Ideal Meal Frequency Representing Supreme Health

[Jsaute21]

An area which seems to bring about some contradiction on the forum is meal frequency. I have seen some posts indicating the notion that a healthy organism can get away with 2-3 servings of food daily, while others seem to believe a healthy and productive metabolism results in constant hunger due to the sugar adapted metabolism. (5-7x a day most likely.) I know that this society intelligently avoids putting a "one size fits all" label on health, but i am very interested to hear some feedback from the wide array of educated minds on RPF. @haidut @natedawggh @DaveFoster @Stryker @tca300 @tyler @tara @Such_Saturation @sladerunner69 @TubZy @Constatine @milk_lover @Koveras

 

[tca300]

@Jsaute21 When your healthy and can store sugar well, you can eat much less frequently ( but your meals will need to be larger obviously ). Sick, hypothyroid people need to eat more frequently because they cant store sugar properly.

 

[Jsaute21]

@tca300 Understood.

 

[Agent207]

edited.

 

[tara]

When your healthy and can store sugar well, you can eat much less frequently ( but your meals will need to be larger obviously ). Sick, hypothyroid people need to eat more frequently because they cant store sugar properly.

+1

How perfectly healthy people eat is not necessarily the same as how one needs to eat to recover health.

 

[Jsaute21]

@tara good distinction Tara. It seems as if the one consistent theme should be listening to our bodies. Therefore, if in poor health, this most likely will call for frequent feedings. If in supreme health, our bodies will not require as many feedings?

Also, @tca300 i thought i saw you say that you eat 5-6x a day?

 

[tca300]

@Jsaute21 Yup, 6 times currently. My diet is very high in liquid, ~two gallons of liquid per day, so drinking a gallon or so at a time is something I'm not interested in, although I've been know to do 1/2 gallon at times. Most on the forum dont stick to milk, juice, and coffee, etc.. most eat starch, meat etc... much less volume for the same calories.

 

[tankasnowgod]

Therefore, if in poor health, this most likely will call for frequent feedings. If in supreme health, our bodies will not require as many feedings?

I think this is the right idea, although I think it would mostly have to do with blood sugar levels, glycogen storage, and insulin sensitivity. I don't think you need to evenly divide food between meals, however. I personally find a bigger dinner to be preferable. I think there might be something to keeping daytime meals more carb (especially sugar) rich, while eating more protein, fat, and starches for dinner. Or just using a constant daytime snacking structure, while keeping dinner a more formal (and bigger) meal.

 

[tara]

I think this is the right idea, although I think it would mostly have to do with blood sugar levels, glycogen storage, and insulin sensitivity. I don't think you need to evenly divide food between meals, however. I personally find a bigger dinner to be preferable. I think there might be something to keeping keeping daytime meals more carb (especially sugar) rich, while eating more protein, fat, and starches for dinner. Or just using a constant daytime snacking structure, while keeping dinner a more formal (and bigger) meal.

I agree about it being to do mostly with blood sugar regulation, and that meals don't all have to be the same size.
If evening meals work well for you, that's great.
I think different patterns can work for different people, and for some of us protein and maybe starches seems to be better used during the day than in the evening.
I think you are probably right about a fairly regular schedule often being helpful.

 

[Stryker]

i graze , i think my dinner is the largest meal though.

i like to punch in the last few hundred grams of carbs later in the day to avoid that sedative quality.

i think if i wasnt busy doing anything id have 6-9 "meals" a day ... one every 2-3hour s

 

[Jsaute21]

Thanks @Stryker @tara @tankasnowgod @tca300 . Sounds like we are all on similar pages. I have had a recent observation however since cutting down on starches, and adding more caffeine into my diet.

1.) I feel phenomenal and liver is holding onto glycogen more efficiently. I still eat 4,5 0r even 6x a day but its not that growling stomach feeling of weakness in between meals.
2.) I used to have 1-2 loose healthy bowel movements a day, and that has become a little harder to come by the past 2 days. I am assuming it is just an adjustment period, and my otherwise phenomenal disposition outweighs the slight constipation. Wondering if anyone's dealt with a transitional digestion period when tweaking their food choices.

 

[Stryker]

Thanks @Stryker @tara @tankasnowgod @tca300 . Sounds like we are all on similar pages. I have had a recent observation however since cutting down on starches, and adding more caffeine into my diet.

1.) I feel phenomenal and liver is holding onto glycogen more efficiently. I still eat 4,5 0r even 6x a day but its not that growling stomach feeling of weakness in between meals.
2.) I used to have 1-2 loose healthy bowel movements a day, and that has become a little harder to come by the past 2 days. I am assuming it is just an adjustment period, and my otherwise phenomenal disposition outweighs the slight constipation. Wondering if anyone's dealt with a transitional digestion period when tweaking their food choices.

so when ya have your current bowel movement , is it like hard pebbles?

 

[Stryker]

@tara good distinction Tara. It seems as if the one consistent theme should be listening to our bodies. Therefore, if in poor health, this most likely will call for frequent feedings. If in supreme health, our bodies will not require as many feedings?

Also, @tca300 i thought i saw you say that you eat 5-6x a day?

IMO a healthy person will regulate their metabolic rate on the fly in response to what their eating habit is at the current time...

i think if you are in "supreme health" and you eat very frequently your metabolic rate will increase , your breathing deepens , more "front brain" energy , more libido etc instead of a sick person eating frequently and feeling bombed out becuase they just crushed their stress response and have suboptimal t3 to take charge.

a healthy person in a short fast will have a stress response and recover very quickly , a sick person will have a stress response and their stress response can either be ongoing , or they consume a large meal and "crash"

 

[superhuman]

Ray told me "A healthy and active person can do very well on two good meals daily."

So yes the healthier you are the less meals you need. Also Ray told me that after he quit starch he was also able to go longer between meals etc.

But yeah, the less healthy the more meals you need. But ofc its all individual also, so do wha works for you

 

[Jsaute21]

so when ya have your current bowel movement , is it like hard pebbles?

You're right on the $. Also less regular than I was with starches. However, I feel better overall. Healthier and more steady in between meals, which is big. I am eating a lot of cheese, which my body seems to thrive off with exception to the constipation I'm dealing with. Hoping this is just a temporary "adjustment phase."

 

[Jsaute21]

so when ya have your current bowel movement , is it like hard pebbles?

@Stryker how were you able to alleviate constipation?

 

[1kT]

To Ray Peat: What do you think of doing intermittent fasting (16 hours a day) and eating only 2 big, high calorie, and high nutrients meals a day?

Would this sort of regime be good for a healthy fit individual with the goal of maintaining high androgen levels (free testosterone, DHT, DHEA-S, progesterone, etc.)?

Ray Peat: The people I have known who ate on that sort of schedule all had very big bellies, though they were generally healthy.

LOL.

 

[James IV]

I generally do 2 big meals about 8-10 hours apart, sometimes with some juice or soda in between if I'm active. Eating small meals all day is just too difficult for my schedule, and I never enjoy the food. The caveat is, you have to really be able to eat when it's times to eat.

*Edit: I'll add that 1 day every week or two, when I'm off work, I'll just inhale food all day long and be lazy. This day helps keep my calories up if I get behind during the week.

 

[zztr]

You tell people this "Eat frequently to support metabolism" line and then they wind up fat.

As far as I can tell there is zero reason not to tell people to stick to three meals a day, with one or two snacks. Where "snack" means a few sugar cubes in coffee or a banana.

 

[schultz]

@Such_Saturation Hey Such_ you made the list!!