Wow, no wonder we're fat. Calorie tracking.

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Mar 22, 2002
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Are there studies that confirm this? There are several very well-respected trainers (and researchers) who advise eating within a specific, small window of time every day. If the total number of calories consumed is the same (with the same macro splits), I would argue that food timing is at least irrelevant. For me, after trying to get a nutrition regimen with many small meals to work, for years, I am doing very well eating within a four-hour window in the evening, right after weight training. For my temperament and type, this is so much better. And countless people seem to feel this way too.

Research has studied it and shows that eating more frequently does not significantly affect your caloric expenditure. It does help keep your more satiated throughout the day, but at the cost of increased wear/tear on your teeth.
 
Mar 22, 2002
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As an IF-er, I am aware of all of this. My point was that there are those who believe that eating several small meals a day is "healthier," without ever having been shown any evidence to support that assertion.

There's not great evidence out there right now for it at this stage of the game. I don't believe you're doing any harm and, thus, if it's a habit of your's I wouldn't worry. However, I wouldn't expect huge health benefits from it (as we cannot prove much yet).
 

Maximilian

Lifer
Feb 8, 2004
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Yeah totally OP, i did some calorie counting for a month or two last year and it really gave me a much better idea of how much calories something has. Single 100g bar of chocolate, 500+ calories, bag of 5 donuts, 1000 calories etc.

People eat this stuff thinking "its not that bad" based on its physical size or the fact it says "low fat" on it. Then they go around informing people of their several different excuses for being fat, its genetic, im big boned, thyroid, i dont know why im fat i dont eat much <--very common one that :rolleyes:
 

Juddog

Diamond Member
Dec 11, 2006
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As an IF-er, I am aware of all of this. My point was that there are those who believe that eating several small meals a day is "healthier," without ever having been shown any evidence to support that assertion.

In regards to eating several small meals a day, is that this may be necessary for people with diabetes or people that are borderline diabetic. In those cases it is critical to keep a more even blood sugar level.
 
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bigi

Platinum Member
Aug 8, 2001
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My typical breakfast:
* Protein powder = 150 cals (2 scoops, Calories: 150, Fat: 2g, Carbs: 7g, Protein: 26g)
* frozen fruit = 50 cals
* ice cubes + water = 0 cals

Total breakfast: 200 cals

Easy, quick, and tastes great.

Well, hardly anything in your menu is food.

French/Italians eat great breakfasts.
 

Murloc

Diamond Member
Jun 24, 2008
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It also has a lot to do with food types, no? Not only are our portions huge, we eat a lot of calorie-dense foods, meaning we can eat less but continue to get more calories, but we end up eating more of it.
meh certain european areas also have heavy breakfasts with beans and sausages.

Anyway the portion in the OP is huge.

I eat a 180 g yoghurt (15% sugar) with some granola thrown in and a cup of milk, or on sunday 3 slices of butter braid (it's a kind of bread made with butter, similar to the sweet bread with raisins but this one is neutral) with butter and jam and honey on them. This or cookies.
 

Zargon

Lifer
Nov 3, 2009
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They were relatively thin pork chops. Lots of cheap filler (hash browns). Compared to something like grilled pork chops served with grilled veggies and some brown rice or whatever, it seems way less nutritious and also way less filling.

who would order pork chops veggies and rice for breakfast? bad comparison


ditch the hash browns and get whole wheat english muffins, and its a protein rich meal with some fiber
 

Juddog

Diamond Member
Dec 11, 2006
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Well, hardly anything in your menu is food.

French/Italians eat great breakfasts.

Why is it not food? Lots of protein, helps me rebuild muscle from working out. Low in carbs so I don't get the midday crash I used to get. Low in calories to keep my weight down. Tastes great. Ice cubes turn into water to keep me hydrated.
 

TridenT

Lifer
Sep 4, 2006
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It also has a lot to do with food types, no? Not only are our portions huge, we eat a lot of calorie-dense foods, meaning we can eat less but continue to get more calories, but we end up eating more of it.

As someone who eats terrible for your health food quite frequently, it's all about portions. I was in the 115-120lb crowd at 5'9" for years. I gained about 20lbs in maybe 2 months about a year ago. You know how? I was/am on medication that has a side effect of increasing my appetite. Same food. Just more of it.

When I want to slim down (Hate love handles), I just eat less. Same food. Less of it. Works perfectly well.

I've been eating pretty unhealthily and still lose weight... It's all about the AMOUNT OF FOOD!

I have pretty good blood pressure, cholesterol levels, blood sugar, and so forth. Nothing alarming.
 

shadow9d9

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2004
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As someone who eats terrible for your health food quite frequently, it's all about portions. I was in the 115-120lb crowd at 5'9" for years. I gained about 20lbs in maybe 2 months about a year ago. You know how? I was/am on medication that has a side effect of increasing my appetite. Same food. Just more of it.

When I want to slim down (Hate love handles), I just eat less. Same food. Less of it. Works perfectly well.

I've been eating pretty unhealthily and still lose weight... It's all about the AMOUNT OF FOOD!

I have pretty good blood pressure, cholesterol levels, blood sugar, and so forth. Nothing alarming.

Metabolism slowing down as you age is also a large factor.
 

yottabit

Golden Member
Jun 5, 2008
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There's not great evidence out there right now for it at this stage of the game. I don't believe you're doing any harm and, thus, if it's a habit of your's I wouldn't worry. However, I wouldn't expect huge health benefits from it (as we cannot prove much yet).

I've always read of benefits for muscle building and probably other situations where you need to keep high levels of certain nutrients that don't stay in your system for very long.

There's been debate about how long this occurs with protein intake. Commonly quoted figures used to be protein stays in your system for 2-3 hrs which led to the 6 meals a day for building muscle, but new research might suggest 4-6 hrs is a better spacing

http://www.exercisebiology.com/inde...at_protein_every_2-3_hours_for_muscle_growth/

Eating more meals a day does give you more control over some water soluble nutrients that flush out of your system pretty quickly (like someone mentioned for diabetics).

As far as just maintaining/losing body weight, I don't think there's any benefit to say 6 meals a day over 3, except maybe a psychological one that you become more accustomed to smaller portion sizes. However there can be a benefit in trying to keep certain nutrient levels consistently high throughout the day.
 
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TallBill

Lifer
Apr 29, 2001
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I've always read of benefits for muscle building and probably other situations where you need to keep high levels of certain nutrients that don't stay in your system for very long.

There's been debate about how long this occurs with protein intake. Commonly quoted figures used to be protein stays in your system for 2-3 hrs which led to the 6 meals a day for building muscle, but new research might suggest 4-6 hrs is a better spacing

http://www.exercisebiology.com/inde...at_protein_every_2-3_hours_for_muscle_growth/

Eating more meals a day does give you more control over some water soluble nutrients that flush out of your system pretty quickly (like someone mentioned for diabetics).

As far as just maintaining/losing body weight, I don't think there's any benefit to say 6 meals a day over 3, except maybe a psychological one that you become more accustomed to smaller portion sizes. However there can be a benefit in trying to keep certain nutrient levels consistently high throughout the day.

The psychological part is pretty huge. I know that my body is used to it and I rarely eat "huge meals". Plus for people like me, it'd be insane to eat three 2,000 calorie meals a day. I could see the same working for weight loss as well.

Has turned into a pretty good discussion though, always willing to learn more.
 

NickelPlate

Senior member
Nov 9, 2006
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Yeah it's sad. The processed food industry, fast food industry and grocery store chains takes a significant chunk of the blame too. They have junk food addiction and marketing down to a science and the vast majority of the obese population doesn't even realize that they're junk food addicts.

http://www.amazon.com/Salt-Sugar-Fat.../dp/1400069807

It's a good read. I used to be one of the typical obese Americans until I realized this and really changed how I think about food.