'Six small meals a day' myth page

[PrimalMike]

I have a friend that I am trying to share Primal/Paleo with.

He's very open minded and can understand the saturatedfat/cholesterol thing.

However he still thinks we should "eat 5-6 meals a day".

He claims it will "keep his metabolism up"...which i know is BS.

But i couldn't remember why.


I've tried explaining the aspect of insulin staying too elevated with that approach but he's not fully sold yet.


The search function isn't all that great so i couldn't find anything with that.

Can anyone else help me win this "argument"!?

What other reasons are there to eat only 2 or 3 meals a day?

[GtrBMart]

I actually have a friend that claims to be into health but eats the crappiest food and also ascribes to the "5-6 small meals a day" plan. I got in a heated argument with him about this the other day (because we already argue about everything) and he pulled the "not everyone's the same" card on me. Sure, but... come on.

[PrimalMike]

lol...well of course.

As with any CW "junk", i'm sure some people are successful with it....but how sustainable is it to eat that often!?!?! especially if you're eating whole foods in which you have to prepare/cook yourself!?


My friend formerly worked for a major smoothie chain...and is a little brainwashed with bodybuilder type propaganda. "5-6 meals a day", gotta drink the newest and greatest protein shake/supplements after each workout, blah blah blah...


But he is very open minded so I'm starting to show him other theories (Primal!) that work too (not to mention more sustainable).

[chima_p]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19943985?ordinalpos=&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.P ubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.SmartSearch&log$=citatio nsensor


5-6 meals a day was created out of context then used to sell protein shakes. This myth has been in the bodybuiling scene since the 80s.

[arthurb999]

Comes from the idea that your body can only absorb so much protien at a time so for muscle building, you want to hit that # every 3 hours or so.


Also suppose to speed up metabolism


Can't confirm or deny either.... that's just what I've been told

[chima_p]

http://leangains.blogspot.com/2008/07/excerpt-from-my-upcoming-book.html


Explains it better than I can.

[chima_p]

Of course I thought 5-6 meals a day was a good thing until I got here and started reading through all the great links people post.

[PrimalMike]

I just did some reading about it. Love this quote explaining the difference between eating 6 small meals or 3 large ones and the effect between blood sugar levels and metabolic "fire".


"you could throw pebbles in a pond several times to keep the ripples going...

or you could just throw a really big rock in and leave it alone!"

[MightyMite]

Brad Pilon of EatStopEat has a great monologue where he explains that eating 6 small meals might be fine if you're a big guy eating 3000+ calories a day for 500 calories a meal, but if you're a small female eating 1500 or less, then you get stuck with a bunch of 250 calorie meals and that sucks. Been there. Done that. He's right--it sucks. You feel like you're single-handedly keeping Tupperware and Ziplock bags in business.


I also love Pavel Tsatsouline's endorsement of Ori Hofmekler's book: "I refuse to graze all day. I have better things to do. I choose The Warrior Diet."

[Diana Renata]

I used to be part of the "6-meals" club too. I bet I can still tell you what I ate on a daily basis.


A protein shake for my post-run breakfast.


A kashi TLC granola bar.


A Lean Cuisine.


A cup of yogurt.


An apple and 22 almonds.


A small, sensible dinner (like a piece of bland fish and broccoli.)


I ate that stuff day in and day out, while running 6 miles a day, every day. No wonder I don't do it anymore.


Lately I've been eating just a single meal a day. With working 2 jobs, it's just too much work even if I wanted to package up all those snacks. Forget it! I get up, fly out the door (with some coffee if I'm lucky), work until sundown, and eat dinner when I get home.


Today: 1 raw egg (running between jobs, starving) & 4 ounces of prime rib and some mushrooms, half a slab of ribs, and a bowl of broccoli smothered in mushrooms.


I definitely prefer one big meal versus all the little snacks. Lots more fat and flavor too. It saves so much time and money just to eat when I get home at night. Plus I feel better.