Where did the 6 meals a day idea come from?
Well we have to go way back first, because even eating 3 meals a day was something we (modern society) created and it stuck. Tribes simply ate when they were hungry rather than at set times, whereas, European settlers used time to set eating parameters (breakfast, lunch, dinner) as it fit into their structure of a “day” best.
So its hard to pinpoint WHEN exactly “bodybuilding” boasted more meals a day as the best approach to weight loss/muscle gain. This also depends on what you categorize “bodybuilding” to be, since training with weights and eating a certain way to attain a certain physique/health benefit has existed since the 11th century in India where they used Nals (stone dumbbells basically) to build muscle. Competitive training for entertainment really took off in Europe in the 1900’s where we consider the roots of bodybuilding to come from.
We can assume that, in the early quest to gain strength, athletes simply ate as much as they could to make maximum performance. This led to great “gains” but not great physiques, this is where powerlifters got the reputation for being overweight. With the goal being to simply move the most weight possible it made since to eat as much as possible to grow as much as possible. Fast forward then to right before the 20th century and the “father” of bodybuilding Eugene Sandow (yes, the trophy was named after this dude) began the shift in culture of being strong and still aesthetically pleasing by following certain dietary plans. Here’s the best part, sorry “bro’s” and “Bro-haters”, he didn’t even believe in a strict regimented diet. In fact, he ate 3x a day, sticking to whole foods but indulging occasionally without engorging himself. He drank the occasional beer and ate the occasional salad, believing in listening to your body and moderation above all. Again, Everyone Is Different! He knew that different eating styles worked for different people so stick to what works for YOU, not Miss Booty on Instagram or Dr. Bicep, so stop being a follower.
Ok Ryan, shorten up this answer, WHEN DID 6 MEALS A DAY START AND WHY?? Well, we don’t know when it started but we can guess why. Simple answer? Someone tried eating more meals a day and it worked for them, they recommended it to a buddy and boom, everyone’s trying it. Now why did it catch on with Bodybuilders so strongly? Protein synthesis and Caloric Expenditure. We know from studies done that higher protein frequency over a day (at doses high enough to cause protein synthesis, aka anabolic response) does increase lean muscle gain. We also know that the more lean muscle we carry (honestly weight in general) the more calories we burn a day (the marshmallow man from Ghost Busters was a caloric furnace!). We can also all agree on (I hope…) that in order to grow we need to be in a caloric surplus (not counting strength as this can be increased by movement efficiency and other factors). So it only makes sense to assume (ass out of me and you, yes ha.. ha..) that bodybuilders started adding in more meals a day simply out of necessity instead of trying to fit all their calories in 1-3 meals. This paired with the increase in protein spread out during a day lead to more impressive physiques, and since it was working for some people others tried it and it caught on in gyms everywhere. This works fine when the goal is maximum muscle gain but that’s not everyone’s main goal, fat loss is unaffected by amount of meals per day. So you could have 1-2 or 6-8 meals a day, whatever suits you best and is easiest to adhere to, what maters is that you are eating in a caloric deficit (eat less than you burn) and fat loss is inevitable.
Now the question this brings up-
Does eating more frequently increase metabolism?
This has been argued a lot as eating more frequently throughout the day dose seem to increase appetite, which leads many to think they must be burning more calories if they are “always hungry” (try to get sub 8-10% BF then tell me what hungry is). The feeling of hunger is related to the release of the hormone Ghrelin in the body and is not an accurate interpretation of metabolism. So, while eating more frequently may make us FEEL hungrier thus thinking we are speeding up metabolism that’s really not the case. What’s more than likely happening is since you are choosing to eat more meals a day its safe to say you are dieting and such eating less calories. Being in a calorie deficit is what’s making you hungry, not the amount of meals, also a higher protein intake (protein has a high thermic effect, so takes more energy to breakdown). Just to cover my ass I should also mention that higher protein consumption has actually been shown to lower the feeling of hunger due to suppressing ghrelin.
Sources
History of Bodybuilding
https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson61.htm
Sandow’s diet
https://physicalculturestudy.com/2014/09/23/eat-like-a-sandow/
Protein Frequency vs muscle gain
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261561416300188
Meal frequency and metabolism
what makes us hungry