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Protein Powder - yay or nay?
cbnorris
Posts: 204 Member
I've been trying to find a healthy balance of cardio and strength training while maintaining a calorie deficit. On the days I do strength training my other half pushes me to drink a protein shake afterwards saying it will help my muscles recover faster. I can tell a difference the next day, my muscles aren't as sore - but I question if it is really that important since it adds about 200+ calories (gold standard protein, almond milk, 1 tablespoon chai seeds and a fruit / kale blend) and it's also late at night usually when I drink them.
What are other's thoughts on this? Do you think protein shakes help or hinder the weight loss process?
What are other's thoughts on this? Do you think protein shakes help or hinder the weight loss process?
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Replies
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If the shake puts you over your calorie goal, it hinders. If not, it doesn't.
The shake shouldn't be "extra," but a replacement, otherwise it's extra calories.0 -
Protein shakes will hinder the weight loss process if they cause you to no longer be in a deficit. Personally, I like protein shakes so I can hit my protein goal. I usually try to do it, or get as close as possible with whole foods but sometimes that's just not going to happen. You could get a lower calorie protein shake to fit it into your calorie goal? I have a few that vary from 100-130 calories, mixed with unsweetened almond milk would add 30 calories. Sometimes I mix them with water.0
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Yes if you arent hitting your protein goals through other means.
Weight loss progress is about deficits. You still need to hit nutrutional goals though if you want the benefits of fitness and health.0 -
If it helps meet your protein requirements then yes if not then no. How hard was that?0
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You will improve your recovery if you eat a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout -- carbs create the insulingenic response to help shuttle nutrients (protein and vitamins and carbs) into cell for muscle building/recovery. Maximizing recovery is where you build muscle/LBM. If you're not maximizing your recovery, you're wasting some of your effort in lifting heavy in the first place.
If it's putting you over your daily calorie goal, I highly recommend you switching your calories during the day to accommodate this. Also, hitting protein goals is important. A good rule of thumb is 1 g per 1 lb LBM. This has been shown to preserve LBM in a caloric deficit -- so you keep as much of your muscle as possible and lose fat.
Very few people eat too much protein. If you need to make room, cut back on your carbs or fat. I personally have a hard time most days hitting my protein goals without a shake to supplement -- because it's just a lot of meat to eat.0 -
The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.0
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Are you lacking in protein?0
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DeguelloTex wrote: »The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.
The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
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lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.
The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.
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DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.
The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.
The vast majority of lifters I know would disagree, both recreational and competitive. People who lift seriously want to maximize the result of that hard work. And we're not even getting into discussions about other things that can improve recovery -- BCAAs, magnesium/zinc, getting enough sleep, etc.
If you're going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've delayed 200 cals worth of recovery nutrition post-workout, there are bigger problems in your plan.
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IIFIYM0
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lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.
The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.
If you're going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've delayed 200 cals worth of recovery nutrition post-workout, there are bigger problems in your plan.
But, by all means, keep moving the goalposts. 200 more calories at one time is 200 less at some other time, and it doesn't take much of a journey out of the dogmatic to understand that there are plenty of people for whom that would be problematic.
Again, if you can do it, great. Go for it. If you can't, the difference in results will almost certainly be undetectable for the overwhelming majority of MFP users.
ETA: You started with "[eating] a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout" now you're talking about 200 calories, combined, of protein and carbs. If it's a "good deal" of these macros, why are you now minimizing it as a trivial shift?
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DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.
The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.
If you're going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've delayed 200 cals worth of recovery nutrition post-workout, there are bigger problems in your plan.
But, by all means, keep moving the goalposts. 200 more calories at one time is 200 less at some other time, and it doesn't take much of a journey out of the dogmatic to understand that there are plenty of people for whom that would be problematic.
Again, if you can do it, great. Go for it. If you can't, the difference in results will almost certainly be undetectable for the overwhelming majority of MFP users.
ETA: You started with "[eating] a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout" now you're talking about 200 calories, combined, of protein and carbs. If it's a "good deal" of these macros, why are you now minimizing it as a trivial shift?
I picked 200 cals, but that's what the OP specifically said. And, yeah, if your meal timing shift is causing such problems, there are bigger issues in your plan. Period.
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lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.
The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.
If you're going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've delayed 200 cals worth of recovery nutrition post-workout, there are bigger problems in your plan.
But, by all means, keep moving the goalposts. 200 more calories at one time is 200 less at some other time, and it doesn't take much of a journey out of the dogmatic to understand that there are plenty of people for whom that would be problematic.
Again, if you can do it, great. Go for it. If you can't, the difference in results will almost certainly be undetectable for the overwhelming majority of MFP users.
ETA: You started with "[eating] a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout" now you're talking about 200 calories, combined, of protein and carbs. If it's a "good deal" of these macros, why are you now minimizing it as a trivial shift?
I picked 200 cals, but that's what the OP specifically said. And, yeah, if your meal timing shift is causing such problems, there are bigger issues in your plan. Period.
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On the days I do strength training my other half pushes me to drink a protein shake afterwards saying it will help my muscles recover faster. I can tell a difference the next day, my muscles aren't as sore
Timing protein shakes (or protein from whole foods) around your workout is not important. What matters is total intake from all foods per day. The recommended amount of protein per day for someone who is concentrating on new muscle synthesis is a range of 0.60-0.80 grams protein per 1 lb. bodyweight. If you regularly fall within this range, then it doesn't matter if you had a shake at 11am, or a steak at 9pm, or no protein from 8am-5pm then 100 grams in one shot at dinner time. It all gets absorbed and utilized assuming you don't overconsume protein past your range.it adds about 200+ calories (gold standard protein, almond milk, 1 tablespoon chai seeds and a fruit / kale blend)
My recommendation is to learn how to get protein from a diet rich in whole foods. If a protein powder is convenient for you, then buy one that tastes good in plain water, milk, almond milk, or coconut milk. You won't need to mix a ton of ingredients in a protein powder that already tastes good as is; plus, it destroys the convenience aspect of it when you have to assemble multiple ingredients to blend a shake.it's also late at night usually when I drink them.
Doesn't matter. The idea that eating late at night is counterproductive is a myth. It is based on the idea that the average person has likely hit 85-100% of their daily caloric intake at night. However, if you are conscientious about your intake and where you are at calorie-wise throughout the day, then you might have hundreds of calories left to consume at night before you hit your goal.Do you think protein shakes help or hinder the weight loss process?
Neither. What matters when it comes to weight loss is the amount of total calories you are consuming compared to your activity level and current stats.0 -
DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.
The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.
If you're going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've delayed 200 cals worth of recovery nutrition post-workout, there are bigger problems in your plan.
But, by all means, keep moving the goalposts. 200 more calories at one time is 200 less at some other time, and it doesn't take much of a journey out of the dogmatic to understand that there are plenty of people for whom that would be problematic.
Again, if you can do it, great. Go for it. If you can't, the difference in results will almost certainly be undetectable for the overwhelming majority of MFP users.
ETA: You started with "[eating] a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout" now you're talking about 200 calories, combined, of protein and carbs. If it's a "good deal" of these macros, why are you now minimizing it as a trivial shift?
I picked 200 cals, but that's what the OP specifically said. And, yeah, if your meal timing shift is causing such problems, there are bigger issues in your plan. Period.
Because if you're experiencing the type of hunger you posit -- "going hungry all morning or afternoon" -- from just shifting a recovery drink/meal there is something wrong with your plan. You either need to adjust macros -- up protein, adjust carbs (quantity or type), etc. -- or you're taking way too big of a cut (i.e. need to up your calories). You shouldn't be going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've shifted something as small as a recovery drink or meal. Something is wrong with your plan if it lacks that much satiety.
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lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.
The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.
If you're going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've delayed 200 cals worth of recovery nutrition post-workout, there are bigger problems in your plan.
But, by all means, keep moving the goalposts. 200 more calories at one time is 200 less at some other time, and it doesn't take much of a journey out of the dogmatic to understand that there are plenty of people for whom that would be problematic.
Again, if you can do it, great. Go for it. If you can't, the difference in results will almost certainly be undetectable for the overwhelming majority of MFP users.
ETA: You started with "[eating] a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout" now you're talking about 200 calories, combined, of protein and carbs. If it's a "good deal" of these macros, why are you now minimizing it as a trivial shift?
I picked 200 cals, but that's what the OP specifically said. And, yeah, if your meal timing shift is causing such problems, there are bigger issues in your plan. Period.
Because if you're experiencing the type of hunger you posit -- "going hungry all morning or afternoon" -- from just shifting a recovery drink/meal there is something wrong with your plan.
Wait, is it something "so small" or a "good deal" of it? You keep changing your argument depending on the point you want to try to make.
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DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.
The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.
If you're going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've delayed 200 cals worth of recovery nutrition post-workout, there are bigger problems in your plan.
But, by all means, keep moving the goalposts. 200 more calories at one time is 200 less at some other time, and it doesn't take much of a journey out of the dogmatic to understand that there are plenty of people for whom that would be problematic.
Again, if you can do it, great. Go for it. If you can't, the difference in results will almost certainly be undetectable for the overwhelming majority of MFP users.
ETA: You started with "[eating] a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout" now you're talking about 200 calories, combined, of protein and carbs. If it's a "good deal" of these macros, why are you now minimizing it as a trivial shift?
I picked 200 cals, but that's what the OP specifically said. And, yeah, if your meal timing shift is causing such problems, there are bigger issues in your plan. Period.
Because if you're experiencing the type of hunger you posit -- "going hungry all morning or afternoon" -- from just shifting a recovery drink/meal there is something wrong with your plan.
Wait, is it something "so small" or a "good deal" of it? You keep changing your argument depending on the point you want to try to make.
Ugh, no. There is something wrong because your result has shifted. If you're THAT hungry from shifting a recovery drink/meal (i.e. result) there is something wrong in your plan with its lack of satiety (i.e. cause) -- and then I gave you some examples of how to improve the satiety.
[Edited by MFP Staff]
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lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.
The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.
If you're going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've delayed 200 cals worth of recovery nutrition post-workout, there are bigger problems in your plan.
But, by all means, keep moving the goalposts. 200 more calories at one time is 200 less at some other time, and it doesn't take much of a journey out of the dogmatic to understand that there are plenty of people for whom that would be problematic.
Again, if you can do it, great. Go for it. If you can't, the difference in results will almost certainly be undetectable for the overwhelming majority of MFP users.
ETA: You started with "[eating] a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout" now you're talking about 200 calories, combined, of protein and carbs. If it's a "good deal" of these macros, why are you now minimizing it as a trivial shift?
I picked 200 cals, but that's what the OP specifically said. And, yeah, if your meal timing shift is causing such problems, there are bigger issues in your plan. Period.
Because if you're experiencing the type of hunger you posit -- "going hungry all morning or afternoon" -- from just shifting a recovery drink/meal there is something wrong with your plan.
Wait, is it something "so small" or a "good deal" of it? You keep changing your argument depending on the point you want to try to make.
Ugh, no. There is something wrong because your result has shifted. If you're THAT hungry from shifting a recovery drink/meal (i.e. result) there is something wrong in your plan (i.e. cause). It's actually just basic logic and common sense, but I know neither are all that common on MFP.
Again, though, are we shifting a "good deal" of protein and carbs or something "so small" when implementing your advice?
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DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »lindsey1979 wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »The benefits of meal timing around lifting are so small that it almost certainly wouldn't be worth switching around calories unless the effort and impact on the rest of the day were trivial. If doing so made you hungry earlier or later in the day, for example, it wouldn't be advantageous to do.
The vast majority of lifters would greatly disagree with this statement. The benefits of the meal timing are for muscle recovery from the lifting --- so you maximize the results of all your hard work. People that don't care about that and are just trying to lose weight, maybe. But, it always benefits you to maximize your recovery, regardless of whether your primary goal is lifting, weight loss, body comp, etc.
If you can do it, it's the icing on the cake. We're not, however, talking about competitive athletes here. Going hungry all morning or afternoon in order to get infinitesimally better recovery after lifting probably isn't worth it to most people here.
If you're going hungry all morning or afternoon because you've delayed 200 cals worth of recovery nutrition post-workout, there are bigger problems in your plan.
But, by all means, keep moving the goalposts. 200 more calories at one time is 200 less at some other time, and it doesn't take much of a journey out of the dogmatic to understand that there are plenty of people for whom that would be problematic.
Again, if you can do it, great. Go for it. If you can't, the difference in results will almost certainly be undetectable for the overwhelming majority of MFP users.
ETA: You started with "[eating] a good deal of protein AND carbs post workout" now you're talking about 200 calories, combined, of protein and carbs. If it's a "good deal" of these macros, why are you now minimizing it as a trivial shift?
I picked 200 cals, but that's what the OP specifically said. And, yeah, if your meal timing shift is causing such problems, there are bigger issues in your plan. Period.
Because if you're experiencing the type of hunger you posit -- "going hungry all morning or afternoon" -- from just shifting a recovery drink/meal there is something wrong with your plan.
Wait, is it something "so small" or a "good deal" of it? You keep changing your argument depending on the point you want to try to make.
Ugh, no. There is something wrong because your result has shifted. If you're THAT hungry from shifting a recovery drink/meal (i.e. result) there is something wrong in your plan (i.e. cause). It's actually just basic logic and common sense, but I know neither are all that common on MFP.
Again, though, are we shifting a "good deal" of protein and carbs or something "so small" when implementing your advice?
Yes, because you're still eating the same amount of calories overall. It may take a few days to adjust, but yes, overall, it shouldn't be a big deal AT ALL. Perhaps you should focus more on eating more satisfying foods. Or shift the cals from somewhere else -- like 100 from your breakfast and 100 from your lunch. Or eat your dinner after working out (plenty do this). Or perhaps skipping break fast altogether (plenty of people IF and do it just fine). If you don't want to do any of those, that's another issue.
But, yes, a small shift of 200 cals from one time of the day to another time of day should NOT result in "being hungry all morning or afternoon". If that's happening, you need to shift something in your plan.
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