I was surfing the internet this morning, when I came across this article about meal frequency: “Never Miss a Meal If You Want to Lose Weight”. I was shocked to read an article full of so much completely wrong information about meal frequency. And this was written by a personal trainer who obviously should know better as self-proclaimed “licensed Diet & Nutrition Advisor”.

Normally I don’t bash other peoples work, but when an article presents false information from start to finish, I just have to do something. To make this post trustworthy I will cite my own opinions on meal frequency backed up by studies and references from other respected authorities as well as common sense.

Please read the article first, and come back and read my response. Here’s the article on the high meal frequency myth:

http://myonlinepersonaltrainer.net/never-miss-a-meal-if-you-want-to-lose-weight/

First statement on meal frequency made in the article:

“To make your body live on 3 meals a day will force it into a state of self-preservation which is infamously referred to as ‘starvation mode’! That will turn your weight loss dreams into a far-fetched fantasy! It’s time to wake-up your metabolism with regular small meals!!
Frequent eating also revs up your metabolism due to the thermic effect of food. This is because the breakdown and absorption of food itself requires a substantial number of calories. ”

It’s incredible that so much rambling can be put in so few lines of text about meal frequency. We all have been told that eating 6 small meals per day will “keep your metabolism high”, allowing you to burn more body fat throughout the day. However research show that meal frequency has absolutely NO impact on metabolic rate as well as weight loss. What you have been taught all of these years about eating several small meals are quickly getting proved false with study after study!

Quote Rusty Moore from Fitnessblackbook.com on the high meal frequency myth:

“Okay…So You Are Ready for the Truth!
The truth is this…it is daily calories that matter, not whether you eat those calories in 10 tiny meals or one large meal. If anything, there are slightly better benefits to eating less often. I know this is a hard one to swallow, but I had a feeling this was the case long before these studies came out. You see, people who eat frequently almost always eat more calories throughout the day then people who eat less often. The weird thing about food is that the more you eat, the more you crave.”

Lyle McDonald from bodyrecomposition.com/  had this to say in summarizing meal frequency:

“TEF (Thermogenic Effect of Food) differs for the different nutrients, on average it constitutes about 10% of a typical mixed diet. So every time you eat, your metabolic rate goes up a little bit due to TEF. Aha! Eat more and metabolic rate goes up more, right? Except, let’s think about that….Say we have two people, both eating 3000 calories per day. One eats 6 meals of 500 calories/meal while the other eats 3 meals of 1000 calories/meal. The first will have a TEF of 50 calories (10% of 500) 6 times/day. The second will have a TEF of 100 calories (10% of 1000 calories) 3 times/day. Well, 6X50 = 300 calories/day and 3X100 = 300 calories/day. No difference. Sure, if you increase food intake from, say, 1500 calories to 2000 calories, you will burn more with TEF; but this has nothing to do with meal frequency, it has to do with eating more food.

Brad Pilon – author of the best selling diet book Eat Stop Eat on meal frequency:

Your ability to lose body fat is directly related to how much you eat, but not when you eat it. There is no need to feel guilt or anxiety over how many times per day you eat. You should ALWAYS eat in the way that is most comfortable for you, while allowing you to limit the amount of calories you eat.
When it comes to controlling our hunger, research by Brian Wansink has shown us that hunger is rarely the driving factor behind our choice to eat, so scheduling meals to avoid hunger doesn’t really seem all that effective for hunger either.

There is nothing wrong with eating multiple small meals each day IF (and only if) it fits into your schedule and makes your life easier. However, if you are rearranging your daily events just to fit in all 6 meals, and even worse if you are obsessing and stressing about spacing out your meals then you are doing yourself more harm than good. It’s just not that important to eat this often. Eat when you can in a pattern that is most comfortable for you, and forget about food in between your meals.

Finally from my nutrition manual on meal frequency:

“The belief is that many small meals increases your metabolism and keeps your energy stable during the day. 2000 calories is 2000 calories whether it’s eaten through 2 or 6 meals. You won’t store more body fat if you eat all your calories in one sitting, than you would if you ate them over 6 meals and your metabolism will not increase or decrease either. Fat storage and fat burning is an ongoing process and will increase or decrease proportionally with the number of meals eaten. And what is it with the magic number 6? If 6 meals are good, why not 12 or 20?”

Studies on meal frequency:

“Meal Frequency and Energy Balance”
This journal pulled together the results of several studies, which took two groups eating the same amount of calories. One group ate 3 meals and the other group ate 6 meals. What they found was that your metabolic increase was based on daily calories and had nothing to do with meal frequency.

And more if you would like to dig a little deeper:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9155494
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19943985

If we really should bury this ridiculous meal frequency myth once and for all, let’s look at how bodybuilders ate before supplement companies and others made a religion out of increased meal frequency.

Two bodybuilders on a low meal frequency:

On the picture below are Steve Reeves and Vince Gironda. Steve was one of the best bodybuilders of his era and Gironda was not named the “Iron Guru” for nothing. He was also known as the trainer to the stars, because when an actor needed to get in shape fast for a role, he went to Vince.

Here is Vince Girondas (left on picture) defenition diet. This diet was so effective that Gironda himself probably lost some contests because he was considered “too ripped” compared to the standards of the time.

The details as spelled out in his booklet:

Breakfast
eggs & meat, fish, fowl only (no limit)

Lunch
eggs & meat, fish, fowl only (no limit)

Dinner
same as breakfast and lunch (note: in one version of this diet, Vince allowed a tossed green salad with oil & vinegar dressing with dinner)

In ‘Building the Classic Physique” Steve Reeves described his diet as following:

Breakfast = Protein shake with 14 oz of OJ, 1 tablespoon of Knox gelatin, 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 banana, 2-4 raw eggs, 2 tablespoons of high protein power or high energy cereal – one cut apple, grated small carrot, 1/4 cup of raw oatmeal, 1/4 cup of bran, 2 teaspoons of bee pollen, 1/4 cup of wheat germ, 1/4 cup of almonds, 1 teaspoon of honey, 1 cup of milk.

Lunch = Cottage cheese with a handful of nuts and raisins with 2 pieces of fruit.

Dinner = Huge salad, 1 swordfish steak, turkey, tuna or lean ground beef.

If the metabolic rate really does go down with less frequent eating, don’t you think that bodybuilders, that need to be as ripped as human possible, would eat many more times than three? Both Steve Reeves and Vince Gironda got insanely ripped on a low meal frequency. According to the authors statement above, they should be a total mess with slow metabolisms. Enough said!

And then a ridiculous statement on meal frequency made in the article:

“Remember how babies need feeding every three hours? Well nothing changes as we grow older! The human body requires regular ‘feeds’ of low fat, healthy food every 2 ½ to 3 hours throughout waking hours.”

This is just taking out of thin air. Where does this statement come from? How he can compare babies with adults is beyond me. Babies need to eat frequently due to their small stomachs and the demand of calories to gain weight.  They have to eat frequently to get enough calories but to compare this to a full grown man is just plain stupid. If I’m not mistaking babies eat during the night as well. Why do grownups only need to eat during the waking hours then as he proclaims when we inherently are like babies?

Some excerpts and links that explains this:
Watch your little one’s cues so that you’re feeding when your baby is showing signs of hunger, which is usually every 2-3 hours during the newborn period. As your baby gets a little bigger and can take bigger feedings, this stretches out to every 3-4 hours.
http://kidshealth.org/PageManager.jsp?lic=1&ps=104&article_set=45609

See the meal frequency DECREASES.

Most babies normally breastfeed every 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours during the first month. Breast milk is digested more quickly than formula so breastfeeding is needed more frequently. Even if you cannot measure the amount of milk your baby drinks, you can tell that the baby has had enough if: baby nurses every 2 to 3 hours, has 6 to 8 really wet diapers per day, and is gaining weight appropriately (about 1 pound each month). The frequency of feeding does decrease with age as the baby can eat more at each feeding. So, don’t get discouraged; you will eventually be able to do more than sleep and nurse!
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002453.htm

Meal frequency DECREASES again.

So to sum up all this mess on meal frequency:

Your metabolic rate will not increase by eating frequently or decrease by eating less frequently.
This just shatters the long-held belief that eating every few hours keeps your metabolism high. If eating 6 meals per day seems natural then by all means eat 6 times a day, but if eating just once or twice a day feels more natural…that is fine as well. What’s most important is that you find a schedule and meal frequency that fits you. Let hunger and the amount food/calories dictate your meal pattern. Personally I strive on 3 meals a day with my first meal being around noon or a little bit later. If you like to eat more often, that is cool. If you like to eat less often, that is cool as well. If you like to eat in the morning do that. If not, then eat later in the day. Whether you eat 1 big meal or 6 small meals a day is up to you. The main thing is to eat fewer calories than what you burn if you want to lose weight. Don’t make the whole meal frequency thing more difficult than that.

Sadly articles like the one quoted above about meal frequency are guilty of keeping all the myths alive and leaving the population more confused than ever. Stop making your diet and nutrition complicated – it’s really quite simple.

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