Eating 6-8 small meals a day?

[Tuggers1986]

Apart from speeding up your metabolism what else does this do?? and what kind of things do you eat for these 'small meals'

I heard it apparently makes a massive difference when training. your supposed to eat about every 2 hours and have a pint of water each time you eat. Does anybody know anymore on the subject?

[msagrain]

theres is no poinrt unless your a pro boxer.

[nedcmk1]

Several.....

- helps you maintain a more consistent blood sugar level throughout the day. with 3 larger meals you will have several peaks and valleys, with 5-6 small meals it will be relatively stable.

- better absorbtion of nutrients. if you sit for a large meal, you body can only metabolize a portion of the protein, vitamins, minerals ect. while eating smaller meals your body will absorb much more as it has a chance to absorb at each small meal.

- a study at the University of Limberg in the Netherlands showed that those who ate several small meals had more stable carbohydrate and fat oxidation levels thus making them much less prone to weight gain.

here is an excerpt from an article with some tips on getting going on a 6 meal plan.

"Divide it up properly
First, one must understand that eating more meals a day doesn't mean more food is being consumed. Following the mini-meal principle simply takes said amount of calories and redistributes them more evenly throughout the day.

The average male should consume about 2500 calories a day. Divided into 6 meals, a healthy diet following the mini-meal principle should contain around 50 grams of carbs, 25 grams of protein and 8 grams of fat per serving. Not an easy feat if one is used to eating at McDonald's on a regular basis.

Make meals that can be finished later
Meals should be prepared in such a way that they do not have to be eaten in one sitting. A steak with mashed potatoes and salad with dressing is a good example of a meal that can't be eaten later on. Mashed potatoes become grainy, the salad gets soggy and you will somehow have to reheat the steak and potatoes without the salad.

Lasagna, spaghetti and Chinese-style rice with meat make great reusable meals. So if you don't finish them the first time, you can eat them later on.

Make it easy to carry
Again, the latter three meals are perfect examples. They can be stored in Tupperware and eaten anywhere, anytime -- at work, between classes, etc. Hey, if society can't adapt to our needs, then we might as well adapt how and where we eat

Give your stomach time to adjust
If you have never followed a 4 to 6-meal a day habit, then your stomach will probably have a hard time adjusting to this new eating pattern.

The stomach is a muscle; it grows with use, so people who are used to consuming enormous meals will probably feel hungry between meals on this diet. Don't worry; your stomach will shrink with time.

After a while, eating three large meals a day will be unbearable and those pounds will start to come off. Until the body adjusts, drink plenty of water, especially if your stomach growls all the time. The adjustment won't be easy, but who said fighting social habits was easy? Trust me, eating 4-6 meals a day is the way to go. Adjust now; you won't regret it!"

[Tuggers1986]

theres is no poinrt unless your a pro boxer.

Dont reply with pointless answers gayboy

Only messin mate. Im talking about general weightlifting.

I know ****loads from researching it www.bodybuilding.com (www.menshealth.co.uk & www.maximuscle.co.uk)

I just wanted to know if anybody had ever done it on here.

[nedcmk1]

"theres is no poinrt unless your a pro boxer."

I would disagree. I had taken the habit of this while preparing for submission grappling and BJJ events. I felt amazing. Much more energetic, was very ripped for the first time. I generally just felt better all the time everyday. Hence I have never stopped.

Of course you break from it now and then for a day..... but it is a great diet that makes you feel great backed by scientific evidence.

[Tuggers1986]

Several.....

- helps you maintain a more consistent blood sugar level throughout the day. with 3 larger meals you will have several peaks and valleys, with 5-6 small meals it will be relatively stable.

- better absorbtion of nutrients. if you sit for a large meal, you body can only metabolize a portion of the protein, vitamins, minerals ect. while eating smaller meals your body will absorb much more as it has a chance to absorb at each small meal.

- a study at the University of Limberg in the Netherlands showed that those who ate several small meals had more stable carbohydrate and fat oxidation levels thus making them much less prone to weight gain.

here is an excerpt from an article with some tips on getting going on a 6 meal plan.

"Divide it up properly
First, one must understand that eating more meals a day doesn't mean more food is being consumed. Following the mini-meal principle simply takes said amount of calories and redistributes them more evenly throughout the day.

The average male should consume about 2500 calories a day. Divided into 6 meals, a healthy diet following the mini-meal principle should contain around 50 grams of carbs, 25 grams of protein and 8 grams of fat per serving. Not an easy feat if one is used to eating at McDonald's on a regular basis.

Make meals that can be finished later
Meals should be prepared in such a way that they do not have to be eaten in one sitting. A steak with mashed potatoes and salad with dressing is a good example of a meal that can't be eaten later on. Mashed potatoes become grainy, the salad gets soggy and you will somehow have to reheat the steak and potatoes without the salad.

Lasagna, spaghetti and Chinese-style rice with meat make great reusable meals. So if you don't finish them the first time, you can eat them later on.

Make it easy to carry
Again, the latter three meals are perfect examples. They can be stored in Tupperware and eaten anywhere, anytime -- at work, between classes, etc. Hey, if society can't adapt to our needs, then we might as well adapt how and where we eat

Give your stomach time to adjust
If you have never followed a 4 to 6-meal a day habit, then your stomach will probably have a hard time adjusting to this new eating pattern.

The stomach is a muscle; it grows with use, so people who are used to consuming enormous meals will probably feel hungry between meals on this diet. Don't worry; your stomach will shrink with time.

After a while, eating three large meals a day will be unbearable and those pounds will start to come off. Until the body adjusts, drink plenty of water, especially if your stomach growls all the time. The adjustment won't be easy, but who said fighting social habits was easy? Trust me, eating 4-6 meals a day is the way to go. Adjust now; you won't regret it!"

This is exactly the answer is was after. Cheers dude, you're a legend

Ive already been doing it for a few weeks and can tell its working, just wanted to know what others think/know on the subject.

thanks again.

[nedcmk1]

also should be 4-6 meals, not 6-8.

the bagged salads and precooked turkey make it easy ;-)

[Tuggers1986]

also should be 4-6 meals, not 6-8.

the bagged salads and precooked turkey make it easy ;-)

I dont think it would be possible to eat 8 meals. I just wasn't paying attention when writing the title.

It's been a bit awkward eating regularly because of work but ive just been bringing pasta or salads in tupperware and eating them every few hours.

Thanks for the advice

[msagrain]

are yor prepared to cook 6-8 meals a day for starters?
also you can keep the same weight by eating 3 meals.
if your training for boxing you also need to give at least 30 minets rest after each meal so your not been sick all throught you training.

[nedcmk1]

am i prepared to cook 6 meals?

- it seems like a lot more than it really is, i buy Kashi frozen meals, bagged salads and bagged cooked chicken which makes it way easy. so say for ex.

meal 1

egg beaters piece of fruit whole wheat toast

meal 2

some fruit or avacado handful of nuts

meal 3

frozen kashi meal

meal 4

raw veggies or salad with some grilld chicken strips

meal 5

muscle milk shake

meal 6

grilled salmon, steamed veggies, whole wheat egg noodles.