Three square meals or being able to graze all day?

APeacefulWarrior

Just a curious question - do you prefer being able to graze (eat frequently during the day) or do you find that you eat less overall when you eat bigger meals?

I used to eat smaller more frequent "meals" until I realized I was eating a lot more less nutritious calories that way. There are so many opinions on the subject. I know it supposedly prevents crashes and the subsequent sugar cravings, but then I wonder about keeping blood sugar levels consistently higher. I also realized that grazing kinda made me forget what "hungry" felt like. Being able to identify hunger is important to me (to differentiate from boredom or thirst.)

I'm rambling, lol... just curious what your thoughts are or what works for you!

Asher_Ethan

I prefer 3 big meals. I seen to stay fuller longer.

arditarose

I like to eat at least 5 times a day, with one high volume/low calorie meal for dinner. Always dessert. Always a late afternoon snack.

mamabear1114

Grazing all day helps me a lot! I eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day. In my experience, eating small meals helps me to not overeat, and there are proven health benefits. It keeps your metabolism revved up and your blood sugar stable, which prevents you from binge eating sweets and carbs. Then again, everyone is different, but I am an all day muncher!

Liftng4Lis

I like 2 meals and snacks most days, although on the weekend, I sometimes go for 3.

jemhh

I don't like to graze because then I think of food more. Three solid meals and then a light evening snack if I have calories left over works for me.

lemurcat12

3 big meals.

I generally eat really well in the context of a meal, but snacking could be anything. Plus, I tend to prefer cooked meals, and not the kinds of foods I can carry around--just more satisfying.

APeacefulWarrior

jemhh wrote: »

I don't like to graze because then I think of food more. Three solid meals and then a light evening snack if I have calories left over works for me.

This is kind of where I am right now too.

DebzNuDa

I usually prefer larger meals but I do snack when I'm really hungry (a small apple, half a pear, 10 sticks of pretzel, 2 Red Vines - just something, and smaller than 70-100 calories). During my larger meals I like eating tons of veggies, keep the proteins to a recommended serving, and will have my starches as the smallest part of the meal. It's worked well for me.

999tigger

Varies, but tbh I have 2 meals. My evening meal is my big event and has 70% of the calories.

There was an interview with one of the uKs leading obesity specialists and he was 100% believer in the 3 meals a day idea as being an important factor to help combat obesity. Thats not an invitation for a debate, it was just his view and he had a lifetime of experience in treating obese people. cant remember hsi exact reasons at the moment.

dixiewhiskey

I like three big meals.. I just don't have the time to eat more frequently

North44

I'm a meal eater. Do not want to be messing with food multiple times a day.

hsmith0930

I don't really have a set preference. Some days I feel great about having a few good meals. Other days I just want to eat all day, so I graze on tiny portions all day long. I just try to go by how I feel when I am ready to eat my first meal of the day. If I'm starving in the morning, I figure it's a grazing day. If I can wait until lunch time to eat, I'll do a couple of meals, typically.

999tigger

I wish i had the calories to make 3 BIG meals a day. Since portion control descended upon me, then i have to pile most of my calories into one meal, which might be considered big.

Lounmoun

3 meals with 1-2 snacks in the afternoon/night.
I eat something about every 3-5 hours while I am awake. I don't really feel the need to eat more often than that.

sandryc79

2-3 meals with 2 -3 small snacks for me. I mostly eat something every 2-3 hours every day, lately the snack has been milk and apples or carrots.

Sarasmaintaining

Usually two large meals (around 11am and then 5pmish), and then occasional afternoon/early evening snacks.

fattymcrunnerpants

Depends. Today I had 3 meals, may have a small evening snack later. Yesterday I grazed. Some days I have my coffee in the am, then only eat lunch and dinner. It really depends on the day and which direction the end blows. Do what's right for you. I personally don't like going to bed hungry.

APeacefulWarrior

999tigger wrote: »

I wish i had the calories to make 3 BIG meals a day. Since portion control descended upon me, then i have to pile most of my calories into one meal, which might be considered big.

I guess when I'm portioning out my calories for the day, I lean toward 2 reasonable meals (breakfast and lunch, because I'm just not as hungry earlier in the day) which might be 25-30% of my daily calorie allowance each, and about 35-40% as dinner. Exercise is my variable because I really can't exercise until evening, but I usually know by the time I'm leaving work as to how much energy I'll have to exercise. Can mean anywhere from an extra 130 calories to an extra 500 - and if I had a bad day eating, I try to exercise just a little longer or harder.

I like to meal plan, so I pretty much know at the start of my day (or even the day before), what I'll be eating. I'm working on making my snacks nutritious as opposed to empty calories too. Not that I will never have grazing days, but like tigger said, with minimal calories available, it can be hard to not get hungry between meals.

It's interesting to hear what everyone does - the next question is, do you feel it's working? Did anyone start out doing one thing and find out something else worked better?

Nyappykim

I normally eat 3 meals with 2 snacks between lunch and dinner and before I go to bed. Before, I used to just eat HUGE portions whenever I thought I was hungry - I would just shovel down food and not realize when I was actually full. Since I eat smaller portions about 3-4 hours apart now, I've realized how I know if my body needs food, and also to savor and take my time eating so I don't just devour my plate and assume I'm still hungry. It also helped me rid of my constant heartburn and stomach aches, as well as always feeling uncomfortably full.

livingleanlivingclean

madeline_land wrote: »

Grazing all day helps me a lot! I eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day. In my experience, eating small meals helps me to not overeat, and there are proven health benefits. It keeps your metabolism revved up and your blood sugar stable, which prevents you from binge eating sweets and carbs. Then again, everyone is different, but I am an all day muncher!

Proven health benefits? What are they?

I prefer less but more substantial meals

annette_15

The more times I can eat, the better... I like food lol. Major grazer here

steph79sm

I feel best when I eat 100-200 calories at least every 2 hrs, trying to start off each day with high protein, low carbs.

Psychgrrl

I prefer 5-6 smaller meals, at least during the week. Works better for me. I tend to eat larger, less frequent meals on the weekend.

malibu927

3 meals, dessert, snack if I have the time and calories. A lot of it is dependent on my work/school schedule as well...there have been days where I have to eat lunch at 10:15 in the morning, work from 11-5, eat something (Quest bar or jerky) at 5 on my drive between work and school, then dinner when I get home at 8:30.

APeacefulWarrior

Thanks for all the responses - it just goes to show that there is no one "right" way! Good luck to everyone

DawnieB1977

It depends. There are some days when I have 3 big meals, and some days where I snack throughout the day. When I'm at work I tend to snack...I'm a teacher so will eat something at break (10:30) like a quest bar, then something at lunch (13:20) like some rice cakes and an apple, then I'll have dinner later, and possibly have a small evening snack. I usually have quite a big breakfast, but I have to eat breakfast quite early.

llUndecidedll

It's kind of difficult to remove the deeply ingrained idea of three full balanced meals a day, but I think 2- 3 large meals a day work better for me than 4+ small meals/snacks.

RoxieDawn

Dinner is my family meal and it is 90% of the time my largest meal of day..

I plan the rest of my calories for a moderate breakfast (or mid morning meal after exercise) with the same number of calories for lunch. If I get hungry I readjust to fit in a snack.. I like to spread out all my calories within 3 meals and a snack basically..

NoIdea101NoIdea

I'm a grazer! I have quite a hectic work and social life, so planning meals is just a waste of time as I never get to eat when I want, and most of the time I'm 'eating on the go'. So long as I eat when I'm hungry, choose healthy options and make sure I'm logging everything, it seems to work fine.

I don't tend to do breakfast, usually first eat around late morning/brunch time. Then 'lunch' can be anywhere between midday and 4pm, usually spread out over those hours. Although I usually eat dinner with my boyfriend so that is my one 'consistent' meal, and that is usually eaten between 6pm and 9pm, although I try not to eat too late as I hate going to bed feeling too full.

MarziPanda95

I'm somewhere in between, but it also depends on the day. If it's a thursday I'm at university all day and I'll have a snack about 11, lunch at 1, then sometimes another snack at 6, then dinner at 8 when I finally get home. Any other day I don't eat until about 1, then have a snack at 4, then have dinner at 6, then another snack about 9. Though some days I won't eat until 4 then I'll consume most of my calories in dinner and snacks.