🪓 The Myth

---

Many hardgainers believe: “The more often I eat, the faster I build muscle.”
The idea: more meals → more calories → more growth.
But this logic is stuck in the 90s — an era of bro-science and marketing.

🔍 Why this myth persists

---

• Old-school bodybuilding: In the scene, 6–8 meals per day were long treated as “mandatory”.
• “Metabolism boost” theory: Frequent eating was said to raise metabolism.
• Fear of catabolism: “If I don’t eat every 3 hours, my body burns muscle.”

👉 Reality: These assumptions misinterpret the evidence.

📊 The Facts

---

❓ How do we know meal count doesn’t matter?
👉 Research (e.g., Schoenfeld & Aragon, J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2018):

• Whether 3 or 6 meals — as long as calories and protein match, muscle gain is similar.
• The post-meal “metabolic boost” exists, but it scales with total intake → six small meals don’t burn more than three larger ones.

❓ How much protein per meal?
👉 The key is the leucine threshold:

• ~2–3 g leucine = triggers muscle protein synthesis.
• Roughly 25–35 g of high-quality protein (whey, meat, fish, eggs, smart plant combos).

❓ Don’t hardgainers build slower — shouldn’t they eat more often?
👉 Not necessary. Hardgainers often do better with fewer, larger meals:

• More appetite per meal.
• Less digestive stress.
• Easier to hit calorie targets.

❓ What about catabolism — won’t I lose muscle if I go longer without eating?
👉 Myth.

• Muscle loss doesn’t kick in after 3 hours.
• Muscle protein synthesis remains elevated for several hours post-meal.
• If you hit your total daily protein, you’re covered.

🏋️‍♂️ What actually works

---

• 3–4 main meals with protein at the core.
• 1–2 shakes (e.g., oats + whey + banana) as flexible add-ons.
• Consistency > frequency: the daily total is what matters.
• Mind digestion: six mini-snacks = unnecessary stress.

⚡ Conclusion

---

More meals do not equal more muscle. What matters most:

• Caloric surplus (hit your target)
• Protein quality & distribution (2–3 g leucine per meal)
• Continuity (daily, over months/years)

👉 Your body doesn’t need six meals — it needs strategic meals.