Meal Frequency – What You Need To Know
If there is one topic in the world of sports nutrition that has been debated a LOT these days…its Meal Frequency.
Most have heard before that eating more frequently throughout the course of the day is going to help to boost your metabolic rate, and prevent excess fat gain while bulking.
But, is this really the truth? There are some key things that you should always be keeping in the back of mind regarding this issue. Let’s look at the meal frequency equation and at whether you’re really better off eating six meals or if three is just as good of an option.
The Metabolic Boosting Factor
Healthy Meal Plans – MetabolismThe main theory behind eating six meals per day over three is that each time that you eat a meal, you suffer from a metabolic boost because of it, thus eating more often means you are going to have a higher metabolic rate all throughout the course of the day.
But, the main thing that you need to always remember here is that the size of the metabolic boost you get is going to be in relative proportion to the amount of food that you’re consuming. If you’re eating three larger meals during the day, you’ll get three large metabolic boosts.
If you’re eating six smaller meals throughout the day, you’ll get six smaller metabolic boosts.
At the end of the day, the amount of increases, if all things remain constant (your calorie intake and the foods eaten) will be pretty much identical, therefore there really isn’t an advantage to eating more frequently from a metabolic point of view.
If there ever is something that can boost your metabolism to a whole new level, its usually through training. Not just any training. “Metabolic” training. Kind of like Coach Scott Abel’s Metabolic Enhancement Training (M.E.T). Check it out:
Personal Preferences
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you should move away from the six meal set-up. Some people will find that eating more frequently throughout the day helps them control their hunger and blood sugar levels better, thus this will help them maintain better adherence to their diet plan.
When it comes to seeing body transformation success, keeping on track with your diet is a must. You need to always choose whatever will help make that happen.
On the flip side of the coin, other people will find that they do best eating just three meals a day because less planning is involved. It’s far easier for them to stick with this approach and they’re just far less stressed overall.
Finally some people find it easier, when trying to gain weight, to eat more frequent meals since it allows them to eat more calories per serving rather than trying to fit all those calories in 3 meals.
The Take Home
So the take home message from this meal frequency issue is that you should focus on whatever type of set-up works for you. As long as you’re meeting your calorie intake needs for the day and getting the right combination of nutrients in, there will be no issues with the rate of progress you see.
The only time in the day when you do need to be especially mindful of your meal timing is right before or after a workout session. At this time it will make a big difference what you eat and when, so you can’t skip out here.
Keep this in mind and you should be able to master meal timing once and for all.
What meal frequency do you follow? Let me know right below
