5-6 meals / day. - anyone have success with doing this?

cleanjerksnatch · January 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VzA9A4cdHU

I have tried several meals a day but I like the 3 meals a day and have done so for the last several years.

I am not a body builder (olympic lifter, not olympic rank though) but I like Vic Costa, he is a natural body builder and has had 3 meals a day for 10 years.

aelunyu · January 2013

In my experience, it's all about personal preference. We all feel hungry at different times of the day. Some of us prefer large meals and others prefer to "graze" throughout the day. I personally hate breakfast, and love training early on a 100% empty stomach. So therefore my first meal everyday is around 1pm, and I eat 3 meals (lunch, dinner, pre-bed snack)

Eating frequency has very little impact on whether or not your weight loss goals are met, in my opinion. What I can say about the 5-6 meal deal is that it builds some structure into your feeding "patterns", and that can be a good thing....

WIChelle · January 2013

I am doing the same thing JBdowns mentioned. I'm only into week 2 but i really like 5 meals a day. It has been hard at work so i just have a protein shake. I noticed my blood sugar is much more stable this way.

gonzo2802 · January 2013

Yeah, I'm doing the 3 meals and 3 snacks method for myself. As others have stated, as long as you're hitting your calories and doing what's comfortable for YOUR body, when and how often you eat is irrelevant.

Me personally, I love the act of eating. So when I try to fit into the "3 Squares a Day" routine, my subconcious rebels and I tend to consume more food before I'm able to convince myself I'm full.

jmwaskie · January 2013

I tried the 5-6 meal a day thing twice and did not find any success in weight loss, portion size management or anything. I just found myself eating all day and gaining all kinds of weight. I find that I eat a few times a day and do not allow myself to eat past 7pm - no matter what. That's a hard fast rule for me. I have found some success with it. I find I am actually eating better through the day, I feel better, I do not have the mid-day crash around 2pm that I used to have and I have a better diet and eat less of the "bad stuff." It has been pretty amazing. Good luck to you and do what works best for you and your body. Different bodies and different solutions. Good luck and rock it!

Kmenczynski88 · January 2013

Eating several small meals to keep your metabolism going is a long ago debunked myth. Meal timing and frequency is irrelavent. Hit your macros and calories for the day every day in whatever manner you like.

dis.

wdwgirl3 · January 2013

Thanks everyone for the input!

I want to give it a try in the hopes I will always feel full and not feel the need to graze and have whatever is in the kitchen fill me up. Also, I will try filling in what I am going to eat first thing in the morning, so I am on a schedule and not just eating cause I am bored, stressed ect ect. Trying really hard to make my brain think of food as fuel , not as a best friend who is there to comfort me when I am bored, lonely, stressed, or happy. Lol

Bravand · January 2013

3 days? My opinions are based upon factual studies. You asked for it, you got it! I am surprised you don't know more about fasting especially if you are trying to lose weight, coupled with a ton of information online from studies. I am surprised that you challenged me since you could have just googled it and got the answers. I can only assume that your theories are based upon "bro science".

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition states in this article (http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/86/1/7.full) that (1) decreases in blood pressure, (2) reduction in oxidative damage to lipids, protein and DNA, (3) improvement in insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake, and (4) decreases in fat mass are among the benefits of intermittent fasting.

First of all, I often do have to remind myself to eat my first meal of the day. I work from home so I don't have a bell that goes off telling me to go feed. Why would you not believe that? Have you tried IF? Didn't think so. After the first 3-4 days morning hunger goes away. Breakfast is what makes everyone so damn hungry at lunch. Skipping breakfast is healthy for me and many others.

Intermmittent fasting is generally 14- 36 hours at a time. Research shows that intermittent fasting can help prevent heart disease, cancer, diabetes and many of the diseases and disorders we see today. Our ancestors followed an intermittent fasting lifestyle for thousands of years, which means, your DNA is hard wired for this. Recent research shows that intermittent fasting sky-rockets HGH in women up to 1,300% and in men up to 2000%! It optimizes energy levels and turns your bodies metabolism into a "fat burner" so you can lose weight through normalizing insulin and leptin levels. Intermittent fasting can actually help you gain muscle mass. The metabolic response to fasting involves a series of hormonal and metabolic adaptations leading to protein conservation. An increase in the serum level of growth hormone (GH) during fasting has been well substantiated. (Effects of Growth Hormone on Glucose, Lipid, and Protein Metabolism in Human Subjects
Endocrine Reviews April 1, 2009 30:152-177).

A lower proportion of lean mass is lost in response to intermittent CR (90% weight lost as fat, 10% weight loss as fat free mass) (21–23) when compared to daily CR (75% weight lost as fat, 25% weight loss as fat free mass) (4,7–16).

Halberg N, Henriksen M, Soderhamn N. Effect of intermittent fasting and refeeding on insulin action in healthy men. J Appl Physiol 2005; 99: 2128–2136.

Michalsen A, Riegert M, Ludtke R. Mediterranean diet or extended fasting’s influence on changing the intestinal microflora, immunoglobulin A secretion and clinical outcome in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia: an observational study.

BMC Complement Altern Med 2005; 5: 22.

Heilbronn LK, Smith SR, Martin CK, Anton SD, Ravussin E. Alternate-day fasting in nonobese subjects: effects on body weight, body composition, and energy metabolism. Am J Clin Nutr 2005; 81: 69–73.

Johnson JB, Summer W, Cutler RG. Alternate day calorie restriction improves clinical findings and reduces markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in overweight adults with moderate asthma. Free Radic Biol Med 2007; 42: 665–674.

Varady KA, Bhutani S, Church EC, Klempel MC. Short-term modified alternate-day fasting: a novel dietary strategy for weight loss and cardioprotection in obese adults. Am J Clin Nutr 2009; 90: 1138–1143.

Other references:
1. Intermountain Medical Center. Routine periodic fasting is good for your health, and your heart, study suggests. ScienceDaily. 2011
2. Fernando M. Safdie, et. al. “Fasting and cancer treatment in humans: A case series report.” Aging 2009
3. Siegel I, et. al. “Effects of short-term dietary restriction on survivall of mammary ascites tumor-bearing rats.” Cancer Invest. 1998
4. Louiza Belkacemi, et al. ” Intermittent Fasting Modulation of the Diabetic Syndrome in Streptozotocin-Injected Rates” Internal Journal of Endocrinology. 2012
5. “Study finds routine periodic fasting is good for health, and your heart.” Intermountain Medical Center, 2011

Thank you for your attention.

Bravand · January 2013

Everyone is different and 5-6 meals per day didn't work for me as it left me hungry between each meal resulting in more calories in. Therefore, I went to Intermittent Fasting which has a ton of health benefits. Basically, I eat between 11am to 7pm. I am never hungry in the mornings anymore and I no longer have late night snack urges. Due to the fast, I fill up easily and can have large meals if I choose. As far as metabolism goes, 5-6 meals per day will enhance your metabolism no more than 2 large meals per day will. The "keep the furnace burning" is total B.S. and propaganda. Your metabolism changes in relation to the size of the meal so small meals barely have in impact on it and large meals affect it largely. Growth hormone is released after about 14 hours of fasting, once again boosting metabolism. Studies also report that Intermittent fasting allows you to lose 90% fat rather than 75% fat on a eat often schedule. So if keeping muscle is important for you, IF is the way to go. If being healthy, IF is the way to go. The first few mornings sucked but after about 3 days, I no longer have hunger pains all morning long. As a matter of fact, I have to remind myself to eat because it is "time" . 5 - 6 meals a day leaves me hungry all day long and that does me no good whatsoever.

I would like to see these studies you mention.

Okay:
3 days? My opinions are based upon factual studies. You asked for it, you got it! I am surprised you don't know more about fasting especially if you are trying to lose weight, coupled with a ton of information online from studies. I am surprised that you challenged me since you could have just googled it and got the answers. I can only assume that your theories are based upon "bro science".

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition states in this article (http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/86/1/7.full) that (1) decreases in blood pressure, (2) reduction in oxidative damage to lipids, protein and DNA, (3) improvement in insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake, and (4) decreases in fat mass are among the benefits of intermittent fasting.

First of all, I often do have to remind myself to eat my first meal of the day. I work from home so I don't have a bell that goes off telling me to go feed. Why would you not believe that? Have you tried IF? Didn't think so. After the first 3-4 days morning hunger goes away. Breakfast is what makes everyone so damn hungry at lunch. Skipping breakfast is healthy for me and many others.

Intermmittent fasting is generally 14- 36 hours at a time. Research shows that intermittent fasting can help prevent heart disease, cancer, diabetes and many of the diseases and disorders we see today. Our ancestors followed an intermittent fasting lifestyle for thousands of years, which means, your DNA is hard wired for this. Recent research shows that intermittent fasting sky-rockets HGH in women up to 1,300% and in men up to 2000%! It optimizes energy levels and turns your bodies metabolism into a "fat burner" so you can lose weight through normalizing insulin and leptin levels. Intermittent fasting can actually help you gain muscle mass. The metabolic response to fasting involves a series of hormonal and metabolic adaptations leading to protein conservation. An increase in the serum level of growth hormone (GH) during fasting has been well substantiated. (Effects of Growth Hormone on Glucose, Lipid, and Protein Metabolism in Human Subjects
Endocrine Reviews April 1, 2009 30:152-177).

A lower proportion of lean mass is lost in response to intermittent CR (90% weight lost as fat, 10% weight loss as fat free mass) (21–23) when compared to daily CR (75% weight lost as fat, 25% weight loss as fat free mass) (4,7–16).

Halberg N, Henriksen M, Soderhamn N. Effect of intermittent fasting and refeeding on insulin action in healthy men. J Appl Physiol 2005; 99: 2128–2136.

Michalsen A, Riegert M, Ludtke R. Mediterranean diet or extended fasting’s influence on changing the intestinal microflora, immunoglobulin A secretion and clinical outcome in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia: an observational study.

BMC Complement Altern Med 2005; 5: 22.

Heilbronn LK, Smith SR, Martin CK, Anton SD, Ravussin E. Alternate-day fasting in nonobese subjects: effects on body weight, body composition, and energy metabolism. Am J Clin Nutr 2005; 81: 69–73.

Johnson JB, Summer W, Cutler RG. Alternate day calorie restriction improves clinical findings and reduces markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in overweight adults with moderate asthma. Free Radic Biol Med 2007; 42: 665–674.

Varady KA, Bhutani S, Church EC, Klempel MC. Short-term modified alternate-day fasting: a novel dietary strategy for weight loss and cardioprotection in obese adults. Am J Clin Nutr 2009; 90: 1138–1143.

Other references:
1. Intermountain Medical Center. Routine periodic fasting is good for your health, and your heart, study suggests. ScienceDaily. 2011
2. Fernando M. Safdie, et. al. “Fasting and cancer treatment in humans: A case series report.” Aging 2009
3. Siegel I, et. al. “Effects of short-term dietary restriction on survivall of mammary ascites tumor-bearing rats.” Cancer Invest. 1998
4. Louiza Belkacemi, et al. ” Intermittent Fasting Modulation of the Diabetic Syndrome in Streptozotocin-Injected Rates” Internal Journal of Endocrinology. 2012
5. “Study finds routine periodic fasting is good for health, and your heart.” Intermountain Medical Center, 2011

Thank you for your attention.

Bravand · January 2013

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lifemember2b · January 2013

Yep! So far so good. When I (re)committed to MFP I set up my diary for trhee meals a day and three snacks. Sometimes the snack is just a homemade smoothie.. and usually never more than a couple hundred calories.