I'll feel hungry an hour and a half after eating, for example breakfast is at 8 am and then its 9:30 am and I want to eat again (mental hunger lol) and say to myself "ok wait until 11 or 11:30" and make myself busy until my body feels hungry. It works for me. Some days I just graze all day on nuts, fruits, and vegetables and then will have a few meals with a protein and carbs. Then again some days I eat small breakfast and lunch and a HUGE dinner. Wtf is my pattern?? lol I don't know but YOU NEED TO DO IT MY WAY CUZ YOUR WAY IS WRONG.

rml_16

No one is arguing with her. She doesn't seem to comprehend what's being said and we're trying to explain it.

I comprehend it perfectly well so don't imply that I am not intelligent.

How do you know the reason a person gives for doing such & such is unscientific for that specific person? Have you tested that person? Do you know everything about their medical history or body composition? Do you know how their metabolism works?

I'm not unhappy debating things like this. I know I can't change people. However, I can try to get a better understanding of things and try to get others to look at things from both sides.

I'm sure you're quite intelligent, but you're arguing against a point no one made. That implies you don't comprehend what's been written. The WHY of why you don't comprehend it is not for me to decide.

rileysowner

No one is arguing with her. She doesn't seem to comprehend what's being said and we're trying to explain it.

I comprehend it perfectly well so don't imply that I am not intelligent.

How do you know the reason a person gives for doing such & such is unscientific for that specific person? Have you tested that person? Do you know everything about their medical history or body composition? Do you know how their metabolism works?

I'm not unhappy debating things like this. I know I can't change people. However, I can try to get a better understanding of things and try to get others to look at things from both sides.

No one is arguing that what they are doing it unscientific, but what they claim about what they are doing. It is not the meal frequency that results in the weight loss, it is the calorie deficit. When they claim that it is the 6 meals a day they and simply wrong, and yes, unscientific. If those meals help that particular person maintain their calorie deficit, fine and good, but don't claim it is the meal frequency thus making people who don't know any better think they must eat in a pattern that may not be beneficial to them and make it more likely they will not maintain their calorie deficit.