6 meals a day is a lie. Your metabolism won't slow down.

when u dont eat enought calories, your body starts feeding off the lean muscle mass you do have. YOu dont want to lose that because the more u have, the more u burn

This is not true unless it is done for a very prolonged period of time.

It doesn't really matter if you eat a lower calorie eating plan if you are eating nutrient dense foods. Your body doesn't care about Quantity..............it cares about the Quality of the food.

For instance - If I am eating 1000 calories per day of WHOLE, unprocessed foods which contain vital vitamins and minerals my body is getting way more out of it than if I ate 1200 or 1300 calories of refined, so called whole grains, inferior meats, and boxed or packaged foods..........

That is mostly why people can't over come cravings. Because they need to seriously clean up their diet.

I was an elite competitive swimmer for 10 years (Nationally and Internationally)...your muscles starts breaking down by itself after 72 hours if you don't work out again to add to it. So if you're doing any sort of strength training on a regular basic and you haven't eaten your body will break down that muscle even more.

Women's metabolisms are different than men's metabolisms first off. Secondly, if you eat very small meals many times a day you will have a constant source of energy and will avoid the after lunch and 3 pm slumps. Every body is different, but a lot of ppl trying to lose weight or have a healthier lifestyle find that eating small meals throughout the day is better than 3 larger meals.

Guys can usually get away with just 1 or 2 meals a day, women not so much.

Also, when your body has to digest food you burn more energy, and if you're eating small meals throughout the day that means your body is burning energy at regular intervals and doesn't really have a chance to slow down. If it is being forced to deal with large quantities of food at a time it is more likely to store some as fat, where as if it only has to deal with a small amount of food at a time it is usually able to handle everything.

Wow, this is not true. I practice Intermittent Fasting and I am a woman. I go most days about 17 hours between eating and I am never HUNGRY, low on energy and I lose weight effortlessly this way.

I gained weight and had MAJOR blood sugar swings eating 5 or 6 meals a day the way they tell you your supposed to eat.

I am certified Nutrition Counselor and I agree with the Original Poster.

Women's metabolisms are different than men's metabolisms first off. Secondly, if you eat very small meals many times a day you will have a constant source of energy and will avoid the after lunch and 3 pm slumps. Every body is different, but a lot of ppl trying to lose weight or have a healthier lifestyle find that eating small meals throughout the day is better than 3 larger meals.

Guys can usually get away with just 1 or 2 meals a day, women not so much.

Also, when your body has to digest food you burn more energy, and if you're eating small meals throughout the day that means your body is burning energy at regular intervals and doesn't really have a chance to slow down. If it is being forced to deal with large quantities of food at a time it is more likely to store some as fat, where as if it only has to deal with a small amount of food at a time it is usually able to handle everything.

Wow, this is not true. I practice Intermittent Fasting and I am a woman. I go most days about 17 hours between eating and I am never HUNGRY, low on energy and I lose weight effortlessly this way.

I gained weight and had MAJOR blood sugar swings eating 5 or 6 meals a day the way they tell you your supposed to eat.

I am certified Nutrition Counselor and I agree with the Original Poster.

Apparently this fasting works for YOUR body, I never said it couldn't work for some people. But the truth about it is that it will not work for everybody, just like 6 meals a day doesn't work for everybody.

I dont think theres a right or wrong way to eat. Just eat healthy and eat when your hungry not just because. Personally I gain weight when I eat 6 meals a day and I feel hungry all day I'm way better off eating breakfast lunch and dinner or even just breakfast and a late lunch and snack in the evening. To each their own, just find what works and use it.

I wouldn't be suprised that this is a myth. I think it's just an excuse to keep grazing all day. It all comes to calories out versus calories in.

Shannon

It takes a lot of planning and time to do the 5-6 meal a day for me. So being the type of person who would rather be downstairs exercising (yes, I'm a freak), I choose to concentrate of breakfast, lunch, dinner and if I wanna "graze" I just split up the meal in between.

Also, another thing to consider is portions. I mean a meal should consistent of X amount of calories to fulfill the XY amount of daily calories needed, so by portion control you can spread out the calories into your 5-6 meals (make sense?)

And lastly, if I eat all day long, I obsess about food and when the 2 hours is rolling around for my "dose" of food. Therefore, the traditional 3 meal a day works best for me.

Eating through out the day (6 small meals a day) works for me. My blood sugar isn't going through peaks and valleys through out the day. I'm not one of those people that are crying at 3pm saying that they are STARVING.

These are my truths:
protein curbs hunger
cinnamon tablets regulate blood sugar
eating through out the day keeps me sane.

So, there are plenty of studies that say there is in fact, no difference in your metabolism if you eat small meals throughout the day. HOWEVER there are also studies that say people who DO eat small meals throughout the day are less likely to be obese. This may be a causation vs. correlation problem, but the most common argument I have for it and why I personally snack a lot is that I am going to frickin' go crazy and EAT if I don't snack. Because I'm hungry.

If you sit down to a meal ravenously hungry you are more likely to eat past your full level quickly - before your brain even goes "hey stop, you're full!" So while when you're counting calories and measuring portions it may not be a big of an issue (to all of us that measure portions BEFORE sitting down to eat), this can be a major benefit when you're trying to wean yourself off of constant logging and just maintain. In fact, I'm sure plenty of us recognize doing this overeating because they were hungry and their eyes were too big from our journey to our higher weights.

Whether or not its true that your metabolism drops, it works for plenty of us. So it is STILL better for us and more of a benefit to our weight loss to eat several small meals. And whatever helps America not be so darn fat.....

42 replies? Man, somebody spit in someone's holy water.

If I posted a topic that says "Jillian Michaels Sucks", I bet I could get 100....:devil:

42 replies? Man, somebody spit in someone's holy water.

If I posted a topic that says "Jillian Michaels Sucks", I bet I could get 100....:devil:

:laugh: :laugh:

I just want to say that a lot of people on here have been told the myth down the years that your metabolism will slow down if you don't keep eating. The fact that people keep eating is the reason why obesity is epedemic. The diet and food industry want people to keep eating so they can sell their products. Have a look at intermittent fasting for the truth on weight loss.

Sorry to disagree with you, but I have to say that 5 to 6 mini-meals a day works for me. I've lost over 20 pounds eating that way.

I do 3 meals a day + 2 snacks. The meals are about 300 cals each and the snacks are around 150, which comes out to 1,200. My math isn't perfect. My goal is 1,250 a day base, and I don't really like going under 300 for a meal. Anyhoo, I eat in this pattern because I do South Beach, and this is what's recommended. It really does help with my hypoglycemia. I don't know that this particular eating pattern has helped me lose weight (although SBD sure has!) in and of itself, but the balanced blood sugar it provides sure has made things easier. Any hypo can tell you that if your sugar drops you're eating anything and everything and it takes longer to feel full. Your brain is just telling you to eat in a desperate attempt to get that sugar level back up. That can sure lead to some extra pounds!

Personally, I wouldn't consider any kind of fasting because of health issues. I don't claim that it's unhealthy for everyone. A big reason why there's so much debate about what's "right" and "wrong" in healthy eating and weight loss is that there are a handful of different metabolism types. Different people's bodies react differently to all this stuff. I have said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again a million times on these boards; you have to get to know your own body and how it reacts and then do what's best for you.

Oh, and I would say that if you want to know the source of the obesity epidemic, you need look no further than restaurants and the processed foods that line grocery store shelves. At least, this applies to America and many other countries.

Which ancestors are you referring to?

The mythical ones who ate exactly the way anyone wants to justify eating.

In reality, ancient humans ate many different ways. And the human body is remarkably adaptable. Pretty much any way of eating - amounts, ratios, timing - works for someone.

I just want to say that a lot of people on here have been told the myth down the years that your metabolism will slow down if you don't keep eating. The fact that people keep eating is the reason why obesity is epedemic. The diet and food industry want people to keep eating so they can sell their products. Have a look at intermittent fasting for the truth on weight loss.

I totally agree with you and from what I've read IF is also very healthy for you I mean how do you think our ancestors ate I'm sure it wasn't 6 times a day.

Which ancestors are you referring to?

I think he is talking about cavemen times.

They would eat when they could, which sometimes was not very often at all, once per day, if that.

I'm a fan of Martin Berkham - Leangains website, Lyle Mcdonald - Body recomposition website, Brad Pillon - Eat stop Eat website. Check em out people! Don't listen to the stuff they write about in Mens/Womens health mags. It always contradicts itself. The diet industry aims to confuse so they can sell you more 'magic' diet solutions.

Why are you on a site like this then? While MFP doesn't outwardly promote eating several smaller meals a day, it does recommend it (see default food diary settings).