"HIERARCHY OF IMPORTANCE
When speaking of nutrition for improving body composition or training performance, it's crucial to realize there's an underlying hierarchy of importance. At the top of the hierarchy is total amount of the macronutrients by the end of the day. Distantly below that is the precise timing of those nutrients. With very few exceptions, athletes and active individuals eat multiple times per day. Thus, the majority of their day is spent in the postprandial (fed) rather than a post-absorptive (fasted) state. The vast majority of nutrient timing studies have been done on overnight-fasted subjects put through glycogen depletion protocols, which obviously limits the applicability of the outcomes. Pre-exercise (and/or during-exercise) nutrient intake often has a lingering carry-over effect into the post-exercise period. Throughout the day, there's a constant overlap of meal digestion & nutrient absorption. For this reason, the effectiveness of nutrient timing does not require a high degree of precision.
The Primary Laws of Nutrient Timing
- The First Law of Nutrient Timing is: hitting your daily macronutrient targets is FAR more important than nutrient timing.
- The Second Law of Nutrient Timing is: hitting your daily macronutrient targets is FAR more important than nutrient timing.
Credits to Alan Aragon for this article."
"Meal frequency and nutrient timing is NOT needed or important. (hitting your daily calorie requirements and macros targets is).
You dont have to eat 6x per day it has no effect on the metabolism or metabolic rate, you can eat carbs late at night before you go to sleep, it wont automatically make you gain fat.
When people say that eating at night causes fat gain, in a way it does sound like it would make sense because your going to sleep and you arent going to be expending much energy. But when look at that from a biological standpoint it is bogus because your body works more on a 24,48,72,weekly - what ever you want it - NET balance. It is constantly in an anabolic and catabolic state, constantly breaking down and repairing, constantly storing and oxidizing. So it really doesn't matter when you eat, or how frequently you eat, its the overall balance that matters, so your either in a caloric deficit or a calorie surplus. Hit your macros targets however and whenever you want throghout the day and there will be no difference in body composition.You can go 6 or so hours without eating, your muscle wont fall off or shrink or get attacked by the catabolism monster, you have to look at the bigger picture. A daily basis, calories in VS calories out. Calories are a form of energy, they cannot give you any more or any less of what they are.
- Deficit calories you will lose weight.
- Surplus calories you will gain weight.
It comes down to is application and awareness. Some of you wont bother to change your opinion and theories, some will have a hard time accepting it, while others will be interested to learn more and excited that there is more than one way. Remember that people get results because they apply themselves to what they do, not because their way is the best."
