[Glenn]

"- When you eat does matter. 1000 calories at 9am is "less bad" than 1000 calories at 11pm jus tbefore you get into bed. This should be self-evident. If you eat 1000 calories and then proceed to have an active day (say, hiking, for example), you burn a lot of the food you ate for energy. If you eat 1000 calories and then lie down for 8 hours, the body burns substantially less for energy (duh), and what it doesn't burn it stores as fat "

This is only relevant for people who trying to cut the last few pounds for a perfect physique. It is basically irrelevant for someone trying to lose 80 lbs. If you eat 1000 calories before bed, then sleep, yes, it will be stored as fat. However, when you excercise the next day, the fat will be converted to energy, so you are not storing very much fat at any given time.

Eating more meals follows the same logic, but is important for different reasons. 2000 calories is 2000 calories. If you eat 2000 calories/day and burn 2000 calories a day, you are not going to gain weight whether you eat 10 meals or 1. Eating more meals is effective because it helps you burn MORE CALORIES. Your body can only absorb 30-50g of protein at a time. If you are excercising and trying to gain muscle, this is vital. Even if you are not trying to bulk up, this is still important because excercise breaks down muscle and you need protein to rebuild it. Muscle, even at rest, burns calories. The more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn. Eating more meals also allows your body to assimilate more of the nutrients in the food you are eating. Your insuln levels will be more constant. You will feel more energetic throughout the day because of the constant stream of energy you are providing your body. While your body can use stored fat as fuel, it WANTS to use newly digested carbs as fuel. The more energetic you feel, the more active you will be, and the more calories you will burn.