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First, let's get rid of the myth of the "Anabolic Window".
Article - Menno Henselmans
What is the Anabolic Window?
There are many studies that show workout nutrition increases protein balance and muscle gains from training. Many studies expose the benefits of post- and pre-workout nutrition and many studies even show that there is an ”˜anabolic window’: a time period around the training session in which consuming protein has extra effect.
Formulated otherwise, the anabolic window theory posits that protein intake in close temporal proximity to training sessions results in more growth than consuming the same amount of protein at other points during the day. The theory is that the training session somehow primes the body for nutrient partitioning to muscle instead of fat.
Conclusion:
The anabolic window is a myth that is easy to fall for due to all the studies that seemingly support its existence. However, a closer look at the methodologies employed in these studies reveals that they do not support the use of workout nutrition at all. They just support the consumption of protein in general.
There is no such thing as a minuscule window around your training sessions where you have to consume protein or lose out on your gains.
Although there isn't an "Anabolic Window", there are in fact some benefits to meal timing. Just not the "Eat this asap after your workout or you won't grow" type of significance.
Nutritional Recommendations for Physique Athletes [Roberts et al., 2020]
By: Brandon M Roberts, Eric R Helms, Eric T Trexler, Peter J Fitschen
Discussion Thread So you can see what other users in the sub had to say about it.
Recommendations:
Keep in mind that the benefits are in the context of physique athletes as said in the paper. The goal of the review was to provide an extensive guide for male and female physique athletes in the contest preparation and recovery period.
So while it does have an effect, most don't need to be concerned.
Here is a handy chart from Alan Aragon:
Meal Frequency and Body Composition Chart
Article - Menno Henselmans
Tl;dr:
A Nutrient Timing Guide To Maximize Fat Loss and Muscle Growth - Andy Morgan
There are other ways meal-timing can have an effect aside from just the context of muscle.
Chrononutrition - Danny Lennon - Stronger By Science
Danny's Credentials
Discussion thread So you can see what other users in the sub had to say about this article.
TL;DR
The Anabolic Window
First, let's get rid of the myth of the "Anabolic Window".
Article - Menno Henselmans
What is the Anabolic Window?
There are many studies that show workout nutrition increases protein balance and muscle gains from training. Many studies expose the benefits of post- and pre-workout nutrition and many studies even show that there is an ”˜anabolic window’: a time period around the training session in which consuming protein has extra effect.
Formulated otherwise, the anabolic window theory posits that protein intake in close temporal proximity to training sessions results in more growth than consuming the same amount of protein at other points during the day. The theory is that the training session somehow primes the body for nutrient partitioning to muscle instead of fat.
Conclusion:
The anabolic window is a myth that is easy to fall for due to all the studies that seemingly support its existence. However, a closer look at the methodologies employed in these studies reveals that they do not support the use of workout nutrition at all. They just support the consumption of protein in general.
There is no such thing as a minuscule window around your training sessions where you have to consume protein or lose out on your gains.
But Does Meal Timing Matter at All?
Although there isn't an "Anabolic Window", there are in fact some benefits to meal timing. Just not the "Eat this asap after your workout or you won't grow" type of significance.
Nutritional Recommendations for Physique Athletes [Roberts et al., 2020]
By: Brandon M Roberts, Eric R Helms, Eric T Trexler, Peter J Fitschen
Discussion Thread So you can see what other users in the sub had to say about it.
Recommendations:
- Post-workout protein should start at 20g, plateauing occurred after 40g when doing legs only, but 40g had a greater effect on MPS following a full body workout compared to 20g.
- 6 meals a day (or frequent leveled amounts of protein) maximizes MPS over a 24 hour period, but be consistent when you eat.
- Pre-bed protein is better than none, but has little effect vs people who eat a high amount of protein through the day (likely 1.6kg + as it's the minimal really recorded through the study).
Keep in mind that the benefits are in the context of physique athletes as said in the paper. The goal of the review was to provide an extensive guide for male and female physique athletes in the contest preparation and recovery period.
So while it does have an effect, most don't need to be concerned.
What About Non Competitors?
Here is a handy chart from Alan Aragon:
Meal Frequency and Body Composition Chart
Article - Menno Henselmans
Tl;dr:
- If you eat 3 meals a day and pay careful attention to the distribution of your daily protein intake and food quality, you can probably stimulate maximum muscle growth. What matters most is that your body has elevated levels of amino acids in the blood when it needs them for muscle growth, not how many meals you consume per se.
- If you do not pay attention to your protein distribution or food quality, then consuming 4+ meals a day is the safer course of action. Any benefits of going from 3 or even 2 meals to 4 meals a day will likely be small compared to the effects of total macronutrient intake, however, so for adherence reasons, consuming fewer, bigger meals might be worth it for some people regardless.
Keeping Meal Timing Basic
A Nutrient Timing Guide To Maximize Fat Loss and Muscle Growth - Andy Morgan
- Avoid any extremes. Nutrient timing is about doing nothing stupid, first and foremost.
- Eat 2–3 meals when cutting, 3–4 meals when bulking.
- Spread your meals evenly across the day.
- Spread your macros evenly across the day.
- Feel free to skip breakfast if you prefer to do so and find it easier, but don’t expect different results.
- Feel free to use calorie cycling, macro cycling, and refeeds if you feel doing so will help you adhere. But don’t expect noticeably different results.
- If you’re a physique competitor, a slightly higher meal frequency may be to your advantage, so consider it unless it will throw off your adherence.
- If you are a physique competitor, consider calorie and macro cycling unless it will throw off your adherence.
Non-Muscle Related Benefits of Meal Timing
There are other ways meal-timing can have an effect aside from just the context of muscle.
Chrononutrition - Danny Lennon - Stronger By Science
Danny's Credentials
Discussion thread So you can see what other users in the sub had to say about this article.
TL;DR
- Circadian biology plays a fundamental role in human health.
- Research has shown that nutrient ingestion can impact our “body clocks” in peripheral tissues around the body, suggesting that when we eat our meals can have implications for health via influencing circadian rhythms.
- In addition, it has been hypothesized that having a restricted feeding window (time-restricted feeding) can have beneficial impacts on body composition and health, likely via circadian effects at least in some part.
- A related hypothesis suggests that the distribution of calories over the day (majority eaten early vs. late) can also have health impacts.
- My personal interpretation of the current literature available leads me to tentatively conclude that, in general, the following heuristics would be beneficial for many people to follow: 1) avoid eating during biological night, 2) avoid meals, particularly those high in fat and/or carbohydrates, close to DLMO (or say, at least ~2-3 hours pre-sleep), 3) bias more calories to earlier in the day (i.e. don’t eat a high proportion of your daily calories in the late evening), 4) have consistent meal times and meal frequency from day-to-day, 5) have some restricted feeding window (start with