Meal Timing: Does it Matter?

Before I can answer that question we must first define the term “matter”.

Does it matter can have a wide range of answers depending on what it should matter towards.

As an example, does meal timing matter in regards to maintaining a stable blood sugar?
Almost Always.

Does meal timing matter in regards to fulfilling your Macronutrient requirements?
Almost Never.

See the conundrum?

Many times in the fitness industry people want quick and
easy yes or no answers and unfortunately, like most things in life, the truth lies somewhere in
the gray.

– Does meal timing effect your physique? Not Really

– Does meal timing effect your mood? Often

– Does meal timing effect your hunger? That’s usually psychological

– Does meal timing increase your metabolism? Insignificantly so

– Does meal timing help you build more muscle? Nope

– Does meal timing improve your performance? Typically yes

Here’s a more truthful answer, Meal Timing does matter, but not for the reason you might think it does.

At the end of the day there is one major factor that is going to determine
whether or not you are successful on whatever health and fitness journey you have chosen to
undertake: Consistency.

That is the fulcrum of any successful endeavor in almost all facets of life. What’s that old adage? “You are what you consistently do” That applies here big time, let me explain:

Whether or not you are going to be consistent with your nutrition almost always hinges
on one thing, feasibility.

Obviously any nutrition program could be deemed “feasible” but what I’m referring to is just how likely you are to adopt something into your everyday life. If you were to do a complete 180’ on what your normal life pattern is, the likelihood of you sticking to it is low.

For example if you usually only eat Breakfast and a light Dinner, and I were to ask you
to eat 6x per day, that’s a huge disruption to your homeostasis and the chances of you adopting
this pattern full time, is going to be quite unlikely. So let’s place more reasonable demands on
the changes we ask you to make.

Using the above example of a Breakfast and light Dinner eater, a better starting point
would be this: Breakfast is under your control, so let’s specifically dictate what types of
foods/macros you are eating then so we know we are starting your day off right.

That way it’s already a part of your routine but we are making better decisions within the framework of what you already do on a regular basis. This applies to most portions of health and fitness.

Let’s say you don’t currently exercise, but optimally you should be exercising 4-6x per
week.

Is it realistic to ask/expect someone completely new to exercises to try and do it the
majority of their week and 400%-600% more than they were previously doing? I don’t think so.

The most successful changes are the small ones made over time that do not cause a huge disruption in your routine. Now, obviously sometimes people need a giant spark and a huge disruption to get the ball rolling towards change, and that’s great when you have that kind of momentum going, but guess what?

Momentum isn’t infinite.

Routine and Discipline are much more consistent factors in our everyday lives, so if we can slowly manipulate those into healthier roles, we can create a lasting impact.

At the end of the day when it comes to meal timing, look at what you do currently.

Don’t change it, at least not yet, and let’s try to make better nutritional decisions within those
meal times that you already typically eat.

Fitness shouldn’t be about unreasonable demands on your life, nor should they require them. Your life is already tough, your time is already limited, and there is already a lot on your plate, so let’s start small.

If you want more information or need help determining the best steps to take personally going forward email us at support@proformanceresults.com or give us a call at 502-895-3472