This is a question I get a lot and here is the answer from a fat loss and muscle gain perspective.
Fat loss
As long as you remain in a calorie deficit it doesn’t matter if you eat 2,3,4 or 8 times a day.
“But I heard that eating 6 small meals a day speeds up my metabolism”? Not true!
This was a common belief but studies proved it incorrect.
Your body uses up energy to digest what you eat, but the amount of energy used is relative to the amount you eat. It doesn’t matter if you eat 3 big meals or 6 small meals as long as you eat the same amount of food you will use the same amount of energy digesting it.
If you like to eat bigger portions then do so less often, if you like to eat more often then do, just eat smaller portions.
Just keep yourself in a deficit and your on the way to fat loss, no matter how many meals you eat.
Muscle gain
If your goal is to build a lot of muscle, then you need to be in a calorie surplus.
Again it doesn’t really matter over how many meals once you create the surplus, however, it can be easier to consume a bigger amount of food over 6+ meals than trying to stuff yourself in 3 meals.
For both of the above its more important to find what works best for you and your lifestyle than looking for some magic number of meals.
Any questions ask below.