Should Body Builders eat Every 3 Hours?

[MSmith]

I have heard that body builders need to eat every 3 hours. Is this true? Do you follow this method?

[glwanabe]

Originally Posted by MSmith

I have heard that body builders need to eat every 3 hours. Is this true? Do you follow this method?

Is it true? Not really. Most people like to get more sleep than a three hour stretch, and get up in the middle of the night to have a meal.

Eat three squares a day, and a couple of snacks.

[emekajokammor]

Not sure if its true but it's relative to that bber.

I eat every 2-3 hours not including naps or bedtime. May be more about eating evenly throughout the day than anything, imo.

[SeventySeven]

I eat 4 meals a day anywhere from 2-6 hours...used to eat 6 spaced 2-3...no difference really still got the same gains.

[MVP]

It keeps your metabolism high. You could do what the user above suggested and have three square meals, with snacks in between, but it is going to be pretty difficult to get in your daily protein requirements eating only three whole meals.

What I would do is this,

#1- Meal
#2- Protein shake with olive oil
#3- Meal
#4- Protein shake with olive oil
#5- Meal

If you work full-time and have a social life, then it becomes pretty difficult to eat every 2-3 hours fresh healthy meals.

[Hazzard]

Originally Posted by MVP

It keeps your metabolism high.

Nuh-uh. The difference in metabolism between eating three meals and six is negligible.

Rubbish sources:

Busting 10 Diet Myths | RealSimple.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/health/23really.html

Lee Hayward's Total Fitness Bodybuilding Blog: Does eating frequent meals increase metabolism?

[5kgLifter]

There are certain criteria that dictate how many times I eat a day:

1) How many breaks or opportunities to eat are available
2) How many calories I need
3) How much volume of food needs to be consumed


Based on those criteria, I choose how many times I will eat in any one day...apart from Sunday, where I just snack between every meal from the time I wake up until I go to bed, so basically one neverending meal on a Sunday.

I have eaten as few as 3 main meals and had 1-3 snacks between them; and at the extreme end, I've eaten as many as 9-10 times a day (meals and snacks combined).

[Off Road]

Originally Posted by Hazzard

Nuh-uh. The difference in metabolism between eating three meals and six is negligible.

Truth. Timing is also barely registering on the "makes sense" scale. Total calories and macros rule the nutrition world.

[ricka182]

I will post my comments tomorrow morning... running late for a dinner..


But as a preview, I'm on the same boat as Hazzard.

[Rich Knapp]

They have found times a day don't matter. Only breaking up the meals due to amount per sitting and your insolent sensitivity. I can't eat very big meals per sitting with out spiking insolent levels so I have to go with 5-6 meals to control my spikes other than post workout.

As posted earlier its all in and out per day, but you also have to use common sense and not eat all your daily macro's in one meal. lol

As a BBer you want to learn to control and manipulate your spikes.