Meal Spacing

So, those people who claim they are never hungry when they diet could be eating too much.  I am usually in the best shape when each meal tastes good, no matter what I am eating, because I am meeting a physiological need, hunger.  Sometimes the meal spacing comes in handy though.  When you are on a pretty low cal/carb diet, training/cardio a couple hours a day trying to drop fat, and you are hungry an hour after you eat, then that spacing is a life saver, or you wouldn't stick to your plan and the fat loss would stop.  I agree with Joe though,  for the every day person just trying to stay healthy and maintain weight, its a good practice to listen to your body and only eat when you are truly hungry.

Interesting comments from Joe.

We have had it drummed into us by the experts for years that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So much so, that I have been totally brainwashed by it all. When I think about it, If am not working, I am rarely hungry before 09.00 in the morning. If I am working and rising at 06.00, I tend to shovel a breakfast down just because it's the right thing to do. Joe's comments may cause me to have a re~think on this.

I do know that my wife Karin, who enviously remains within 4 or 5 lbs of her best weight at the worst of times, never has breakfast more than 2 or 3 times, per week. Her days begin with 2 cups of coffee and then a light snack at around 10,00 or 10,30 in the morning. I have slated her for years for this habit, but possibly it is time to keep my mouth shut! Observe and learn, Alan . . . . .

Good comments; glad you guys see some value in this non-dieting-for-competition-real-life approach.  Big topic!  So many people since Bill Phillips convinced hundred of thousands of general population dieters to diet like bodybuilders....and it works for many....now people DO think they HAVE to have protein in every meal, eat every three hours....and are still overfed and going no where.

On a more serious note, for all the ladies out there . . . . and who knows even some of the men.

Following on from my previous input, Karin tells me that if she does get 4 to 5 lbs above her best weight, she pops on a pair of her high heels and her BMI dramatically improves. Never tried that myself to see if that is so!

I have my meals spaced out 2-3 hours, and am at 8-9 meals a day, 14 weeks out from my first competition.  The only two meals where my macro's are very different are for my quick bite in the early morning before cardio 3 days a week, and my post-workout meal where I consume extra carbs for replenishment.  I have heard from others and read in fitness magazines that to curb one's hunger, drink fluids like water, coffee or a low carb sports drink.  If hunger returns in 15-20 minutes, have another drink.  If I am hungry again within the next 15-20 minutes, that is the time for to deviate from scheduled food intake and eat a meal.  Is this accurate, or does it depend on other variables, i.e. body, metabolism, diet, competitor versus average Joe...
 

If you're that hungry that fast after every meal, eating 10+ meals a day - something is wrong with your nutrition plan.  My exact point about taking "small and frequent" meals a bit too far. 

you'll have trouble losing bf like that unless you are an absolute freak. slamming meals like that and eating or drinking that frequently gives your body very little time to hit body fat stores.

I miss represented my inquiry: is drinking fluids the correct response to curbing hunger when it happens shortly after a meal?  This is rarely a once a week occurrence in my eating schedule/meal plan.

Meal Frequency / Weight Loss / Energy Balance

The discussions on meal frequency are interesting and I remember raising them on the last Forum. Lately, I have spent some of my lunchtimes at work ( nothing better to do, Alan? ) looking at numerous studies and reports on this topic.

Amazingly to me and going against my uninformed ( read badly informed ) beliefs the majority ( all but one ) of results I turned up, concluded in a nutshell :-

Feeding frequency ( meal pattern ) has no ( significant ) impact on the rate of weight loss during a calorie restricted diet.

Feeding frequency ( meal pattern ) has no ( significant ) impact on energy expenditure over a 24 hr. period.

We all know the thing Joe bangs on about for most of the time ( apart from Nicolas Cage    ), are that you have to be in calorie deficit to achieve weight loss. Adhering to this principle, it appears results will be achieved regardless of the meal pattern or frequency that you select. Presumably, one should also select the meal pattern that best suits your personal needs and thereby the chances of any " falling off the wagon " will be reduced.

I would assume that there are limits to this, as one meal per day would seem a crazy prospect to me.  There is always an exception to any rule, however. I have known someone that maintained this regimen for over a decade ( he was an entertainer ) and maintained a steady bodyweight with no outward visible negative effects. Oh, and another thing. He ate after performing, ie very late in the day. It just goes to show that this is no exact science.

Comments from Joe, welcome

Drinking fluids to curb appetite is fine as long as it's water or drinks with zero artificial sweeteners. 

Alan, I'd have to disagree with those "studies."  But context is crucial.  If I ate 1600 calories in one meal and fasted for 23.5 hours thereafter - every day, or ate it in 3 meals, or 6, or 12....it certainly would have an impact due to fat storage, insulin levels, and short- and long-term metabolic impact.  But if they studied the difference in 3 versus 6, then there wouldn't be dramatic differences physiologically.  BUT, BUT, BUT nutrition is just as much behavior as it is math or physiology.  In the real world, if eating too often or not often enough leads you to consume more food, then it's a bad plan.  If you're in a neatly controlled study and all variables like that are eliminated, then it may not impact that much.  Most of my clients don't live in a research center so I have to consider behavior as well.

Interesting. Point taken and I bow to your knowledge and extensive experience on the subject.

Last night, Joe and Kori gave a lecture at a local library and I gave a lecture simultaneously at a local community center. During my lecture on exercise, the people attending kept asking about food so the exercise lecture ended up getting cut a little short due to their questions about food...and these were people who were hungry for knowledge on both topics. I think that illustrates very nicely just how big of a role food plays in peoples lives. The folks from last night kept asking very specific questions. "Can I eat XXXXX" or " Is it true that when you eat XXXX...". So I would answer the question first by explaining how those food items work in the body (the physiology) and then I would immediately transition to behavior. Strategies they can employ in day to day life to make sure they are eating the foods they want while still keeping themselves in position to lose weight.

The other thing to consider a bit is simply the margin for error with diet program. A person who wants to lose 100 pounds can operate within a given range of macronutrients each day and (assuming they are appropriate) lose weight. Whereas a competitive bodybuilder who is 4 weeks out and trying to lose 1 more pound after months of hard dieting will not likely have the luxury of a range of macros. He will have very specific amounts of food that he can eat each day. At that point, his training and cardio are highly structured...and the meal timing is far more critical than with the man who is trying to lose 100 pounds. I often tell people the more extreme the goal, the more extreme the means/behavior. But whoever you are, the program/plan has to be something realistic that you can do consistently.

You can't change your body without first changing a behavior.

I tried something new on vacation mostly due to the way the days fell.  I ate a good size breakfast with protein and carbs after training.  Throughout the day at the beach I had a snack of fruit and raw veggies and then at night we would eat out and at every restaurant I got the same thing, a salad with grilled chicken (and one glass of red wine, but that was only because I was on vacation ).

I got hungry by dinner but there was never a time I was beyond hungry (except one day when I ate breakfast and then didn't eat again until 8:30 PM, then I was headache, shaky hungry) and I dropped three pounds without counting macros.  It seems like that set up works well.  However, I find it so hard to do that at home.  I just get more hungry and I think its a combo of less sleep, more stress and sitting at my desk all day bored and thinking about my next meal.  I wonder how I can make that meal plan work at home.   I don't have the luxury of sleeping in, feeling relaxed and having fun filled days where I am not thinking about food.  Any ideas?