Question of the Day

There are many programs out there that claim timing may be the most important aspect. There certainly is evidence to suggest that it can have an impact on your success. Just how much, however, is the topic of debate.
It is common to suggest that you eat several small meals throughout the day. This advice is based on a few factors. It was highly popularized in the book, Body-for-LIFE, but the concept has been around for ages. For one, diabetes has taught us that having smaller, balanced meals throughout the day can keep blood sugar stable throughout the day. Fewer fluctuations means better energy levels and less likelihood of storing energy as fat. Another common claim is that your hunger is more satiated, so you can eat fewer calories but still feel full throughout the day.

Another aspect of meal timing is training. There are claims that performing performing cardio on an empty stomach burns more fat, and that taking a post-workout shake can help you build muscle. While these may provide a subtle advantage, here are the facts:

• People were building muscle long before post-workout shakes became popular
• People can and have successfully lost weight and gained muscle eating only three "square" meals per day
• People can and have shed fat and achieved low body fat without doing cardio on an empty stomach

So the debate isn't "is meal timing necessary" but more, "Is it optimal." There is a difference between it "looking good under the microscope" and being practical. For example, while empty-stomach cardio may burn a little additional fat, if it drains your energy, causes nausea or disrupts your schedule, is it really worth it? While six meals per day may improve your success at losing fat, if you are in an occupation that makes it impossible to have those meals, should you just give up? Of course not. You need to experiment with various methods, keep a detailed journal, and find out what works best for you.

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