Blog

2

1

Let's suppose you're coming from a lower meal frequency to a higher meal frequency. The reason is, you want to bulk and gain weight.

So you decide to have something like 4-5 meals a day instead of your usual 2-3. Suppose you set it at:

8AM - breakfast
1PM - lunch
6PM - after noon meal
9PM - dinner

[Just an example of a 4 meal, your preference may vary.]

Suppose you're also on high carb paleo, if that makes any impact to your answer here.

If you wanted to go back to your usual 2-3 meals a day, after staying on a 4-5 meals a day for a couple of months, how hard would it be to overcome ghrelin and your body habituation pattern, and how would you do it?

P.S.: What do you think about... gluten-free oats? Are cooked any better than eating it raw? Or the fact that it's still a cereal is no-go in your book?

flag

6 Answers

2

I did exactly this change from 2 meals per day to 4-5 meals per day while on a highish carb paleo. I was taking about 200-250 grams of carb per day. I was also concerned while doing it that I would have a difficult time eating less frequently whenever I decided to.

I was eating more total daily calories with the higher frequency as well. There is no need whatsoever to eat more frequently; in order to gain weight all that matters is that you are consuming more calories than your body currently needs. People usually rely on eating more frequently in order to get those extra calories in but you could stick with two meals per day and gain weight just fine so long as you eating enough calories at those two meals.

I had no problem going back to two meals per day afterwards, which is what I am currently doing. Additionally I’ll note that I have had no hunger pangs at all even with dropping my calories while reducing my frequency. I had, at my peak, been consuming over 3000 calories per day. I am now consuming only 2100-2200 per day and I don’t feel a difference as far as hunger.

link|flag
I see, interesting. – Jonas Nov 7 2011 at 13:25
1

I suspect you won't really know until you try it yourself, since we're all different. I went from 3-4 meals to 2 meals by having a 3-4 egg omlete + a few ounces of meat + fats (in the morning (carries me over to nighttime). Wasn't a problem for me because I wasn't hungry.

link|flag
OK, that might work for me too. – Nance Nov 2 2011 at 19:15
1

Unless you have some sort of metabolic derangement you should easily be able to switch up meal frequency without problems

link|flag
2 
 I know this is not the OP's issue, but personally, I had issues switching up meal times/frequency when I first started because of disordered eating. The reason I am pointing this out is the metabolic derangement would not be the sole reason that switching up meals may be problematic. – sherpamelissa Nov 3 2011 at 16:39
0

First, I'm living proof that you don't need to increase meal frequency to bulk up/gain weight. I eat only once per day but have built better muscle tone/bulk by moving around, etc., and I have to include a large salad early in the meal to avoid halting weight loss/avoid gaining.

You should feel free to do what works best for you. My body works best when I give it a large meal to chew on and then leave it alone to do its job. Other people seem to thrive on grazing. One reason to eat more often when you're trying to gain is my personal experience that the more often I eat the more I want/need to eat. On the other hand, reducing meal frequency when you've been eating often is really a bear for me.

link|flag
0

Eating eggs and fat or protein for breakfast should get you right back on track.

link|flag
0

So how hard would it be? I'm not high carb, I'm medium carb at 200g of carbs a day. If I go the 4 meals a day route to gain weight, would it be hard to get back on track with 3 squares?

Just trying to assess people's experiences here.

link|flag

Your Answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.