Three square meals or being able to graze all day?

Toadstool_

I tend to stick to 3 small meals a day, a mid morning snack, and a mid afternoon snack as I eat quite obsessively throughout the entire day (full or not!) so it seems to be a good way of still eating frequently but not overdoing the calories. I have been considering trying out 3 larger meals a day and seeing whether I could eventually teach myself not to think about food all day, but for now, there's only a stone to lose, i'll shift that and see about trying out 3 larger meals later on

floatfitness

I've competed in bodybuilding events and when I was placed on a 5-6 small meal plan I actually gained weight and began binge eating. I prefer 3 larger healthy meals which satisfies me, tastes better than snacks, fits my job/travel schedule better and I think about food much less. Trying to prepare so many meals a day was unrealistic and I noticed no improvement in my metabolism and I feel I am leaner doing 3 meals a day. I also don't want to eat late at night when I habe an adequate dinner. My biggest meal is typically lunch.

maxit

I have the same basic routine 5 days a week (weekends are pretty haphazard) - I drink a ton of coffee whenever I get up and then late morning after a couple of miles walking with the dog, I eat steel cut oatmeal, ff greek yogurt and a cup of blueberries. Some time in the mid afternoon (after workout if it's a lifting day), I eat a a cup of full fat plain greek yogurt mixed with a banana (around 100 g), 28 g of chocolate whey and 10g of unsweetened cocoa powder. Some time before 6 I have a snack - apple, or if its been a lifting day, that and oz of nuts along with. Then 7-7:30 is dinner - some kind of meat or fish, green veg, salad, and some starchy stuff (potato, rice, quinoa, whatever I feel like). That's it. If I am hungry before I got to bed I have a serving of ff greek yogurt. Basically that's three meals a day plus a snack - I just start the meal part late morning.

dewsmom78

I prefer 3 meals and a snack. I usually do a meal replacement shake for breakfast, then a big nutritious lunch, and a smaller, low carb dinner. I will usually eat one snack, usually a frozen fruit bar or string cheese. I hate waiting 5 hours to eat a meal.

mathandcats

I'll want to eat frequently during the day no matter what I do, so I make sure to leave calories for it. I'm a grazer.

avskk

I prefer mostly grazing with one big meal. I snack in the morning if it's a workout day (skip morning food if it's a rest day), have a ~300cal lunch every day, have a biiiiig dinner, and maybe have another snack before bed.

girlviernes

I think both patterns can work, but I've been seeing various studies lately that make me think that meals may be preferable to snacks. The best pattern for me personally seems to be breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner.

noclady1995

I don't feel like eating 5 times a day, for me, is grazing. Since I deliberately plan what I eat at each meal, I just consider them small meals. It helps me to not just think about it as eating time, but rather, fueling time. I also feel less hungry that way.

arguablysamson

Eat one meal per day and then no calories. It's tough at first, but pays off. Your blood sugar issues and crashes will cease, as will the psychological game-playing with following cravings. If you need to lose, go no-nonsense about it. After dropping my 173 lbs in 10 and 1/2 months, I still eat once a day, plus I do a protein shake to add back lean muscle faster. It makes the most sense to me and so many others.

blakexx3

Hmm I've been interested in this. When I was really thin about 118-120 lbs at 5'6" I ate 2 big meals a day - one of them always either being a salad or sandwich and never snacking in between. Then I obviously gained weight because I ate 2 big meals + a lot of snacking. Now I feel like I graze constantly throughout the day but I know what the OP means about liking to feel hungry so I do watch my snacking intake now and try my best to just eat when I'm actually hungry.

Julz519

I eat 5 to 6 times per day with each meal having somewhere between 200 and 400 calories to get me to my goal of almost 1600 calories per day. They are all planned as well. This seems to work best for me because if they aren't planned and readily available and I allow myself to get really hungry then the will power is out the window and I will eat anything and everything in site!!!

Need2Exerc1se

Most days I eat one small and one large meal per day. The small meal is usually around 250-400 calories and the big one 800-2000. It's not a hard and fast rule for me, it's just the way I prefer to eat.

Francl27

It totally depends for me. The thing is, I'd much rather stick to 3 meals a day, but very often when I do that I end up crashing around 4pm and having a snack, then I end up with almost no calories left for dinner... so I'm often better off having a lighter lunch, then a snack in the afternoon (or a lighter breakfast and a snack mid-morning).

CherokeeBabe

2-3 meals a day + snack or dessert depending on how I feel.

girlviernes

Francl27 wrote: »

It totally depends for me. The thing is, I'd much rather stick to 3 meals a day, but very often when I do that I end up crashing around 4pm and having a snack, then I end up with almost no calories left for dinner... so I'm often better off having a lighter lunch, then a snack in the afternoon (or a lighter breakfast and a snack mid-morning).

I find the same. I don't do well if I skip afternoon snack.

namluv

my diary is 3 meals and 2 snacks... but in reality it takes me so long to eat (most of the time) it's like I never stop eating during the day so I guess I graze!

Curtruns

I am an ELMO eater (eat less more often) That is the ONLY way to go and if you don't agree with me you are wrong. I am also a bit opinionated and passionate over trivial things.

CoriannMichelle

I am a grazer. I function and perform best when my hunger is kept at bay. I plan my day in the morning by logging ahead of time and include lots of fruits, snacks, and low calorie things to help meet my goals. I also try to fit in at least a half hour walk so I can have a drink in evening. I do not eat after dinner and this fits fine for me since I go to bed around 9 pm and wake up early between 4 and 5 am. I eat most of my calorie intake while at work but the key is I bring healthy snacks and lunch from home.

CoriannMichelle

Breakfast is also my biggest meal of the day since I am most hungry in the morning.

TheJenProject

Not really a breakfast person, and lunch is usually a protein shake. I tend to graze more during the day on very low cal snacks i measure and keep in little ziplocs like cucumbers, tomato, pickles and then dinner is a nice full meal of veggies and lean protein which is filling (and bloating) so it stops me from overnight snacking (binge eating). Generally I find making sure I have emergency snacks on hand that are already weighed out and ready has been helpful to stop the binges. The idea of eating all day on little snacks keeps my cravings at bay and eating a full meal at dinner keeps me from hitting up the pantry! I also noticed, on weekends I would save all my cals for night to enjoy a big meal and this almost always leads to bingeing and going way over calories because when I`m super-hungry I`m not able to think clearly and my body wants carbs immediately!