• musclemecca bodybuilding forums does not sell or endorse any bodybuilding gear, products or supplements.
    Musclemecca has no affiliation with advertisers; they simply purchase advertising space here. If you have questions go to their site and ask them directly.
    Advertisers are responsible for the content in their forums.
    DO NOT SELL ILLEGAL PRODUCTS ON OUR FORUM

How Many Hours Between Each Meal Do You wait To Eat Again

How long do you wait to eat again after each meal?


  • Total voters
    48
D

DriDDeRz

Mecca V.I.P.
VIP
Joined
Jul 19, 2006
Messages
13,168
Points
38
How Many Hours Between Each Meal Do You wait To Eat Again??
 
youngmusclejock

youngmusclejock

Mecca V.I.P.
VIP
Joined
Sep 17, 2007
Messages
1,078
Points
36
3.5 to 4, when it comes to protein. You should listen the radio show Layne Norton did on meal frequency and it's myth
 
tim290280

tim290280

Mecca V.I.P.
VIP
Joined
Jul 13, 2006
Messages
9,163
Points
38
^^ Transcript??

I'm something like a 2.5-3hr sort of person. Weekends it is all over the shop.
 
miamiracing

miamiracing

Mecca V.I.P.
VIP
Joined
Mar 22, 2007
Messages
5,792
Points
38
2-4 depends what i ate and how much.. i usualy eat 5-6 meals a day (does not include any fruits)...
 
patdiddy

patdiddy

Mecca V.I.P.
VIP
Joined
Jul 20, 2006
Messages
1,113
Points
38
Most of the time I go for around three but it also depends on what Ive eaten....
 
Bulkboy

Bulkboy

Mecca V.I.P.
VIP
Joined
Oct 22, 2006
Messages
4,199
Points
0
4 hours mostly, i eat about 4 meals a day right now. actually i remember reading an article that states what ymj just said, ill try to find it.
 
Daniel Andersson

Daniel Andersson

Mecca Mod (not)
VIP
Joined
Oct 30, 2006
Messages
8,230
Points
38
4-5 hours...not hungry
 
tim290280

tim290280

Mecca V.I.P.
VIP
Joined
Jul 13, 2006
Messages
9,163
Points
38
4 hours mostly, i eat about 4 meals a day right now. actually i remember reading an article that states what ymj just said, ill try to find it.
Yeh if you or YMJ find an article on what Layne said it would be worth a read. I haven't seen too many new articles from Layne of late.
 

MuscleMecca Crew

Mecca Staff
PrinceVegeta

PrinceVegeta

Mecca V.I.P.
VIP
Joined
Apr 7, 2007
Messages
10,156
Points
38
3 hours

But in another article by layne norton he talks about how many hours you should wait depending on your bodytype...
 
Beau

Beau

Mecca V.I.P.
VIP
Joined
Apr 9, 2007
Messages
2,664
Points
36
2 1/2 to 3 hours usually sometimes sooner sometimes later

I find when I'm cutting that I'm hungry all day so i typically eat every 2.5 hours but when I'm maintaining or bulking its 3+ hours
 
Bulkboy

Bulkboy

Mecca V.I.P.
VIP
Joined
Oct 22, 2006
Messages
4,199
Points
0
"The pattern of food intake can affect the regulation of body weight and lipogenesis. We studied the effect of meal frequency on human energy expenditure (EE) and its components. During 1 week ten male adults (age 25–61 years, body mass index 20·7–30·4 kg/m2) were fed to energy balance at two meals/d (gorging pattern) and during another week at seven meals/d (nibbling pattern). For the first 6 d of each week the food was provided at home, followed by a 36 h stay in a respiration chamber. O2 consumption and CO2 production (and hence EE) were calculated over 24 h. EE in free-living conditions was measured over the 2 weeks with doubly-labelled water (average daily metabolic rate, ADMR). The three major components of ADMR are basal metabolic rate (BMR), diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) and EE for physical activity (ACT). There was no significant effect of meal frequency on 24 h EE or ADMR. Furthermore, BMR and ACT did not differ between the two patterns. DIT was significantly elevated in the gorging pattern, but this effect was neutralized by correction for the relevant time interval. With the method used for determination of DIT no significant effect of meal frequency on the contribution of DIT to ADMR could be demonstrated."

British Journal of Nutrition (1993), 70:103-115. Effect of the pattern of food intake on human energy metabolism
 
Bulkboy

Bulkboy

Mecca V.I.P.
VIP
Joined
Oct 22, 2006
Messages
4,199
Points
0
Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo,
Norwegian School of Sport Sciences

Human trials on the effect of meal frequency on body composition are scarce. Short-term studies show increased rate of protein synthesis immediately after intake of amino acids [1], and frequent meals are shown to aid in the preservation of lean body mass when dieting [2]. Consequently it could be hypothesised that in response to strength training, more frequent meals will give larger muscle mass accumulation and lower fat mass (FM) than fewer meals. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of 3 vs. 6meals per day on changes in body composition in young men and women performing strength training over 12 weeks. Men (n=33) and women (n=15) aged 21 to 35 with at least one year of previous strength training experience were randomly assigned to either a 6 meals a day group or a 3 meals a day group. The prescribed total dietary intake in both groups was equal and calculated to give a positive energy balance of approximately 1200 KJ/day, a protein intake of 1.5-1.7 g/kg/day and a carbohydrate intake of 5-7 g/kg/day. During the training period the dietary intake was controlled by repeated 24-hours recalls. All participants performed the same strength training program, training four times per week, giving each muscle group one heavy session and one light session per week. In the heavy sessions, training intensity varied between 10 and 3 RM sets, and 3-6 sets were performed in each exercise. Determination of body composition was performed with DEXA at the beginning of and immediately after the training period. A total of 16 men and 11 women completed the project. After multiple regression analysis the 3 meal group had a significant greater gain in lean body mass (LBM) than the 6 meal group when adjusted for gender and energy intake (p=0.04), when adjusted for gender and protein intake (p=0.03), and when adjusted for gender, protein intake, carbohydrate intake and fat intake* (p=0.01). (*: Fat intake in g/kg body weight/day showed significance on LBM, p=0.03). No significant differences in regional changes in LBM were observed, although there was a tendency towards a greater gain in the three meal group. There were no significant differences in change in fat mass (FM) between the groups, but a tendency towards a greater gain in the three meal group, 7.33% (-5.23, 19.90), p=0.24. The three meal group had a 2.87%(0.62, 5.12) larger weight gain than the six meal group, p=0.01.The participants had a 2.31% (0.83, 3.79), gain in bone mineral density of the spine during the twelve weeks of strength training, p<0.01, but there were no differences between the groups. In this study, three meals per day resulted in larger muscle gain from strength training than six meals per day over a period of twelve weeks. The reason why 3 meals a day was superior to 6 meals a day in this study needs further investigation. More long-term studies are needed to determine the optimal meal frequency for gain in LBM from strength training.


References:
[1]. Rennie, MJ., Bohe, J., Wolfe, RR. Latency, duration
and dose response relationships of amino acid effects on
human muscle protein synthesis. J Nutr 132(10):3225S-
7S, 2002.
[2]. Iwao, S., Mori, K., Sato, Y. Effects of meal frequency
on body composition during weight control in boxers. Scan
J Med Sci Sports 6:265-272, 1996
Keywords: Strength Training, Body Composition, Nutrition
 
D

Delusion

Active member
Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
39
Points
6
Very interesting article Bulkboy, thanks a lot. I'm having like 2 major and 6-7 minor meals a day, all having aproxx. 20-30 grams of protein. I actually thought it was being well-documented, that having a stable bloodsugar level during the day from many minor meals was much better both health and performance-wise :p. I'll look in to this for my soon starting summercut, though it will be freaking hard to cut down to 3 meals per day :D.
 
Natzo

Natzo

Elvira turns me on
VIP
Joined
Aug 2, 2008
Messages
10,728
Points
48
I'm used to eat every 2 hours now..

I think it's enough time to digest the previous meal.

But if it's a big meal.. I can wait 3 hours..
 
tim290280

tim290280

Mecca V.I.P.
VIP
Joined
Jul 13, 2006
Messages
9,163
Points
38
Hmmm interesting study Bulkboy, but I'm not sure the findings are on the money. It gives an idea but not a conclusion as there seems to be some creative stats (at first glance) to account for variables they hadn't designed in.

The confidence interval for the fat mass gain/loss either indicates that there was a shit load of variation (which you wouldn't expect within groups unless diets varied massively) or that some people really tend to put on more weight than others regardless of diet (which means you aren't comparing two dietry patterns effectively). The fact that they adjusted the analysis to take into account dietry intakes shows that they probably needed a larger sample size or tighter dietry controls to make better comparisons.
 
MetalMX

MetalMX

Well-known member
Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2007
Messages
373
Points
18
I think people should shoot for anywhere from 4-6 meals per day depending on the person and his/her goals. IMO Meals that are too small are digested fast and the body is left hungry for more so it cant really build LBM effectively, this would only be beneficial for cutting when you'd want smaller meals with shorter intervals between those meals. When bulking is the goal you'd want larger meals with larger intervals.

Also if eating 6 meals a day, 1-2 of those could be shakes so to ease the strain on the digestive system and reduce bloating, discomfort etc...

Digestive Enzymes are very valuable.You'd want something with Protease, Lipase, Amylase, Cellulase as the main enzymes and also Papain, Pepsin and Bromelain which aids the digests protein and Betaine Hydrochloride if you are lacking enough stomach acid for digestion. Protease digests protein, Amylase digest Carbs, Lipase digests Fats, Cellulase digests fibres.

They will help improve a lack of appetite when weight gain is the goal and also help curb the appetite when fat loss is the goal.

Since most of the food we eat is usually cooked this destroys the natural enzymes in them which are needed for proper digestion. + Enzymes improve absorbtion of those nutrients which is main goal. Its not about how much you eat rather how much you absorb.
 
BigBen

BigBen

Mecca V.I.P.
VIP
Joined
Jul 11, 2006
Messages
5,110
Points
38
Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo,
Norwegian School of Sport Sciences

Human trials on the effect of meal frequency on body composition are scarce. Short-term studies show increased rate of protein synthesis immediately after intake of amino acids [1], and frequent meals are shown to aid in the preservation of lean body mass when dieting [2]. Consequently it could be hypothesised that in response to strength training, more frequent meals will give larger muscle mass accumulation and lower fat mass (FM) than fewer meals. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of 3 vs. 6meals per day on changes in body composition in young men and women performing strength training over 12 weeks. Men (n=33) and women (n=15) aged 21 to 35 with at least one year of previous strength training experience were randomly assigned to either a 6 meals a day group or a 3 meals a day group. The prescribed total dietary intake in both groups was equal and calculated to give a positive energy balance of approximately 1200 KJ/day, a protein intake of 1.5-1.7 g/kg/day and a carbohydrate intake of 5-7 g/kg/day. During the training period the dietary intake was controlled by repeated 24-hours recalls. All participants performed the same strength training program, training four times per week, giving each muscle group one heavy session and one light session per week. In the heavy sessions, training intensity varied between 10 and 3 RM sets, and 3-6 sets were performed in each exercise. Determination of body composition was performed with DEXA at the beginning of and immediately after the training period. A total of 16 men and 11 women completed the project. After multiple regression analysis the 3 meal group had a significant greater gain in lean body mass (LBM) than the 6 meal group when adjusted for gender and energy intake (p=0.04), when adjusted for gender and protein intake (p=0.03), and when adjusted for gender, protein intake, carbohydrate intake and fat intake* (p=0.01). (*: Fat intake in g/kg body weight/day showed significance on LBM, p=0.03). No significant differences in regional changes in LBM were observed, although there was a tendency towards a greater gain in the three meal group. There were no significant differences in change in fat mass (FM) between the groups, but a tendency towards a greater gain in the three meal group, 7.33% (-5.23, 19.90), p=0.24. The three meal group had a 2.87%(0.62, 5.12) larger weight gain than the six meal group, p=0.01.The participants had a 2.31% (0.83, 3.79), gain in bone mineral density of the spine during the twelve weeks of strength training, p<0.01, but there were no differences between the groups. In this study, three meals per day resulted in larger muscle gain from strength training than six meals per day over a period of twelve weeks. The reason why 3 meals a day was superior to 6 meals a day in this study needs further investigation. More long-term studies are needed to determine the optimal meal frequency for gain in LBM from strength training.


References:
[1]. Rennie, MJ., Bohe, J., Wolfe, RR. Latency, duration
and dose response relationships of amino acid effects on
human muscle protein synthesis. J Nutr 132(10):3225S-
7S, 2002.
[2]. Iwao, S., Mori, K., Sato, Y. Effects of meal frequency
on body composition during weight control in boxers. Scan
J Med Sci Sports 6:265-272, 1996
Keywords: Strength Training, Body Composition, Nutrition

hmm i don't like this study. It is not being realistic IMO. if a person seperated 1500 cals into 6 meals they dont hardly eat at each meal, this would give drastically less hormonal output insulin is what i am referring to the most anabolic hormone in the body. also this group would never have a spike in any GH release either. If insulin is being released what little that would get relesed during these meals GH would not spike, GH releases 3-4 hours after a meal. SO If insulin is being released every two hours for their small meal and then GH is being suppressed bc insulin suppresses GH then the group eating 6 meals would have less hromonal out put where as the group that has 3 meals would have the maximum benefit of hormones. With that said i think that i eat 6 meals bc i cant eat 5000 cals in 3 meals with out getting fat, not bc i want to eat 6 times a day. That test wasnt that great IMO.

"There were no significant differences in change in fat mass (FM) between the groups, but a tendency towards a greater gain in the three meal group"

Hmm i wonder if it is bc they had a greater insulin levels which would explain bth why they gained more muscle and why they gained more fat.

i would like to see them test this with a 4000-5000 calories diet and see waht would happen, i bet we would all be leaning towards the 6 meals a day theory then.

:gaysign:

God Bless
Ben
 

Similar threads

Tiger Fitness
Replies
0
Views
161
Tiger Fitness
Tiger Fitness
Joe Pietaro
Replies
2
Views
531
Joe Pietaro
Joe Pietaro
Joe Pietaro
Replies
0
Views
177
Joe Pietaro
Joe Pietaro
Top