Do you really need to eat 6-8 small meals to “keep your metabolism revved up” so you burn fat all day… and keep a steady stream of nutrients flowing to build lean muscle?
If you’ve been around the fitness scene for any amount of time, or have read any diet books or articles,you would think the answer to this one is an easy yes — but the truth is…
The “6-8 meals a day” Advice Is A Myth!
The advice is based on studies done around the thermic effect of food (TEF). You see, whenever you eat, your body uses about 10% of those calories (total) to provide energy just to digest the food…
When this was found out, people misinterpreted the research by saying “the more you eat (frequency) the more calories you’ll burn all day”… but this was a mistake because the math doesn’t work out.
- Six small meals of 300 calories (6×300) = 1800 calories total.
- Each meal you burn 10% of calories = 30 calories burned with each 300 cal meal
- Total cals burned due to TEF = 180
So compare that to a “normal” diet of 3 big meals:
- 3 Big Meals of 600 calories (3×600) = 1800 calories total.
- Each meal you burn 10% of calories = 60 calories burned with each 600 cal meal
- Total cals burned due to TEF = 180
So you see, if the calories are the same, it doesn’t matter how you break them up — you’re still burning the same amount of calories and affecting your metabolism the exact same way no matter how often you eat.
Will Eating More Often Lead To More Lean Muscle Gain?
The short answer is no. Eating protein constantly actually causes your body not to synthesize it as much. Eating more total calories WILL lead to building more muscle… but the meal frequency has little to do with it.
More important for lean muscle gain is the timing of your meals, specifically the post workout meal needs to be high quality to make sure you’re getting good nutrients into your body when it needs them the most.
Will Eating Fewer Meals Lead To Muscle Loss?
Lots of guys who lift weights believe (and I used to) that not eating 6-8 meals per day will put your body into a “catabolic state”. Which means because you’re not eating a lot of food and keeping the levels of amino acids in your blood high… your body will use your muscle tissue as fat.
This is not true either… at least not to the extent that you’ve heard. Because even if you just eat one big meal per day, it can take up to 12 hours to digest– steadily releasing amino acids into your bloodstream the whole time.
When Should You Eat 6-8 Meals
In order to gain a LOT of weight — you need to increase your calorie consumption to gain weight and put on muscle, so if you’re a big guy and you have to eat 5,000 calories a day to put on mass… it might be easier on your stomach and digestive system to consume 5,000 calories broken up into a bunch of smaller meals.
If you’re using a ton of energy — If you’re a high level athlete who burns a ton of energy like Michael Phelps who eats up to 12,000 calories per DAY and eats like an elephant. Also guys in the military in boot camp often eat as much as possible when they get the chance but still end up losing weight…
If you enjoy it – Some people might feel more satiated eating 6-8 smaller meals per day… “grazing” for their food intake. I’m not one of those people but more power to you if you are.
I think knowing this will certainly help you feel better in your quest for better fitness, I know I believed this myth for a LONG time because almost everyone recommends it.
What Do I Do Personally?
I do intermittent fasting. And I LOVE it. I vary between a warriordiet style eating schedule (when I’m maintaining my weight) and the leangains eating style when I’m focusing on putting on muscle mass.
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Very Interesting Blog Caleb. For years we followed the 3 meals per day Until they pushed the “6 smaller meals” a day deal and now It’s the other way again. <> here
. Although you do make sense with that TEF theory.
Keep up the good work and Happy New Year to you!!
Raymond
Hey Caleb,
Love your site…quick question: some of us ladies who need to eat 1200 calories a day to maintain body weight are confused as to how much we should eat if we’re trying to lose fat and gain muscle…any tips on where to start?
Rubbish,
Part of the theory about the 6 meals is that you body has a limited amount of time to burn calories before they turn to fat…the less calories it has to burn each time means it’s far less likely that they will turn to fat. If you eat more often it keeps your metabolism constant and stops your body going into starvation mode causing it to hang on to whatever you next put into it.
I like the attemp to disprove the theory but you failed in my opinion and anyone looking to stay lean should ignore your theory.
John,
Sorry but the science just doesn't support your view.
You can go 36 hours without food (MUCH longer than I would ever recommend) and your metabolic rate won't slow down one bit. In fact, you will actually see a slight increase in metabolism without food … because … your body starts burning body fat for fuel.
Makes sense doesn't it?