Eat larger meals 'til full or smaller ones
intrepidelephant
Posts: 100 Member
Is it better to eat, say, 3 large meals and leave the table full or 6 smaller meals and never be full. Everyone says smaller meals are better but I really miss the feeling of being full. Instead of being hungry an hour or so before lunch and dinner, I now just feel perpetual low level hunger...
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Some people do really well on 6 smaller meals a day, but it makes others feel like gnawing their own arms off! Some people do really well on only one or two meals a day, too. It won't have a significant bearing on your weight loss. If you feel better eating 3 larger meals and are hitting your nutritional goals, then keep at it.0
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It makes no difference how you split up your meals. If you'd rather eat 3 larger meals than 6 smaller ones, then do. I prefer smaller meals, myself, because I don't like feeling full; it's uncomfortable for me. If I only ate three meals a day I'd be eating less calories overall because of it.0
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I like to eat until I'm full but not uncomfortably so. If I don't eat until full and register a very clear "full signal", I snack too much and consume more calories over all.0
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Some people swear it is better to have several smaller meals. But that does not matter. Whatever works for you, whatever will keep you on track to your goals is the way to go.0
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I think it's personal preference. I eat 3 meals a day, with one snack after dinner. I tried to do the 6 small meals but it just wasn't for me, I found myself adding little extra snacks every day which were adding up. Currently I eat somewhere around 400 calories for breakfast, 500 for lunch, 400 for dinner, and 400 calories in the evening. Not for everyone, but after a few months of trying different things I realized that I enjoyed to eat in the evening. I also noticed it wasn't harming my weight loss to eat after 9pm.0
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I prefer 3 meals a day. 500-600 calories of protein and fat usually keep me satisfied for a good 4-6 hours.0
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I eat a couple of small meals and a couple of big ones. I need to eat until I'm full at least once a day or that evening, all heck can break loose - I would eat anything not nailed down lol. I don't do well feeling constantly hungry, and there's really no need to live that way. Sometimes we have a light meal at 3-4pm and a big one at 7-8pm.
But it's 100% personal preference.0 -
Sometimes I prefer a bunch of smaller 300 cal meals spread a few hours apart and sometimes I'm better with a 300 and two 500s. Sometimes it just depends on the day.0
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Its all down to what you find is easiest for you and what prevents you from feeling hungry and therefore better able to sustain a calorie deficit0
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It is all personal preference. I do not have the link on hand but there are studies out there that say that it doesnt matter if you have 1 or 10 meals a day... The number of calories consumed vs number of cals burned is all that matters.0
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I eat on a different schedule every day to confuse the metabolism0
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I do better with more small amounts of food than a couple big ones, but I do different things.
Just do what works for you and don't worry about what others are doing,
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Meal timing or frequency doesn't matter, as long as you stay within your allotment. Do which ever one that helps you reach your fitness goal.0
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I would hate to always feel hungry. I eat a few small meals through the day. I have about 6 or so very low calorie meals, and I always feel full. I am so glad everyone agrees this is pretty much what your body likes the best. WEB MD says small meals boast metabolism.
Well, here is a myth buster:
Myth No. 2: Eating Small, Frequent Meals Boosts Your Metabolism
The theory: If you keep adding small amounts of food to your fire (the fire being your metabolism), you will keep it going strong and burn more calories overall.
The reality: Food intake has a negligible effect on metabolism. Some foods, including those with caffeine, may slightly and temporarily increase metabolism, but the effect is too small to help you lose weight. What most affects your basal metabolic rate (BMR), the rate at which your body burns calories at rest, is body composition and size. More muscles and bigger bodies generally burn more calories overall.
The best advice: Build up your muscles. A pound of fat-free tissue burns about 14 calories a day, while a pound of fat burns just two to three calories. And while that difference may not sound like a lot, it will certainly help over time. Remember, too, that when you lose pounds, part of that weight is muscle, warns Liz Neporent, an exercise physiologist and the president of Wellness 360, a New York City-based corporate-wellness-consulting company. That's why strength training is even more important if you're on a weight-loss mission. Try lifting weights, or you can maintain your muscles by going to a Pilates, body-sculpting, or power-yoga class two to three times a week.
http://www.realsimple.com/health/nutrition-diet/weight-loss/busting-10-diet-myths/myth-no-2-eating-small-frequent-meals-boosts-metabolism0 -
One of the best side effects of eating so much less was that now it takes far less food for me to feel full, so I can still get that full feeling but it takes a reasonable amount of food to get there.0
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I would hate to always feel hungry. I eat a few small meals through the day. I have about 6 or so very low calorie meals, and I always feel full. I am so glad everyone agrees this is pretty much what your body likes the best.
My body prefers to have an eating window that starts around 11am-1pm and ends around 9pm. I eat several small meals during that window. If I eat breakfast, thought, I'm miserable and hungry all day.
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from a metabolism stand point meal timing does not matter …do what works for you ..i eat four times a day ….0
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Just snack and eat (healthy choices) when your feeling hungry and be mindful of your caloric intake. It's been mentioned above, calories in - calories out; extra energy will be stored as fat.0
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I eat 3.01577 times a day and am doing great.
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I've gone both ways....and have worked with both routes.....no problems. I find it easier to "nibble" or "graze" throughout the day though, say every couple hours.......rather than devour a loaded omelet with cheese, bacon and whole wheat toast all in one sitting.....lol.You pretty much just gotta go with what works for you.....biggest thing is to make sure you're having "healthy" snacks......stay away from packaged stuff......I like nuts, berries, fruit, etc....between meals....but I only typically eat 1 "meal" per day, the rest is "grzing" as my fiance calls it.....lol. I'll come from for lunch and have a sandwich, and she says what.....? That's all your having......? I'm like yea! I had a handful of almonds/walnuts/etc earlier today! LOL.....then mid afternoon I'll have a handful of beef jerkey before my workout
And then a shake when I get home......and that about wraps up my day.....though today I did sneak in a fudge brownie......the girls at work were selling baked goods for Breast Cancer Awareness month.....lol....0 -
I agree that you space out your meals in a way that makes your calorie deficit work for you-everyone is different in how much and when they prefer to eat and it's all good.
I generally eat twice a day. I always want breakfast (about 300 calories) and I either eat a large lunch around 2pm during the week or a small snack at lunch and a large dinner on weekends.
I love and seem to need the feeling of being pretty hungry before a meal and the feeling of being pretty full (but not uncomfortably so) after a hearty meal. In this way, I don't feel deprived and/or constantly hungry).0 -
intrepidelephant wrote: »Is it better to eat, say, 3 large meals and leave the table full or 6 smaller meals and never be full. Everyone says smaller meals are better but I really miss the feeling of being full. Instead of being hungry an hour or so before lunch and dinner, I now just feel perpetual low level hunger...
For me, it depends on the day. If I've been super active I'm going to be hungrier all day long! So, I eat my 3 squares and add 2 substantial snacks.
Are you drinking plenty of water? I'm surprised at how it helps curb my appetite; I think sometimes I'm just thirsty, not necessarily hungry.
Just do what you think will work best for YOU.
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i eat 6 small meals per day and i'm almost never hungry. i find that eating protein and complex carbs works out better for me - simple carbs (sugars) seem to "wear off" sooner, so one gets hungry sooner.
you might not be eating enough. if you're sure you are, you might try having a glass of water, steamed broccoli or a lettuce and low cal dressing salad before meals to help fill your stomach.0 -
diannethegeek wrote: »Some people do really well on 6 smaller meals a day, but it makes others feel like gnawing their own arms off! Some people do really well on only one or two meals a day, too. It won't have a significant bearing on your weight loss. If you feel better eating 3 larger meals and are hitting your nutritional goals, then keep at it.
I am this person. I need at least 500 cals a meal or I'm starving in a few hours, regardless of my macros (except breakfast, I do need a high protein/fat intake to keep me full). So I eat 3x a day. Once I switch to maintenance and bulking though, I might switch that to 4 meals so that I'm not eating like 700-800 cals a meal.
Also I pretty much feel full for up to 6 hours this way. I have gone up to 8 hours between meals without wanting to eat someone's leg. It's much more convenient for me because I just pack one lunch, whereas in the past (before tracking cals) I'd have my lunch, and my snacks, and then I'd sometimes have to pack dinner with me because I would get hungry if I didn't eat before getting home around 7ish. Give it a try, and if doing this doesn't help your hunger then calculate your estimated calorie intake needs (without exercise if you log and eat back exercise calories, with exercise if you currently eat TDEE method or if you are failing to eat your logged exercise calories back) and subtract 20% to see how much you should be able to eat to lose ~4lbs/month. If it's much higher than your current intake (make sure that you are matching conditions - so calculate and compare for net if you eat net right now) then you know you are probably under-eating.0 -
I've gone both ways....and have worked with both routes.....no problems. I find it easier to "nibble" or "graze" throughout the day though, say every couple hours.......rather than devour a loaded omelet with cheese, bacon and whole wheat toast all in one sitting.....lol.You pretty much just gotta go with what works for you.....biggest thing is to make sure you're having "healthy" snacks......stay away from packaged stuff......I like nuts, berries, fruit, etc....between meals....but I only typically eat 1 "meal" per day, the rest is "grzing" as my fiance calls it.....lol. I'll come from for lunch and have a sandwich, and she says what.....? That's all your having......? I'm like yea! I had a handful of almonds/walnuts/etc earlier today! LOL.....then mid afternoon I'll have a handful of beef jerkey before my workout
And then a shake when I get home......and that about wraps up my day.....though today I did sneak in a fudge brownie......the girls at work were selling baked goods for Breast Cancer Awareness month.....lol....
No need to limit yourself to a set type of snack. I eat anything as long as it fits into my macros, and I am still losing weight. It's all about a calorie deficit, not about the specific food you are eating.
Also as a male, you are waaaaaaay undereating. 1300?????? I can see why your fiance would react as you describe! I love eating an omelet with cheese for breakfast, I can easily eat the meal you describe at like 400 calories, which is only abuot 2/3rds of what I eat for a meal. You should really, really consider upping your calories.0 -
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I prefer to have larger meals and eat until I am full. That is the way people used to eat as well, before this modern age of processed, easily available on every corner food from what I can tell. Snacking is very much a more modern day concept. So, I eat my two meals plus a mini meal per day and try and avoid snacking. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.0
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I try to be flexible depending on how I'm feeling that day. I usually have a small breakfast and then a morning snack because I go to the gym in the morning. Then I might take a salad, a yoghurt, a piece of cheese, and a handful of almonds to work. Sometimes I eat the whole lot at lunchtime, but if I'm satisfied after my salad I leave the rest and then am often hungry for the nuts and yoghurt mid afternoon. I do the same for dinner.0
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