RANT: Eating 5x a day & Metabolism Myths!
angiechimpanzee
Posts: 536 Member
Why? No seriously, just why?!
If your body isn’t telling you “I’m hungry! Feed me!” then why on earth are you force feeding it? The whole “eating often keeps your metabolism burning” mantra is a complete myth and has been proven to be nothing but bro-science. Your metabolism is what keeps you ALIVE, it keeps burning no matter what you do, unless you’re dead. Even if you’re asleep! You don’t need to eat breakfast to “fire it up” if, for instance, you ate a big dinner the day before & you just happen to not be hungry. All that means is that your body still has fuel on board, and does not need more. Eating more despite that will only make weight loss more difficult and weight gain more likely!
When your body wants food, it will ask for it in the form of moderate hunger. Stop being scared to get hungry. Hunger has been the signal for humans to eat as long as humans have been in existence. No other animal eats when they aren’t hungry. Babies refuse food if they aren’t hungry. Eating by a clock or a timer literally makes no sense. Your body is like a car with a fuel gauge. Do you say “The fuel gauge on my car is still full, and I haven’t driven it in a while, but I’m still going to go get gas anyway?” NO. That would be a waste of money and time. And you’re doing the same thing when you force yourself to eat all day long even when your body isn't asking for it.
Moral of the story, listen to your damn body. Eat more wholesome food, of course. But stop using and perpetuating complicated and false nutrition myths to guide your eating habits and just learn to LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.
If your body isn’t telling you “I’m hungry! Feed me!” then why on earth are you force feeding it? The whole “eating often keeps your metabolism burning” mantra is a complete myth and has been proven to be nothing but bro-science. Your metabolism is what keeps you ALIVE, it keeps burning no matter what you do, unless you’re dead. Even if you’re asleep! You don’t need to eat breakfast to “fire it up” if, for instance, you ate a big dinner the day before & you just happen to not be hungry. All that means is that your body still has fuel on board, and does not need more. Eating more despite that will only make weight loss more difficult and weight gain more likely!
When your body wants food, it will ask for it in the form of moderate hunger. Stop being scared to get hungry. Hunger has been the signal for humans to eat as long as humans have been in existence. No other animal eats when they aren’t hungry. Babies refuse food if they aren’t hungry. Eating by a clock or a timer literally makes no sense. Your body is like a car with a fuel gauge. Do you say “The fuel gauge on my car is still full, and I haven’t driven it in a while, but I’m still going to go get gas anyway?” NO. That would be a waste of money and time. And you’re doing the same thing when you force yourself to eat all day long even when your body isn't asking for it.
Moral of the story, listen to your damn body. Eat more wholesome food, of course. But stop using and perpetuating complicated and false nutrition myths to guide your eating habits and just learn to LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.
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Replies
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I'm encountering a problem because of this. I'm just not hungry! I used to be hungry all the time but since I've added more fruits and veggies and protein I don't eat nearly as much and I'm not getting my recommended calories. I'm worried I might go into starvation mode but wouldn't my body say hey we need more if it needed more?0
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B-But my metabolism!! If I don't get tiny incremental feedings of protein my body will not repair my muscles lul :P
Eat if you want, if you want to eat 100% of your calories in the morning do it, do what works for you!0 -
OP is AWESOME!!0
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Great Post.0
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Meh, I don't buy the whole "keeps your metabolism going" but I prefer 6 meals a day for myself. If I wait until I am hungry, I end up making terrible choices. If I eat several smaller meals and don't get ravenous, I am far less likely to eat whatever I can get my hands on until I prepare the food I should be eating.
Plus - hunger is not always a reliable indicator of when we should eat. Anorexics may not experience hunger at all and they can be literally starving, some overweight people are constantly hungry and they do not need to eat.0 -
you'll actually burn more calories if you only eat once a day.. and supposedly you won't go into starvation mode unless you haven't eaten for close to 3 days.. and that only really matters if you're skinny.0
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Meh, I don't buy the whole "keeps your metabolism going" but I prefer 6 meals a day for myself. If I wait until I am hungry, I end up making terrible choices. If I eat several smaller meals and don't get ravenous, I am far less likely to eat whatever I can get my hands on until I prepare the food I should be eating.
This is me!! I understand what OP is saying, but I have been eating 5-6 meals a day for so long, now I dont really get hungry unless it is a day that I am NOT prepared, then I end up making really bad choices.0 -
I prefer eating three smaller meals and a late night snack. I like it because it has taught me to stop eating a little less than what makes me totally full, and realize I will still be fine for several more hours with what I ate. If I ate fewer times a day, I am aftrait it will be a bit too easy to slip into bad habits when I switch over to maintenance.0
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in other news: water is wet.0
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Meh, I don't buy the whole "keeps your metabolism going" but I prefer 6 meals a day for myself. If I wait until I am hungry, I end up making terrible choices. If I eat several smaller meals and don't get ravenous, I am far less likely to eat whatever I can get my hands on until I prepare the food I should be eating.
Plus - hunger is not always a reliable indicator of when we should eat. Anorexics may not experience hunger at all and they can be literally starving, some overweight people are constantly hungry and they do not need to eat.
Yup this for me too.0 -
Hahahahahahaaaa!!!!!
Wait, did the OP deactivated her account? Maybe her metabolism stopped working :huh:
It's no fun when they deactivate.0 -
Me three.Meh, I don't buy the whole "keeps your metabolism going" but I prefer 6 meals a day for myself. If I wait until I am hungry, I end up making terrible choices. If I eat several smaller meals and don't get ravenous, I am far less likely to eat whatever I can get my hands on until I prepare the food I should be eating.
Plus - hunger is not always a reliable indicator of when we should eat. Anorexics may not experience hunger at all and they can be literally starving, some overweight people are constantly hungry and they do not need to eat.
Yup this for me too.0 -
Me three.Meh, I don't buy the whole "keeps your metabolism going" but I prefer 6 meals a day for myself. If I wait until I am hungry, I end up making terrible choices. If I eat several smaller meals and don't get ravenous, I am far less likely to eat whatever I can get my hands on until I prepare the food I should be eating.
Plus - hunger is not always a reliable indicator of when we should eat. Anorexics may not experience hunger at all and they can be literally starving, some overweight people are constantly hungry and they do not need to eat.
Yup this for me too.
Not me.
I pre-log and eat two big meals a day.0 -
I tend to think the same as the OP, as in just eat when you start feeling hungry. However, I have a friend that has lost about 20 lbs and reversed her diabetes by eating small meals every 3 hrs. She is rarely hungry, was only eating about once a day prior to that. She read "The Blood Sugar Solution" and was very diligent to plan her meals. She sets a timer so that she will remember to eat. Her blood sugar would soar sky hiigh if she did not eat! So now her blood sugar is normal, her blood pressure is down and she's lost weight. I guess my thoughts about it are that we are all different and we have to find what works for our body.0
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Psht - you should totally deactivate.
Me three.Meh, I don't buy the whole "keeps your metabolism going" but I prefer 6 meals a day for myself. If I wait until I am hungry, I end up making terrible choices. If I eat several smaller meals and don't get ravenous, I am far less likely to eat whatever I can get my hands on until I prepare the food I should be eating.
Plus - hunger is not always a reliable indicator of when we should eat. Anorexics may not experience hunger at all and they can be literally starving, some overweight people are constantly hungry and they do not need to eat.
Yup this for me too.
Not me.
I pre-log and eat two big meals a day.0 -
Most days I eat 3-4 times a day, and some days I eat twice and once a quarter or so I eat the majority of a whole pizza. Due to exercise and a better frame of mind, my body tells me what I need from a macro standpoint and I go with it.
I just am careful about suggesting that anyone does what I do because I do not know their bodies, willpower, or pressure points so I cannot say that one way or the other is correct for every body.
I WILL however say to anyone that eats processed food will not win in the long run. And I very rarely make hard statements like that.0 -
I agree with listening to your body, and doing what you see gives YOU results. There are a lot of Internet scientists on this site. But, sadly, one "size" just does not fit all.0
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Most days I eat 3-4 times a day, and some days I eat twice and once a quarter or so I eat the majority of a whole pizza. Due to exercise and a better frame of mind, my body tells me what I need from a macro standpoint and I go with it.
I just am careful about suggesting that anyone does what I do because I do not know their bodies, willpower, or pressure points so I cannot say that one way or the other is correct for every body.
I WILL however say to anyone that eats processed food will not win in the long run. And I very rarely make hard statements like that.
Can you define "processed"? It seems to be the point where so much becomes confusing.0 -
I eat 3 small meals and 3 snacks a day to keep my blood sugar low. If I don't eat like this my blood sugar soars. If your blood sugar goes up you release insulin which is a fat storing monster, so eat the way you want. Just dont rain on others parade.0
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I'm sorry for not being clear. There are lots of processed foods to speak about, and so I do not want to offend anyone, so I will just say that any meal that has a paragraph of ingredients is processed. I do not want to name names because maybe some people eat those frozen low calorie meals with success.
I eat whole foods, meat, sweet potatoes, veggies, and foods with no more than 3 ingredients.0
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