Pre-diabetes/metabolic syndrome, how often do you eat?

CynthiasChoice

One registered dietitian I saw recently advised me to eat 5 - 6 times a day and never more than 400 calories per meal (for women.) The goal of eating this way was to keep blood sugar stable.

Another RD advised 3 meals a day, no snacks, even for diabetics. This particular RD also does intermittent fasting herself, but does not actively advise it to her patients.

Personally, I prefer the 3 meal a day option because I like to have a satisfying meal, not a little bit of food here and there. Also, focusing on food less often seems better for my mindset. I hope that as long as I'm losing weight, my condition will improve even if some meals are over 400 calories.

For those with blood sugar concerns, (but not insulin dependent) what have you discovered works best for you? Which advice do you believe is correct?

ronjsteele1

This is very individual. I have classic metabolic syndrome and PCOS. I have experimented with each of the meal plans you stated and different ones have worked for me at different times. I've lost 20#'s and right now what works is just eating when I feel hungry. So, basically 3 meals a day with a snack in the evening. IF works well if you don't mind the long wait to eat in the AM. I didn't like IF because I've always liked having breakfast early so this made it hard for me to stick to IF. I would say you should pick one of these ways to eat and try it for 14 days. If it works, great. If it doesn't, try the next one. As I said, I think this is very individual. I've lost weight doing all three because it still comes down to CICO.