Eating every 3 Hours

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chriamaria
chriamaria Posts: 76 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I joined this facebook group for a 2 week challenge. The trainer that runs it says the one must eat every 3 hours. my 3 hour time to eat again is here and I'm just not hungry. He says that eating every 3 hours helps with metabolism. Thoughts? Fact or fiction? Trying it just for today just to see...
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Replies

  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,068 Member
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    fiction. meal timing has no impact on weight loss/gain
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    Nope. Eat every three hours, eat once a day, doesn't matter. The amount of calories you eat is what makes you lose weight or not.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Eating small meals won't affect your metabolism or your weight loss. It may have an effect on your mood, concentration levels, hunger, energy, etc. Eat when you want as long as you're hitting your calorie/nutrition goals and feel good doing it.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    fiction. Meal timing will not influence your metabolism. That said, playing with your meal timing can have you arrive at meal timing that works better for you on your diet (meaning makes you feel more satiated with your calorie goal) so it can be worth experimenting.

    Personally I eat about 5 meals a day which means that yeah I'm eating every 3-4 hours. Not because of the "metabolism" thing though just because when I tried it I found I was more satisfied than with 3 meals a day. Personal choice though, I do not think thats how everyone should do it just because that is what works for me.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    fiction. Meal timing will not influence your metabolism. That said, playing with your meal timing can have you arrive at meal timing that works better for you on your diet (meaning makes you feel more satiated with your calorie goal) so it can be worth experimenting.

    Personally I eat about 5 meals a day which means that yeah I'm eating every 3-4 hours. Not because of the "metabolism" thing though just because when I tried it I found I was more satisfied than with 3 meals a day. Personal choice though, I do not think thats how everyone should do it just because that is what works for me.

    This. I also find that meal timing has a huge impact on gym performance for me.


    It's a common fiction, but fiction nonetheless.
  • JoeCampbell85
    JoeCampbell85 Posts: 140
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    Every 3 hours, as others stated, is a myth. Find what is doable and comfortable for you. Find what gives you the ability to work the hardest at the gym. The 3 hour nonsense is only sustainable for professionals and people with no job/social life in my opinion. I've tried it so many times and I would say it influenced my giving up in the past heavily.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    fiction. Meal timing will not influence your metabolism. That said, playing with your meal timing can have you arrive at meal timing that works better for you on your diet (meaning makes you feel more satiated with your calorie goal) so it can be worth experimenting.

    Personally I eat about 5 meals a day which means that yeah I'm eating every 3-4 hours. Not because of the "metabolism" thing though just because when I tried it I found I was more satisfied than with 3 meals a day. Personal choice though, I do not think thats how everyone should do it just because that is what works for me.

    This. I also find that meal timing has a huge impact on gym performance for me.


    It's a common fiction, but fiction nonetheless.

    I "discovered" that eating 5 meals a day helped me a lot with weight loss and my exercise performance. That said I also realized this was just personal preference and because it was true for me did not mean it applied to everyone. I think why this myth is so common is there are lots of people like me who "discovered" eating more often was better for them and in their excitement decided it was important to share this revelation with everyone else. When asked "why" it was better the "speeds up your metabolism" answer was graciously pulled from their a** as a possible reason.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    The 3 hour nonsense is only sustainable for professionals and people with no job/social life in my opinion.

    To be fair I eat every 3-4 hours and I have a very busy job and active social life.

    If you are picturing "eating" to be going out to a restaurant every 3 hours then yeah okay, but for me eating is having a pre-prepared sandwich or a shake or a protein bar while I sit at my desk.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    +1 fiction
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
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    Wrong. If eating every three hours helps you stave of unnecessary snacking and cheats between meals, then go for it, otherwise it serves no purpose.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    The 3 hour nonsense is only sustainable for professionals and people with no job/social life in my opinion.

    To be fair I eat every 3-4 hours and I have a very busy job and active social life.

    If you are picturing "eating" to be going out to a restaurant every 3 hours then yeah okay, but for me eating is having a pre-prepared sandwich or a shake or a protein bar while I sit at my desk.

    I think this is one of the problems with the eat every 3-4 hour things - people think they need a large full meal and then wonder why they don't lose weight or are so overly full.
  • JoeCampbell85
    JoeCampbell85 Posts: 140
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    The 3 hour nonsense is only sustainable for professionals and people with no job/social life in my opinion.

    To be fair I eat every 3-4 hours and I have a very busy job and active social life.

    If you are picturing "eating" to be going out to a restaurant every 3 hours then yeah okay, but for me eating is having a pre-prepared sandwich or a shake or a protein bar while I sit at my desk.

    That's true, certain jobs may allow it but many don't. I work in a lab and don't care to eat in it (plus you can't) and I'm there to work and not eat. And when I'm out with my friends it'd be annoying to set my 3 hour time and interrupt what we are all doing so I can eat some food.
  • GymTennis
    GymTennis Posts: 133 Member
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    Please do me a favor and ask your trainer if he eats every 3 hours every single day of his life and if he plans to do it for the rest of his life.. Thanks
  • thedarkwombat
    thedarkwombat Posts: 123 Member
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    Total BS. I cannot believe a trainer bought into this myth.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    I joined this facebook group for a 2 week challenge. The trainer that runs it says the one must eat every 3 hours. my 3 hour time to eat again is here and I'm just not hungry. He says that eating every 3 hours helps with metabolism. Thoughts? Fact or fiction? Trying it just for today just to see...
    Are you going to wake up every 3 hours to eat at night then? Trainers are the worst people for spreading myths like this. Meal timing is personal preference with what fits into your life. Your metabolism does not need waking up or restarting it happily chugs along 24 hours a day
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    Total BS. I cannot believe a trainer bought into this myth.
    I can
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    The 3 hour nonsense is only sustainable for professionals and people with no job/social life in my opinion.

    To be fair I eat every 3-4 hours and I have a very busy job and active social life.

    If you are picturing "eating" to be going out to a restaurant every 3 hours then yeah okay, but for me eating is having a pre-prepared sandwich or a shake or a protein bar while I sit at my desk.

    That's true, certain jobs may allow it but many don't. I work in a lab and don't care to eat in it (plus you can't) and I'm there to work and not eat. And when I'm out with my friends it'd be annoying to set my 3 hour time and interrupt what we are all doing so I can eat some food.

    Saying it may not be possible in every job/social situation is a lot different than saying it's only possible if you have no job and no social life.

    I've got a desk job-- I prepare my food before I leave for work and I eat at my desk while I'm working. I don't consider it an imposition; it's how I like to eat. I definitely don't set an alarm; I just eat when I'm hungry. But if I let myself go too long then when I do sit down to eat I end up having a lot more calories than I planned.
  • JoeCampbell85
    JoeCampbell85 Posts: 140
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    Please do me a favor and ask your trainer if he eats every 3 hours every single day of his life and if he plans to do it for the rest of his life.. Thanks

    Exactly, sustainability.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Time to un-join that group.

    ^^this

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