Like most fitness professionals, I get a ton of emails and Facebook messages every week asking fitness-related questions. I personally love it! I really enjoy going through my emails and helping people out. That is why I am going to start making weekly Q and A videos where I answer a question on camera for everyone to see. Hopefully, this enlightens the people who might have had the same questions but
just didn’t want to ask them!
I got a question this week on a topic I wanted to write about for a while so I figured it was worthy of a video and article. The topic is meal frequency.
When talking about meal frequency, I feel there are two major points of concern. One, most importantly
figuring out what the optimal time between meals is, and two, what are the benefits of consuming more or less meals.
I think everyone has heard the 2-3 hour recommendation regarding how often one should eat. Most people rationalize this by saying more frequent meals lead to a faster metabolism. This, however, is false. Metabolic rate is not affected by meal frequency. In fact, this is not even the correct argument to make regarding meal frequency. The real argument surrounding meal frequency is around maximizing protein synthesis.
Protein Synthesis
Following a meal containing protein, levels of essential amino acids are elevated, leading
to enhanced protein synthesis. There are a lot of factors that go into building new muscle tissue but maximizing protein synthesis (MPS) is very important.
Most studies show a peak in protein synthesis around the 90-minute mark following a meal and a return to baseline levels around 120-180 minutes, even though levels of essential amino acids are still elevated. Essentially what this says is there would be no reason to elevate levels of EAAs in the form of a meal within this time period. Anywhere from 3-6 hours between meals may be optimal.
However, as I said earlier, hitting the desired macronutrient total is most important. Consuming
an EAA/BCAA and or CHO supplement between meals has been shown to prolong
(MPS). Therefore, this can be beneficial to include in your nutrition protocol. During a bulking phase, you can supplement between meals with 5g BCAA combined with 20-40g CHOs, and during a cut, just stick to the BCAAs.
To read more about this topic and how supplementing with either an EAA or CHO supplement can
help, check this out http://www.jorntrommelen.com/energy-status-influences-duration-muscle-growth/I.
Does Meal Frequency Matter?
In regards to how many meals you eat in a day, to me it doesn’t really matter. The most important thing is hitting your macronutrient (protein, carbs, fat) totals for the day.
I don’t feel like 1 meal is optimal like a “Warrior Diet,” but I also don’t feel like 8 is either. I personally recommend between 4-6 meals. Typically if you eat every 4 hours, you will eat somewhere around 4 or 5 meals.
The only time I would recommend over 6 meals would be if the individual could not eat enough food in 6 meals to hit the desired macro totals I prescribed. Again, this leads me to the point that macro
totals are an utmost importance.
When I design a diet, I lay it out in 4-6 meals and a desired macronutrient total. I also provide the foods to hit that total, along with a list of substitutes. I also allow my clients to combine meals if needed. For instance, if they want 3 or 4 meals instead of 5 or 6, I am ok with that. I provide a list of foods with macros listed to help my clients mix and match foods and still hit their desired totals.
Take Home Message
– Eat every 3-6 hours.
– Consuming an EAA/BCAA and or CHO supplement between meals may be beneficial.
– Consume between 4-6 meals a day.
– Above all else, hit your desired Macronutrient Totals!
Kyle Hunt