eating 6 small clean meals a day or more

[mrgeeky]

[.

The solution to your problem may not be beneficial to all others however. People on this forum generally settle in to a diet that suits their lifestyle and goals. If a person has a job and is bulking on 5k+ calories then that usually means many meals/snacks. It's a practical solution. It is not brain washing.

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I have nothing against those that want or need to eat that way..

As said prevously "For those that want to eat their small meals every 2-3 hours, sweet, keep it up!"

But Im betting there are plenty that still do it out of brainwashing..

And brainwashing it is.. For years this bull shit has been drummed in to us as a necessity.. Its not a necessity, its a choice!

[Dinahlady]

I like the point that someone made about supplement companies wanting people to believe that they have to eat 6-8 small meals a day - making people think that using protein powders several times per day seem the best/tastiest and most convenient option.

But noone (other than people who are trying to eat large amounts of food/calories/protein) would bother with shakes if they felt they could just consume 2 or 3 or 4 epic meals instead.

Never thought of it that way and there is probably some truth in it.

(I eat only 4 meals per day anyway as it suits my lifestyle/appetite/convenience)

I don't think that top pro bodybuilders actually believe that in prep or when cutting you have to eat 6+ meals a day and they probably don't do that all the time. I'm sure they are busy and miss meals and double up etc. I doubt they have got this far without realizing it doesn't really make a difference. when bulking or offseason it definitely would be more convenient appetite wise to split 5000-6000 cals into more meals.

Although digestion-wise it is actually better for your body and your actual ability to absorb the food you are getting down you if you eat less meals with greater space in between them and with at least a 12 hour break overnight. I don't believe in all of the hype of IF but there are definite digestion benefits from having a large window without eating and i believe the consistency of having to only eat a few meals a day is much better for digestive efficiency and utilizing what you are eating.

[karm015]

clearly i'm brainwashed since i eat more than 6 meals a day

:roll:

[mrgeeky]

clearly i'm brainwashed since i eat more than 6 meals a day

:roll:

No, not necessarily, you're only brainwashed if you believe that's how you have to eat!

If you can understand that your method of diet is a choice, not a necessity, you'll be fine..

You wont have to go see a shrink to get unbrainwashed! \:D/

[Cam0505]

I don't think it is just supplement companies to be honest. I have been in contact with as many sports dietitians, sporting institutes etc as possible over the past few weeks and it seems like a lot of them recommend and still believe in some of the most outrageous things.

For example one of the sports dietitians (Who was currently half way through the AIS sports nutrition program, which is the most recognized sports nutrition program in Australia) actually believed that the body could only fully utilize small amounts of protein (25g) at a time.

This combined with the information i obtained from all the other sporting institutes has pretty much killed my interest in studying nutrition completely haha.

Think i'll just wait for Eric Helms research results and just change my diet accordingly.

As i'm sure a lot of others have already mentioned question all advise you are given as even so called experts are only as knowledgeable as the latest and greatest research being done.

Do what works for you (even if its a placebo).

[mrgeeky]

I don't think it is just supplement companies to be honest. I have been in contact with as many sports dietitians, sporting institutes etc as possible over the past few weeks and it seems like a lot of them recommend and still believe in some of the most outrageous things.

For example one of the sports dietitians (Who was currently half way through the AIS sports nutrition program, which is the most recognized sports nutrition program in Australia) actually believed that the body could only fully utilize small amounts of protein (25g) at a time.

This combined with the information i obtained from all the other sporting institutes has pretty much killed my interest in studying nutrition completely haha.

Think i'll just wait for Eric Helms research results and just change my diet accordingly.

As i'm sure a lot of others have already mentioned question all advise you are given as even so called experts are only as knowledgeable as the latest and greatest research being done.

Do what works for you (even if its a placebo).

I wouldn't mind betting its the manufacturer of supplements (protein powders in particular) for sports people and body builders that have seen an opportunity here. Ie: if they could get people to believe in the 'body can only assimilate 30gms of protein every few hours" myth, then they knew the sales of their products would sky rocket.

It's in their best interest for people to believe this.

For many years I thought it was factual too.. Its only in the last year or so that I have found out it was b.s. and Im 51..

I started doing weights when I was 26.. I have spent a foturne on protein powders and other supplements over the years and Im not a competitive weight lifter..

I do it purely for fun.

It really is amazing how inbuilt in to our society all these food myths are.

I dare say the majority actually believe it.

Myths about small meals every few hours boosting our metabolisim.

Myths like breafkfast being the most important meal of the day.

Wouldn't mind betting its the breakfast cereal companies that push that one.

They have gone as far as saying if your kid goes to school with out breakfast they wont be able to study because they cant concentrate. Absolute nonsense. Although every kid should have the opportunity to have breakfast every morning, I certainly don't think they should be force fed if they don't want to eat breaky..

Hell morning playtime for a snack is only a couple of hours away.. They aren't going to starve if they want to eat hold off from having breaky for a couple of hours.

Yet some one keeps pushing all this stuff as fact and it is well and truly ingrained in to our society.

[Cam0505]

Yea.. everyone takes stuff to an extreme.

The entire food industry is subject to large scale corruption and always will be. My Meat lecturer talks to us about how when he was a specialist working for a number of meat companies in NZ he was forced to pump ham and other meats full of water in-order to make more money. Even today Hams and a lot of pre-packed chickens are pumped with salt solutions.

I think the worst thing about nutrition is the fact that for most people nutrition is so god dam simple and yet they pay huge amounts to "professionals" to get a dietary analysis done which is complete bullshit. The only people who should need dietary analysis are those in a disease state/illness/stress etc.

Type 2 diabetes can be EASILY controlled with regular exercise and more regular meals... yet people struggle to control it.

This is why i have lost faith in the nutritional field as it seems like a big bloody money making scheme.

So now i have to decide wtf i want to do... haha. 3 years at Uni with good grades and it seems like a big waste of time.

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

So now i have to decide wtf i want to do... haha. 3 years at Uni with good grades and it seems like a big waste of time.

Sounds like you are taking an ethical view on things which is pretty cool, don't give up just yet. Don't forget that once you're out, you can be your own man with your own business - a huge percentage of Kiwis do exactly that. You don't have to follow the trends/'tricks of the trade' to hook your business in. You can try to be different and do what you honestly believe is right.

[mrgeeky]

So now i have to decide wtf i want to do... haha. 3 years at Uni with good grades and it seems like a big waste of time.

Sounds like you are taking an ethical view on things which is pretty cool, don't give up just yet. Don't forget that once you're out, you can be your own man with your own business - a huge percentage of Kiwis do exactly that. You don't have to follow the trends/'tricks of the trade' to hook your business in. You can try to be different and do what you honestly believe is right.

Right on!

This site needs a big thumbs up icon. :-)

[Cam0505]

Not really sure what i want atm, mite take some time off from University to decide. When i talked to my lecturers about how to get involved in the industry they told me to talk to those involved in it and sports institutes eg HPSNZ. Seems like most registered Nutritionists are for the most part a scam.

Although most of you know that a anyone can call themselves a nutritionist most people don't actually know that a "sports dietitian" does not require any specific sporting papers, experience etc

Infact unless their research project in the Masters degree for dietetics was sports based they have no additional expertise in sports performance over a human nutrition major (which only has 1 third year paper on the subject, which is very un-specific).

The AIS even states that correct diet (so an optimal rather than an acceptable diet) only improves performance 5%. Not something that most people are willing to spend the huge amounts of money on, nor should they.

I don't agree with charging people $1000's for 10-15 sessions of dietary advise, when in reality most people just need to work out and swap a few food groups eg Rice, potato, bread instead of crackers, biscuits etc.

Don't get me wrong i'm not attacking dietitians, they do a fantastic job for those who actual need help (disease states, hospital patients, low socio-economic individuals, etc) However i think the general population needs to be educated properly from a young age to avoid the bullshit later in life (low carb, low fat, psychological disorders etc). I was so surprised when i sat in on a sports dietitian for the day at how many athletes etc actually have these irrational concerns with food. So if any of you are restricting your diet in such a way please go see a psychologist and perhaps a dietitian once the underlying problem has been dealt with. (don't feel assumed, i have personally been through some psychological problems and i know a lot of people (esp at university) that are currently dealing with one)

[mrgeeky]

I don't agree with charging people $1000's for 10-15 sessions of dietary advise, when in reality most people just need to work out and swap a few food groups eg Rice, potato, bread instead of crackers, biscuits etc.

As fellowshipOfTheRon has more or less said, why not work in the industry and try to put people on the straight and narrow. Let them know of all the b.s. that is out there and point them in the right direction..

If you worked in that particular industry you could be our voice of reason!

[Cam0505]

Part of me wants to become a dietitian (If i am to continue with my human nutrition major it will only be with he aim of doing dietetics as i disagree with an unregulated profession like nutritionists) the only thing that stops me is the fact that it will require post-graduate (which i would enjoy) that is now unfunded by a student loan/allowance. I would have to look into scholarships as i would imagine dietetics to cost a lot of money.

+if i were to go down that route i would become a sports dietitian which would require an AIS cert after the masters in dietetics (not by law, just because i would rather advise athletes correctly).

Anyway, no 6 small meals a day are not required, in-fact a iodine deficiency will have a greater (eg an effect full stop) on your metabolism then how often you consume food.