3 square meals or snacks throughout?
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I eat a small breakfast, medium lunch, larger dinner and 1-2 small snacks in the afternoon/evening. I am usually eating between 8 AM and 9 PM. I function best eating something every 3-5 hours. These are normal meal times for many people so it is easy to match my schedule with others. I could probably get used to eating once a day or smaller amounts more often but I don't want to.
You should do what helps you function and suits your lifestyle best. Timing is not important unless you have some issue with reflux or something. Eat when you are usually hungry. Eat 6 times a day or 1 time a day.
If you need dietary advice consult a registered dietician.1 -
I've always eaten 'mini' meals, having snacks throughout the day. There are set times where I forbid myself from eating just to give my digestive system a break.
My naturopath suggested that because eating anything solid at all (even veggies) spikes insulin levels, I may want to try having 3 square meals a day with my last meal being at 7pm. This to me is a foreign concept. The only thing I have done differently before is the Warrior Diet. For anyone unfamiliar with the warrior diet, you don't eat until late evening, and then you eat all of your food! Now, I did feel amazing on this diet but was also doing kickboxing, mma, jiu jitsu and karate 6 days of the week, so was very active.
Question: What do you guys do? Do you prefer snacks throughout the day or are any of you used to eating only breakfast, lunch and dinner?
First, I would stop seeing a naturopath and start seeing a Registered Dietician who actually has training in nutrition.
Second, Eat the way that satisfies you the best. Meal timing/number/quantity has no effect on weight loss. The only difference is comfort. For example, some like to eat before a workout, others are uncomfortable with food in their stomach while working out. Eating before bedtime helps some sleep better but others have trouble sleeping on a full stomach. It really is individual.
ETA: I eat 5-6 meals per day. Lunch and dinner are my largest meals and the others are closer to snacks. I sometimes skip breakfast and just have coffee.0 -
extra_medium wrote: »Whatever works best for you.
I'm still curious why everyone is so concerned about "spiked" insulin levels, especially when they aren't diabetic.
Especially because you WANT your insulin to rise and go down as your blood glucose rises and goes down. insulin is what removes glucose from the bloodstream4 -
I eat a brunch like meal between 10-11 AM, mid-day snack around 2:30 PM, dinner around 5:30 PM and dessert around 7:30 PM. That is typical, but some days it looks nothing like that depending on where life takes me.
I try to not give myself to many "rules" or restrictions. I basically eat when I am hungry and it naturally falls into the schedule above. Losing weight is hard enough without setting arbitrary or unnecessary rules on myself.1 -
I eat lunch and dinner. I don't start getting hungry till around noon so it works great for me. And gives me those extra calories to use at lunch and dinner to have a good-sized meal.1
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extra_medium wrote: »Whatever works best for you.
I'm still curious why everyone is so concerned about "spiked" insulin levels, especially when they aren't diabetic.
I personally like how spiking insulin helps build muscle!2 -
Breakfast, AM snack, Lunch, Mid Day Snack, Supper, PM Snack
Each one is roughly 500 cals
Most of the time the PM Snack is not needed, but sometimes it saves the day.
This is about what I do and it has worked well for me for several years. Everything is pretty nutritious - not sure if it would work as well if it weren't. If I'm going to have a less-nutritious extra, it will usually be at night.1 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »extra_medium wrote: »Whatever works best for you.
I'm still curious why everyone is so concerned about "spiked" insulin levels, especially when they aren't diabetic.
I personally like how spiking insulin helps build muscle!
Word
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extra_medium wrote: »Whatever works best for you.
I'm still curious why everyone is so concerned about "spiked" insulin levels, especially when they aren't diabetic.
Especially because you WANT your insulin to rise and go down as your blood glucose rises and goes down. insulin is what removes glucose from the bloodstream
Isn't the concern that we want insulin to rise and fall fairly slowly and steadily? As opposed to, say, the kind of insulin reaction you might get if you drank a big Coke or ate a bunch of glucose tabs?0 -
I've always eaten 'mini' meals, having snacks throughout the day. There are set times where I forbid myself from eating just to give my digestive system a break.
My naturopath suggested that because eating anything solid at all (even veggies) spikes insulin levels, I may want to try having 3 square meals a day with my last meal being at 7pm. This to me is a foreign concept. The only thing I have done differently before is the Warrior Diet. For anyone unfamiliar with the warrior diet, you don't eat until late evening, and then you eat all of your food! Now, I did feel amazing on this diet but was also doing kickboxing, mma, jiu jitsu and karate 6 days of the week, so was very active.
Question: What do you guys do? Do you prefer snacks throughout the day or are any of you used to eating only breakfast, lunch and dinner?
why on earth would it matter if you eat at 7pm or 7:30pm?????
meal timing does not matter and insulin spikes are not as bad for you as everyone portrays them to be...
ditch the naturopath ...2 -
I eat
breakfast
second breakfast
mid-morning snack
lunch
afternoon snack
pre-workout snack
dinner
This works for me.1 -
I like 3 big meals and snacks in between, lol. Realistically, it works best for me to have a snack in the morning, a small meal at noon, a snack in the afternoon, and a larger meal at supper time. Or to have a small meal in the morning, a larger meal at lunch, and a snack at supper time. Depends if I'm eating at my moms or at home. Some days I eat most of my calories at work, and don't eat supper, other days I don't eat much at work and snack non stop once I get home.
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extra_medium wrote: »Whatever works best for you.
I'm still curious why everyone is so concerned about "spiked" insulin levels, especially when they aren't diabetic.
Especially because you WANT your insulin to rise and go down as your blood glucose rises and goes down. insulin is what removes glucose from the bloodstream
Isn't the concern that we want insulin to rise and fall fairly slowly and steadily? As opposed to, say, the kind of insulin reaction you might get if you drank a big Coke or ate a bunch of glucose tabs?
Neither is a concern. The only problem is if a person does not produce enough insulin to deal with the glucose in the bloodstream0 -
I try to eat light during the day and then eat most of my calories at night.
I'll usually eat some turkey jerky in the early afternoon, lunch (which is usually some shredded chicken or a tuna pouch) in the very late afternoon and then all the rest of my food in the couple hours leading up to going to bed.
Edited for vagueness.0 -
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VioletRojo wrote: »
Even then, unless you are on insulin, the carb total for the day is the important number so a big soda isn't an issue as long as the rest of the day balances it out. Those who need insulin DO need to avoid major spikes.0 -
"My naturopath suggested that because eating anything solid at all (even veggies) spikes insulin levels,"
Well of course it does - so does having anything liquid (other than water) - see example of coke in post above.
Some things - like coke, cream-cakes etc will cause more of insulin spike than others. obviously why diabetics avoid such things.
But they dont avoid veggies.
But all food causes an insulin response - that is how it is meant to work.
Not getting naturopath's point at all here about why this is something to be avoided - and why she thinks solid foods would it more than liquid ones anyway.0 -
Nobody wants to see how obnoxious I am if i skip breakfast. I eat breakfast and then usually lunch and dinner but sometimes heavy snacks or just skip one depending on how day goes.0
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Question: What do you guys do? Do you prefer snacks throughout the day or are any of you used to eating only breakfast, lunch and dinner?
i'm more of a snacker, i guess. i take fairly finite 'meals' with me to work, but in practice it usually takes me most of the day to get through it all.
with me it's just preference though. i don't have nearly enough interest or determination to change my eating patterns just for the sake of some theory.
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paperpudding wrote: »"My naturopath suggested that because eating anything solid at all (even veggies) spikes insulin levels,"
Well of course it does - so does having anything liquid (other than water) - see example of coke in post above.
Some things - like coke, cream-cakes etc will cause more of insulin spike than others. obviously why diabetics avoid such things.
But they dont avoid veggies.
But all food causes an insulin response - that is how it is meant to work.
Not getting naturopath's point at all here about why this is something to be avoided - and why she thinks solid foods would it more than liquid ones anyway.
Yeah, this.0
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