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Nutrient timing has a small but significant effect on physique and performance outcomes. While 10% might seem inconsequential, consider that differences of much less than 10% in performance separate top athletes in the rankings. A difference of 1% or smaller in performance can determine whether you medal (or not) in the Olympics. Even in amateur sport competition, it is rare to see large differences in performance between athletes on the podium. A 10% difference per diet phase can also add up across years to make a more significant impact on long-term outcomes. For competitive athletes and fitness enthusiasts, especially those who are more experienced at training and dieting, meal timing is an important factor for optimizing progress. This chapter will cover the theoretical aspect of this principle. Practical application will be addressed in chapter 10.

Nutrient timing has six distinct components:

Meal number describes the number of meals an individual consumes per day. A meal is defined as any amount of food ingested in a single bolus (i.e., one ball of food and saliva). If you take a few bites of a sandwich at 1:00 pm and then take a few more at 1:30 pm, by sports nutrition standards, you have eaten two meals.

Meal spacing describes the timing of meals relative to each other. Choosing appropriate lengths of time between meals can depend on digestion time and hourly bodily needs. That being said, eating six, evenly sized, evenly spaced meals per day is not identical to eating three large and three small evenly spaced meals per day, even though by meal number and spacing they are the same; these differ in the third component: meal size.

Meal size is simply the amount of food eaten per meal and is measured in calories per meal.

Meal macros describe how much of each macronutrient is present in a meal and can differ between meals even when calories are held constant. For example, while two meals might each have 500 calories, one could contain 50 g of protein, 25 g of carbs, and 22 g of fat, and the other 25 g of protein, 50 g of carbs, and 22 g of fat. The size of each meals is the same in terms of calories, but they differ in macronutrient content.

Meal food composition describes the types of foods comprising the calories and macronutrients in each meal. The type of food within the meal can influence digestion rates, absorption rates, the satiety the meal provides, whether the meal causes gastrointestinal distress, and other factors worth consideration. Even when matched for calories and macronutrients, some food choices may be advantageous at certain times and not others. For instance, 30 g of protein is the same amount of protein whether it comes from a chicken breast or a whey protein shake, but one can be preferable to the other depending on when it is consumed. Whey protein digests very quickly and does not take up much stomach space, so it can be useful when trying to gain weight and feel full. In contrast, chicken digests slowly and has a higher volume, and therefore might be a better choice when you are feeling hungry and would like to feel satiated longer after a meal.

Meal timing around activity is the last of the nutrient timing components, but certainly not the least important. This component refers to structuring meals and macronutrients around training times to best support physique and performance outcomes. Of particular interest are the meals before, during, and immediately following training bouts.