What is this eat every 4hr business about?

(Heather Meyer) #1

K, so hear me out…

Ive been watching a show called “Revenge Body with Khloe Kardashian”. I am not a Kardashian fan BUT i enjoy watching the 12 week progress abd the different trainers and advice they give. But i am stumped with this piece of advice. Why why why are these trainers and nutritionists all recommending their clients to eat every 3hours?
Its like

B
Snack
L
Snack
D
Snack

BUT some of them are recommending 8 snacks.
Now… the gym part seems to be well done. Mot clients on the show go to the gym for an hour session 6 days per week. And are expected to do some form of LISS… but the snacking i just dont get.

(Bob M) #2

It’s not supported by any evidence whatsoever. It was just thought that this kept blood sugar levels (for diabetics) more stable. All of the recent evidence is against this:

" Eating two larger meals a day (breakfast and lunch) is more effective than six smaller meals in a reduced-energy regimen for patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomised crossover study"

" Early Time-Restricted Feeding Improves Insulin Sensitivity, Blood Pressure, and Oxidative Stress Even without Weight Loss in Men with Prediabetes"

('Jackie P') #3

It’s funny, I’m not a fan but,I always thought Khloe Kardashian was a Keto fan!

#4

The thought process behind it is “keeping the metabolism going”. It’s not completely right, but not completely wrong either. When people on “normal” diets…diet, they typically eat low fat, high carb and smaller meals so they don’t stay satiated for very long and more frequent meals make them feel better. On our side of the fence it can be useful to get enough food in because we’re not hungry in many cases and many people wind up under eating for too long as I did and slowed my BMR pretty drastically.

(Ellen ) #5

Not Khloe…Courtney

('Jackie P') #6

Ahhhh! So sorry!

(Ellen ) #7

Lol. At 64y/o I should not know these things.

#8

This type of thinking has helped lead to the obesity epidemic. It works for some that have the time and will power to make it happen, but for most it just leads to overeating.

Every time you eat it creates an insulin spike, even if you eat keto foods. Less of a spike with a keto food, but a spike none the less. In short, insulin makes you fat and that is one of the reason that recent research has shown positive results with people who fast…

(Justin Jordan) #9

IF you’re trying to gain muscle there’s SOME rationale for it - basically, within reason, the more protein feedings you have, the more you spike muscle protein synthesis, and in theory this could have better results. In the real world, I suspect it doesn’t make a difference.

The other part is if you’re trying to gain weight - it’s easier to get an overall higher caloric intake in if you’re splitting it up over meals. This is especially true if you’re a bodybuilder who needs to eat a lot and is determined to use the classic bro chicken and rice method.

That latter bit is where I suspect this comes from with trainers. If you’re trying to get in 3,000 calories a day with lean protein and complex carbs, you basically have to eat a bunch of times a day.

(Bunny) #10

Maybe it is like trying to emulate a hypermetabolism (abnormal increase in basal metabolic rate)?

Eating every 4 hours almost sounds hormetic?

A hypermetabolism is a very rare disorder and usually fatal (they under-eat), no matter how much the person eats they continue to lose weight (body fat) rapidly but only occurs when there is an illness, injury, insomnia or universally some type of trauma.

It is almost similar to a type 1 diabetic or the Arctic variant gene CPT-1 a deficiency?

Norepinephrine would probably be secreted at alarming rates under such conditions?

These components of adrenaline are what initiate lipolysis (catecholamines are tyrosine - derived) or tell the fat cell to release lipids from the fat cell?

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(GINA ) #11

Another reason I have heard for many small feedings is it keeps you from getting ‘too hungry and blowing your diet.’

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #12

To keep your blood sugar on a level keel. All part of SAD BS.

If you didn’t watch the K gals, you wouldn’t have to hear this crap, just sayin’. :stuck_out_tongue:

(Heather Meyer) #13

lol… true… but i ran out of inspiring weight loss shows to watch :yum:

(Full Metal KETO AF) #14

In short…insulin is not evil and has many functions in the body other than fat storage. Without insulin no nutrition; glucose, protein or lipids, can make it into your cells. It’s a metabolic key. We die without it (T1 diabetics). Demonizing insulin is just something that tends to happen with the KETO crowd, but it’s very complex. The goal of KETO is having an appropriate insulin response. Another important purpose is to regulate BG levels so you don’t go into a life threatening coma.

(Katie) #15

This is a really bad piece of advice.

I have friends who have been trying to loose weight for years. Most of them insist that it is really important to eat 3 full meals plus 4 snacks a day. Now, you would think that with years of failures they could see for themselves that it just doesn’t work.

Yet…with the proof right here on my body, I am considered the “nut case” for following the keto way. (Which btw is going to kill me…if you ask them).

I would just be really happy for them if they would just quit sugar and oatmeal.

(Scott) #16

I used to think this way and it made total sense to me. I thought of humans as grazers and justified this with my need to eat every two hours mostly due to the carbs I was eating. I was also able to lose over fifty pounds by combining calorie deficit with intense exercise of gym every other day and 30 miles of running weekly. Then a funny thing happened when I stopped logging every calorie and eased up on my exercise, I gained 30 pounds.

Fast forward to going keto 18 months ago and I lost 25 pounds and no longer feel the desire to snack at all. I like this way much better.

#17

Yep, they say that too but many of us gets super hungry with several small meals. Way, way hungrier than eating 1-3 meals even if the total amount of food is a bit smaller. The more meals I eat, the more food I consume on the same diet, food choices and time between meals. Small meals suits many people and totally not others (my family members, including me can’t even eat a small meal because we feel we are starving and can’t resist eating more, I don’t even try, hunger means I should eat. A small meal only enough in very special circumstances, definitely not on normal keto).
If too hungry is a problem (it is IMO), why not recommending eating whenever we get hungry? It works just fine for many people on the right diet. And on the wrong one, each to their own, it may be one single idea to try but it clearly doesn’t work for too many people.

(Jane Srygley) #18

OMG thanks so much for posting that study! I love this:

“The circadian system, or internal biological clock, may explain why the effects of TRF appear to depend on the time of day.”

And I especially love this:

Although 5 weeks of eTRF did not improve glucose levels, it dramatically lowered insulin levels and improved insulin sensitivity and β cell responsiveness.

I have been thinking a lot about confining my meals to between 4am and 2pm. It feels natural to me. Really appreciate the evidence saying this is a good idea!

(Jane Srygley) #19

Yeah… you would think… but this was me 6 months ago thinking that I HAD to eat every 2 hours or my blood sugar would CRASH! I felt a little weak whenever I had hunger pangs and didn’t understand how ghrelin worked, so I assumed my blood sugar was going down the tubes… If I waited 3-4 hours between meals, I started to get a headache, which I assumed (but never verified) was low blood sugar.

Thankfully this group turned me on to Jason Fung and I realized that not only can I go for hours without eating, I can FAST!!! I thought that was impossible for me. I’m on a 30-hour fast right now and my longest is 76 hours. I never would have believed that 6 months ago and would have thought you were nuts if you suggested it to me.

I completely agree with that. I want insulin to be secreted as infrequently as possible because I’m following Jason Fung’s philosophy and believe that’s what’s needed for me to lose weight and keep it the fuck off finally… but I think what you are saying is right on.

#20

People are so good staying delusional…
I never heard this 3 full meal and 4 snacks… Is it some fatlogic bullshit? It’s eating nearly all the time… We are humans, we don’t need that. It might work for someone especially with a huge energy need and I’ve heard about people who physically can’t eat proper meals but still, 4 snacks… It’s not quite normal to eat 4 snacks. Some people can get away with it but it’s surely not common among healthy, slim, health-conscious adults. It sounds a bit frightening…

I really doubt those friends really try to lose weight. Or their minds go to interesting places and stays there.