As a bodybuilder you strive for maximum muscle mass and minimum fat mass. What does that mean for the distribution of meals?

DISTRIBUTION AND TIMING OF FOOD INTAKE

Timing of food intake is still a much debated topic in bodybuilding scene. Traditionally, ‘bros’ teach us that you should take protein immediately after training and also in the evening before bedtime. And that you should eat a lot of carbohydrates just before and after training.

However, newer insights say that the timing of nutrition doesn’t matter as long as you eat enough throughout the day and distribute the macronutrients well.

The truth, as far as we’re concerned, lies somewhere in the middle. Yes, you have to have your calories and macros in order, but optimizing means that you also take into account the distribution of proteins and the timing of proteins around training. The distribution and timing of carbohydrates and fats are less important.

We also know that for optimal muscle growth you should eat 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day (in the cut 1.8 to 2.7 g/kg/d). Your calorie level depends on your goal: in the bulk you aim  for 10-20% above maintenance, in the cut 20-25% below maintenance.

MEAL FREQUENCY FOR MUSCLE GROWTH

Meal frequency for muscle growth is mainly about proteins. Unlike carbohydrates and fats, proteins cannot be stored and preserved until the times when they are needed most. Your body is therefore much more dependent on acute protein intake to stimulate muscle protein synthesis (the process by which proteins are converted into muscle proteins).

It is important that a minimum of proteins is required to optimally stimulate muscle protein synthesis. However, there is also a maximum amount of proteins that can be used in one go to increase that synthesis. This phenomenon is also known as the muscle full effect. Eating a lot of protein at once is therefore not optimal. More about that in this article.

According to a meta-study by hypertrophy expert Brad Schoenfeld, muscle protein synthesis is therefore best stimulated if you divide your protein intake evenly over four to six meals daily, with a time span of three to four hours between meals. You eat 20 to 40 grams of protein per meal.

You plan your training between two meals, so that your body has immediate access to proteins during and after the training.

Your last meal of the day is preferably a ‘shot’ of casein protein (eg cottage cheese) of about 40 grams immediately before bedtime.

Timing plays a much less important role with carbohydrates and fats. It is fine to eat more carbohydrates around the training, although it has no proven additional effect. In addition, it seems to make little difference how you divide your calories between carbohydrates and fats , as long as your quota of calories and proteins are in order.

From the point of view of muscle growth or maintenance, intermittent fasting does not seem an optimal strategy.

MEAL FREQUENCY FOR FAT LOSS

What was that again? Do you lose weight faster if you use a high meal frequency? Nope. Several studies have shown that a higher meal frequency does not lead to more fat or weight loss at all. Not for less, by the way. See this article.

Contrary to popular belief, eating smaller meals more often does not speed up metabolism. Your body does indeed use some calories to digest the food, the so-called thermic effect, but on balance it’s the same whether you eat small amounts or just a few large meals.

There is also no conclusive evidence that eating more often reduces hunger or lowers calorie intake. According to some studies, eating several small meals may actually increase hunger.

Either way, meal frequency doesn’t matter when it comes to fat loss. So you don’t have to eat (even) more size meals in the cut. Perhaps a lower meal frequency is even better, because you can concentrate the calories a little more around the training.

By the way, there are foods that can raise your metabolism a little bit.

CONCLUSION

From the point of view of muscle growth and muscle maintenance, it is wise to divide your calories evenly over four to six meals a day, each containing 20 to 40 grams of protein.

From a fat loss perspective, it doesn’t matter how often you eat, so you don’t have to use a higher meal frequency in the cut.