Two Meal Muscle
Two meals.
I eat two meals per day. There's nothing magical, metabolically speaking, about eating two meals per day. Meal frequency (how many meals you eat) doesn't have a huge impact on your metabolism. Eating smaller meals more frequently doesn't increase your metabolism. Fasting doesn't increase fat burning. There won't be a big metabolic difference between eating three meals per day or six meals per day, assuming the amount of food consumed is held consistent.
In other words, as long as I eat this
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across the day — no more, no less — I'm good to go. Meal frequency doesn't matter… until it matters.
Meal frequency may not have a metabolic impact, but it does have an impact. Eating two meals per day the way I do makes it easier for me to reach (and stick with) a calorie deficit without meddling in mathematics. It also unlocks a certain amount of dietary freedom I wouldn't have otherwise.
Breakfast.
I don't eat breakfast. Throughout the morning, I drink water and black coffee. Not eating breakfast is a consequence of wanting to “backload” my energy intake. Backloading is the act of eating the majority of your energy later in the day. I'll explain why I prefer backloading a little later…
Lunch.
My first meal is lunch, around one ‘o clock. My lunch consists of proteins (usually lean proteins), non-starchy carbs, and as little “energy” as necessary. Lemme break this down a bit more…
Lunch consists firstly of lean proteins. Eating lean proteins for lunch (as opposed to non-lean proteins) is another way to backload my energy intake. I eat 1/2 my daily protein quota at lunch, in order to divide my protein intake somewhat evenly across both meals, as some people say the body can only absorb a certain amount of protein in a certain amount of time. This means I eat 3-5 “pucks” of protein at lunch. (Remember, one hockey-puck-sized portion of protein-rich foods contains around 20-30 grams of protein.)
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Lunch consists secondly of non-starchy carbs. As mentioned, I don't limit my non-starchy carb consumption; I let myself eat infinite non-starchy carbs. For lunch, however, I keep my non-starchy carb portions sane. Just enough to fill my belly and make me happy.
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Lunch consists thirdly of starchy-sugary carbs and possibly fats. Not a ton. But some. Both starchy sugary carbs and fats — around 500 calories, if I had to estimate.
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This seems to fly in the face of backloading, but here's the deal:
First, I usually lift weights prior to lunch. Eating some starchy-sugary carbs after you lift weights is a good idea. Doesn't have to be directly after you lift, or within a fabled thirty-minute window of opportunity. Just after.
Second, backloading hard often backfires. Whenever I save up for a huge dinner, I'm prone to splurge and overeat.
Third, I enjoy my lunch more when I eat some starchy-sugary carbs and fats.
If you're a Two Meal Muscler and you don't want to eat starchy-sugary carbs and fats for lunch in order to unlock ultimate backloading potential, then you do you, Batman. The energy density of your meals is fungible.
Lunch: specifics.
The specifics of what I eat don't really matter. The category matters more than the specific food; foods that fall in the same category are interchangeable. Doesn't matter if I'm eating chicken breast or tuna, both are lean proteins. Both will have similar macronutrient ratios.
Alas, seeing the specific things I eat may make it easier for all of this to stick inside of your noodle.
- proteins: currently tuna, chicken breast, whey protein, venison…
- non-starchy carbs: usually carrots. Because they're cheap. and I'm cheap.
- energy: small bowl of oats, maybe 1/2 cup, topped with a banana and dark chocolate or nuts.
I eat the same lunch most days, but my lunch evolves. A few months ago, my oats were topped with a banana and whey protein pudding (plain unflavored whey mixed with minimal water to create a thick consistency). There were no nuts or dark chocolate. Whatever. The specifics are stupid.
Dinner.
My second meal is around seven or eight o'clock. Before my wife squirted out our second child, I ate dinner around five or six ‘o clock. Whatever. Doesn't matter. As mentioned, meal timing isn't a dealbreaker.
Thanks to backloading, I can eat rather freely at dinner without amassing a ton of energetic baggage. I generally eat healthy nutrient-dense homemade dinners, but I also eat pizza, nachos, and other commonly frowned-upon foods. More on this later.
The skeleton of my “normal” dinners stays the same, but the face changes depending on the objective.
Fast fat loss.
When I want to guarantee fat loss:
Dinner consists firstly of proteins. The remainder of my quota for the day. And they'll be mostly lean proteins. For the sake of example, I'll say I had some chubby proteins. Chubby proteins count as one protein and one energy.
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Dinner consists secondly of non-starchy carbs. I don't limit my non-starchy carb consumption. I eat as many as I need to feel full and satisfied.
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Dinner consists thirdly of energy, which is to say: starchy-sugary carbs and fats. I keep this to a bare minimum.
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Fast fat loss dinner: specifics.
Once again, I'm showing you the specifics to make all of this stickier, not because I want you to imitate me. For fast fat loss, my dinner would look something like this:
first,
Baked or steamed non-starchy carbs: green beans, brussels sprouts, asparagus, eggplant… I eat a lot of baked cabbage. Cabbage is cheap.
second,
Proteins, usually atop or beside the non-starchy carbs. My go-to is a combination of lean meat (chicken breast, ground turkey…) and cottage cheese.
third,
I add spices and low-calorie condiments. I love spicy foods, I use a lot of hot sauce, cayenne pepper, chili powder, red pepper flakes, etc…
fourth,
For dessert, I eat a small bowl of oats topped with some peanut butter and a banana (or chocolate chips if I'm out of bananas). I wash this down with a tiny glass of milk. When the option exists, I'll eat a better dessert in favor of my normal “dessert.” For instance, my parents brought me some carrot cake the other day. Ate a hunk of that instead of my “normal” dessert.
I'm pretty liberal with my dessert. I can eat almost anything I want and still lose fat. The key is portion control.
Slow fat loss.
Outlined above is an example of a fast fat-loss day for me, which is to say: if I eat like this on a daily basis, I will lose fat at a rather respectable rate — perhaps faster than I should.
You'll notice that, through my symbol game, I come pretty close to my conservative deficit goal:
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From my experience, however, I know that if I eat the way I explained above, I will lose fat rather quickly; I know I can eat more and still lose fat. If I want to lose fat at a less rapid (more sustainable) pace, I'll do two things differently during dinner.
First, I'll be less strict with my protein sources; I won't be afraid to eat non-lean proteins to reach my quota. For instance, instead of eating chicken breast, I'll eat chicken thighs or ground beef.
Second, I'll include more energy with my “main course” at dinner. I'll have a baked potato. Or a sweet potato. Or some french fries. Or I'll toss a handful of cheddar cheese into the mix. Or instead of putting meat atop non-starchy carbs, I'll eat meat alongside beans and rice. (Dessert stays the same.)
These don't seem like big changes, but they add up quickly. For instance, eating a non-lean protein will take up another
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spots. Energy adds up quickly, which is why, when I want to guarantee fat loss, I try to limit my energy to my “desserts” at both lunch and dinner. This is just my personal preference because I'm a degenerate that likes ending my meals with a dessert (and I'm fully aware that oatmeal is a laughable dessert). If I was a different person, I might be better off spending my energy elsewhere in the meal, somewhere that'd bring me more satisfaction. Maybe I'd eat three large baked potatoes for dinner instead of having oats topped with peanut butter and a banana.
Ludicrous fat loss.
There exists a third option, for fat loss. In a past life, I referred to this third option as “Going Plaid,” in honor of Lord Helmet pushing his ship to ludicrous speed in Spaceballs.
Going Plaid is a ludicrous fat loss option — an attempt to deliver rapid fat-loss results by eliminating most energetic material from your diet. You should be familiar with the blueprint for this:
- I make 75%+ of your proteins come from lean proteins.
- I keep starchy-sugary carbs and fats to a minimum.
Going Plaid, for me, involves skipping my “dessert” at lunch and/or dinner during a fast fat-loss day. If I did this, my blueprint for the day would look something like this:
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I don't Go Plaid much anymore because I'm not as big of a degenerate as I used to be. I used to struggle with binge eating. Going Plaid was my way of creating large calorie craters to counteract large calorie surges. I don't binge eat anymore, which means fast fat-loss days get the job done just fine. Still, I do Go Plaid sometimes.
Fat loss: summary.
First and foremost, fat loss depends on creating a consistent calorie deficit. I don't eat two meals to unlock metabolic magic, I eat two meals because it suits my lifestyle. By only eating two meals and “backloading” most of my daily energy allotment, I have a fair amount of caloric freedom at dinner. This “freedom” expands if I Go Plaid at lunch and skip my oatmeal, which is my go-to strategy if I know I have dinner plans.
Say me and Hobo Joe go to a restaurant for dinner. We both order the same entrée, which is 1500 calories. Hobo Joe ate 600 calories at breakfast, 600 calories at lunch, and 200 calories worth of snacks. I only ate lean proteins and non-starchy carbs at lunch. You do the math.
I can be a little more lenient at dinner and keep my calories under (somewhat) control. Even when I don't Go Plaid, I have a fair amount of caloric wiggle room at the dinner table, which is when I need caloric wiggle room. I have a family. As much as I plan ahead, some days get flushed down the toilet. I have to eat something for dinner I didn't prepare myself.
Also, some nights I want to be able to relax and eat pizza or go to a restaurant for dinner. It's nice to be able to eat “whatever” for dinner and not stress about my calorie intake rocketing through the roof.
Keep in mind, this is a personal preference. Eating minimal food and being “on point” throughout the day is easy for me. Dinner is my demise. If I worked a job where I met clients for lunch, or I traveled a lot, things would be different…
Beyond the lifestyle perks, eating only two meals and backloading also allows me to eat a rather large and fulfilling dinner every night, even when I'm in a calorie deficit. I like the idea of eating a big filling meal and feeling satisfied every day more than I like the idea of eating six smaller meals. Of course, this has a cost: I surf waves of hunger throughout the early morning hours. I'm okay with this. I'm happy sipping on coffee throughout the morning.
Fat loss: implementation.
I have three different approaches.
First, Going Plaid: eliminating most (if not all) energetic material in a day.
Second, fast fat loss: restricting energetic material to my “desserts” at both meals.
Third, slow fat loss: being a tiny bit more lenient with energetic material at dinner.
Ultimately, the approach I use on any given day depends on what I'm trying to accomplish.
If I want to lose a significant bit of fat and I'm okay with maintaining my muscle, I'll use a slower approach: I'll string together slow fat-loss days.
If I'm trying to recomp (lose fat and build muscle at the same time) or clean bulk (build muscle without getting fat), I'll use a faster approach: I'll Go Plaid more often and I'll mix fast fat-loss days into the weekly rotation alongside muscle-building days. Speaking of which…