At the gym the other day, I was talking to another lifter about nutrition. I remarked that I had been eating more, but had not really been gaining weight. He responded that he had been eating six meals a day, and had gained some muscle. I am not a fan of the six meals a day method, but I try to be open-minded and find out what works in practice for different people.
I'm wondering if the six meals a day model sometimes works through its effect on insulin. Simply put, eating more often raises insulin levels. During the 24 hours post-workout, this increased insulin may lead to mostly muscle gain. Outside this period, it may lead to mostly fat gain.
But if a person works out almost every day, like a bodybuilder, then they may almost always be in the post-workout window and such the six meals a day and its insulin-raising effects may be beneficial. This may not be great long-term because it could lead to insulin resistance, but it may work in the short run.
The best long-term model may be to cycle insulin through high and low periods. Overall, this will lead to low basal insulin levels and high insulin sensitivity. But the insulin spikes in the post-workout window might help to build muscle mass. Then a person can switch back to low insulin eating outside of the post-workout window.
You might end up with a model where a good meal pattern is six meals a day during the post-workout period, and then zero meals (fasting) after that. While eating low-carb can lower insulin levels, probably the fastest way to lower insulin levels is just to not eat for a while, period. I've used this trick after a "cheat" meal. If I occassionally have a cheat meal for dinner, I will often skip breakfast and lunch the next day. I can almost feel my body resetting itself during this period.
Another way to raise insulin in the post-workout period may be through excess protein consumption. Bodybuilders have historically consumed large amounts of protein. Scientists have tried to find out if this increases muscle mass through increasing protein pools, but its true benefit may be through the insulin-raising effect of excess protein.
At the gym the other day, I was talking to another lifter about nutrition. I remarked that I had been eating more, but had not really been gaining weight. He responded that he had been eating six meals a day, and had gained some muscle. I am not a fan of the six meals a day method, but I try to be open-minded and find out what works in practice for different people.
I'm wondering if the six meals a day model sometimes works through its effect on insulin. Simply put, eating more often raises insulin levels. During the 24 hours post-workout, this increased insulin may lead to mostly muscle gain. Outside this period, it may lead to mostly fat gain.
But if a person works out almost every day, like a bodybuilder, then they may almost always be in the post-workout window and such the six meals a day and its insulin-raising effects may be beneficial. This may not be great long-term because it could lead to insulin resistance, but it may work in the short run.
The best long-term model may be to cycle insulin through high and low periods. Overall, this will lead to low basal insulin levels and high insulin sensitivity. But the insulin spikes in the post-workout window might help to build muscle mass. Then a person can switch back to low insulin eating outside of the post-workout window.
You might end up with a model where a good meal pattern is six meals a day during the post-workout period, and then zero meals (fasting) after that. While eating low-carb can lower insulin levels, probably the fastest way to lower insulin levels is just to not eat for a while, period. I've used this trick after a "cheat" meal. If I occassionally have a cheat meal for dinner, I will often skip breakfast and lunch the next day. I can almost feel my body resetting itself during this period.
Another way to raise insulin in the post-workout period may be through excess protein consumption. Bodybuilders have historically consumed large amounts of protein. Scientists have tried to find out if this increases muscle mass through increasing protein pools, but its true benefit may be through the insulin-raising effect of excess protein.