Meal Timing

[aron]

There are some days, for example when Im in college doing coursework, that its simply not feasible for me to eat during the day. This means that my first meal sometimes wont be until 3-5 pm. I want to know if this matters. I dont want to hear any crap like man up and drink protein during the day or bring milk to college or any of that... What I want to know is, if I begin my protein intake at 5, and end it when I go to sleep, in which time I consume an adequate amount of protein, is that a problem?

[MazdaMatt]

You should DEFINITELY ask Rip this question.

[ColoWayno]

There are some days, for example when Im in college doing coursework, that its simply not feasible for me to eat during the day. This means that my first meal sometimes wont be until 3-5 pm. I want to know if this matters. I dont want to hear any crap like man up and drink protein during the day or bring milk to college or any of that... What I want to know is, if I begin my protein intake at 5, and end it when I go to sleep, in which time I consume an adequate amount of protein, is that a problem?

When do you workout, when do you go to sleep?

[spiderman]

There are some days, for example when Im in college doing coursework, that its simply not feasible for me to eat during the day.

I highly doubt that is true but rather that you are not setting your priorities so that eating during the day happens. Eating during the day will be not only much better for your physical training but also for mental training in college.

[MazdaMatt]

I've done my years in university, too. There's nothing stopping you from eating. Nothing. This isn't elementary school, you won't be told not to eat in class and if you want to get it done, you can eat between classes. You don't need to sit down to a meal, but seriously, is a bag of mixed nuts in your bookbag really so fucking hard?

[ColoWayno]

Damn, thanks guys, I was almost late for my elevensees when I read this thread. I'm ok now. Beef Jerky, Milk, Mixed nuts.

[aron]

For various reasons, its not always feasible. The nuts in the bag is a good suggestion, and the only one that may work. Imagine you were approaching this from a purely interest based position, is there a problem with only eating in the afternoon/evening?

[Eric K]

I agree with the above that it's not only not impossible but not even that hard to eat during the day, but I would say that "meal timing" doesn't really matter that much, if at all. It works for some people because it gets them to focus on what they're eating and they eat less/better, but I don't think it's magical at all. Eating throughout the day is definitely helpful on a program like SS because of the sheer amount of food you should be eating to recover adequately.

[ColoWayno]

For various reasons, its not always feasible. The nuts in the bag is a good suggestion, and the only one that may work. Imagine you were approaching this from a purely interest based position, is there a problem with only eating in the afternoon/evening?

Don't forget about Beef Jerky. If you can get to a giant box store they have large bags that are much cheaper than what you might find at the corner store. So, more precisely, are you asking about compressing your eating time to a very short part of the day, or just pushing the same window later in the day?
I think intermittent fasting might be something you want to check into. That might be what you are already doing by default.

[aron]

Don't forget about Beef Jerky. If you can get to a giant box store they have large bags that are much cheaper than what you might find at the corner store. So, more precisely, are you asking about compressing your eating time to a very short part of the day, or just pushing the same window later in the day?
I think intermittent fasting might be something you want to check into. That might be what you are already doing by default.

Thanks. I'll look into the IF thing

[MazdaMatt]

I was just thinking that... you are doing IF. I'm not sure how beneficial it is, though... the day after deads I can't imagine not eating significant amounts of food repeatedly through the day. I'd cramp up and die.

[Draft]

No problem. Just eat the warrior diet. Fast all day, and then a feast of suckling pig and mead before gym time.

[Eric K]

MMM, suckling pigs and mead...










WTF is mead?

[Agent P]

Your metabolism is like a campfire. You need to feed it steadily. Too much at once and you will smother it, not enough it will go out.
You can fast all day and then gourge, but it's not good to mess with your metabolism.

[MazdaMatt]

The way I see it, you're trying to recover all day long. You're not going to be able to fully recover in the short span after a gorge where nutes are available to the extend that you would have through a whole day of feasting.

[Agent P]

I think a steady stream of nutrients would be better for recovery too.

[Eric K]

Your metabolism is like a campfire. You need to feed it steadily. Too much at once and you will smother it, not enough it will go out.
You can fast all day and then gourge, but it's not good to mess with your metabolism.

Wrong. Nice analogy, but not the way our bodies work. But I will reiterate that eating throughout the day is beneficial for SS because of the amount of food necessary to eat.

[Agent P]

So, not eating does not effect metabolic rate?

[MikeC1]

Because when you think about it, there's nothing in between "steady stream of nutrients" and "not eating"..

[Eric K]

Frequent, small meals throughout the day came about as a way to deal with hunger cravings that come from a high carb diet. In an effort to curb your urge to eat a lot, you just eat a little, every few hours. If you're eating a lot of fat and very little carbs, you can go all day without feeling hungry. Frequent, small meals have had a limited effect on metabolism in clinical trials and ends up being insignificant. The metabolic cost of processing food is somewhat intensive, but it's not more intensive just because you do it more times throughout the day with the same amount of food eaten during a shorter window. Your body will hold onto and use what you eat regardless of whether that's one giant meal or several small ones. At least with the one large one, your body will get a break.

A couple cautions: Like I already said, you should be eating A LOT to get the most out of LP. It's easier to eat more meals than 3 steaks, 6 eggs, 9 strips of bacon and a BIG ASS SALAD in one meal. Secondly, there is a potential for a bit of catabolism occurring if your fasting window is too long. This is also not good for LP, since you want to put on lean mass. Martin Berkhan (sp?) has done some pretty cool stuff with IF over at leangains.com.

[Agent P]

What I meant was- Does your metabolism slow down if you don't eat anything for a long period of time? Isn't that why "starvation diets" don't work?

[Eric K]

His point was that it's a big leap from several small meals a day to starving to death.

Edit: I should say, "I think..." because it wasn't my post so I can't say that I know for sure. But either way, there is a whole lot of different options in between "starving" and eating every 2-3 hrs like an obsessive manorexic.

[Eric K]

And, "starvation" diets do work if your measure of work is weight loss. But it's certainly not sustainable (unless you're one of those whacked out breathernarians, or whatever the fuck they call themselves that think they can survive on nothing but oxygen and sunlight (which I thought was actually called, "a plant")). But yes, under an extreme caloric deficit, your body will slow down: you will become lethargic, moody, and obsess over food. This is because YOU ARE STARVING. I didn't say NOT EATING, I just said it's not necessary to eat every 2-3 hrs to lose fat. But this was not the OP's question. There's nothing magical about meal timing, it's just useful for some people to focus more on what and how they're eating that provides any success.

[forgeforth]

I just don't understand why you are unable to eat unti 3-5 pm. The fact that you're using coursework as an excuse boggles my mind to the Nth degree. Dude, many of us here have gone through university, including myself. Amidst studying all day and night to maintain academic scholarships, grading papers, commuting, preparing assignments and training hard, I always found time to eat. There are so many quick meals nowadays, especially since both parents work. No mom left at home to cook meals all day. It's all fast. It's all now. Just make a list, prioritize and prepare your meals beforehand.

I usually prepare my meals the night before while making dinner. Grilling up meat/chicken is easy. Use tupperware. Boil eggs. Make sandwiches. How hard is it to find deli meats/chicken and smother yourself with sandwiches all day? Bagged vegetables? Is that hard? What about fruits? Yogurt? Eating out once in a while? Protein bars/shakes? No, you don't want any of it. You want to fast till 5 pm and have the rest of us tell you it's OK. Not really much point in discussing it further.

[aron]

I just don't understand why you are unable to eat unti 3-5 pm. The fact that you're using coursework as an excuse boggles my mind to the Nth degree. Dude, many of us here have gone through university, including myself. Amidst studying all day and night to maintain academic scholarships, grading papers, commuting, preparing assignments and training hard, I always found time to eat. There are so many quick meals nowadays, especially since both parents work. No mom left at home to cook meals all day. It's all fast. It's all now. Just make a list, prioritize and prepare your meals beforehand.

I usually prepare my meals the night before while making dinner. Grilling up meat/chicken is easy. Use tupperware. Boil eggs. Make sandwiches. How hard is it to find deli meats/chicken and smother yourself with sandwiches all day? Bagged vegetables? Is that hard? What about fruits? Yogurt? Eating out once in a while? Protein bars/shakes? No, you don't want any of it. You want to fast till 5 pm and have the rest of us tell you it's OK. Not really much point in discussing it further.

I wasnt asking anyone to tell me its ok. I simply wanted to know if there were any major problems with it. I happened to go through a couple of days last week, where due to all nighters, I had an hour of sleep, woke 10 minutes before my train, and had to run to catch it after which I spent all day in classes. I literally didn't have a moment to grab anything. Can you provide me with any evidence that consuming all your meals between 5 and 12 is bad? If I manage to get all my protein in between that time, why is that bad? And if you cant, why do you feel the need to blow up like that? Im jewish and the only kosher protein shakes around are pea protein isolate, and if youve ever tried one, you would know that it stinks to fucking high heaven, and cant be drunk within 5 metres of anyone else. There's more to most questions than just 'man the fuck up dude and do the program'. Grilling up any sort of meat isnt easy... kosher meat costs a fuckload, and as a student I simply cant afford that.

[spiderman]

I happened to go through a couple of days last week, where due to all nighters, I had an hour of sleep, woke 10 minutes before my train, and had to run to catch it after which I spent all day in classes. I literally didn't have a moment to grab anything.

Work on time management. University doesn't require all nighters. It really doesn't.

On Sunday night take five pull-tab cans of tuna, five forks, five oranges, five bananas, five 500 ml cartons of milk, and five cookies and put them into five brown paper bags. Ready for the week.

[Eric K]

Dude. It sounds like, "It doesn't matter." Is eating between 5 and 12 better than not eating? Yes. Is it the optimal way to DTP? Probably not. Eat when you can. Eat a lot. I will reassert that I don't think there is anything magical about when you eat.

[aron]

Thanks for the answers guys.

[manisstrong]

What I meant was- Does your metabolism slow down if you don't eat anything for a long period of time? Isn't that why "starvation diets" don't work?

No, it does not.

Aron, seriously, I know you don't want to hear this, but what is wrong with you. It's not feasible to eat until 3-5pm? What the fuck?

Now that that's out of the way, as long as you eat the same number of calories in your eating window, you should be fine, check out: www.leangains.com

[aron]

No, it does not.

Aron, seriously, I know you don't want to hear this, but what is wrong with you. It's not feasible to eat until 3-5pm? What the fuck?

Now that that's out of the way, as long as you eat the same number of calories in your eating window, you should be fine, check out: www.leangains.com

Just to reiterate, it was a couple of one off days. (Or two off days). For the main part, the question was purely for academic interest on whether it mattered what time one eats.

[Grbrs]

Hey aron

I know you said the pea protein smells like shit so maybe try these:

Milk Protein: http://www.myprotein.com/uk/products/milk_protein_smooth
Soy Protein: http://www.myprotein.com/uk/products/soy_protein_isolate

Both are kosher, i am sure there are more kosher ones on that site but i haven't looked, both cheap as well.

I order from these guys all the time, often next day delivery and the delivery guys (DPD) send you an e-mail the morning of delivery with an hour time slot which you can change if your not gonna be there, simple.

I also want to re-iterate a few above points. I know you said you were only asking for interest or whatever but what the hey. University does not require all-nighters, i don't know what you study but i am in my penultimate year of an engineering masters and not meaning to come across as a dick but i am doing pretty well. I have never pulled an all nighter and rarely get less than 7 hours sleep. I have food throughout the day every day, i'm sure this will benefit your studies as well as your training. If i am ever caught out i buy the highest protein sandwich i can and supplement with a pint or two of milk. Though this rarely happens. i normally gulp down a shake with protein, oats and milk in the morning, pasta or McDonalds for lunch depending on if i train or not and then some meat with plenty of veg and carbs if you wish in the evening. None of this takes up much time at all, its not perfect by a long way but it all takes minutes to prepare and along with a shake here and there gives me all i need. I find there are many similarities in the attitude required to be a successful academic and successful in your training, plan shit out, know what you are going to do over the next day, week or month, plan meals, plan time for personal study for each module, plan time for training, don't just wing it and see what happens!

Anyway this has gone on for far too long and made me seem like too much of a dick so i will stop here, again sorry if i come across as a prick but i am trying to help.

[aron]

Hey aron

I know you said the pea protein smells like shit so maybe try these:

Milk Protein: http://www.myprotein.com/uk/products/milk_protein_smooth
Soy Protein: http://www.myprotein.com/uk/products/soy_protein_isolate

Both are kosher, i am sure there are more kosher ones on that site but i haven't looked, both cheap as well.

I order from these guys all the time, often next day delivery and the delivery guys (DPD) send you an e-mail the morning of delivery with an hour time slot which you can change if your not gonna be there, simple.

I also want to re-iterate a few above points. I know you said you were only asking for interest or whatever but what the hey. University does not require all-nighters, i don't know what you study but i am in my penultimate year of an engineering masters and not meaning to come across as a dick but i am doing pretty well. I have never pulled an all nighter and rarely get less than 7 hours sleep. I have food throughout the day every day, i'm sure this will benefit your studies as well as your training. If i am ever caught out i buy the highest protein sandwich i can and supplement with a pint or two of milk. Though this rarely happens. i normally gulp down a shake with protein, oats and milk in the morning, pasta or McDonalds for lunch depending on if i train or not and then some meat with plenty of veg and carbs if you wish in the evening. None of this takes up much time at all, its not perfect by a long way but it all takes minutes to prepare and along with a shake here and there gives me all i need. I find there are many similarities in the attitude required to be a successful academic and successful in your training, plan shit out, know what you are going to do over the next day, week or month, plan meals, plan time for personal study for each module, plan time for training, don't just wing it and see what happens!

Anyway this has gone on for far too long and made me seem like too much of a dick so i will stop here, again sorry if i come across as a prick but i am trying to help.

Hey, thanks for the help. Thats actually where I get the pea protein from, so Ill look into the other ones. For the record, the all nighters were simply a result of me choosing to stay up all night doing coursework last minute, rather than devoting much of my christmas break to it. Nothing to do with uni, simply my laziness. Anyway, its 2 o'clock in the afternoon here, and Ive had two protein shakes, a hot chocolate and a chicken pasta salad, so I know how to eat when I need too. The question really was mainly something I was just wondering about.