WHAT to eat and WHEN??

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Kelly_fat2fit30
Kelly_fat2fit30 Posts: 61
in Food and Nutrition
Hi there!!

I am looking to hear from experienced fitness experts about what you should be eating and when.

For example, I work out in the morning (strength training and cardio) Should I eat something before I work out? If so, what? Carb or protein? Should I eat something light or a large breakfast?

Eat every two hours or every three throughout the day? I have heard that there is success in eating a larger breakfast, a medium lunch and then eating lighter throughout the rest of the day. Have you found this to be true?

Should you stop eating carbs at a certain time of the day or should each meal be balanced?

Should I eat just before going to sleep? Or is this hurting me because I can't actually "burn it off" while sleeping?

Hoping someone can help provide clarification on these that have actually had some success!!

Thank you in advance!! :)

Replies

  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
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    When you eat is completely personal preference, but you don't have to take my word for it. Read this by Mr. Abs himself (now known as Sidesteel)


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/529002-a-compliation-on-meal-frequency?hl=compliation+meal+frequency
  • keeponkickin
    keeponkickin Posts: 1,520 Member
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    I find the timing of meals to be of personal preference. I don't like breakfast and typically don't eat it. I tend to eat when hungry and just listen to my body. I do have a snack before exercise due to being type 1 diabetic and not wanting to pass out from low blood sugar.
  • LeenaRuns
    LeenaRuns Posts: 1,309 Member
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    A lot of this is completely subjective--there are mixed options in the professional fitness and nutrition community. For every response you receive one way (complete with statistical evidence), you will receive another (with equally compelling evidence) opposing it. You just have to find what works for you.

    Personally, I work out on an empty stomach (heavy compound lifts 3x//week, running/other cardio 4x/eek) followed by almond milk with protein powder. I try to follow a 45/30/25 ratio (c/f/p--I can't have too much protein because of the form of daibetes I have). I eat at 6 am, 8 am, 10 am, 12 pm, 3 pm 6 pm and 8 pm, 1900 calories per day--I don't add in my exercise calories because I based my figures off my TDEE and BMR (activity level is set to very active).

    If you have any questions or want more info, feel free to PM me. Good luck on your journey!
  • Fat2Fit145
    Fat2Fit145 Posts: 385 Member
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    Hey, im not fitness expert, but I have read in numerous articles and have been told by a few gym instrucors that eating around 5 meals perday is best as it boots your metabolism. I have practiced this as well with a balanced diet and have seen weight loss.
    About what u eat, breakfast should always be you heaviest meal as it kick statrs your metabolism and give the necessary energy for the day. Gradually reduce your calories through the day with ur other meals. Dinner should always be your lightest and dono eat at least 2 hours before you sleep. You are right, eating right before bed will store that food as you don burn it off.
  • islebutterfly09
    islebutterfly09 Posts: 33 Member
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    Thanks Rachel :)
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
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    Hey, im not fitness expert, but I have read in numerous articles and have been told by a few gym instrucors that eating around 5 meals perday is best as it boots your metabolism. I have practiced this as well with a balanced diet and have seen weight loss.
    About what u eat, breakfast should always be you heaviest meal as it kick statrs your metabolism and give the necessary energy for the day. Gradually reduce your calories through the day with ur other meals. Dinner should always be your lightest and dono eat at least 2 hours before you sleep. You are right, eating right before bed will store that food as you don burn it off.

    This is false. Please read the link I posted above.
  • Hendrix7
    Hendrix7 Posts: 1,903 Member
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    Hey, im not fitness expert, but I have read in numerous articles and have been told by a few gym instrucors that eating around 5 meals perday is best as it boots your metabolism. I have practiced this as well with a balanced diet and have seen weight loss.
    About what u eat, breakfast should always be you heaviest meal as it kick statrs your metabolism and give the necessary energy for the day. Gradually reduce your calories through the day with ur other meals. Dinner should always be your lightest and dono eat at least 2 hours before you sleep. You are right, eating right before bed will store that food as you don burn it off.

    None of this is correct.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    Hey, im not fitness expert, but I have read in numerous articles and have been told by a few gym instrucors that eating around 5 meals perday is best as it boots your metabolism. I have practiced this as well with a balanced diet and have seen weight loss.
    About what u eat, breakfast should always be you heaviest meal as it kick statrs your metabolism and give the necessary energy for the day. Gradually reduce your calories through the day with ur other meals. Dinner should always be your lightest and dono eat at least 2 hours before you sleep. You are right, eating right before bed will store that food as you don burn it off.

    None of this is correct.

    This! It makes no difference as long as you hit your total calorie and macronutrient targets for the day. Attached article from Alan Aragon as well as PubMed link tell it all in addition to the link to Sidesteel's thread.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19943985
    To quote Alan Aragon:

    Alan: The post-exercise “anabolic window” is a highly misused & abused concept. Preworkout nutrition all but cancels the urgency, unless you’re an endurance athlete with multiple glycogen-depleting events in a single day. Getting down to brass tacks, a relatively recent study (Power et al. 2009) showed that a 45g dose of whey protein isolate takes appx. 50 minutes to cause blood AA levels to peak. Resulting insulin levels, which peaked at 40 minutes after ingestion, remained at elevations known to max out the inhibition of muscle protein breakdown (15-30 mU/L) for 120 minutes after ingestion. This dose takes 3 hours for insulin & AA levels to return to baseline from the point of ingestion. The inclusion of carbs to this dose would cause AA & insulin levels to peak higher & stay elevated above baseline even longer.

    So much for the anabolic peephole & the urgency to down AAs during your weight training workout; they are already seeping into circulation (& will continue to do so after your training bout is done). Even in the event that a preworkout meal is skipped, the anabolic effect of the postworkout meal is increased as a supercompensatory response (Deldicque et al, 2010). Moving on, another recent study (Staples et al, 2010) found that a substantial dose of carbohydrate (50g maltodextrin) added to 25g whey protein was unable to further increase post-exercise net muscle protein balance compared to the protein dose without carbs. Again, this is not to say that adding carbs at this point is counterproductive, but it certainly doesn’t support the idea that you must get your lightning-fast post-exercise carb orgy for optimal results.

    Something that people don’t realize is that there’s no “magic anabolic window” that’s open for a short period of time near the workout & then rapidly disappears. As a result of a single training bout, the receptivity of muscle to protein dosing can persist for at least 24 hours (Burd et al, 2011).
  • Fat2Fit145
    Fat2Fit145 Posts: 385 Member
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    Please rememebr eveyones metabolism doesnt work the same, some actually works slower than others. I could eat the exact same things my skinny friends eat and they not gain a pound but i would gain a cow.....
    All im saying is eating the 5 meals (healthy) works FOR ME.... when i dont, i lost nothing... and when i cut out eating righ before bed I CONTINUE TO LOSE WEIGHT.....so im sticking with what has been working for me..... so i guess you should find what works for you.
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    ^^ You are correct that everyone has varying metabolic rates as a result of various factors. However, the reason your friends are losing weight and you are not has nothing to do with meal timing and frequency - it's that they are providing less energy needed to maintain their present weight whereas you are supplying more.

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