6 meals a day

The program that I am doing says do not eat longer than 3 hours apart and eat 6 meals a day. Can someone show me a day where you eat 6 meals a day and aren't going to sleep at midnight? Haha!

I usually start eating at 8:30.
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Replies

  • Tme2change
    Tme2change Posts: 185 Member
    well my day typically starts 3 hours before yours...
    but here goes it
    8:30-Breakfast
    10:30-Small snack
    12:30Lunch
    3:30-smal snack
    6:30 dinner
    8:30-small snack
  • thisismeraw
    thisismeraw Posts: 1,264 Member
    Are you hungry every three hours? Do you need to eat that often in a day or are you fine with less? Eating more often won't cause more weight loss.

    If you do want to eat that often, break up your meals or add in snacks to add more meals in a day like the above poster mentioned.
  • Tme2change
    Tme2change Posts: 185 Member
    I might add that my Breakfast as you see is usually 200 cal or less. My bigger meals though can between 300-500 cal.
  • Eating 6 small meals a day compared to eating 1 large meal a day has no special effect on increased weight loss.
  • ilmb87
    ilmb87 Posts: 216 Member
    7:30 - Breakfast
    11:00 - Snack 1
    1:00 - Lunch
    4:00 - Snack 2
    6:00 (ish) - Dinner
    8:00 - Dessert

    This is only during the week, though. Weekend I typically only have 2-3 meals.
  • LeanButNotMean44
    LeanButNotMean44 Posts: 852 Member
    I eat 7 times per day, and it looks like this (my diary is open, if you want to see the macros):

    4:30am: 1/2c old fashioned oats w/soy milk, ground flax seed, 1 scoop protein powder, 1/3c blueberries
    6-6:15am: Protein shake (protein powder + soy milk)
    8:30-ish: hard boiled egg, 1/4c almonds
    10:30-11am: snack (usually 2 mini-babybel lite cheeses)
    12n: lunch (salad w/baked chicken)
    3pm-ish: snack (lately has been 1c frozen red seedless grapes)
    6pm: Dinner (varies)

    I try to be in bed by 8:30, but lately it's been closer to 9pm. :grumble:
  • Roll_Tide_Meg
    Roll_Tide_Meg Posts: 255 Member
    I love how people all of the sudden become experts lol! So funny to me. :) THE PROGRAM that I am doing recommends that I eat 6 smaller meals a day as opposed to 3. They actually had science to back up the "no more than three hours apart" thing but I do not have it in front of me so I will update when I get home...but anyways....I think ya'll have given me an idea of what I need to do.
  • Roll_Tide_Meg
    Roll_Tide_Meg Posts: 255 Member
    I eat 7 times per day, and it looks like this (my diary is open, if you want to see the macros):

    4:30am: 1/2c old fashioned oats w/soy milk, ground flax seed, 1 scoop protein powder, 1/3c blueberries
    6-6:15am: Protein shake (protein powder + soy milk)
    8:30-ish: hard boiled egg, 1/4c almonds
    10:30-11am: snack (usually 2 mini-babybel lite cheeses)
    12n: lunch (salad w/baked chicken)
    3pm-ish: snack (lately has been 1c frozen red seedless grapes)
    6pm: Dinner (varies)

    I try to be in bed by 8:30, but lately it's been closer to 9pm. :grumble:

    Looks good! All your protein. And I LOVE mini babybel cheese!
  • arains89
    arains89 Posts: 442 Member
    This is how I do it
    7:30 Breakfast (Special K cereal or a hardboiled egg, banana, and piece of whole wheat toast)
    10:00 Snack (Small granny smith apple and 2 tbsp. of peanut butter)
    12:30 Lunch (Tuna sandwich on wheat with light mayo and a low fat string cheese)
    2:30 Snack (this one generally varies but example:100 cal low fat greek yogurt and 1 cup of green seedless grapes)
    6:30 Dinner (varies example: 6oz boneless chicken breast with bbq sauce 1 cup steamed broccoli with 1 tbsp. grated parm cheese)
    I work out about an hour after dinner for an hour and am running around getting my kids settled and take a shower
    9-9:30ish Late snack (low fat popcorn or some sliced cheese. Sometimes even a glass of wine to finish my day)

    Hope this helps!
  • bound4beauty
    bound4beauty Posts: 274 Member
    I love how people all of the sudden become experts lol! So funny to me. :) THE PROGRAM that I am doing recommends that I eat 6 smaller meals a day as opposed to 3. They actually had science to back up the "no more than three hours apart" thing but I do not have it in front of me so I will update when I get home...but anyways....I think ya'll have given me an idea of what I need to do.

    Oh you'll find lots of "experts" on here. If eating six meals a day makes sense to you and you want to spread out your daily calorie allotment over six smaller meals than that's what you should do. I was eating 5 times a day but my trainer asked me to try and do six so that's what I started doing a couple of days ago. It can be challenging and certainly requires more focus and planning. You're welcome to look at my diary to get some ideas. I also stay away from as much processed crap as I can. Although the "experts" here will tell you that's completely unnecessary because 100 calories of fruit and 100 calories of cake is still 100 calories. That's true but I personally think I get more nutritional bang for my buck eating the fruit. To each his own though.

    Obviously the theory behind it is to keep your metabolism stoked by consistently giving it fuel to burn. You can still give it too much fuel though so you do need to keep an eye on your calories and macros.

    Good luck!
  • Alphastate
    Alphastate Posts: 295 Member
    Are you hungry every three hours? Do you need to eat that often in a day or are you fine with less? Eating more often won't cause more weight loss.

    If you do want to eat that often, break up your meals or add in snacks to add more meals in a day like the above poster mentioned.

    Eating more often will aid in weight loss. If you are only eating two to three meals a day, your body thinks "Oh, I'm not going to get more food for another 6 hours, I better store this food for energy." Food get stored as fat. If you are eating every 2-3 hours, your body thinks, "I know I'll be getting more fuel in a couple hours, I can go ahead and use this food for energy now". This increases your metabolism, which in turns helps burn fat.
  • arains89
    arains89 Posts: 442 Member
    Are you hungry every three hours? Do you need to eat that often in a day or are you fine with less? Eating more often won't cause more weight loss.

    If you do want to eat that often, break up your meals or add in snacks to add more meals in a day like the above poster mentioned.

    Eating more often will aid in weight loss. If you are only eating two to three meals a day, your body thinks "Oh, I'm not going to get more food for another 6 hours, I better store this food for energy." Food get stored as fat. If you are eating every 2-3 hours, your body thinks, "I know I'll be getting more fuel in a couple hours, I can go ahead and use this food for energy now". This increases your metabolism, which in turns helps burn fat.

    ^^ This!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I love how people all of the sudden become experts lol! So funny to me. :) THE PROGRAM that I am doing recommends that I eat 6 smaller meals a day as opposed to 3. They actually had science to back up the "no more than three hours apart" thing but I do not have it in front of me so I will update when I get home...but anyways....I think ya'll have given me an idea of what I need to do.

    That's not science...that's "bro-science" Meal timing is irrelevant as evidenced by the fact that you have all kinds of people losing weight doing IF...all kinds of people losing weight eating 3 squares...all kinds of people losing weight who only eat one huge meal per day, etc.

    That said, I do eat 5-6 meals per day...'cuz otherwise I'm hungry...but the idea that it somehow stokes the metabolic fire is not backed up by actual science.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Are you hungry every three hours? Do you need to eat that often in a day or are you fine with less? Eating more often won't cause more weight loss.

    If you do want to eat that often, break up your meals or add in snacks to add more meals in a day like the above poster mentioned.

    Eating more often will aid in weight loss. If you are only eating two to three meals a day, your body thinks "Oh, I'm not going to get more food for another 6 hours, I better store this food for energy." Food get stored as fat. If you are eating every 2-3 hours, your body thinks, "I know I'll be getting more fuel in a couple hours, I can go ahead and use this food for energy now". This increases your metabolism, which in turns helps burn fat.

    Probably why this guy is so fat...

    http://www.leangains.com/

    I don't practice this and I actually do eat 5-6 times per day, but the whole speeding up your metabolism thing is just a bunch of bro-science.
  • phyllisgehrke
    phyllisgehrke Posts: 238 Member
    I eat 6 meals a day smaller meals as I am retired and don't get a lot of exercise.
    My Breakfast is always about 200 Calories
    My Snack under 200 Calories
    Lunch 300-400 Cal
    Dinner 300-400 Calories
    My Evening snack is usually Greek Yogurt

    Breakfast 8:30 Am

    Snack 10:30 Am

    Lunch 11:30 Am

    Snack 3:00 pm

    Dinner 5:00 pm

    Snack 7:00 Pm, something very light.
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
    I couldn't imagine scheduling enough time to eat all those meals! :laugh: But if it works for you, that's wonderful!
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    The program that I am doing says do not eat longer than 3 hours apart and eat 6 meals a day. Can someone show me a day where you eat 6 meals a day and aren't going to sleep at midnight? Haha!

    I usually start eating at 8:30.

    Dear lord, that sounds exhausting. I eat twice a day.

    The 6 times a day is a bunch of voodoo broscience.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Are you hungry every three hours? Do you need to eat that often in a day or are you fine with less? Eating more often won't cause more weight loss.

    If you do want to eat that often, break up your meals or add in snacks to add more meals in a day like the above poster mentioned.

    Eating more often will aid in weight loss. If you are only eating two to three meals a day, your body thinks "Oh, I'm not going to get more food for another 6 hours, I better store this food for energy." Food get stored as fat. If you are eating every 2-3 hours, your body thinks, "I know I'll be getting more fuel in a couple hours, I can go ahead and use this food for energy now". This increases your metabolism, which in turns helps burn fat.

    and you're a trainer?!
  • Alphastate
    Alphastate Posts: 295 Member
    Are you hungry every three hours? Do you need to eat that often in a day or are you fine with less? Eating more often won't cause more weight loss.

    If you do want to eat that often, break up your meals or add in snacks to add more meals in a day like the above poster mentioned.

    Eating more often will aid in weight loss. If you are only eating two to three meals a day, your body thinks "Oh, I'm not going to get more food for another 6 hours, I better store this food for energy." Food get stored as fat. If you are eating every 2-3 hours, your body thinks, "I know I'll be getting more fuel in a couple hours, I can go ahead and use this food for energy now". This increases your metabolism, which in turns helps burn fat.

    Probably why this guy is so fat...

    http://www.leangains.com/

    I don't practice this and I actually do eat 5-6 times per day, but the whole speeding up your metabolism thing is just a bunch of bro-science.

    Um, you obviously have no idea what you are talking about. First, I'm 6'0" and 180 lbs, so, not so fat. Second, I'm a certified personal trainer, so it's not "bro-science", its real science. Maybe you should do your research before you try to insult people on a weight loss help website.
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  • shannaslife
    shannaslife Posts: 19 Member
    I eat 5times a day and are not 3hrs exactly its more like

    7am -breakfast
    10am - snack
    12:30pm - lunch
    3:00pm - snack
    7:00pm - dinner

    I eat all veggies and fruit and turkey or chicken only. I don't believe in cheat days.. if I feel like eating from the bad list I eat half of the portion. I do not eat after 8pm and I'm usually in bed by 9 or 10 at the latest. It works for me :)
  • Showcase_Brodown
    Showcase_Brodown Posts: 919 Member
    Obviously the theory behind it is to keep your metabolism stoked by consistently giving it fuel to burn. You can still give it too much fuel though so you do need to keep an eye on your calories and macros.

    There is no metabolic benefit to eating more times a day. If you enjoy eating 6 meals a day and it works for you, then by all means, do it. If you keep it within your calories, it will work. I would find it very difficult to have to plan 6 meals. It just sounds exhausting. I prefer to eat 2 meals a day and possibly a small snack in between.
  • Alphastate
    Alphastate Posts: 295 Member
    Are you hungry every three hours? Do you need to eat that often in a day or are you fine with less? Eating more often won't cause more weight loss.

    If you do want to eat that often, break up your meals or add in snacks to add more meals in a day like the above poster mentioned.

    Eating more often will aid in weight loss. If you are only eating two to three meals a day, your body thinks "Oh, I'm not going to get more food for another 6 hours, I better store this food for energy." Food get stored as fat. If you are eating every 2-3 hours, your body thinks, "I know I'll be getting more fuel in a couple hours, I can go ahead and use this food for energy now". This increases your metabolism, which in turns helps burn fat.

    Probably why this guy is so fat...

    http://www.leangains.com/

    I don't practice this and I actually do eat 5-6 times per day, but the whole speeding up your metabolism thing is just a bunch of bro-science.

    Um, you obviously have no idea what you are talking about. First, I'm 6'0" and 180 lbs, so, not so fat. Second, I'm a certified personal trainer, so it's not "bro-science", its real science. Maybe you should do your research before you try to insult people on a weight loss help website.

    Let's clear one thing up. Being a CPT make no difference in if you are spouting bro-science or something else. So don't come on here stating you are qualified to give nutritional advice or build meal plans because you are not. There are many CPT's on here, many of them have a different opinion than you do so that right there makes your argument invalid.

    Many of us have been very successful with IF or just eating 1 or 2 meals a day while eating at a deficit and macro targeting some please come back with a better reasoning than what you just tried.

    You didn't clear anything up because I never stated anything like you said. And opinions don't invalidate anything, how can an opinion be wrong? I simply stated what has proven more effective in my clients. The "increase metabolism" statement is not 100% true on the surface, but when you delve into the person's actual diet, and show how taking the smaller meals more often actually helps more fully digest foods, especially protein, then you can see how it can increase energy, and show to work in weight loss. At the end of the day, weight loss comes from a calorie deficit, it's just a matter of how effectively you attain that deficit.
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,658 Member
    The program that I am doing says do not eat longer than 3 hours apart and eat 6 meals a day. Can someone show me a day where you eat 6 meals a day and aren't going to sleep at midnight? Haha!

    I usually start eating at 8:30.

    That would only give me 200 calories per meal, that would be snacks, not proper meals for me.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Let's clear one thing up. Being a CPT make no difference in if you are spouting bro-science or something else. So don't come on here stating you are qualified to give nutritional advice or build meal plans because you are not. There are many CPT's on here, many of them have a different opinion than you do so that right there makes your argument invalid.

    Many of us have been very successful with IF or just eating 1 or 2 meals a day while eating at a deficit and macro targeting some please come back with a better reasoning than what you just tried.

    Bro-science is bro-science. Certified Personal Bro or not.

    ETA - unless there is actual scientific studies that our CPT has that would shed light on why 6 is a must for real ultimate metabolic power.
  • eep223
    eep223 Posts: 624 Member
    Are you hungry every three hours? Do you need to eat that often in a day or are you fine with less? Eating more often won't cause more weight loss.

    If you do want to eat that often, break up your meals or add in snacks to add more meals in a day like the above poster mentioned.

    Eating more often will aid in weight loss. If you are only eating two to three meals a day, your body thinks "Oh, I'm not going to get more food for another 6 hours, I better store this food for energy." Food get stored as fat. If you are eating every 2-3 hours, your body thinks, "I know I'll be getting more fuel in a couple hours, I can go ahead and use this food for energy now". This increases your metabolism, which in turns helps burn fat.

    Probably why this guy is so fat...

    http://www.leangains.com/

    I don't practice this and I actually do eat 5-6 times per day, but the whole speeding up your metabolism thing is just a bunch of bro-science.

    Um, you obviously have no idea what you are talking about. First, I'm 6'0" and 180 lbs, so, not so fat. Second, I'm a certified personal trainer, so it's not "bro-science", its real science. Maybe you should do your research before you try to insult people on a weight loss help website.

    Let's clear one thing up. Being a CPT make no difference in if you are spouting bro-science or something else. So don't come on here stating you are qualified to give nutritional advice or build meal plans because you are not. There are many CPT's on here, many of them have a different opinion than you do so that right there makes your argument invalid.

    Many of us have been very successful with IF or just eating 1 or 2 meals a day while eating at a deficit and macro targeting some please come back with a better reasoning than what you just tried.

    And many people have been successful with 6 meals a day. Your point? Somebody else having success on a different program does not mean that this program cannot lead to success as well. Why are you even trying to argue that?
  • thisismeraw
    thisismeraw Posts: 1,264 Member
    Are you hungry every three hours? Do you need to eat that often in a day or are you fine with less? Eating more often won't cause more weight loss.

    If you do want to eat that often, break up your meals or add in snacks to add more meals in a day like the above poster mentioned.

    Eating more often will aid in weight loss. If you are only eating two to three meals a day, your body thinks "Oh, I'm not going to get more food for another 6 hours, I better store this food for energy." Food get stored as fat. If you are eating every 2-3 hours, your body thinks, "I know I'll be getting more fuel in a couple hours, I can go ahead and use this food for energy now". This increases your metabolism, which in turns helps burn fat.

    False. Meal timing has NO EFFECT on weight loss. This is such an old myth and has been proven false time and time again. Food gets stored as fat when you eat above your TDEE. Simple.
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  • thisismeraw
    thisismeraw Posts: 1,264 Member
    Are you hungry every three hours? Do you need to eat that often in a day or are you fine with less? Eating more often won't cause more weight loss.

    If you do want to eat that often, break up your meals or add in snacks to add more meals in a day like the above poster mentioned.

    Eating more often will aid in weight loss. If you are only eating two to three meals a day, your body thinks "Oh, I'm not going to get more food for another 6 hours, I better store this food for energy." Food get stored as fat. If you are eating every 2-3 hours, your body thinks, "I know I'll be getting more fuel in a couple hours, I can go ahead and use this food for energy now". This increases your metabolism, which in turns helps burn fat.

    Probably why this guy is so fat...

    http://www.leangains.com/

    I don't practice this and I actually do eat 5-6 times per day, but the whole speeding up your metabolism thing is just a bunch of bro-science.

    Um, you obviously have no idea what you are talking about. First, I'm 6'0" and 180 lbs, so, not so fat. Second, I'm a certified personal trainer, so it's not "bro-science", its real science. Maybe you should do your research before you try to insult people on a weight loss help website.

    Personal trainer or not your claim that eating often increases metabolism is still false. Sure, eating more often may help with weight loss because it helps some people not overeat because they aren't allowing themselves to get too hungry however it does not increase metabolism.

    And if you actually looked at the link the poster gave you, they weren't insulting you. They were not calling you fat so relax.
  • DCpaleochick
    DCpaleochick Posts: 211 Member
    Are you hungry every three hours? Do you need to eat that often in a day or are you fine with less? Eating more often won't cause more weight loss.

    If you do want to eat that often, break up your meals or add in snacks to add more meals in a day like the above poster mentioned.

    Eating more often will aid in weight loss. If you are only eating two to three meals a day, your body thinks "Oh, I'm not going to get more food for another 6 hours, I better store this food for energy." Food get stored as fat. If you are eating every 2-3 hours, your body thinks, "I know I'll be getting more fuel in a couple hours, I can go ahead and use this food for energy now". This increases your metabolism, which in turns helps burn fat.

    Yes...THIS^^^^^