2021 Chicago Pro Champion Hunter Labrada shares golden rules of meal timing and frequency

Hunter Labrada is an IFBB professional bodybuilder and the son of legendary bodybuilder Lee Labrada. Since earning his pro card in 2018, Hunter has competed in three editions of the Mr. Olympia competition.

He won the Tampa Pro title in 2020 and earned his qualification to the 2020 Mr. Olympia. On his debut Mr. Olympia, Hunter Labrada finished in eighth place. He then clinched the Chicago Pro Title in 2021 once again, earning his qualification to the 2021 Mr. Olympia. This time, he showcased improvements that helped him finish in fourth place.

Once again competing in the Mr. Olympia in 2022, Hunter Labrada would have hoped to break into the top three of Mr. Olympia but he finished in seventh place. Following his disappointing performance, Hunter assured his fans that he would be back.

Since he finished in seventh place outside the top five, Hunter has to earn an invite to the 2023 Mr. Olympia by winning a pro show as the points system has been removed this year. He has also said that he wants to compete in two shows this season prior to the Olympia.

In a video posted on March 8, 2023 on his YouTube channel, Hunter Labrada spoke about the golden rules of meal timing and frequency. The 2021 Chicago Pro champion suggested spacing one's meals out by at least two hours. Labrada said,

"The big things with meal timing and frequency, there's a couple golden rules that I never ever want to break. First, I never want to stack another meal any closer than two hours. This comes down to digestion and maintaining a good balance of nutrients in your body. So, first golden rule is never sooner than two hours and never later than four hours."

He further continued,

"My next big rule is don't eat too much protein in a single sitting. In my opinion, more than 60 grams in one sitting is an overkill. That's based off of my personal experience, people I've talked to, and research I've been privy to. You're going to start to experience a lot of digestion issue symptoms such as gas, bloating, irregular bowel movements, the list goes on and on. The second golden rule is no more than 60 grams of protein per serving."

Hunter Labrada said that once a person gets past these two rules, it finally comes down to what fits their day the best.

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Hunter Labrada speaks about how things might work for advanced bodybuilders and the importance of daily nutrition

The 2021 Chicago Pro champion cautioned that things might work differently for advanced bodybuilders or those who are far into their preps. He spoke about this after explaining his two golden rules. Hunter Labrada said,

"The only exception would be for those that are really advanced and far into prep. Everything gets magnified in prep. Little things make a big difference. You need to be more consistent with your meal timing. As you get deeper into prep, meal timing becomes much more important."

Earlier in the video, Hunter spoke about the importance of daily nutrition. He said,

"I'm a much bigger believer in your total daily nutrition is much more important than each individual meal. If it works better for you to have a bigger breakfast and then a couple smaller meals and then a bigger dinner, more power to you."

He further continued,

"If it works better in your mind, and this is the way my mind works to optimize your food around training. Consuming a large portion, upwards of fifty percent of your daily carbohydrate intake around training time and then lowering it, tapering it off as the day goes on, that's awesome too."

The 2021 Chicago Pro champion will be looking forward to putting on an improved performance at this year's 2023 Mr. Olympia if he secures an invite by winning a pro show, which he might win.