How Often Should I Be Eating?
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_dracarys_ wrote: »Well, diabetics have to eat by the clock. Others don't. So a diabetic or a hypoglycemic will have 5-6 meals a day (three meals two snacks), but I've seen MFP'ers who make do with one large meal and an evening snack.
The National Weight Control registry has found that long-term weight loss is associated with those who do not skip breakfast, amongst other things.
Don't let yourself get too hungry; learn to pay attention to your body's signals. If you don't want to add calories try drinking a glass of water first. I am most likely to be derailed right after work so I never skip my afternoon snack. I don't want to be rifling the pantry while sampling dinner and trampling over all my best-laid plans for the day.
How is this measured? Who are they surveying?
I only ask because I rarely eat breakfast and it hasn't negatively impacted my weight loss.
Anyone that's lost over 30 lbs and maintained for a year can request to join, after that they send questionnaires out.
I'll stick with not eating breakfast it's worked pretty damn well0 -
Any time you want and as often as you want. The main consideration is that you're (on average) eating an appropriate amount of calories for your goals and that you're meeting your nutritional needs.0
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FitnessFreak_69 wrote: »The goal is to loose weight so you want to keep your metabolism up. You should be eating healthy foods about every three to four hours, and they should be small meals. 100 or 200 calorie meals at max. When you eat more frequently it helps you burn that unwanted fat. Also make breakfast the biggest meal of the day. That way you have all day to burn off that first meal. Plus you need to "break the fast" or else your body will go into starvation mode and you will end up gaining weight. You should also eat the most carbs during breakfast and the least carbs before bed. Good luck to you!
ISSA Personal Fitness Trainer
[yoovieblink.gif]0 -
Well, diabetics have to eat by the clock. Others don't. So a diabetic or a hypoglycemic will have 5-6 meals a day (three meals two snacks), but I've seen MFP'ers who make do with one large meal and an evening snack.
The National Weight Control registry has found that long-term weight loss is associated with those who do not skip breakfast, amongst other things.
Don't let yourself get too hungry; learn to pay attention to your body's signals. If you don't want to add calories try drinking a glass of water first. I am most likely to be derailed right after work so I never skip my afternoon snack. I don't want to be rifling the pantry while sampling dinner and trampling over all my best-laid plans for the day.
Associated with. It's even more strongly associated with people who eat at an appropriate caloric deficit over a sufficient period of time.
Speaking of the supposed necessity of breakfast, where is @Steve098 when you need him?0 -
FitnessFreak_69 wrote: »The goal is to loose weight so you want to keep your metabolism up. You should be eating healthy foods about every three to four hours, and they should be small meals. 100 or 200 calorie meals at max. When you eat more frequently it helps you burn that unwanted fat. Also make breakfast the biggest meal of the day. That way you have all day to burn off that first meal. Plus you need to "break the fast" or else your body will go into starvation mode and you will end up gaining weight. You should also eat the most carbs during breakfast and the least carbs before bed. Good luck to you!
ISSA Personal Fitness Trainer
If this was true, many of us would be in serious trouble.0 -
Eat whenever you are hungry. Personally, I eat three meals and 1 snack. You can check out my diary if you want.0
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jofjltncb6 wrote: »Well, diabetics have to eat by the clock. Others don't. So a diabetic or a hypoglycemic will have 5-6 meals a day (three meals two snacks), but I've seen MFP'ers who make do with one large meal and an evening snack.
The National Weight Control registry has found that long-term weight loss is associated with those who do not skip breakfast, amongst other things.
Don't let yourself get too hungry; learn to pay attention to your body's signals. If you don't want to add calories try drinking a glass of water first. I am most likely to be derailed right after work so I never skip my afternoon snack. I don't want to be rifling the pantry while sampling dinner and trampling over all my best-laid plans for the day.
Associated with. It's even more strongly associated with people who eat at an appropriate caloric deficit over a sufficient period of time.
Speaking of the supposed necessity of breakfast, where is @Steve098 when you need him?
I wonder whether getting exercise is also associated with eating breakfast.
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FitnessFreak_69 wrote: »The goal is to loose weight so you want to keep your metabolism up. You should be eating healthy foods about every three to four hours, and they should be small meals. 100 or 200 calorie meals at max. When you eat more frequently it helps you burn that unwanted fat. Also make breakfast the biggest meal of the day. That way you have all day to burn off that first meal. Plus you need to "break the fast" or else your body will go into starvation mode and you will end up gaining weight. You should also eat the most carbs during breakfast and the least carbs before bed. Good luck to you!
ISSA Personal Fitness Trainer
Nope, you have to eat every hour on the hour if you want it bad enough. The human body can totally gain weight while starving because no one has ever died of starvation since the body makes a constant fuel supply out of absolutely nothing at all #srs #notsrs0 -
I think what is considered the "best" schedule is 3 meals with a snack between breakfast/lunch and another snack between lunch/dinner. I've tried this and basically hated it. I think it works for people who have the willpower to schedule meals like that. I don't have it. I have found personally that what works best for me (on a hunger level where I feel satisfied) is 2 larger meals. I skip breakfast because I don't see a point in eating when I'm not hungry. I'm currently starting again (long story - life happens) but when I lost weight before I found that it didn't matter when I ate as long as I stayed within the calorie limit. It takes a bit to figure out what schedule will work best for you. Try different things and see what you like best.0
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http://www.nwcr.ws/
From their site:- Registry members have lost an average of 66 lbs and kept it off for 5.5 years
- 98% of Registry participants report that they modified their food intake in some way to lose weight. [There you go! Eating at a deficit]
- 94% increased their physical activity, with the most frequently reported form of activity being walking
- 78% eat breakfast every day.
- 75% weigh themselves at least once a week.
- 62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.
P.S. This registry currently has over 10,000 members.0 -
jofjltncb6 wrote: »Well, diabetics have to eat by the clock. Others don't. So a diabetic or a hypoglycemic will have 5-6 meals a day (three meals two snacks), but I've seen MFP'ers who make do with one large meal and an evening snack.
The National Weight Control registry has found that long-term weight loss is associated with those who do not skip breakfast, amongst other things.
Don't let yourself get too hungry; learn to pay attention to your body's signals. If you don't want to add calories try drinking a glass of water first. I am most likely to be derailed right after work so I never skip my afternoon snack. I don't want to be rifling the pantry while sampling dinner and trampling over all my best-laid plans for the day.
Associated with. It's even more strongly associated with people who eat at an appropriate caloric deficit over a sufficient period of time.
Speaking of the supposed necessity of breakfast, where is @Steve098 when you need him?
I wonder whether getting exercise is also associated with eating breakfast.
You mean people who are cognizant of their behavior and its impact on overall health and do generally known to be healthy things (like maintain a healthy body weight) may also be inclined to eat breakfast because they have been told that it is beneficial for their health? Pshaw. Like that would ever happen.
Besides, you're just supposed to overlook these highly correlated confounding variables and accept the premise of the theory. Of course, since you can't demonstrate statistical significance when adjusted, you have to use really weak words like "associated" and not even "correlated" (and certainly not "caused").0 -
FitnessFreak_69 wrote: »The goal is to loose weight so you want to keep your metabolism up. You should be eating healthy foods about every three to four hours, and they should be small meals. 100 or 200 calorie meals at max. When you eat more frequently it helps you burn that unwanted fat. Also make breakfast the biggest meal of the day. That way you have all day to burn off that first meal. Plus you need to "break the fast" or else your body will go into starvation mode and you will end up gaining weight. You should also eat the most carbs during breakfast and the least carbs before bed. Good luck to you!
ISSA Personal Fitness Trainer
Nope, you have to eat every hour on the hour if you want it bad enough. The human body can totally gain weight while starving because no one has ever died of starvation since the body makes a constant fuel supply out of absolutely nothing at all #srs #notsrs
Did you see this guy's abs? That's how you *know* what he says is true.
If I eat every half hour, will I make even more progress/be even more healthy? Please say "yes." I'm setting 24 daily alarms right now. My metabolism is going to be through the roof, bruh!0 -
http://www.nwcr.ws/
From their site:- Registry members have lost an average of 66 lbs and kept it off for 5.5 years
- 98% of Registry participants report that they modified their food intake in some way to lose weight. [There you go! Eating at a deficit]
- 94% increased their physical activity, with the most frequently reported form of activity being walking
- 78% eat breakfast every day.
- 75% weigh themselves at least once a week.
- 62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.
P.S. This registry currently has over 10,000 members.
The registry has over 10,000 members but if you actually read past their poorly summed up bullets. I bolded the ever so strong may be a factor. This is all from your website.
Long-term weight loss and breakfast in subjects in the National Weight Control Registry
OBJECTIVE:
To examine breakfast consumption in subjects maintaining a weight loss in the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR).
RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES:
A cross-sectional study in which 2959 subjects in the NWCR completed demographic and weight history questionnaires as well as questions about their current breakfast consumption. All subjects had maintained a weight loss of at least 13.6 kg (30 lb) for at least 1 year; on average these subjects had lost 32 kg and kept it off for 6 years.
RESULTS:
A large proportion of NWCR subjects (2313 or 78%) reported regularly eating breakfast every day of the week. Only 114 subjects (4%) reported never eating breakfast. There was no difference in reported energy intake between breakfast eaters and non-eaters, but breakfast eaters reported slightly more physical activity than non-breakfast eaters (p = 0.05).
DISCUSSION:
Eating breakfast is a characteristic common to successful weight loss maintainers and may be a factor in their success.0 -
FitnessFreak_69 wrote: »The goal is to loose weight so you want to keep your metabolism up. You should be eating healthy foods about every three to four hours, and they should be small meals. 100 or 200 calorie meals at max. When you eat more frequently it helps you burn that unwanted fat. Also make breakfast the biggest meal of the day. That way you have all day to burn off that first meal. Plus you need to "break the fast" or else your body will go into starvation mode and you will end up gaining weight. You should also eat the most carbs during breakfast and the least carbs before bed. Good luck to you!
ISSA Personal Fitness Trainer
Everything in this post is inaccurate.
Time to send that certification back. lol.0 -
jofjltncb6 wrote: »
I agree too, in certain cases. Personal example, I've been suffering from some mild altitude sickness on my last couple climbs. I still need to eat, and in general I can't really stomach more than about 1k calories per day due to the symptoms. I still have to force it though or bad things could occur.0 -
jofjltncb6 wrote: »
You mean people who are cognizant of their behavior and its impact on overall health and do generally known to be healthy things (like maintain a healthy body weight) may also be inclined to eat breakfast because they have been told that it is beneficial for their health? Pshaw. Like that would ever happen.
Besides, you're just supposed to overlook these highly correlated confounding variables and accept the premise of the theory. Of course, since you can't demonstrate statistical significance when adjusted, you have to use really weak words like "associated" and not even "correlated" (and certainly not "caused").
Here are some other things I suspect are "associated" with eating breakfast:
Having a job
Setting an alarm clock
Buying eggs
Having east-facing bedroom windows
Using websites which promote breakfast as a weight loss tool
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jofjltncb6 wrote: »
You mean people who are cognizant of their behavior and its impact on overall health and do generally known to be healthy things (like maintain a healthy body weight) may also be inclined to eat breakfast because they have been told that it is beneficial for their health? Pshaw. Like that would ever happen.
Besides, you're just supposed to overlook these highly correlated confounding variables and accept the premise of the theory. Of course, since you can't demonstrate statistical significance when adjusted, you have to use really weak words like "associated" and not even "correlated" (and certainly not "caused").
Here are some other things I suspect are "associated" with eating breakfast:
Having a job
Setting an alarm clock
Buying eggs
Having east-facing bedroom windows
Using websites which promote breakfast as a weight loss tool
champagne.
oranges.
bacon.
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I used to do 5 small meals, but yanno i just like having bigger meals. So I have full on breakfast, lunch and dinner with no snacks, and small meal/dessert whatever at night before bed so my tummy isnt growly.
If am feasting I might just eat one or two meals the whole day.0
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