Myth: Eat frequently to "stoke the metabolic fire"

Crankstr

Whatever works for you...i dont like having smaller meals...never satisfying enough.

i would rather have coffee for breakfast and save my calories for later in the day...

i LOVE to snack at night, and used to feel guilty about it and stress...now i dont, because i have the calories.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

I agree, it really doesn't matter if you eat 18 meals in one day or 1 meal in one day. I generally eat one meal that goes from the time I decide to start eating (anywhere between 630 and 9 AM and lasts until I fall asleep). I do this because if I at any time get hungry I get hangry, and if I get hangry people die.

sunlover89

Yeah, I get that. But the guy I was talking to said I HAD to eat every three hours to burn fat! And that if I ate all my calories in one or two meals I would get fat. Silly billy..

MikeyD1280

Our bodies are like a wood stove. If you try to put x amount of logs in the stove at one shot, it more than likely will not burn. If you start it with 3 small pieces instead of let's call "x" 9, you can get a fire going. Once the fire is going, if you put too much wood in the stove it will die out. This analogy IMO works with how we are designed as well. If you eat just enough each meal, the fire will still burn. If you load it all up in one meal, it will be to hard on our body and will not burn as fast and will eventually die down. (Anyone who is familiar with a wood burning stove would know what I mean).
Obviously I know we are not wood stoves but only use it as an analogy. Seeing posts like this make me think of people saying after sprinting hard and sweating your *kitten* off, you know, the workouts that you have a hard time talking because it's so intense, would say that I know you are thirsty now, but you can drink water in 5 hours from now, it will do you just as good... no you need to do so right then and there. IMO you do have windows to eat or drink, just because you cannot feel the need for certain things-- such as the need for water/gatorade/whatever, after a crazy cardio session-- doesn't mean you are fueling properly.

"Facts" such as any about how and when to eat are just science because what works for one doesn't necessarily work for someone else. To say that it is WRONG to do something a specific way is not a heads up, it's misinformed. There are hundreds of ways to get to the number 100, 1+99, 50+50, 10^2 and so on... same thing about this... I eat spread out and it has always done good for me, I am no bodybuilder, but I been in decent shape for over 15 years eating throughout the day more than just 3 meals...

And just curious, why say it makes you sad when bodybuilders make claims when they are winning trophies?

vypeters

Yep.

I'm an 'eat small amounts frequently' person because I'm a grazer (so effectively I'm just grazing my food instead of eating meals) and I love, love, love it. But I don't have any voodoo mystical illusions about its merits except that it keeps me satisfied and feeling good.

Healthy foods, moderate quantities, distributed in a way that meets your needs. No need to make it more complicated.

psuLemon

Our bodies are like a wood stove. If you try to put x amount of logs in the stove at one shot, it more than likely will not burn. If you start it with 3 small pieces instead of let's call "x" 9, you can get a fire going. Once the fire is going, if you put too much wood in the stove it will die out. This analogy IMO works with how we are designed as well. If you eat just enough each meal, the fire will still burn. If you load it all up in one meal, it will be to hard on our body and will not burn as fast and will eventually die down. (Anyone who is familiar with a wood burning stove would know what I mean).
Obviously I know we are not wood stoves but only use it as an analogy. Seeing posts like this make me think of people saying after sprinting hard and sweating your *kitten* off, you know, the workouts that you have a hard time talking because it's so intense, would say that I know you are thirsty now, but you can drink water in 5 hours from now, it will do you just as good... no you need to do so right then and there. IMO you do have windows to eat or drink, just because you cannot feel the need for certain things-- such as the need for water/gatorade/whatever, after a crazy cardio session-- doesn't mean you are fueling properly.

"Facts" such as any about how and when to eat are just science because what works for one doesn't necessarily work for someone else. To say that it is WRONG to do something a specific way is not a heads up, it's misinformed. There are hundreds of ways to get to the number 100, 1+99, 50+50, 10^2 and so on... same thing about this... I eat spread out and it has always done good for me, I am no bodybuilder, but I been in decent shape for over 15 years eating throughout the day more than just 3 meals...

And just curious, why say it makes you sad when bodybuilders make claims when they are winning trophies?

Unfortunately, the evidence of eating within a specific window is anecdotal at best. While eating more frequent might improve satiety, the science shows that it won't increase weight or fat loss at all. And in many cases it doesn't show improvements in even 1rep max sets. So at this point, if it works for you great, but many would suggest IF is just as effective as eating meals throughout the day. I know for me, I much prefer to eat every few hours.