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    8 small meals/day, high protein, low carb & sugar?

    Posts: 15 Member
    edited January 23 in Food and Nutrition
    Not trying to make the number on the scale go down, maybe just a couple of pounds. My goal is to lose fat and gain muscle. (I'm a 24 year old female) and I exercise regularly (cardio+weights)

    My trainer wants me to eat 125g protein a day. Divided into 8 (small) meals a day, that's 15.6g/meal, plus two cups of veggies/meal. Carbs and sugars are limited but pretty much impossible to avoid altogether, and if I "have" to have any additional carbs, they need to be before noon and less than 25g. He's not concerned with fat as much as sugars. I don't have a sweet tooth anyways.

    I bought a great protein powder that I will portion out to 15-16g protein/shake, and it has 0 sugars and carbs.

    This sounded really easy, until I sat down and tried to "plan out" my meals.. Can anyone help me out? I have the motivation and determination, it's just really hard to come up with meals that fill the requirement and also are low in sugars and carbs. Help me get started!?

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    Replies

    • Posts: 3,400 Member
      Why does it have to be in eight meals?
    • Posts: 15 Member
      8 small meals throughout the day is much better than 3 big meals a day-- boosts the metabolism. It's okay if I eat double the protein for one meal and skip it for the next, but it's best to even it out.
    • Posts: 15 Member
      The idea is to "graze" all day instead of just a couple big meals. 8 meals is more of a guideline.
    • Posts: 37 Member
      8 small meals throughout the day is much better than 3 big meals a day-- boosts the metabolism. It's okay if I eat double the protein for one meal and skip it for the next, but it's best to even it out.

      There isn't much of any evidence that I'm aware of to support this and there's plenty of it refuting the above.
      In short, I'd disregard the advice and I'd consider getting a new trainer.

      Please note:

      http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9155494
      http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19943985
      http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17483007

      http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/meal-frequency-and-energy-balance-research-review.html

      http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/820577-meal-frequency-rev-up-that-furnace-lol
    • Posts: 182
      I usually have 6 meals a day, just because i like to eat every few hours or I get 'hangry' lol. I usually hit my macros but I use the total per day, I don't split it all into meals to be honest. My veg intake is currently terrible but i do hit the fiber intake as well as 35% p, 30% carbs and 35% fat. Thats for my 1500 cals.
    • Posts: 3,400 Member
      8 small meals throughout the day is much better than 3 big meals a day-- boosts the metabolism. It's okay if I eat double the protein for one meal and skip it for the next, but it's best to even it out.
      No, no it doesn't. Quite the contrary. Short fasts (12-72 hours) increase metabolic rate. I eat one meal a day right after I lift and have gained a considerable amount of muscle and have lost enough fat that I'm considered underweight.
    • Posts: 640 Member
      show previous quotes
      No, no it doesn't. Quite the contrary. Short fasts (12-72 hours) increase metabolic rate. I eat one meal a day right after I lift and have gained a considerable amount of muscle and have lost enough fat that I'm considered underweight.
    • Posts: 2,925 Member
      Get a new trainer
    • Posts: 200 Member
      Just checking....what protein powder are you using with 0 sugar and 0 carbs? 8 meals is a lot. sound more like body building food analogy.
    • Posts: 640 Member
      Ammeeennnnnnn......:) brilliant and beautiful...8 meals a dayyyyy?? what the ****! I lost all my fat eating one to 3 meals a day with lots of time NOT eating in between....Trainers??!!! jeeezzzzz
    • Posts: 68
      good god, how do you find the time to prepare and eat 8 meals per day? that would drive me crazy.
      don't buy into the whole 'eating small meals speeds up your metabolism' - if that were true then why is intermittent fasting so popular?
    • Posts: 15 Member
      Guys, whoa, hang on. A "meal" could consist of a handful of nuts for crying out loud. Maybe I should have said 6-8 smaller meals throughout the day and it would've been better understood. All I was asking was for ideas on high protein foods that are low in carbs and sugars. It's a very common, widely used diet. High protein, high veggies, low sugars, carbs in the morning and then limited throughout the day. My metabolism is at 90mph in the first place, I have always grazed throughout the day verses 1 big meal, which kills your metabolism.
    • Posts: 1,079 Member
      Why stop at 8? Go for 20.
    • Posts: 15 Member
      Eating one meal a day can toss your body into starvation mode which is NOT what I'm interested in doing. Eating 6-8 small meals (call them snacks if you want) is much better for me.
    • Posts: 1
      8 small meals/snacks a day is fine. My best friend has a trainer and he had her do the same thing and she is has lost 95 lbs in 11 months and feels great. Some things she eats is cottage cheese, tuna packs, almonds, broccoli, turkey burgers, lean chicken, sweat potatoes, green beans, sugar free jello as a fun snack. Good luck. After her success I have started the same thing
    • Posts: 10,130 Member
      Guys, whoa, hang on. A "meal" could consist of a handful of nuts for crying out loud.

      A handful of nuts does not equal "15.6g [protein]/meal, plus two cups of veggies/meal," unless you consider 2 oz. of nuts to be a "handful" -- plus you'd be getting more carb grams than protein grams, and you said you were supposed to be maxing out at 25 g of carbs (other than the veggies, if I understand you).
    • Posts: 1,870 Member
      Can you maintain this for the rest of your life? If yes, then try it. If no, then no.
    • Posts: 2,019 Member
      show previous quotes
      I would love to see the peer-reviewed studies that provide evidence for either of these claims' actual effectiveness.
    • Posts: 15 Member
      I am currently doing a similar diet. I have 1 scoop of Raw brand rice organic protein in the morning with 1 cup of almond milk, 1/2 cup f frozen mixed berries, 2 tablespoons of Flax Seed in the blender. snack to increase protien I have plain greek yogurt with veggies (i have found many recipes for spicing up the plain yogurt) chicken, salmon, Boars Head Turkey as it has no preservative, ground turkey. Look for clean eating on Pintrest. I found lots of good recipes there. I travel with my job so I have to leave prepared to snack all day. Good Luck!
    • Posts: 2,836 Member
      It doesn't matter how often you eat. Purely personal preference. I generally eat three meals and three snacks because that works for me. Snacks often consist of a banana, piece of string cheese, boiled egg, ounce of almonds, etc. But I always save room for my snack size York Peppermint Patty at the very end of the day.
    • Posts: 653 Member
      That is a lot of meals in one day. It would be difficult to keep it varied. I'd suggest fixing what should be a normal meal and just eating half of it, then 2 hours later, eating the other half.
    • Posts: 10,477 Member
      Why stop at 8? Go for 20.

      wimp. Continuous feeding by tube is where it's at ;-)

      4 or 5 of the 8 could be a quick protein shake with some cream or nut butter added.
    This discussion has been closed.

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