When's the best time to eat?????

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AngelbabyJC
AngelbabyJC Posts: 27 Member
in Getting Started
When's the best time to eat Breakfast, lunch and dinner with snacks in between????......trying to stay on track. I've heard people say to not eat after 8pm pm.....How many hours apart before you can think about lunch or dinner?......people make up time frame for these things, do you go with the flow or stay on track?????
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Replies

  • Rebekahl87
    Rebekahl87 Posts: 95 Member
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    I don't put much stock in timing of meals/restricting eating to certain times of the day. Most important thing is to make sure you're eating at a calorie deficit while still making sure you're fueling your body enough. I like to plan my meals a day or more in advance, portioning out my meals and snacks, and I usually end up eating every 3-4 hours. It just happens that way, listening to my body. My stomach has been extra grumbly today, but if I make sure I'm hydrating too, I'm usually good. Hope that makes sense! Feel free to add me as a friend. :)
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,564 Member
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    When you're awake. The actual times are personal preference. Unless you have sleeping problems that come from eating late, you don't need a cutoff time.
  • ScoobaChick
    ScoobaChick Posts: 185 Member
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    I try to space it out during the day, usually 3 meals and 2 snacks because I find if I get super hungry before a meal (because I skipped a previous meal or a snack) then I am ravenous and overeat. I am never hungry in the morning but I find that if I skip breakfast I'm so hungry by lunch that I eat way too much (over the value of a regular breakfast and lunch should be). My diary is open is you want to take a look. Warning though I eat pretty much the same thing every day, it's boring but it's what I figured out I preferred.

    But that's me. You need to figure out what works best for you.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
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    When's the best time? When I'm hungry.

    Timing of meals and snacks is irrelevant to weight management. :)
  • pondee629
    pondee629 Posts: 2,469 Member
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    When you're hungry.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    Personal preference. Are you a grazer and like to eat throughout the day or do you like to sit down and eat a nice meal that fills you up?

    Eat like you always have. Eat whenever you are hungry or graze all day.. Doesn't matter... And if you want to eat after 8:00 go a head.
  • piggysmalls333
    piggysmalls333 Posts: 450 Member
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    If you're gonna EAT big, do it early in the day...
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    When I'm hungry.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    piggysmalls333 wrote: »
    If you're gonna EAT big, do it early in the day...

    Why?
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
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    piggysmalls333 wrote: »
    If you're gonna EAT big, do it early in the day...

    No. It doesn't matter when you eat.

    Stay within your calorie goals. Figure out your pattern. For me, I don't eat much early, I save my calories for late afternoon and evening. I do this because I'm not hungry early in the day, and I like a big dinner.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited May 2016
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    piggysmalls333 wrote: »
    If you're gonna EAT big, do it early in the day...

    And this is why we get hundreds of threads like these every week.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    piggysmalls333 wrote: »
    If you're gonna EAT big, do it early in the day...

    And this is why we get hundreds of threads like these every week.

    And this completely defies all comments that say "eat when ever you want" or "when ever you are hungry"
  • vikinglander
    vikinglander Posts: 1,547 Member
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    On my paleo protocol, I rarely get "hungry". I start my day at 5:30 AM with morning coffee, then eat a 500 calorie breakfast when I get to my desk at 8:00; I have a 250 calorie snack between 10:00 and 11:00, then a 500 calorie lunch; another 250 calorie snack between 3:30 and 5:00, then a 500 calorie dinner between 6:30 and 8:00 PM.

    I will have to reduce my caloric intake as I lose, but at the moment I am steadily losing an average of about a pound a week. Works for me...good luck to you.
  • CasperNaegle
    CasperNaegle Posts: 936 Member
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    The only thing that matters is to eat when it fits your schedule and you can stick to it. The dieting has no impact on timing of eating. Set your calories and stick to it.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    Whenever you want. Probably best when you're hungry. Other than that timing makes no difference.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
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    I eat breakfast before I go to work. (Mid to late morning on my day off)
    I eat lunch on my lunch break ,might skip lunch depending on how late breakfast was and how active I am for the day.
    I have a small snack after work aka late lunch on my day off
    I eat dinner around 4:30-5:00 pm
    I have a second snack in the evening.

    Essentially I find that eating on a schedule is helpful. Waiting until I am hungry to make a meal, for me, is going to make me more likely to over eat since then I get more hungry during the preparation process and am much more likely to make the choice for a higher calorie quicker meal over a well planned healthier meal. Also it takes me a while to get the "I'm full" feeling. In general I try to eat enough to hold me until the next meal time and before I start to feel hunger.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,564 Member
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    piggysmalls333 wrote: »
    If you're gonna EAT big, do it early in the day...

    This is nothing but personal preference. Dinner is almost always my biggest meal of the day.

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