Set Meal Times vs. smaller, more frequent "snacking"?

Turning_Hopes_to_Habits

I'm going to experiment with meal times after the holidays. I try something new every few weeks to see how I do on it, keep what I like, ditch what I don't.

Eating every time I am hungry doesn't seem to benefit me. I think that eating frequently just means I either eat more calories in a day OR it means that I am never really satisfied. When it's happened that I've been hungry for a little while before the next meal and then had a really satisfying, tasty meal, I enjoyed my food more than I did when I spread my calories out by snacking.

If I do get really hungry, I'll eat low-calorie vegetables, something under 100 calories, just a little something to tide me over. What I do now is eat a minimum of 250-400 calories whenever I get really hungry, usually 4 times a day or more.

What is y'all's experience?

Cortneyrenee04

I love eating snacks often during the day and then a HUGE dinner at night. This is really working for me! On Sundays, I weigh out my snacks for the week and stick to those dying my work day. It's usually about 500 calories or so and then if someone brings "treats" I have room for that. Then I get home and go all out for dinner and still meet my calorie goals. It works for me since I'm not very hungry during the day and usually stay pretty busy.

I tried the eating small meals frequently thing but I wasn't measuring my food so there was way too much room for error.

Need2Exerc1se

I don't have set meal times. During the work week it's generally the same time every day (lunch around 1:30 - 3:00, dinner around 8:30 - 9:30). On the weekends there is no schedule. It just depends on what we're doing.

NoelFigart1

Small, frequent meals leaves me less satisfied and more prone to overeat than three meals a day. So, yeah, full meals works best for me.

I also think the plainest dinner can taste AMAZING when you are actually hungry rather than just eating because it's meal time, so that's a positive for me as well.

SingRunTing

I do the best with 3 meals a day and a snack in the evening.

I usually have about 800 calories between breakfast and lunch (switches off which one is the heavier meal), 600 calories for dinner, then 200 for an evening snack (1600 calories total). This isn't something I necessarily planned (with the exception of mindfully saving calories for a snack), its just a pattern that came out over time.

auddii

I typically eat smaller meals and snacks throughout the day on weekdays with larger dinners. Weekends it's usually larger meals and less snacking. I just kind of play with what works for me.

I did find that eating couple hundred grams of baby carrots just made me hungrier even though it was relatively low calorie. I now go for higher calorie and more filling; usually higher in protein. I like cottage cheese or greek yogurt. Sometimes peanut butter (less protein, but fat is also filling).

Lounmoun

I'm doing well with 3 meals and 1-2 small snacks a day usually.
I think eating more frequently would be harder for me to keep track of and wouldn't suit my lifestyle.

cwolfman13

I do best with scheduled meals and snacks dispersed throughout the day. I plan the night before what I'll be having the following day and I schedule it out throughout the day...no surprises and I basically get to eat every few hours or so...which I like to do. If it's not on the schedule and the food item has not been planned, it does not go into my mouth.

Basically I do this Monday - Friday and am more relaxed on the weekends. It just keeps me on track and helps me to avoid "junk" that I would probably otherwise eat if I didn't plan on my greek yogurt and mixed berries @ 3;30 PM as an example.

_lyndseybrooke_

I eat 7 times a day Monday-Friday. Preworkout Quest bar, post-workout protein shake, breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, dessert. I'm almost never hungry.

Weekends are different. I eat more calories on weekends, but fewer meals. As is my intention.

I don't do either of these things for weight loss purposes. The number of calories I eat takes care of that. Meal timing doesn't matter. This is just how I eat.

dopeysmelly

I mix it up.

Workout days I split my calories into 3 smaller meals and then have 3 small snacks between meals. I then eat my workout calories back as a "special snack" in the evening - really, just in case I have to miss my workout for some reason at the last minute, and always after I've satisfied my macros/fiber etc.

Non-workout days I generally stick with 3 meals and maybe something in the evening if I have calories left over.

The changing schedule makes it more interesting and matches what I'm doing with what I'm eating.

Turning_Hopes_to_Habits

LyndseyLovesToLift wrote: »

I eat 7 times a day Monday-Friday. Preworkout Quest bar, post-workout protein shake, breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, dessert. I'm almost never hungry.

Weekends are different. I eat more calories on weekends, but fewer meals. As is my intention.

I don't do either of these things for weight loss purposes. The number of calories I eat takes care of that. Meal timing doesn't matter. This is just how I eat.

Do you mind sharing how those calories shake out? I'm not sure I'd ever be hungry if I ate that much, either! I imagine you're a lot more active than me, otherwise you like smaller meals.

I also am wondering if I might like being hungry for a little while before a meal. Like NoelFigart1 said, food does taste a lot better to me when I'm hungry first.

Christine_72

IMO I think it's better for your body not to be constantly digesting food all day and night. So, for me large breaks between meals suits me

lorbie49

Mine is all over the place. I work 12 hour night shifts Friday-Sunday and go to school during the day on weekdays. My schedule is constantly flipping around so I eat at all times of the day. I find that smaller meals spread around whenever works for me. I just stay within my calories for that 24 hour period of time.

esjones12

I've been eating like this for quite some time and do just fine:

7am - breakfast, around 350 calories
10:30am - snack, around 100 calories
12:30pm - lunch, around 300ish calories
3:30pm - snack, around 150 calories
6pm - dinner, around 600 calories
8pm - optional snack around 100 calories

*if I hit the gym in the evening I'll sometimes flip dinner and the late snack. If I workout in the morning my breakfast is usually bigger.

I remain flexible, but I think consistency is key for long term success at anything.

vismal

christinev297 wrote: »

IMO I think it's better for your body not to be constantly digesting food all day and night. So, for me large breaks between meals suits me

Larger meals simply mean longer digestion periods. So whether you eat several small meals, or a couple big ones, it still takes roughly the same time to digest all the food.

There really is no metabolic advantage to any kind of meal timing so it's one of those things you should base completely on how well you do with it. Many people do well with small frequent meals, others like 1-2 big meals (myself included), and eating 3 squares and a snack works great for people as too. I'd just experiment with all the options until you find out which allows you to meet your nutritional goals the easiest.

CatLady1309

I usually eat breakfast about 8,have my main dinner about 1:30,something else about 6ish works for me.Might have a few snacks if I've got left over calories.

lemurcat12

I think experimenting to see what works for you is a great idea.

I like eating 3 significant meals, with sometimes an afternoon snack if I work out such that I'm hungry for it or plan to eat really late, or both. (I tend to eat an early breakfast, a noon-time lunch, and a quite late dinner.) I don't care for snacking in general, and for me eating throughout the day based on hunger wouldn't work for lots of reasons--I wouldn't be hungry, I would find it burdensome to have appropriate food available, I prefer meals to snacks and would be forced to eat lots of pre-prepared foods I don't care for/don't really need, and I'd probably constantly be thinking of reasons to eat something and end up over-consuming calories. And then I'd be bummed to not be able to have a real dinner.

None of this applies to people in general; just me and my habits.

I enjoyed my food more than I did when I spread my calories out by snacking.

This is true for me.

Kalikel

Depends on the day and my hunger.

sheepotato

I like having smaller meals and snacks because I had a problem with waiting too long between meals and getting grumpy or impatient before.

When I was calorie restricting I would usually have three 300-400 calories meals and 2-3 200 calories snacks a day. Just depended on what I planned for the day and how hungry I was by evening.

Mistraal1981

Personally, I prefer 3 meals of approx 500cals each. I leave a minimum of 4 hours between each meal.

I have a problem with snacks in that once I start I find it difficult to stop grazing. They don't actually satisfy me, plus I'm left with less calories for my main meals which then also feel unsatisfying and I end up overeating.

5'3" female, currently 144lbs.

obscuremusicreference

Personally, I find that eating very little during the day and then eating dinner and a snack works. But I'm glad you're open to experimenting, because I sometimes have to change up my meals depending on what that day brings.

tigersword

It's 100% personal preference.

beamie2687

I prefer three full meals with very little snacking. Breakfast is usually around 500 calories with lots of protein (otherwise I have a blood sugar crash around 10am!), then a 5-600 calorie lunch, and a small dinner. Since I eat more in the beginning of the day, I'm not usually as hungry for dinner and can get away with 400 calories with some room to spare if I want a small dessert or a glass of wine.

If I do need a snack, due to hunger or a workout, I go for something with protein and fat (again, blood sugar issues) like milk, nuts, or sometimes hummus (though I often find I need more than hummus).

SteveMFP123

I always have my breakfast, lunch and dinner at set times, then I snack throughout the evening as that's when I'm most hungry.

lifeskittles

I HAVE to eat a carb + protein combo at least every 2 hours or so or I feel really sick...I get really low blood sugar. I'm not diabetic or anything, but I do heavy lifting for almost 2 hours each day so I utilize a lot of carbs. So I guess my opinion is more based on true hunger than "snacking" per say...since I'm legitimately really hungry every couple of hours :P

musicandarts

I avoid snacking religiously. This was a major source of calories for me. For emergency uses, I have Werthers Hard Candy (3 for 70 cals). Also, once you stop snacking, the craving goes away.

Makterbro

I usually eat two really big meals (Breakfast and Lunch) then I eat a small snack for dinner. The reason is because I usually work out in the evening and if I am hungry then I feel really weak.

Francl27

Well we're all different but if I'm hungry, eating less than 150-180 calories is just not going to work out.

_lyndseybrooke_

Turning_Hopes_to_Habits wrote: »

LyndseyLovesToLift wrote: »

I eat 7 times a day Monday-Friday. Preworkout Quest bar, post-workout protein shake, breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, dessert. I'm almost never hungry.

Weekends are different. I eat more calories on weekends, but fewer meals. As is my intention.

I don't do either of these things for weight loss purposes. The number of calories I eat takes care of that. Meal timing doesn't matter. This is just how I eat.

Do you mind sharing how those calories shake out? I'm not sure I'd ever be hungry if I ate that much, either! I imagine you're a lot more active than me, otherwise you like smaller meals.

I also am wondering if I might like being hungry for a little while before a meal. Like NoelFigart1 said, food does taste a lot better to me when I'm hungry first.

Quest bar - 160-190 calories
Protein shake - 250-300 calories
Breakfast - 200 calories
Lunch - 250-300 calories
Afternoon snack - 150-250 calories
Dinner - 400-550 calories
Dessert - 140-210 calories

On weekdays I eat about 1850 calories per day, but eating more on weekends brings my average daily intake to 2000 calories.

As for exercise, I do 4 days of lifting for an hour each day and just 1 day of cardio for an hour. Other than that, I have a desk job and avoid exercise on weekends. I'm maintaining now, but when I was losing I ate 1650 calories during the week, evening out to 1850 as a daily average over the week.

I don't like hunger. Being hungry makes me VERY cranky. I try to avoid it, and my husband and coworkers thank me for that. Plus, the hungrier I get, the more I eat once I finally have a meal, which can lead to eating more than I should. I prefer to eat as often as possible.

court_alacarte

Francl27 wrote: »

Well we're all different but if I'm hungry, eating less than 150-180 calories is just not going to work out.

boom. me too. that's why i stick to 2-3 square meals. snacking just stalls me on my weight loss since eating them doesn't fill me up and i end up eating a full regular meal anyway.

however my mother on the other hand LIVES off of snacking and has in fact lost weight the past few months.

different strokes. just find what works for you

freeoscar

I started out breaking my calories fairly evenly among the 3 main meals. Did that for a month and I found myself always a little hungry. So I've been doing a very light breakfast, and basically pushing those calories into a protein-heavy dinner, which leaves me much more satisfied throughout the day.
I also think that mixing things up during weight loss helps me stick to it, sort of like mixing up workout routines and schedules.