needing to constantly eat

[mkiojon]

Does anyone need to constantly eat, even more than 6 times per day? I feel as if I need to eat a ton of food to feel energized. I am somewhat new to weight training and I am about 148 LBS so I am not that big and 5' 10". I was a "3 times per week" guy for about 9 months and I have always been involved with a cardio work-out of sorts. Now I train 6 days per week. 5 with weights following a routine that alternates muscle groups in a 5 day period. The 6th day is just cardio for me. I also play the drums for 1-5 hours per day, depending on the amount of time I can devote to it. Here is a standard day for me.

 

Meal one: Bowl of cereal w/ some sort of milk "soy or rice, etc." w/ banana.

 

Meal two: soy yogurt with ground flax seeds and fruit..about a bowl full

 

Meal three: protein smoothie, I drink about 3 per day and I switch up the ingredients a bit "juice, soy milk, etc w/ banana, papaya, etc.." but I add in protein powder

 

Meal four: two sandwiches...either peanut butter and banana, veggie sub, hummus, etc..

 

Meal five: beans and rice, with veggies "a plate or two full" This is my large meal of the day.

 

Meal six: protein shake

 

Meal seven: more beans, rice and veggies...leftovers from meal five

 

Meal eight: Protein shake or apples with peanut butter

 

What are some of your thoughts on this amount of food? If I am not drumming, teaching or in the gym, I am eating. I think I may have a tendency towards eating a lot of veggies and fruit, but I have been eating a lot more protein lately and I feel like I have an insatiable appetite. If I am practicing with a band, I have to have a shake on hand or a sandwich to eat every hour.

[SeaSiren]

I do, but I eat 6 times daily with a caloric intake of about 1400 calories.

 

You'll need more of course. There's prob no need to eat as many times as you do if you were to eat more in one sitting.

 

Such as:

MEAL 1:Bowl of cereal w/ some sort of milk "soy or rice, etc." / banana. protein smoothie, I drink about 3 per day and I switch up the ingredients a bit "juice, soy milk, etc w/ banana, papaya, etc.." but I add in protein powder

 

MEAL 2:soy yogurt with ground flax seeds and fruit..about a bowl full

 

MEAL 3:two sandwiches...either peanut butter and banana, veggie sub, hummus, etc. add veggies here, such as a spinach salad or sweet potato

 

MEAL 4:protein shake

 

MEAL 5:beans and rice, with veggies "a plate or two full" This is my large meal of the day.

 

MEAL 6:Protein shake or apples with peanut butter

 

You'll be eating about every 2 hours. Be sure to drink about 2 liters of water every day.

 

This should help a bit so you won't constantly have to have food in your hand.

[ljk11]

Chalk it up to the lucky young male racehorse ectomorphic metabolism! Lucky you!!!

[Wobbly Lifter]

You exercise A LOT - so of course you have to eat a lot. I'd recommand eating more in each sitting, like add a bagel to breakfast, drink fruit juice instead of water, use lot's of oil when you cook, etc.

[mkiojon]

Right on, I appreciate the responses I have received here. I just need to load up more. I do have a very fast metabolism and I've been pretty much vegan for more than half of my life, so I eat fairly light, but I've been drinking more protein shakes and I have been eating more peanut butter, almonds, flax, etc.. I am constantly active and only since I've been lifting weights, have I gained some LBS. About six months ago I was 135 and now I am 145. Thanks for your thoughts!

[artystik]

I think you should add more nutrient dense foods (fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes), which green veggies are the best. Usually, people who are always hungry are hungry because they are starving for micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc). That is why they will eat so many macronutrients (protein, carbs, fat, etc) until they get fat. Eating high levels of carbs, fats, and protein (which are calorie dense/nutrient deficient) will only keep you content for a brief time because you will still need the vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, etc. This is what can make vegans just as unhealthy as meat-eaters.

[Odidnetne]

I think you should add more nutrient dense foods (fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes), which green veggies are the best. Usually, people who are always hungry are hungry because they are starving for micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc). That is why they will eat so many macronutrients (protein, carbs, fat, etc) until they get fat. Eating high levels of carbs, fats, and protein (which are calorie dense/nutrient deficient) will only keep you content for a brief time because you will still need the vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, etc. This is what can make vegans just as unhealthy as meat-eaters.

 

That was about the best response I could give too. Also eating these prime the body to put on muscle.

[mkiojon]

Right on thanks. It comes down to the classic "try to make your food colorful" idea to feel satiated. I just made a great pot of Ethiopian-style collard greens with lentils and brown rice.