These days people are suffering from information overload. Not only does scanning the internet for information on a particular topic overwhelm you with many different sources of written by people promoting their own special concept or view, most of the time that information is contradictory to one another. In the end, this leaves you more confused than you were before and causes you to suffer from paralyzation to act because you don’t know where to begin.
The topic of how many times per day one should eat in order to build muscle and/or to lose fat is one of those things where people end up being extremely confused about. Depending on the source you read, people promote extreme opposites. On one side of the spectrum, we have the more traditional nutrition gurus who promote that you should eat multiple, smaller sized meals throughout the entire day, while on the other side there are the fasting enthusiasts who promote that you abstain from eating most of your day and fit all the food you’re about to eat in a short timeframe to optimize body composition.
During my years of searching for the holy grail, I have tried all kinds of different diets and have experimented with different meal timing and frequency protocols to see its effect on my own body composition. My experience backed up with modern scientific research will give you the definitive answer to your question. You’ll never have to worry about meal timing again after reading this article.
THE BASICS OF FAT LOSS AND BUILDING MUSCLE
To answer the question on how many times per day you should or shouldn’t eat to maximize your results regarding fat loss and/or building muscle, you must understand a fundamental principle that is responsible for weight loss, weight maintenance and weight gain. This universal truth called the law of thermodynamics is going to have the largest impact on your weight, regardless of how much do you or do not eat.
To make things easy regarding the law of thermodynamics, I will state that the human body operates on energy. The energy we fuel ourselves with by consuming food is measured in calories. If we eat just enough calories each and every day to fuel our bodily processes and perform our daily tasks, we will maintain our weight. If we undereat on a consistent basis and put ourselves in a calorie deficit for our body’s requirements, we will lose weight. If we overeat and get in too many calories on a consistent basis, we will gain weight. It’s basically energy in vs energy out, or calories in vs calories out. Yes, it’s that simple.
This is the most fundamental truth and element of weight manipulation you should understand in order to achieve your goals regarding weight maintenance and body composition. No matter how many times you plan on eating or not eating, if your calories aren’t in check, you’re not going to achieve your goals.
When it comes to losing weight, we must put ourselves in a calorie deficit, meaning that we should consistently eat less calories than our body currently requires to maintain its current weight. To make sure that the majority of the weight that we lose is coming from body fat, we should strive to eat around 0.8g of protein per lb of bodyweight or 1.8g of protein per kg of body weight on a daily basis in combination with a properly designed resistance training routine performed 2 – 3 times per week. Doing so will ensure that you will hold on to your muscle mass and will massively improve your body composition. A lot of people make the mistake of just eating significantly less without eating enough protein or training with resistance. What ends up happening is that they become a smaller, but still flabby version of themselves since they’ve also lost a significant amount of muscle in the process of dieting down.
On the other hand, if we want to build muscle we must eat a calorie surplus on top of our maintenance level. Muscles don’t grow out of air, they need a fuel source as building blocks to build additional muscle tissue. You can’t build a house out of thin air either, you need bricks and other materials as building blocks. By combining a sufficient protein intake of again, around 0.8g of protein per lb of bodyweight or 1.8g of protein per kg of body weight on a daily basis in combination with an overall increase in calories, we make sure that our body recovers from the resistance training and that it builds new muscle mass.
Now you understand the basics of losing fat and building muscle. Following these fundamental principles will have the largest effect on your results. You don’t have to occupy yourself with confusing strategies, just stick to the basics and results will come. However, now you’d like to know how meal timing and meal frequency comes into play when it comes to losing fat or building muscle.
DOES HOW MANY MEALS YOU EAT PER DAY MATTER?
In short, not really. The most important number one factor is calorie intake. As I’ve said before, there are generally two extreme camps. The first is composed of people who prefer eating 3 to 6 or more smaller meals per day to reach their total calorie requirements at the end of each day. The other camp consists of people who prefer to fast and eat 1-2 larger sized meals each day and maybe a small snack in a certain timeframe. I’ve used both eating strategies and have found no difference between the two regarding body composition, fat loss or muscle gain.
Science seems to back this up. Multiple studies have shown that when calories and protein intake are equated and a proper resistance training routine is involved, losing body fat is simply a result of a calorie deficit and gaining muscle is a consequence or eating more combined with a resistance training routine. For this reason, I would say that it doesn’t matter what you do, as long as it allows you to stick to your calorie intake for the day.
I personally love intermittent fasting because it allows me to go about my day without thinking about food too much. While eating multiple meals a day works perfect as well, I personally felt like I was a slave to the kitchen. I hated having to eat every 2-3 hours. The worst part is, back then I thought it was absolutely necessary to do so. Fasting gave me freedom and it allows me to be productive by getting in a good amount of work, going to the gym or going for a long walk. I simply adjust my calorie intake according to my goals, where I eat in a surplus to gain muscle or eat in a calorie deficit to lose fat, but besides that, nothing much changes.
Now obviously, if you prefer a traditional routine where you eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and maybe a small snack in the evening, that’s totally fine as well. The most important thing is that you find what allows you to respect your daily calorie requirements and that allows you to feel free. Intermittent fasting does that for me. However, that doesn’t mean that I’m a slave to my fasting protocol either. When the occasion occurs where for example I meet up with someone and they’ve made me a meal or we end up having lunch or a snack, I won’t be disrespectful and refuse. I just eat it and eyeball the calorie intake of that meal and calculate it into my daily calorie requirements.
Now, there is a caveat where multiple studies have shown that if you spread your protein intake over several meals throughout the day, that this may be better for building muscle due to a constant and consistent flow of protein entering the body. This may help with an increased rate of muscle protein synthesis. However, we’re talking about small benefits. Two people training and eating properly, where one eats more frequently and one eats only one or two meals per day, will both have fantastic results. The benefits of an increased frequency of protein intake will not even be visible to the eye. It’s definitely not worth it to be a slave of your food to see a 1-2% difference in results. I don’t want to go further into detail about this because I don’t want you to get hung up details, instead of the major key factor that really matters.
DO YOU NEED A PRE AND POST WORKOUT MEAL?
I often train in a fasted state without any problems. For me and many other people who love fasting, it doesn’t affecting my strength or training capacity. This does depend on when I train during the day though. when I wake up between 7 and 9 I can train at least till 3pm without eating. After that I’ll probably go for a small meal first to fuel my body. If I would go all day without eating, then maybe depending on how I feel it may affect my training. Just listen to your body.
Same thing for a post workout meal. Don’t fall into the trap that you have to eat within an hour of training. Sometimes I have dinner plans and still have to wait 2 – 3 hours after my training till I have my dinner. This hasn’t affected my gains negatively in any way, as long as at the end of the day I get in my calorie and protein requirements.
I hope you start to see a pattern here. The most important thing to focus on is total calorie and protein requirements. While eating at certain times may have very small benefits compared to random eating times, the benefits are neglectable. We’re talking about maybe 1 or 2 percent here. If you want to stand on a body building stage, sure, you’ll want to squeeze out these small percentages and it may matter. If you just want to rock a body that is sexy as hell naked, carrying a good amount of muscle mass and a low body fat percentage like a Hollywood actor, all that nonsense isn’t necessary.
The goal of the Apex Framework lifestyle is to reach your goals in a way that is enjoyable, makes you feel free and doesn’t cause any unnecessary stress in your life concerining things that shouldn’t be stressful in the first place.
WHAT ABOUT EATING AT NIGHT, WILL IT MAKE ME GAIN FAT?
Another question that I get asked so much is: “Will I gain fat if I eat at night?”. No, this is another myth. It actually surprises me that people still believe this. When people ask me this, they often have a fearful stare like they are looking death himself in the eyes.
Luckily though, it doesn’t matter when you eat, as long as you respect your daily calorie requirements. Food won’t magically be transformed into extra love handles after 6 or 8pm, when daily calorie requirements are respected.
If your example you have already eaten all of your daily calories for the day and then add another extra meal at night, yes, then obviously you will gain weight, but only because you have added more calories to your diet, not because of the time you ate those calories.
Eating more calories than you need will result in weight gain and eating less calories than you need will result in weight loss, regardless of the time of day. Eating at night or after a certain time won’t make you fat. Eating too many calories on a consistent basis will!
Calories in vs calories out is what counts people!
CONCLUSION ON MEAL FREQUENCY AND TIMING
The goal of this article is to make you aware of the fact that you don’t have to stress out over neglectable details and that you don’t have to be a slave to the kitchen or your meals.
The most important factor regarding weight management and fat loss is your calorie intake. Supplement that with a proper amount of protein every day (about 0.8g per pound of body weight / 1.8g per kg of body weight) and you have nothing to worry about.
The most common complaint I hear from people who can’t stick to their physique goals is that they feel restricted and are tired of feeling like there are a slave to their diet. As a result, they give up altogether. This is all due to false beliefs and a lack of proper information.
Luckily you have discovered that you don’t have to be chained to specific eating times. This way, you can eat however and whenever you wish to eat, as long as it allows you to effortlessly stick to your daily calorie intake.
Since humans or any other living creature do not thrive in captivity, having this sense of freedom will undoubtedly cause you to stick to your diet, enjoy the process and achieve your goals.
If you can achieve optimal results in an enjoyable, effortless way, why would you make it harder on yourself than it needs to be?
Kevin Mahjoubi