Does a higher meal frequency increase metabolism?
That's the theory, yes. Bugger all evidence for it, though. Meal frequency tends to affect quantity and quality of food, though. People who eat 2-3 meals a day can just buy whatever crap's around, people who eat 5-8 meals a day pretty much have to plan their meals, so they tend to eat better food.
Brendon, try to vary your diet a bit. You're having some vegies, which is great, but try to get a few different types. Basically just for different
colours in your vegies. Make a stir-fry with broccoli (green), carrots (orange), capsicum (red), onions (white) and eggplant (purple).
Have some fruit, too - at least one piece at morning and afternoon tea, preferably some for lunch and dinner dessert, too. More beans, and some nuts.
Make sure you get something starchy for breakfast. Eggs are good, but you need some slow-release energy - those oats you had are excellent for that.
The basic foods are fruit, vegies, nuts, beans, meat, fish, dairy & eggs, and then starchy foods (oats, bread, pasta, rice - always wholegrain - and spuds). Think of food in terms of "portions" rather than weighing everything. A "portion" is what can fit in your hand, or a cup for liquids. So that's about 100g for steak, 50g for nuts, etc. A healthy diet might look something like this,
0800 - starch 3, dairy & eggs 3, fruit 1 - eg 1 cups dry oats with milk, 2 eggs scrambled on 2 pieces toast, glass of fruit juice
1000 - fruit 1, nuts 1 - eg banana and handful of nuts
1200 - starch 1, vegies 1, meat 1, fruit 1 - eg bread roll with 100g steak and some roast eggplant, capsicum and tomato, plus a piece of fruit
1400 - fruit 1, nuts 1, dairy 1 - eg apple, handful of almonds, glass milk
1600 - dairy & eggs 4 - workout drink of 500ml milk + 2 eggs
1800 - fish 2, vegies 4, beans 2 - eg 200g portion salmon, 2 cups chopped broccoli, capsicum, garlic, carrots, eggplant, plus 1/2 tin of red kidney beans
So in all you'd be getting fruit 4, vegies 5, nuts 2, beans 2, meat 1, fish 2, and starch 4. If you got tired
or hungry you'd eat more vegies, if you got tired
and hungry you'd eat more vegies
and starchy food.
That's not intended as a meal plan, just an example of a more varied diet.
If you have a more varied diet with more fresh fruit and vegies, nuts and beans, and have a proper breakfast - I think you'll find you don't need caffeine so much. Caffeine gives us an energy boost, but so does an adequate supply of vitamins and minerals, as we get from a varied diet.