The B/L/D Meal Structure Approach is Not One-Size-Fits-All

Who decided Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner was the standard anyway?

If B/L/D doesn't work for you, then don't follow it. There are no hard rules for 3 meals as long as what you're doing fits your needs for your lifestyle/activity/training demands.

But I'll shed some light on ways to optimize feeding frequency for better controlling hunger, blood glucose response, and energy levels.

1. First is for my "snackers" who can't seem to help themselves from snacking a lot. YOUR MEALS ARE TOO SMALL. I see this a lot especially with my women with clients. No shit your body is sending you hunger signals in the early afternoon because breakfast and lunch were both under 300 calories each. EAT BIGGER MEALS!

2. Eating similar sized meals spaced roughly evenly apart throughout waking hours provides predictable hunger patterns (signaling you to eat again), keeps blood glucose levels relatively stable which helps prevent massive energy swings. Obviously the fewer meals you eat, the larger the spacing between each meal should be and vice versa if you want more frequent feedings.

3. Dinner does not need to be your largest meal of the day. Especially if you're who likes to have some "flexible foods" post dinner. You don't want to be eating 60% of your daily calories in your final 2-3 waking hours of the day. Your largest meals should be your PRE/POST workout meals when your body is in a more advantageous position to partition these larger meals.

4. Pick a feeding frequency that you will be able to adhere to pretty consistently. Our metabolism thrives on routine, so picking a consistent feeding frequency and timing throughout the week (and weekend) will provide you more consistent signals from your body.

5. For making your precious gainz (Muscle Protein Synthesis) a higher frequency than what is considered standard (3x) will be more beneficial. Four plus evenly spaced similar sized feedings will provide better anabolic signaling for promoting muscle protein synthesis. There is a ceiling on this however and it's in the 5-7 meals depending on your source.

Conventional nutrition information barely scratches the surface for those of us who serious about making long-lasting huge body composition improvements. Filling this gap is why I created my nutrition coaching and education program, the Metabolic Performance Protocol. In depth, we cover the principles, education, and habits that take you from where you're at, to where you want to go.