Raising your metabolism

trekr200
trekr200 Posts: 8
edited September 28 in Food and Nutrition
I hear ads on the radio about diet supplements that are supposed to raise your metabolic rate. I was told that a persons metabolism is set and cannot be changed. Which one is correct?

Mike
«1

Replies

  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    You can raise your metabolism through exercise. I would not do it with meds. They are only temporary and could cause dangerous heart related problems.
  • jvkh127
    jvkh127 Posts: 261 Member
    Your BMR is always at 70%. You can raise the rest of the 30% through exercise and frequent meals. Eat small meals 5-6 times a day to keep your metabolism active. Of course exercise is going to help alot too.
  • jvkh127
    jvkh127 Posts: 261 Member
    You can raise your metabolism through exercise. I would not do it with meds. They are only temporary and could cause dangerous heart related problems.

    I agree totally, these kinds of meds are not healthy for you!!!
  • registers
    registers Posts: 782 Member
    I hear ads on the radio about diet supplements that are supposed to raise your metabolic rate. I was told that a persons metabolism is set and cannot be changed. Which one is correct?

    Mike

    There are thermogenic pills that supposedly raise your body temperature slightly causing your to burn more calories, that's a theory. I don't know if it's true or not. I have taken pills of that sort before. Guess what they all say... they all say "this is to be used with a reduce calorie diet and a exercise program." If you DONT exercise and reduce your calories, you can't say "it didn't work" someone would say "because you didn't follow the directions." Lets say you did use a low caloric diet and exercised and you used the pills... You lose some weight, was it the diet and exercise that cause you to lose weight, or the pills?? you really don't know.

    So in summary, it's kind of a scam of some sorts. Just save your money, don't waste it on that stuff... The only supplements I would recommend are, micro nutrients, including healthy fats such as fish oils... And sources of protein, including Brain chain amino acids, whey protein... and even algae forms.
  • lil_pulp
    lil_pulp Posts: 701 Member
    Cardio and weight lifting!
  • registers
    registers Posts: 782 Member
    Your BMR is always at 70%. You can raise the rest of the 30% through exercise and frequent meals. Eat small meals 5-6 times a day to keep your metabolism active. Of course exercise is going to help alot too.

    Just to inform you, not trying to sound rude or anything. But that 5-6 meal a day thing is a myth. There are a lot of myths in the fitness community, that's just one.

    below is a link dismissing that claim.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8399092
  • 2nyce
    2nyce Posts: 37
    I think that water boost the metabolism also
  • trekr200
    trekr200 Posts: 8
    That's what I figured. Thank you all for your replies. I appreciate it.
  • registers
    registers Posts: 782 Member
    forgot to mention, cardio does raise your metabolism temporarily, for long term increase in metabolism, resistance training should be used. It will build muscle which burns more calories. After a lifting session your body is burning calories repairing the muscle.
  • jvkh127
    jvkh127 Posts: 261 Member
    Your BMR is always at 70%. You can raise the rest of the 30% through exercise and frequent meals. Eat small meals 5-6 times a day to keep your metabolism active. Of course exercise is going to help alot too.

    Just to inform you, not trying to sound rude or anything. But that 5-6 meal a day thing is a myth. There are a lot of myths in the fitness community, that's just one.

    below is a link dismissing that claim.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8399092

    Your not being rude eveyone has their opinion. For me this "myth" worked completely. I did not change anything except my eating habits. I used to eat 2 meals a day thats it and constantly gained weight. I changed and starting eating breakfast then a snack or lunch then dinner then another snack before bed and I have lost 13 lbs pretty much just doing this. I rarely have time to exercise because of my schedule. So yeah it may not work for some but it sure as hell worked for me!!!

    Oh yeah just another funny note...when I ate 2 meals my stomach never growled, when I started eating 5 meals a day it growled every 3 hours like clock work lol saying heelllloooooo feed me!!! : )
  • ilsie99
    ilsie99 Posts: 259
    Getting the right amount of sleep (not too much, not too little) will do wonders for your metabolism.
  • Dietary intake, food or "supplements", will not affect metabolic rate, INCLUDING meal timing and frequency.
  • Agglaki
    Agglaki Posts: 105
    Cardio, weights and small frequent meals WILL boost the metabolism.

    Your body is a very clever "machine" it will adjust based on the above three factors.

    Sitting on your backside, hardly eating or "starving and stuffing" WILL NOT boost your metabolism.

    Pills and supplements probably work, but do you know the health risks?
  • Cardio, weights and small frequent meals WILL boost the metabolism.

    Your body is a very clever "machine" it will adjust based on the above three factors.

    Sitting on your backside, hardly eating or "starving and stuffing" WILL NOT boost your metabolism.

    Pills and supplements probably work, but do you know the health risks?


    Please, post any evidence showing that meal frequency will boost metabolism. There isn't any.


    I eat, at most, two meals a day. What's wrong with that?
  • Agglaki
    Agglaki Posts: 105
    Cardio, weights and small frequent meals WILL boost the metabolism.

    Your body is a very clever "machine" it will adjust based on the above three factors.

    Sitting on your backside, hardly eating or "starving and stuffing" WILL NOT boost your metabolism.

    Pills and supplements probably work, but do you know the health risks?


    Please, post any evidence showing that meal frequency will boost metabolism. There isn't any.


    I eat, at most, two meals a day. What's wrong with that?


    Firstly, some people if they are genetically gifted can get away with low meal numbers, eat what they want and burn through it all without storing anything. These are the people who seem to do very little at the gym and always end up looking good....

    Let's ignore them.

    Obviously everything is slightly different for all people because of different factors, age, height, weight, activity level etc etc etc

    What might work for some will not for others. In terms of meal frequency however, two meals a day will not provide the body with the correct nutrient supply during the day. Your body is a machine, that needs fuelling all the time. Not having the correct nutrient supply over the 24 hour period will mean your body starts to break down muscles and eventually fat to get the nutrients it needs.

    By reducing the number of meals you are having the options available is pig out for a bit, starve yourself, then pig out and starve yourself again. This approach will hamper progress in the long run for most people.

    When you eat your body will use everything it needs, then starts storing the rest as fat. Also by starving yourself over a long period of time with this starve and stuff mentality (over a period of weeks for instance) you will slow down your metabolism as your body will soon start to ask where is the food.

    You (Mapexdrunner69) have a 2300 calorie diary going on and seem to have HUGE meals even at night. Most people who work 9-5 find they body slows down in the evening, eating a large meal before bed will simply mean most of it gets stored as fat as the body is less active (obviously again there are some differences based on individual routines).

    Since I'm running out in a bit and don't have time to type everything I want to say, I'll post a passage from a book by Tom Venuto - Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle:

    The reason most beginners have a hard time accepting the five or six meals
    concept is because what I’m suggesting, in many cases, is that some people actually eat
    MORE FOOD than they’ve ever eaten before; the food is simply spread out into smaller
    portions. This idea might sound contrary to everything you’ve ever heard about losing
    weight. I even said so myself in our previous talk about calories; you have to eat less than
    you burn in order to lose weight, right?

    True, calories count. But the amazing thing about eating frequently is that IT
    MAKES YOU BURN MORE CALORIES! Five or six meals a day accelerates your
    body’s natural rate of calorie burning.

    Why skipping meals is one of the cardinal sins of fat burning nutrition...and how to
    eat more food and lose more fat at the same time

    Skipping meals (or leaving long gaps between meals) is the cardinal sin of fat-
    burning and muscle-building nutrition. Missing meals slows down your metabolism,
    causes muscle loss and triggers your body’s starvation responses.

    Suppose you skip breakfast and you haven’t eaten since 8:00 p.m. the previous
    evening. If you eat lunch at 12:00 pm, you’ve gone 16 hours without any food. At this
    point, you are not only in a highly catabolic (muscle wasting) state, you’re also sending an
    unmistakable starvation signal to your body.

    If skipping meals is the cardinal sin of fat burning and muscle building nutrition,
    then skipping breakfast is a capital crime suited for the death penalty! And yet
    “everybody” is doing it!

    When I analyze nutrition programs for my clients, one of the most common errors
    I see is skipping breakfast or eating it late, around 10:00 a.m. or even later. “I don’t have
    time” is usually the excuse justifying this unforgivable blunder. Let’s take a close look at
    the devastating impact this lack of planning and discipline has on your fat loss efforts:
    Suppose you’re in a hurry to get to work in the morning and you bolt out the door
    without eating breakfast. Your first meal of the day is lunch at 12:00 noon. It’s
    moderately sized, let’s say 500 calories, consisting of a turkey sandwich on wheat and a
    banana. Sounds fairly healthy so far. By your customary dinnertime of 6:00 p.m., you are
    ravenously hungry, and you polish off a massive plate of pasta for a total of 800 calories.
    Later that night you’re still hungry and craving something sweet. Some cookies and low
    fat milk do the trick – about 300 calories. Then you go right to sleep. Although far from
    perfect, this menu doesn’t sound like a total disaster to the average, uniformed person...
    But IT IS! It’s a nightmare!

    If we add up those calories, it totals only 1600 for the entire day. In theory, at least
    according to the calorie calculations you did previously, you should be losing fat – quite
    rapidly if you’re a man. So why aren’t you? It’s because you’re doing EVERYTHING
    possible to encourage your body to store fat: You are going catabolic by leaving 18 hours
    between dinner and the next day’s lunch. This causes muscle loss and metabolic
    downgrade. Because you’ve only eaten one meal during the day, you’re famished and you
    eat too much at dinner. Even though you’re in a 24-hour calorie deficit, this causes fat
    storage anyway because you’ve eaten more than you can handle at one sitting. By
    “starving and stuffing,” you’ve also set yourself up for serious cravings at night; usually
    the wrong foods – like cookies or ice cream!

    In the long run, this type of diet is a sure-fire way to slow down your metabolism,
    lose muscle and gain body fat. On the other hand, 2400 calories spread out into five or six
    small meals of 400 - 480 calories each (about 300-350 calories per meal for women), will
    increase energy, accelerate muscle growth, and speed up your metabolism without fat
    storage. Frequent eating can actually allow you to consume up to 50% more calories
    without storing an ounce of it as fat!


    Not a scientific study, but it is one passage of the book.

    If you are still not satisfied with that answer I'll propose something to you:

    Picture a body builder (I train with enough of them on a day in day out basis...I see them during their on and off season).

    When a body builder is looking at getting on stage, the idea is to grow muscle and drop fat. These guys are always eating! I mean ALWAYS.

    They also have body fat % in the low single digits. Their bodies are as lean as possible.

    Sure they work out a lot, sure they measure everything, and are super strict and dont cheat etc etc etc...but it doesn't stop them from eating. In fact, they have alarms that are set to go off to remind them to eat to keep fuelling their bodies.

    These guys train themselves in such a way that their bodies are able to process everything they eat so efficiently that they maintain their lean physique while still holding onto muscle mass (which is usually the first thing the body attacks when it is starved of nutrients).

    Oh and I'm well aware of their pre-competition routines or dehydrating themselves, tanning themselves to make the muscles look bigger and the skin to feel and look tighter. I don't condone this aspect. But ultimately you cannot argue with the results.
  • Cardio, weights and small frequent meals WILL boost the metabolism.

    Your body is a very clever "machine" it will adjust based on the above three factors.

    Sitting on your backside, hardly eating or "starving and stuffing" WILL NOT boost your metabolism.

    Pills and supplements probably work, but do you know the health risks?


    Please, post any evidence showing that meal frequency will boost metabolism. There isn't any.


    I eat, at most, two meals a day. What's wrong with that?


    Firstly, some people if they are genetically gifted can get away with low meal numbers, eat what they want and burn through it all without storing anything. These are the people who seem to do very little at the gym and always end up looking good....

    Let's ignore them.

    Obviously everything is slightly different for all people because of different factors, age, height, weight, activity level etc etc etc

    What might work for some will not for others. In terms of meal frequency however, two meals a day will not provide the body with the correct nutrient supply during the day. Your body is a machine, that needs fuelling all the time. Not having the correct nutrient supply over the 24 hour period will mean your body starts to break down muscles and eventually fat to get the nutrients it needs.

    By reducing the number of meals you are having the options available is pig out for a bit, starve yourself, then pig out and starve yourself again. This approach will hamper progress in the long run for most people.

    When you eat your body will use everything it needs, then starts storing the rest as fat. Also by starving yourself over a long period of time with this starve and stuff mentality (over a period of weeks for instance) you will slow down your metabolism as your body will soon start to ask where is the food.

    You (Mapexdrunner69) have a 2300 calorie diary going on and seem to have HUGE meals even at night. Most people who work 9-5 find they body slows down in the evening, eating a large meal before bed will simply mean most of it gets stored as fat as the body is less active (obviously again there are some differences based on individual routines).

    Since I'm running out in a bit and don't have time to type everything I want to say, I'll post a passage from a book by Tom Venuto - Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle:

    The reason most beginners have a hard time accepting the five or six meals
    concept is because what I’m suggesting, in many cases, is that some people actually eat
    MORE FOOD than they’ve ever eaten before; the food is simply spread out into smaller
    portions. This idea might sound contrary to everything you’ve ever heard about losing
    weight. I even said so myself in our previous talk about calories; you have to eat less than
    you burn in order to lose weight, right?

    True, calories count. But the amazing thing about eating frequently is that IT
    MAKES YOU BURN MORE CALORIES! Five or six meals a day accelerates your
    body’s natural rate of calorie burning.

    Why skipping meals is one of the cardinal sins of fat burning nutrition...and how to
    eat more food and lose more fat at the same time

    Skipping meals (or leaving long gaps between meals) is the cardinal sin of fat-
    burning and muscle-building nutrition. Missing meals slows down your metabolism,
    causes muscle loss and triggers your body’s starvation responses.

    Suppose you skip breakfast and you haven’t eaten since 8:00 p.m. the previous
    evening. If you eat lunch at 12:00 pm, you’ve gone 16 hours without any food. At this
    point, you are not only in a highly catabolic (muscle wasting) state, you’re also sending an
    unmistakable starvation signal to your body.

    If skipping meals is the cardinal sin of fat burning and muscle building nutrition,
    then skipping breakfast is a capital crime suited for the death penalty! And yet
    “everybody” is doing it!

    When I analyze nutrition programs for my clients, one of the most common errors
    I see is skipping breakfast or eating it late, around 10:00 a.m. or even later. “I don’t have
    time” is usually the excuse justifying this unforgivable blunder. Let’s take a close look at
    the devastating impact this lack of planning and discipline has on your fat loss efforts:
    Suppose you’re in a hurry to get to work in the morning and you bolt out the door
    without eating breakfast. Your first meal of the day is lunch at 12:00 noon. It’s
    moderately sized, let’s say 500 calories, consisting of a turkey sandwich on wheat and a
    banana. Sounds fairly healthy so far. By your customary dinnertime of 6:00 p.m., you are
    ravenously hungry, and you polish off a massive plate of pasta for a total of 800 calories.
    Later that night you’re still hungry and craving something sweet. Some cookies and low
    fat milk do the trick – about 300 calories. Then you go right to sleep. Although far from
    perfect, this menu doesn’t sound like a total disaster to the average, uniformed person...
    But IT IS! It’s a nightmare!

    If we add up those calories, it totals only 1600 for the entire day. In theory, at least
    according to the calorie calculations you did previously, you should be losing fat – quite
    rapidly if you’re a man. So why aren’t you? It’s because you’re doing EVERYTHING
    possible to encourage your body to store fat: You are going catabolic by leaving 18 hours
    between dinner and the next day’s lunch. This causes muscle loss and metabolic
    downgrade. Because you’ve only eaten one meal during the day, you’re famished and you
    eat too much at dinner. Even though you’re in a 24-hour calorie deficit, this causes fat
    storage anyway because you’ve eaten more than you can handle at one sitting. By
    “starving and stuffing,” you’ve also set yourself up for serious cravings at night; usually
    the wrong foods – like cookies or ice cream!

    In the long run, this type of diet is a sure-fire way to slow down your metabolism,
    lose muscle and gain body fat. On the other hand, 2400 calories spread out into five or six
    small meals of 400 - 480 calories each (about 300-350 calories per meal for women), will
    increase energy, accelerate muscle growth, and speed up your metabolism without fat
    storage. Frequent eating can actually allow you to consume up to 50% more calories
    without storing an ounce of it as fat!


    Not a scientific study, but it is one passage of the book.

    If you are still not satisfied with that answer I'll propose something to you:

    Picture a body builder (I train with enough of them on a day in day out basis...I see them during their on and off season).

    When a body builder is looking at getting on stage, the idea is to grow muscle and drop fat. These guys are always eating! I mean ALWAYS.

    They also have body fat % in the low single digits. Their bodies are as lean as possible.

    Sure they work out a lot, sure they measure everything, and are super strict and dont cheat etc etc etc...but it doesn't stop them from eating. In fact, they have alarms that are set to go off to remind them to eat to keep fuelling their bodies.

    These guys train themselves in such a way that their bodies are able to process everything they eat so efficiently that they maintain their lean physique while still holding onto muscle mass (which is usually the first thing the body attacks when it is starved of nutrients).

    Oh and I'm well aware of their pre-competition routines or dehydrating themselves, tanning themselves to make the muscles look bigger and the skin to feel and look tighter. I don't condone this aspect. But ultimately you cannot argue with the results.



    I really hate that you took all that time to post such erroneous information.


    You are significantly misinformed.



    Again,


    1. Meal frequency has no effect on weight loss.
    2. Meal frequency has no effect on metabolism.
    3. Repeat 1,2.
    4. Nutrient timing has no effect on weight loss.
    5. Nutrient timing has no effect on metabolism.
    6. Repeat 4,5.
    7. Gain nutritional knowledge, not anecdotal results.
    8. Profit.
  • susanswan
    susanswan Posts: 1,194 Member
    You can raise your metabolism through exercise. I would not do it with meds. They are only temporary and could cause dangerous heart related problems.

    My thought is always, And are you planning on taking these forever? WHat happens when you stop taking them? Does your weight magically stay off?
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    Weight training + high protein diet really helps built muscle which burns a lot of fat throughout the day. I would stay away from diet pills. Just doesn't pass the smell test. :)

    Also, I don't eat but 2 meals per day. I'm also losing 2 lbs a week for the last 10 weeks. My body fat percentage has dropped 6% too.
  • mynameisuntz
    mynameisuntz Posts: 582 Member
    Cardio, weights and small frequent meals WILL boost the metabolism.

    Your body is a very clever "machine" it will adjust based on the above three factors.

    Sitting on your backside, hardly eating or "starving and stuffing" WILL NOT boost your metabolism.

    Pills and supplements probably work, but do you know the health risks?


    Please, post any evidence showing that meal frequency will boost metabolism. There isn't any.


    I eat, at most, two meals a day. What's wrong with that?


    Firstly, some people if they are genetically gifted can get away with low meal numbers, eat what they want and burn through it all without storing anything. These are the people who seem to do very little at the gym and always end up looking good....

    Let's ignore them.

    Obviously everything is slightly different for all people because of different factors, age, height, weight, activity level etc etc etc

    What might work for some will not for others. In terms of meal frequency however, two meals a day will not provide the body with the correct nutrient supply during the day. Your body is a machine, that needs fuelling all the time. Not having the correct nutrient supply over the 24 hour period will mean your body starts to break down muscles and eventually fat to get the nutrients it needs.

    By reducing the number of meals you are having the options available is pig out for a bit, starve yourself, then pig out and starve yourself again. This approach will hamper progress in the long run for most people.

    When you eat your body will use everything it needs, then starts storing the rest as fat. Also by starving yourself over a long period of time with this starve and stuff mentality (over a period of weeks for instance) you will slow down your metabolism as your body will soon start to ask where is the food.

    You (Mapexdrunner69) have a 2300 calorie diary going on and seem to have HUGE meals even at night. Most people who work 9-5 find they body slows down in the evening, eating a large meal before bed will simply mean most of it gets stored as fat as the body is less active (obviously again there are some differences based on individual routines).

    Since I'm running out in a bit and don't have time to type everything I want to say, I'll post a passage from a book by Tom Venuto - Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle:

    The reason most beginners have a hard time accepting the five or six meals
    concept is because what I’m suggesting, in many cases, is that some people actually eat
    MORE FOOD than they’ve ever eaten before; the food is simply spread out into smaller
    portions. This idea might sound contrary to everything you’ve ever heard about losing
    weight. I even said so myself in our previous talk about calories; you have to eat less than
    you burn in order to lose weight, right?

    True, calories count. But the amazing thing about eating frequently is that IT
    MAKES YOU BURN MORE CALORIES! Five or six meals a day accelerates your
    body’s natural rate of calorie burning.

    Why skipping meals is one of the cardinal sins of fat burning nutrition...and how to
    eat more food and lose more fat at the same time

    Skipping meals (or leaving long gaps between meals) is the cardinal sin of fat-
    burning and muscle-building nutrition. Missing meals slows down your metabolism,
    causes muscle loss and triggers your body’s starvation responses.

    Suppose you skip breakfast and you haven’t eaten since 8:00 p.m. the previous
    evening. If you eat lunch at 12:00 pm, you’ve gone 16 hours without any food. At this
    point, you are not only in a highly catabolic (muscle wasting) state, you’re also sending an
    unmistakable starvation signal to your body.

    If skipping meals is the cardinal sin of fat burning and muscle building nutrition,
    then skipping breakfast is a capital crime suited for the death penalty! And yet
    “everybody” is doing it!

    When I analyze nutrition programs for my clients, one of the most common errors
    I see is skipping breakfast or eating it late, around 10:00 a.m. or even later. “I don’t have
    time” is usually the excuse justifying this unforgivable blunder. Let’s take a close look at
    the devastating impact this lack of planning and discipline has on your fat loss efforts:
    Suppose you’re in a hurry to get to work in the morning and you bolt out the door
    without eating breakfast. Your first meal of the day is lunch at 12:00 noon. It’s
    moderately sized, let’s say 500 calories, consisting of a turkey sandwich on wheat and a
    banana. Sounds fairly healthy so far. By your customary dinnertime of 6:00 p.m., you are
    ravenously hungry, and you polish off a massive plate of pasta for a total of 800 calories.
    Later that night you’re still hungry and craving something sweet. Some cookies and low
    fat milk do the trick – about 300 calories. Then you go right to sleep. Although far from
    perfect, this menu doesn’t sound like a total disaster to the average, uniformed person...
    But IT IS! It’s a nightmare!

    If we add up those calories, it totals only 1600 for the entire day. In theory, at least
    according to the calorie calculations you did previously, you should be losing fat – quite
    rapidly if you’re a man. So why aren’t you? It’s because you’re doing EVERYTHING
    possible to encourage your body to store fat: You are going catabolic by leaving 18 hours
    between dinner and the next day’s lunch. This causes muscle loss and metabolic
    downgrade. Because you’ve only eaten one meal during the day, you’re famished and you
    eat too much at dinner. Even though you’re in a 24-hour calorie deficit, this causes fat
    storage anyway because you’ve eaten more than you can handle at one sitting. By
    “starving and stuffing,” you’ve also set yourself up for serious cravings at night; usually
    the wrong foods – like cookies or ice cream!

    In the long run, this type of diet is a sure-fire way to slow down your metabolism,
    lose muscle and gain body fat. On the other hand, 2400 calories spread out into five or six
    small meals of 400 - 480 calories each (about 300-350 calories per meal for women), will
    increase energy, accelerate muscle growth, and speed up your metabolism without fat
    storage. Frequent eating can actually allow you to consume up to 50% more calories
    without storing an ounce of it as fat!


    Not a scientific study, but it is one passage of the book.

    If you are still not satisfied with that answer I'll propose something to you:

    Picture a body builder (I train with enough of them on a day in day out basis...I see them during their on and off season).

    When a body builder is looking at getting on stage, the idea is to grow muscle and drop fat. These guys are always eating! I mean ALWAYS.

    They also have body fat % in the low single digits. Their bodies are as lean as possible.

    Sure they work out a lot, sure they measure everything, and are super strict and dont cheat etc etc etc...but it doesn't stop them from eating. In fact, they have alarms that are set to go off to remind them to eat to keep fuelling their bodies.

    These guys train themselves in such a way that their bodies are able to process everything they eat so efficiently that they maintain their lean physique while still holding onto muscle mass (which is usually the first thing the body attacks when it is starved of nutrients).

    Oh and I'm well aware of their pre-competition routines or dehydrating themselves, tanning themselves to make the muscles look bigger and the skin to feel and look tighter. I don't condone this aspect. But ultimately you cannot argue with the results.



    I really hate that you took all that time to post such erroneous information.


    You are significantly misinformed.



    Again,


    1. Meal frequency has no effect on weight loss.
    2. Meal frequency has no effect on metabolism.
    3. Repeat 1,2.
    4. Nutrient timing has no effect on weight loss.
    5. Nutrient timing has no effect on metabolism.
    6. Repeat 4,5.
    7. Gain nutritional knowledge, not anecdotal results.
    8. Profit.

    Mapexdrummer = win.

    I eat 1-2 meals per day when I used to eat 5-6 per day. Eating less meals, in my opinion, is significantly better SOLELY due to the convenience of it.

    Anyone saying that 5-6 meals per day is better for them is wrong. Sorry. Something changed: your exercise, your eating, whatever. Meal timing changes NOTHING. At all. NOTHING. It would be like saying, "I started losing weight when I stopped burning 500 calories from biking and now burn 500 calories from running." - the caloric output will NOT change from meal frequency.

    It's a myth.
  • mynameisuntz
    mynameisuntz Posts: 582 Member
    Weight training + high protein diet really helps built muscle which burns a lot of fat throughout the day. I would stay away from diet pills. Just doesn't pass the smell test. :)

    Also, I don't eat but 2 meals per day. I'm also losing 2 lbs a week for the last 10 weeks. My body fat percentage has dropped 6% too.

    Actually caloric surplus + high protein + weight training = building muscle.
    Caloric deficit + high protein + weight training = burning fat WITHOUT any muscle gain.

    High protein + weight training should be the staple of anyone's diet/training routine whether they are trying to gain muscle OR lose fat. Period.
  • rachmaree
    rachmaree Posts: 782 Member
    Ummm... I would just say- have a look at 5nak3s pictures :) Also, I am eating more and more and still noticing changes in my body composition (losing body fat and becoming more muscular) so I am all for eating more frequently and doing strength training to boost metabolism.
  • Agglaki
    Agglaki Posts: 105
    I really hate that you took all that time to post such erroneous information.


    You are significantly misinformed.



    Again,


    1. Meal frequency has no effect on weight loss.
    2. Meal frequency has no effect on metabolism.
    3. Repeat 1,2.
    4. Nutrient timing has no effect on weight loss.
    5. Nutrient timing has no effect on metabolism.
    6. Repeat 4,5.
    7. Gain nutritional knowledge, not anecdotal results.
    8. Profit.

    Well, as I said in my previous post, I'm posting a section from a book. I didn't type all that. So don't worry I did waste too much time. Thanks for your concern though, I have better ways of spending Saturday night.

    Now, while I appreciate that not everyone will subscribe to more meals and meal frequency, and while I also understand some people do respond better to different routines and diets.

    I at least provided some evidence to back up my belief. You have done nothing of the sort. So please do at your earliest convenience.

    If what you are doing works for you great. Post a picture of yourself maybe I like your results and you change my outlook. Until then, or until you provide evidence to debunk not only the benefits of a staple stream of food into the body but also the fact it doesn't have any effect on the metabolism, please do not feel offended if I ignore your eight steps to profit.

    As mentioned you neednt look further than any gym in any country. The people who are "toned", ripped, muscular, usually all do the same, train hard and eat big.

    If you want weight loss, great don't follow the above advice, follow a twinkie diet and keep under your calorie limit for the day, you'll drop the weight. If you want lto maintain or grow muscle and drop the fat, start paying closer attention to the way you eat and what you eat.

    Weight loss and fat loss are different. Everyone should be looking to fat loss as opposed to weight loss. In fact, burning fat while maintaining a lean body mass will in itself boost a metabolism as you will have more muscles which burns more calories than fat.

    It isn't rocket science, but it requires some thought.

    But hey-ho, I'm not here to argue. If you find something more substantial to correct my "misinformation" that would be a real help. One of the problems of hitting my goal is that once you are into single digit body fat, it becomes harder to speed up your metabolism any more.

    By the way this was typed on my phone, so apologies for any spelling errors or lack of punctuation.
  • registers
    registers Posts: 782 Member
    Cardio, weights and small frequent meals WILL boost the metabolism.

    Your body is a very clever "machine" it will adjust based on the above three factors.

    Sitting on your backside, hardly eating or "starving and stuffing" WILL NOT boost your metabolism.

    Pills and supplements probably work, but do you know the health risks?


    Please, post any evidence showing that meal frequency will boost metabolism. There isn't any.


    I eat, at most, two meals a day. What's wrong with that?


    Firstly, some people if they are genetically gifted can get away with low meal numbers, eat what they want and burn through it all without storing anything. These are the people who seem to do very little at the gym and always end up looking good....

    Let's ignore them.

    Obviously everything is slightly different for all people because of different factors, age, height, weight, activity level etc etc etc

    What might work for some will not for others. In terms of meal frequency however, two meals a day will not provide the body with the correct nutrient supply during the day. Your body is a machine, that needs fuelling all the time. Not having the correct nutrient supply over the 24 hour period will mean your body starts to break down muscles and eventually fat to get the nutrients it needs.

    By reducing the number of meals you are having the options available is pig out for a bit, starve yourself, then pig out and starve yourself again. This approach will hamper progress in the long run for most people.

    When you eat your body will use everything it needs, then starts storing the rest as fat. Also by starving yourself over a long period of time with this starve and stuff mentality (over a period of weeks for instance) you will slow down your metabolism as your body will soon start to ask where is the food.

    You (Mapexdrunner69) have a 2300 calorie diary going on and seem to have HUGE meals even at night. Most people who work 9-5 find they body slows down in the evening, eating a large meal before bed will simply mean most of it gets stored as fat as the body is less active (obviously again there are some differences based on individual routines).

    Since I'm running out in a bit and don't have time to type everything I want to say, I'll post a passage from a book by Tom Venuto - Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle:

    The reason most beginners have a hard time accepting the five or six meals
    concept is because what I’m suggesting, in many cases, is that some people actually eat
    MORE FOOD than they’ve ever eaten before; the food is simply spread out into smaller
    portions. This idea might sound contrary to everything you’ve ever heard about losing
    weight. I even said so myself in our previous talk about calories; you have to eat less than
    you burn in order to lose weight, right?

    True, calories count. But the amazing thing about eating frequently is that IT
    MAKES YOU BURN MORE CALORIES! Five or six meals a day accelerates your
    body’s natural rate of calorie burning.

    Why skipping meals is one of the cardinal sins of fat burning nutrition...and how to
    eat more food and lose more fat at the same time

    Skipping meals (or leaving long gaps between meals) is the cardinal sin of fat-
    burning and muscle-building nutrition. Missing meals slows down your metabolism,
    causes muscle loss and triggers your body’s starvation responses.

    Suppose you skip breakfast and you haven’t eaten since 8:00 p.m. the previous
    evening. If you eat lunch at 12:00 pm, you’ve gone 16 hours without any food. At this
    point, you are not only in a highly catabolic (muscle wasting) state, you’re also sending an
    unmistakable starvation signal to your body.

    If skipping meals is the cardinal sin of fat burning and muscle building nutrition,
    then skipping breakfast is a capital crime suited for the death penalty! And yet
    “everybody” is doing it!

    When I analyze nutrition programs for my clients, one of the most common errors
    I see is skipping breakfast or eating it late, around 10:00 a.m. or even later. “I don’t have
    time” is usually the excuse justifying this unforgivable blunder. Let’s take a close look at
    the devastating impact this lack of planning and discipline has on your fat loss efforts:
    Suppose you’re in a hurry to get to work in the morning and you bolt out the door
    without eating breakfast. Your first meal of the day is lunch at 12:00 noon. It’s
    moderately sized, let’s say 500 calories, consisting of a turkey sandwich on wheat and a
    banana. Sounds fairly healthy so far. By your customary dinnertime of 6:00 p.m., you are
    ravenously hungry, and you polish off a massive plate of pasta for a total of 800 calories.
    Later that night you’re still hungry and craving something sweet. Some cookies and low
    fat milk do the trick – about 300 calories. Then you go right to sleep. Although far from
    perfect, this menu doesn’t sound like a total disaster to the average, uniformed person...
    But IT IS! It’s a nightmare!

    If we add up those calories, it totals only 1600 for the entire day. In theory, at least
    according to the calorie calculations you did previously, you should be losing fat – quite
    rapidly if you’re a man. So why aren’t you? It’s because you’re doing EVERYTHING
    possible to encourage your body to store fat: You are going catabolic by leaving 18 hours
    between dinner and the next day’s lunch. This causes muscle loss and metabolic
    downgrade. Because you’ve only eaten one meal during the day, you’re famished and you
    eat too much at dinner. Even though you’re in a 24-hour calorie deficit, this causes fat
    storage anyway because you’ve eaten more than you can handle at one sitting. By
    “starving and stuffing,” you’ve also set yourself up for serious cravings at night; usually
    the wrong foods – like cookies or ice cream!

    In the long run, this type of diet is a sure-fire way to slow down your metabolism,
    lose muscle and gain body fat. On the other hand, 2400 calories spread out into five or six
    small meals of 400 - 480 calories each (about 300-350 calories per meal for women), will
    increase energy, accelerate muscle growth, and speed up your metabolism without fat
    storage. Frequent eating can actually allow you to consume up to 50% more calories
    without storing an ounce of it as fat!


    Not a scientific study, but it is one passage of the book.

    If you are still not satisfied with that answer I'll propose something to you:

    Picture a body builder (I train with enough of them on a day in day out basis...I see them during their on and off season).

    When a body builder is looking at getting on stage, the idea is to grow muscle and drop fat. These guys are always eating! I mean ALWAYS.

    They also have body fat % in the low single digits. Their bodies are as lean as possible.

    Sure they work out a lot, sure they measure everything, and are super strict and dont cheat etc etc etc...but it doesn't stop them from eating. In fact, they have alarms that are set to go off to remind them to eat to keep fuelling their bodies.

    These guys train themselves in such a way that their bodies are able to process everything they eat so efficiently that they maintain their lean physique while still holding onto muscle mass (which is usually the first thing the body attacks when it is starved of nutrients).

    Oh and I'm well aware of their pre-competition routines or dehydrating themselves, tanning themselves to make the muscles look bigger and the skin to feel and look tighter. I don't condone this aspect. But ultimately you cannot argue with the results.

    You did get great results, no question about that. You stated a lot of things that go against scientific evidence. Mostly a bunch of myths in the fitness community. At the end of the day, it boils down to how many calories you ate at a specific ratio. You talk about eating 6 meals a day, that's fine. You did your workouts, you got good results. Like i said it boils down to how many calories you eat. and at what ratios. I perfer one meal a day in the evening. Like someone said for conveniences, what people usually don't know is that hunger releases growth hormone. Which preserves muscle tissue, and even helps with muscular growth. this implies eating most of your calories at one sitting, is more effective than eating multiple times a day. This doesn't mean eating multiple times a day ISNT effective, like i said it mostly boils down to the calories at the end of the day.
  • LOL at those unaware in this thread. Keep eating 7 times a day for no reason. I eat at noon, 4 pm and then the remaining 60% of my daily calories at 7:30pm (usually between a 1300-1400 calorie meal) and have been losing a pound a week with no appreciable loss of LBM (oh, and setting PRs in the gym).

    But I'm sure it's super convenient to pack 4 meals for work, so keep it up.
  • Nemlein
    Nemlein Posts: 168 Member
    People are unnecessarily aggressive in this thread.... if what you're doing is working, keep it up and let others do what works for them. Who cares. To the OP, I would hesitate to go the route of taking pills. Millions have lost weight without them, and they very rarely work. You don't want to be on them long term, either so just keep on track with the common sense method of healthy eating and exercise.
  • lodro
    lodro Posts: 982 Member
    Your BMR is always at 70%. You can raise the rest of the 30% through exercise and frequent meals. Eat small meals 5-6 times a day to keep your metabolism active. Of course exercise is going to help alot too.

    Just to inform you, not trying to sound rude or anything. But that 5-6 meal a day thing is a myth. There are a lot of myths in the fitness community, that's just one.

    below is a link dismissing that claim.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8399092

    Your not being rude eveyone has their opinion. For me this "myth" worked completely. I did not change anything except my eating habits. I used to eat 2 meals a day thats it and constantly gained weight. I changed and starting eating breakfast then a snack or lunch then dinner then another snack before bed and I have lost 13 lbs pretty much just doing this. I rarely have time to exercise because of my schedule. So yeah it may not work for some but it sure as hell worked for me!!!

    Oh yeah just another funny note...when I ate 2 meals my stomach never growled, when I started eating 5 meals a day it growled every 3 hours like clock work lol saying heelllloooooo feed me!!! : )

    yes of course, because you had an insulin response 5 times a day.

    also, you may have overeaten your mark on these 2 meals, and have been able to control intake better by eating 5 times a day.
  • wildon883r
    wildon883r Posts: 429 Member
    There is no scientific data that shows eating 6 meals a day is a significant metabolism booster. You can gain a 10% boost to metabolism by drinking a glass of cold water or drinking a cup of coffee. There is also no scientific data that states eating before bed converts that food into fat sheesh. Sorry alot of armchair dietary experts in these forums sometimes. Eating cinammin or hot peppers boost your metabolism as to many things but i don't consider 10% anything other then better then not having 10% gain. The trouble is that people make it harder then it really needs to be.

    It's only about calories in and calories out. If you burn more calories the you consume you will lose weight. I don't exercise other then what i get at work and at home working in my garden or riding my bike. I did the same things when i was at my heaviest. The only thing i've done differently thats caused me to drop 41lbs is to watch my daily calorie intake, cut my beer consumption back to 1/3rd what it was a month and thats it. I still eat whatever the hell i want. I just don't eat like a pig anymore. Instead of eating a 1/2 lb hamburger at Wendy's occasionally i eat 1/4 lb or instead of having 2 Johnsonville Brats i eat one instead.

    People fail to get that small dietary changes are huge when you look at them in a years time window. Losing just 1 lb a week is 52lbs a year and thats an amazing weight drop. Heck even .5 lbs a week is 25lbs a year. Keep it simple thats all you need to do.
  • atachauer
    atachauer Posts: 28
    I think there is some merit for eat little and often. I am not sure if it does affect metabolism, there are lots of arguments for and against. The main reason I am eating little and often is to reduce dips in blood sugar level. If i leave it too long and let myself get a bit hypo, then I tend to binge on rubbish food. I am not diabetic, but I do find myself getting a bit hypo at times. I think eating little and often will help me stay 'topped up' and satisfied- making me less likely to binge. The snacks I have a generally between 100-150 calories and include something like a piece of fruit or a Nutrigrain bar with a cup of tea. I have only been doing this regular eating over the last week, and am trying to stick to timings I'd use at work , so we'll see how it goes.

    Having a larger muscle mass should help with metabolism-

    good luck!
  • atachauer
    atachauer Posts: 28
    yeah i agree, some folks are getting a bit hot-headed on here!!!!! I read this post to get advice, not to read people b*tching! Do whatever works for you! hey if the scales are going the right way and you're healthy, who cares! Yeah....pills are a no go area for me!
  • Agglaki
    Agglaki Posts: 105
    There is no scientific data that shows eating 6 meals a day is a significant metabolism booster. You can gain a 10% boost to metabolism by drinking a glass of cold water or drinking a cup of coffee. There is also no scientific data that states eating before bed converts that food into fat sheesh. Sorry alot of armchair dietary experts in these forums sometimes. Eating cinammin or hot peppers boost your metabolism as to many things but i don't consider 10% anything other then better then not having 10% gain. The trouble is that people make it harder then it really needs to be.

    It's only about calories in and calories out. If you burn more calories the you consume you will lose weight. I don't exercise other then what i get at work and at home working in my garden or riding my bike. I did the same things when i was at my heaviest. The only thing i've done differently thats caused me to drop 41lbs is to watch my daily calorie intake, cut my beer consumption back to 1/3rd what it was a month and thats it. I still eat whatever the hell i want. I just don't eat like a pig anymore. Instead of eating a 1/2 lb hamburger at Wendy's occasionally i eat 1/4 lb or instead of having 2 Johnsonville Brats i eat one instead.

    People fail to get that small dietary changes are huge when you look at them in a years time window. Losing just 1 lb a week is 52lbs a year and thats an amazing weight drop. Heck even .5 lbs a week is 25lbs a year. Keep it simple thats all you need to do.

    I really wish I could agree with you on the calorie in vs calorie out mentality. But I can't.

    A calorie is not just a calorie. There is a difference between weight loss and fat loss. If you're only concerned with the number on the scale. Calories in vs calories out is great. You can eat what you want and as long as you are hitting your numbers you will drop the weight. But it is likely that this will come from muscle as opposed to fat.

    Imagine two diets, one consisting of junk food (crisps / potato chips, chocolate bars and fizzy drinks) and the other consisting of lean proteins and complex carbs (two very extreme examples I know, but bear with me on this). If both have the same calorie count and put the individual below their calorie target for the day, the individual will drop weight.
    But which of the two diets is healthier and which of the two will yield a lower body fat % for the individual?

    Can you honestly say both diets will yield the same results?


    For the OP:

    Ultimately, my standpoint in relation to the original message posted is that the more muscle mass you have, the more capable of burning more calories.

    I'm not talking about having 24inch biceps, and lats so big you can't touch your back, but having a higher muscle concentration in the body will increase your metabolism. Replacing the body fat with lean muscle will speed up your metabolism. There is a reason why competitive athletes can eat several thousand calories a day and maintain their physique, put simply their bodies are capable of burning through calories much quicker than an average person. Sure their training regimes will also aid in this as they'll burn a lot more than an average person when working out, but if you see some of their diets you'd be amazed at what these guys can eat and get away with. Surely this isn't the product of exercise only.

    By eating healthy meals e.g. can of tuna and some veg (approximately 400 cal) several times a day, you are feeding your muscles with nutrients they need to avoid being broken down. You are not going too long without a meal and therefore you potentially avoid the case of over eating / binging at a later time, and more importantly your body is doing some digestion after the meal.
    Digesting food burns calories, in more cases with fruit and veg the energy it takes to digest them is actually more than the fruit or veg contains.

    Combine this with exercise and your body will adjust and burn through calories much quicker than if you were sitting on the sofa watching TV day in day out.

    Your body will adapt over time. If you feed it correctly, it will know that a new meal is coming sooner rather than later and will not resort to storing food as fat. But if you starve yourself it will do its best to hold onto every last calorie it can. Your body is slowing down its metabolism to keep you alive.

    Regarding the use of diet pills, a typical scenario is one where you take the pill that either gives your body a boost e.g ephedrine, caffeine tablets or whatever variation exists today. You're putting your body into overtime and therefore you can burn through your food much better.
    Once you stop taking these pills you've gone from one extreme where you were working overtime to one where your body is no longer running at 120% and it is likely during this time your dietary habits haven't changed because there has been no need to change. Once you go off the pill the weight comes back.

    So the natural reaction is the pill works, "I'll buy some more", you go back onto the pill, drop the weight, once you stop, you're weight shoots back up. The pill is working, but unless you change the fundamentals of your eating habits in the long run it is a waste of money.

    But as I've said in all my posts thus far (if I'm not mistaken), not everyone is the same. Starting weight, fitness level, body fat composition, genetics, body type, allergies, health all mean different things work for different people.

    The one thing I've noticed from personal experience, from my research and from my time spent at various gyms is that regardless of age, body size, weight bracket, all the guys who go on stage to compete or all the guys who seem to be able to maintain lean physiques while increasing their size seem to follow the very same setup:

    Lift correctly (good form and controlled weights)
    Eat regularly (several meals a day a few hours apart)
    Load up on complex carbs and lean proteins
    Still have the cheat meals / days / weekends
This discussion has been closed.