true or false: meal frequency / meal timing matters

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Ortax
Ortax Posts: 98
in Health and Weight Loss
To me meal frequency and meal timing doesn't matter. What matters is the amount of calories you burn / consume by the end of the day.

Sometimes I hear people say that you should eat 5 or 6 small meals a day to keep your metabolism going. Or that you should never eat right before you sleep.
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Replies

  • eileen0515
    eileen0515 Posts: 408 Member
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    I would say true. Meal timing does not matter

    However compliance is really the key. People have their quirks, some need their calories early in the day, some need them later. Some need them evenly spaced out. It's all about compliance in my opinion. The 24 hour clock does not matter. Or even traditional timing of meals. It's and individual thing.
  • Cinflo58
    Cinflo58 Posts: 326 Member
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    I agree that meal timing does not matter. It is calories in vs calories out. Eating frequently does not increase your metabloism.
  • HEATHERACU73
    HEATHERACU73 Posts: 46 Member
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    I can't get a real answer either.

    One study says 5 to 6 little meals builds your metabolism, but you are burning off sugar instead of fat because it's getting it's energy from the food.

    Another study says wait 5 to 6 hours in-between meals with 3 main meals because it triggers your body to start burning off fat from your cells instead of food.

    I'm going with the idea that you eat more in the morning than afternoon as I think there is a lot of studies show your metabolism is higher in the morning.
  • akamran1
    akamran1 Posts: 78 Member
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    I would say true. Meal timing does not matter

    However compliance is really the key. People have their quirks, some need their calories early in the day, some need them later. Some need them evenly spaced out. It's all about compliance in my opinion. The 24 hour clock does not matter. Or even traditional timing of meals. It's and individual thing.

    agree

    and the only reason you shouldn't eat right before you go to sleep is because that is an excellent way to give yourself heartburn -- digesting and lying supine do not mix well.
  • rabblerabble
    rabblerabble Posts: 471 Member
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    Lots of people assert that NET CALORIES = CALORIES CONSUMED MINUS CALORIES BURNED.

    But I for one find that for me, when I can eat 6 small meals a day versus a smaller number of larger meals, I have the best results.

    On weekdays, I have a quick meal, hit the gym, have a small post workout meal, and head to work where I have 3 more meals spread throughout the day. (2 of those meals consist of half a sandwich I prepared before leaving home and a portion of fruit or carrot/celery sticks, another is either jerky or string cheese with another fruit/veggie). After work I have small portions for dinner with the family.

    During the weekends, because I'm home with the family and I need to plan around what their needs/wants are, I tend to have fewer larger meals. The overall calories I consume are the same as during the week, but I tend to have better results on the scale during the week when those calories are more spread out. (And I do find the time to hit the gym on the weekends too.)

    But that's what my body seems to do and all of us are different. If whatever someone is doing is working for THEM, I would never try to discourage them or try to convince them they aren't doing things right.
  • briana12077
    briana12077 Posts: 128 Member
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    I've always heard so many sides to this but have decided to just eat when I'm hungry, and not to eat to the point where I'm stuffed, just full. So I try to keep myself at a state of being content. Not where my belly hurts from being full or where it hurts from being hungry. Its hard to balance because you have to really listen to your body and it is really hard for me to always have food handy when I need it but I just try to plan ahead.
  • unnur16
    unnur16 Posts: 140 Member
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    I dont know what works better, but at least for me it works better to just eat when im hungry, if i "have" to eat 5-6 times a day (i have tried that) all i can think about the hole day is food, what should i eat next, when is my next meal and so on. But I just keep my calories intake inside my limits no matter how many meals i have in the day and i have lost 56 lbs that way. But i have heard so many sides that I cant say which work better.
  • Showcase_Brodown
    Showcase_Brodown Posts: 919 Member
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    Science agrees with you, so eat as many or as few meals as you would like a day, at whatever time(s) you want.
  • Siansonea
    Siansonea Posts: 917 Member
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    There is so much spurious information about weight loss it's not even funny. From what I can determine, the only thing that actually really matters for real is the ratio of calories you consume to the calories you expend. Everything else has a negligible effect, if it has any effect at all. But to hear people tell it around here, you'll be completely unable to lose weight unless you drink cabbage water, lift weights, or eat only this or that macronutrient each day. Bullfeathers. Count calories. Eat fewer calories than your body uses. Lose weight. Why is something so simple being made so complicated? Ah, because people want an easy, fun, quick way to lose weight, I forgot. :huh:
  • SteveStedge1
    SteveStedge1 Posts: 149 Member
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    I can't believe my eyes. Meal timing absolutely matters. Your body doesnt have some magic 24 hour clock and at the end of that period does the math and says "well look, lets take the total in and the total out and decide to make fat or not"

    NO NO NO. It absolutely doesnt work like that. Your body works in the moment. If you gobble down 2000 calories in one meal and it will be converted to fat. No doubt. Then you will be miserable the rest of the day. Your body has some buffers...like the sugar stored in your liver...the best way is to feed your body as youre using calories.

    Your body can only store so much "short term" energy and if you eat too much in one sitting it will be converted to fat. If you then follow up with a fast then your metabolism will slow down. You dont have to be a genius to figure this out.
  • Siansonea
    Siansonea Posts: 917 Member
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    I can't believe my eyes. Meal timing absolutely matters. Your body doesnt have some magic 24 hour clock and at the end of that period does the math and says "well look, lets take the total in and the total out and decide to make fat or not"

    NO NO NO. It absolutely doesnt work like that. Your body works in the moment. If you gobble down 2000 calories in one meal and it will be converted to fat. No doubt. Then you will be miserable the rest of the day. Your body has some buffers...like the sugar stored in your liver...the best way is to feed your body as youre using calories.

    Your body can only store so much "short term" energy and if you eat too much in one sitting it will be converted to fat. If you then follow up with a fast then your metabolism will slow down. You dont have to be a genius to figure this out.

    :huh:

    So, if you require 2500 calories a day to maintain your weight, but you only eat 2000 calories a day total, but all in one sitting, you'll gain weight, is that what you're saying?

    I'm thinking "not"...:smokin:
  • bumblebreezy91
    bumblebreezy91 Posts: 520 Member
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    Calories and deficits matter when it comes to losing weight. I'm not going to stress myself out with timing my meals just because someone else, with a different lifestyle than my own, swears by it. I'm losing weight because I eat and exercise in a way that creates a deficit, not because of the size or timing of my meals. I ate lunch at 3pm today because I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast until 10-11am. So what?
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    I would say true. Meal timing does not matter

    However compliance is really the key. People have their quirks, some need their calories early in the day, some need them later. Some need them evenly spaced out. It's all about compliance in my opinion. The 24 hour clock does not matter. Or even traditional timing of meals. It's and individual thing.

    agree

    and the only reason you shouldn't eat right before you go to sleep is because that is an excellent way to give yourself heartburn -- digesting and lying supine do not mix well.

    This on both accounts!^

    Meal timing does not matter........and acid reflux is a pain in the a**
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    I can't believe my eyes. Meal timing absolutely matters. Your body doesnt have some magic 24 hour clock and at the end of that period does the math and says "well look, lets take the total in and the total out and decide to make fat or not"

    NO NO NO. It absolutely doesnt work like that. Your body works in the moment. If you gobble down 2000 calories in one meal and it will be converted to fat. No doubt. Then you will be miserable the rest of the day. Your body has some buffers...like the sugar stored in your liver...the best way is to feed your body as youre using calories.

    Your body can only store so much "short term" energy and if you eat too much in one sitting it will be converted to fat. If you then follow up with a fast then your metabolism will slow down. You dont have to be a genius to figure this out.

    Converting energy from food into fat isn't anything special and certainly not to be feared - the same way that converting fat stores back into energy for use to fuel your bodily functions and exercise is a totally normal part of how your body works on a daily basis.
    Weight loss is governed by calorie balance over a period of time, that's it - simple.

    Why do you think we store excess energy "in the moment" if we can't then use it later?
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
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    For me, I eat all day to keep my blood sugar pretty stable and to prevent myself from becoming overwhelmingly hungry and making poor choices. I think it depends a lot on your own body and your particular food issues. I tend to feel bloated and lethargic if I eat big meals. I feel great if I am running on a little something all the time and my blood sugar is more even. The point is, do what works for you!

    It doesn't matter if there is scientifically no difference in when you eat if one way of eating is more difficult for you to maintain than another way. I know lots of people who do well with just eating 3 meals per day, no snacks, as a behavioral modification.
  • beardedwarriortx
    beardedwarriortx Posts: 238 Member
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    For me timing does matter. I think (as with most weight loss topics) it person specific. Just goes with what works best for you!
  • homeyjosey
    homeyjosey Posts: 138 Member
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    true
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
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    I can't believe my eyes. Meal timing absolutely matters. Your body doesnt have some magic 24 hour clock and at the end of that period does the math and says "well look, lets take the total in and the total out and decide to make fat or not"

    NO NO NO. It absolutely doesnt work like that. Your body works in the moment. If you gobble down 2000 calories in one meal and it will be converted to fat. No doubt. Then you will be miserable the rest of the day. Your body has some buffers...like the sugar stored in your liver...the best way is to feed your body as youre using calories.

    Your body can only store so much "short term" energy and if you eat too much in one sitting it will be converted to fat. If you then follow up with a fast then your metabolism will slow down. You dont have to be a genius to figure this out.

    This made me chuckle IRL. :)
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    I can't believe my eyes. Meal timing absolutely matters. Your body doesnt have some magic 24 hour clock and at the end of that period does the math and says "well look, lets take the total in and the total out and decide to make fat or not"

    NO NO NO. It absolutely doesnt work like that. Your body works in the moment. If you gobble down 2000 calories in one meal and it will be converted to fat. No doubt. Then you will be miserable the rest of the day. Your body has some buffers...like the sugar stored in your liver...the best way is to feed your body as youre using calories.

    You're basically constantly going through periods of fat storage and fat oxidation. The only thing that matters is the difference between storage and oxidation over the course of time. This is governed by energy balance, not meal timing.

    Even if you eat all of your calories in 1 big meal, lets say before bed. You store a bunch of fat after the meal but you also spent the entire day oxidizing fat because you didn't eat.
    Your body can only store so much "short term" energy and if you eat too much in one sitting it will be converted to fat.

    But you will only accumulate fat if you are exceeding your energy needs. Any acute fat storage will be oxidized later for fuel if you're in an energy deficit. Regardless of meal frequency.
    If you then follow up with a fast then your metabolism will slow down. You dont have to be a genius to figure this out.

    Fasting has actually been shown (research is limited) to slightly accelerate metabolic rate, not reduce it. Slowdown occurs after multiple-day fasts, not intra-day fasts.
  • rassha01
    rassha01 Posts: 534 Member
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    To me meal frequency and meal timing doesn't matter. What matters is the amount of calories you burn / consume by the end of the day.

    Sometimes I hear people say that you should eat 5 or 6 small meals a day to keep your metabolism going. Or that you should never eat right before you sleep.

    Never, absolutely never eat before jumping on the scale!!!! It will most definitely break...

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