Eating every couple hours?....

Jewels211

I lost 70 lb in 7 months eating about every 3 hours--3 moderate meals & small snacks in between & in the evening. Probably totaled 1300-1500 calories a day. I kept it off for a couple of years before jumping back on the junk wagon & ruining things. Now I eat 3 moderate meals a day with an afternoon snack & a before-bed snack, total around 1300-1400 calories. I eat at those intervals now because I'm diabetic & I need to keep my blood sugar levels fairly even, since I'm using diet & exercise to control things. To me, that is the key to the every-3-hrs eating, even back then--it keeps things level, no mid-afternoon energy slump, etc. That may not be an issue with everyone, but if it is, eating more frequently helps avoid feeling ravenous at "regular" mealtimes & wanting to scarf down whatever you can lay hands on. But OP, unless you have medical issues that demand it, I don't think you need to deprive yourself of seasonings & any fat at all. Some healthy fat (EVOO, from nuts, etc) is a good thing, both for heart & taste.

rosebette

I know that as far as CICO, it doesn't matter, but I find that eating a snack between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner, especially after a workout, keeps me from being overly hungry and overeating at mealtimes. I also feel less fatigued.

ndj1979

kevinmacpa wrote: »

I eat 5 to 6 meals per day. My daily calorie right now is about 2000, so 5 meals per day means about 400 calories per meal. If you eat clean, that's the equivalent of about 5 oz skinless chicken breast steamed, one medium sweet potato, about 8 halves of walnuts. This is manageable to eat in one meal.

If I have 3 meals per day, then I need to consume about 700 calories per meal. That's 8 oz of chicken breast, about 2 sweet potatos and 8 whole walnuts. I don't think a lot of people can eat that much per meal for 3 meals per day.

This is a cutting diet with only 2000 calories per day. I eat about 3500 calories on my bulking diet, so you can imagine, how much I have to eat if I only eat 3 meals a day.

Of course if you eat a lot of junk food that are calorie dense, then it's easy to have 2000 calories in one meal.

Multiple meals per day keep me full through out the day, so my hormone level and insulin level stay constant. I have sustained energy without the hanger. People all have their own beliefs, and I believe multiple meals per day is so much superior than 2 or 3 huge meals. Of course, 5 or 6 meals per day is not doable for a lot of people. But you should try to eat as frequent as you can. You rarely get bloated as well.

I have four meals a day and am consuming about 3000 to 3200 calories a day ...

please define "junk food"...

Hornsby

agggie550 wrote: »

Its not really a diet for me.. its my life style. I eat like clock work. Protein shake at 4:15am before the gym ... Protein shake after the gym at 6:15 breakfeast at 8:30am, second breakfast at 10:30am, lunch at 12:30-1, protein shake at 3:30, dinner around 6, and another protein shake at 8:15-8:30, 6 -7 days a week, obviously if im away from home/work my schedule is a little off but i try to keep to it as much as possible.

I don't know if you drink enough protein shakes...

ndj1979

gbjess204 wrote: »

Wow guys simmer down!!! Obliviously we are not experts at weight loss or we would not have to use an app to help us. Different things work differently for each person. My cousin that is a fitness professional is the one that pointed me towards this method in the beginning because what I was doing was not working for me.

Eating every few hours does help me and has helped a few people I know, but it might not be the best for some people.

As for the studies, there are hundreds of studies done on weight loss and for eating every few hours..... EACH study will have different results because they are all not using the same control, the same food with the same chemical makeup. Each study did not have the participants doing to the same activities (or lack of)..... this is not a who right or who is wrong.

This is about supporting people, I just want stories from people who have done this before not "well matter of fact"..... geez people

meal timing leading to increased metabolism is an established myth. that is not a matter of opinion or different things working for different people.

if you want to eat six meals because it is easier to control intake then fine, but it is has zero effect on metabolism.

JoanaMHill

"I totally have like twelve studies to support my claim that goes against established knowledge in the scientific community!"
"Links?"
"Lolno" < How most debates on MFP go

That said I'm a grazer. I have my meals (maybe five or six times out of seven I'll have all three) but most of my logging is smaller snacks I have throughout the day because that works for me. But that doesn't mean it's "better for my weight loss." It just keeps me from being hangry.

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rustypep

Sound like he is pretty dedicated to me. I am still asleep at 4:15am.

To answer the original request for personal experience, I eat 4-5 meals a day and two snacks with a 1,700 net calorie target. I lost 40 lbs in a year with 40 to go using this method. I was rarely hungry. My exercise consisted of weightlifting and cardio. My best loss happened when I had an hour of weights followed by 30 minutes of fat burn cardio. I mainly used this approach to eating because it kept me from getting really hungry while working out five days a week. That is generally when we make bad choices. It also taught me to eat smaller portions which will hopefully help me over time from eating the meals that got me over weight in the past. Portion size, which is directly tied to calories consumed, is an important part of maintaining a target weight. It is eye opening when you eat the intended serving size of steak or chicken and compare it to what is sold at resturants and the store. As others have said, there is little proof supporting more or fewer meals. It is a personal choice and as you can see everyone has their own thoughts and experiences.

If you have a lot of weight to loose and eating habits to change, controlling hunger is an important challenge so eating more often may be useful. The closer you get to a target weight the less you will need so it is reasonable to assume you can do fine eating the traditional three square meals. Also, a person small in statute may not be able to process as much in one sitting as someone who is seven feet tall. People focused on building muscle will generally eat 5-7 times to break the 150-300 grams of protein required a day into smaller meals that the body can more easily process to support muscle building. Since it isn't healthy to eat 8-10 chicken breasts a day, a lot of people use protein shakes for part of that intake. Good luck with whatever you decide.

kevinmacpa

auddii wrote: »

kevinmacpa wrote: »

I eat 5 to 6 meals per day. My daily calorie right now is about 2000, so 5 meals per day means about 400 calories per meal. If you eat clean, that's the equivalent of about 5 oz skinless chicken breast steamed, one medium sweet potato, about 8 halves of walnuts. This is manageable to eat in one meal.

If I have 3 meals per day, then I need to consume about 700 calories per meal. That's 8 oz of chicken breast, about 2 sweet potatos and 8 whole walnuts. I don't think a lot of people can eat that much per meal for 3 meals per day.

This is a cutting diet with only 2000 calories per day. I eat about 3500 calories on my bulking diet, so you can imagine, how much I have to eat if I only eat 3 meals a day.

Of course if you eat a lot of junk food that are calorie dense, then it's easy to have 2000 calories in one meal.

Multiple meals per day keep me full through out the day, so my hormone level and insulin level stay constant. I have sustained energy without the hanger. People all have their own beliefs, and I believe multiple meals per day is so much superior than 2 or 3 huge meals. Of course, 5 or 6 meals per day is not doable for a lot of people. But you should try to eat as frequent as you can. You rarely get bloated as well.

Or you could try eating things besides chicken, sweet potatoes, and walnuts? While satiety plays a role, it's all personal preference on when to eat. I can easily sit down and eat a meal that has 1200 calories if it's calorie dense food. I'm cutting, so I try to avoid doing that, but there is life beyond chicken...

I use chicken, sweet potato as example, I don't eat that for every meals. I try to eat food with limited fructose sugar and less saturated fats, so everything I eat are light on calorie except for maybe nuts. It's hard for me to consume 1000 plus calories with this kind of food, so 5 to 6 meals is much more doable for me.

poohpoohpeapod

gbjess204 wrote: »

So before I have lost 70lbs in 5-6 months by eating every 3-4 hours. I ate 4oz chicken and 4oz of broccoli (no salt, butter, or oil) I am on week #2 of doing this again. I was wondering if anyone out there has dieted before with eating every few hours, and your stories with it. How much did you weigh before, how long did you do it, how much weight lost, and what kind of exercise were you doing along with it?

I dont know if timing makes a difference at all. Some science states every few hours raises insulin levels everytime you eat. Others say you need to eat every few hours to keep blood sugar levels stable. Some state 2 large meals is good because your body only has to pump insulin twice instead of 4 times. Some say intermittent fasting is good because it is how are bodies are designed to eat. Who know? Do what you feel is best for you.
I lost 130 lbs on a "normal schedule" 3 times a day and few snacks. Now I am eating every few hours and have about 40lbs to go. I feel hungry at my "times". I personally think as long as you do not exceed your calories, eat on a schedule that feels best to you, in the quantities (several small, or fewer larger) meals. Not everyone is the same.

kevinmacpa

ndj1979 wrote: »

kevinmacpa wrote: »

I eat 5 to 6 meals per day. My daily calorie right now is about 2000, so 5 meals per day means about 400 calories per meal. If you eat clean, that's the equivalent of about 5 oz skinless chicken breast steamed, one medium sweet potato, about 8 halves of walnuts. This is manageable to eat in one meal.

If I have 3 meals per day, then I need to consume about 700 calories per meal. That's 8 oz of chicken breast, about 2 sweet potatos and 8 whole walnuts. I don't think a lot of people can eat that much per meal for 3 meals per day.

This is a cutting diet with only 2000 calories per day. I eat about 3500 calories on my bulking diet, so you can imagine, how much I have to eat if I only eat 3 meals a day.

Of course if you eat a lot of junk food that are calorie dense, then it's easy to have 2000 calories in one meal.

Multiple meals per day keep me full through out the day, so my hormone level and insulin level stay constant. I have sustained energy without the hanger. People all have their own beliefs, and I believe multiple meals per day is so much superior than 2 or 3 huge meals. Of course, 5 or 6 meals per day is not doable for a lot of people. But you should try to eat as frequent as you can. You rarely get bloated as well.

I have four meals a day and am consuming about 3000 to 3200 calories a day ...

please define "junk food"...

I consider junk food as food with high amount of added fructose sugar. I don't consider food high in fat junk, but because they are high in calories, I also limit my consumption of that food group for calorie purposes only.

If I have enough room in my macro/calorie allowance, I have no problem eating food that's high in fat. My favorite is a juicy cut of ribeye steak, medium rare with dry baked potato and some mixed vegetables. So yummy!

poohpoohpeapod

auddii wrote: »

kevinmacpa wrote: »

I eat 5 to 6 meals per day. My daily calorie right now is about 2000, so 5 meals per day means about 400 calories per meal. If you eat clean, that's the equivalent of about 5 oz skinless chicken breast steamed, one medium sweet potato, about 8 halves of walnuts. This is manageable to eat in one meal.

If I have 3 meals per day, then I need to consume about 700 calories per meal. That's 8 oz of chicken breast, about 2 sweet potatos and 8 whole walnuts. I don't think a lot of people can eat that much per meal for 3 meals per day.

This is a cutting diet with only 2000 calories per day. I eat about 3500 calories on my bulking diet, so you can imagine, how much I have to eat if I only eat 3 meals a day.

Of course if you eat a lot of junk food that are calorie dense, then it's easy to have 2000 calories in one meal.

Multiple meals per day keep me full through out the day, so my hormone level and insulin level stay constant. I have sustained energy without the hanger. People all have their own beliefs, and I believe multiple meals per day is so much superior than 2 or 3 huge meals. Of course, 5 or 6 meals per day is not doable for a lot of people. But you should try to eat as frequent as you can. You rarely get bloated as well.

Or you could try eating things besides chicken, sweet potatoes, and walnuts? While satiety plays a role, it's all personal preference on when to eat. I can easily sit down and eat a meal that has 1200 calories if it's calorie dense food. I'm cutting, so I try to avoid doing that, but there is life beyond chicken...

I agree and natural real peanut butter 2 tbs (200 calories) 2 slices whole grain bread (150 calories) a banana 110 calories and some Greek yogurt 200 calories. IS almost 600 some calories right there. There are many calorie dense foods that are clean. Try trail mox with dried fruit, how about 1/4 cup coconut for 240 calories..lol.

kevinmacpa

poohpoohpeapod wrote: »

auddii wrote: »

kevinmacpa wrote: »

I eat 5 to 6 meals per day. My daily calorie right now is about 2000, so 5 meals per day means about 400 calories per meal. If you eat clean, that's the equivalent of about 5 oz skinless chicken breast steamed, one medium sweet potato, about 8 halves of walnuts. This is manageable to eat in one meal.

If I have 3 meals per day, then I need to consume about 700 calories per meal. That's 8 oz of chicken breast, about 2 sweet potatos and 8 whole walnuts. I don't think a lot of people can eat that much per meal for 3 meals per day.

This is a cutting diet with only 2000 calories per day. I eat about 3500 calories on my bulking diet, so you can imagine, how much I have to eat if I only eat 3 meals a day.

Of course if you eat a lot of junk food that are calorie dense, then it's easy to have 2000 calories in one meal.

Multiple meals per day keep me full through out the day, so my hormone level and insulin level stay constant. I have sustained energy without the hanger. People all have their own beliefs, and I believe multiple meals per day is so much superior than 2 or 3 huge meals. Of course, 5 or 6 meals per day is not doable for a lot of people. But you should try to eat as frequent as you can. You rarely get bloated as well.

Or you could try eating things besides chicken, sweet potatoes, and walnuts? While satiety plays a role, it's all personal preference on when to eat. I can easily sit down and eat a meal that has 1200 calories if it's calorie dense food. I'm cutting, so I try to avoid doing that, but there is life beyond chicken...

I agree and natural real peanut butter 2 tbs (200 calories) 2 slices whole grain bread (150 calories) a banana 110 calories and some Greek yogurt 200 calories. IS almost 600 some calories right there. There are many calorie dense foods that are clean. Try trail mox with dried fruit, how about 1/4 cup coconut for 240 calories..lol.

Yes, these are great choices. I eat lots of Greek yogurt when bulking. But since I am cutting, if I eat 3 meals like this, I will get food cravings late at night. If I eat more besides the 3 meals I go over in macro and calorie. But If I eat more lean meat during the day, I feel just as full but with less calorie, so I can eat one or two more meals at night and stay in check with my macro and calorie.

I am also on a high protein diet, about 200 grams of protein per day. With peanut butter, bread, Greek yogurt. I might get about 150 grams of protein with 1800 calories, a lot of protein for most people, but a little short from my macro need.