meal times/eating patterns

primalkiwi

It occurred to me the other day how much my meal times are based around my own habits, social customs and the directive of others. I eat a small meal at 5:30am before work, lunch at 12 because that's when we get a break at work then dinner at 6-6:30 based around other household members and their needs.
If my life wasn't based around these activities and I was free to do as I pleased for meal times then my preference would be to eat a small meal around 9-10am and then another meal about 4-5pm - so just 2 meals a day. I'm trying to figure out how I can try to incorporate this into my daily routine.
Just curious what others eating patterns/preferences are and how you make them fit into your lifestyle?

justaspoonfulofsugar

Personally,I would be trying to change around eating times and implement intermittent fasting,if you can make it work for you.
I like breakfast some days and other days not.
I would eat around 5-6pm and then leave food for at least 14-16 hours after that.
I then have a meal around 9-10am.
Fat helps me to stay full longer and I enjoy working out fasted.
That's what works best for me.

strychnine7

I've always been a two meal/day person, even pre-paleo. As it happens now, your ideal meal times that you posted (10am-ish and 5pm-ish), are when I eat now, during the week. It tends to work out close to this on most weekends, too.

Akimajuktuq

With such a physically demanding job, I don't really think you can eat breakfast later. When I was trying to exercise in the morning my fasting was messed right up. Not acceptable... to me. My job has me stuck at a desk so I eat at lunch at noon (no choice there) and I eat as soon after work as possible, usually by 6pm. I often have a nightsnack that follows very closely after supper.

I love weekends because I can obey body signals instead of the clock. I sometimes only eat one or two meals very close together. I'm rarely interested in eating before 2 pm.

I love intermittent fasting but I do NOT think it's appropriate for someone with a very physical job. It might also be hard to eat enough if you are rushed trying to eat a meal at break instead of lunch. Of course, you could just try it and see what happens since no harm will be done as long as you give it up if it doesn't work.

redheadmommy

I also would prefer that 2 meal pattern you have described eating a huge meal (55-60% of my total calories) around 9-10 am and the second one around 6 pm. I did that when I worked from home . Now most days I work at an office, and the timing didn't really work out and I am kind of forced to eat at lunchtime with my colleges.
Since it is really hard for me to last until lunch without breakfast even with bulletproof coffee, now I have to eat some early breakfast.
I do not like to divide my food into 3 meals because than each meal is too small and I do not get satiated. Not to mention that with 2 small kids and dog at the morning is already crazy busy, and I do not have the time for a sit down breakfast.
Right now I am experimenting with having a protein shake at 7:00, this seems to work out well as the timing goes, except my protein shake is totally not primal I probably have a 4-5 weeks of supply of this protein powder, and I try to get something more primal next time.

barefootpaleo

My meals are not set, in fact you could say they were quite erratic.. I usually eat my first meal around 2pm, this is my biggest meal, but if I'm hungry in the am I'll have a protein shake. Then I'll have something to eat later on in the day, there is no set time. one day last week i only ate 800 calories because I wasn't that hungry.. the day after I felt like eating more so i did.. still lost 6lbs this week.

primal7

I attempt to eat breakfast, but many time end up doing bulletproof coffee.
Mid meal if I have time is usually around 1pm. If I have a morning meal then usually eat a snack around 2pm instead of mid day meal.
I always attempt to eat my last meal by 6pm.
I noticed being Paleo/Primal I have no cravings for snacking!

Akimajuktuq

Primalkiwi: you didn't mention your very physically demanding job here…. When considering meal timing, I think it is an important factor to consider and the advice of those of us who have far more sedentary jobs may not fit your situation at all.

Zeromilediet

Akimajuktuq Holy cow! I haven't been on here in a while so this is first time seeing your updated pic. YOU look A-mazing! Considering the challenges of getting real food in the Arctic, even more congrats!

Plus your advice to OP is right on.

primalkiwi

Interesting to see everyone's thoughts on this. Laurie (akimajuktuq) - no I didn't mention my physical job as I only have 4 more weeks left before I start on the 3.5 months of the year where I work indoors and I'm pretty much sedentary and this is when I plan to try and implement new eating patterns. For the rest of the year - over winter I've only done 2 hours physical work by 10am so would be fine (can't stand BP coffee btw) but over summer I've completed 4 hours very physical work by 10am so it wouldn't work then. If you remember I did try IF briefly but found 9:30-10am was my maximum time before I physically needed food for energy after about 2-3 hours physical work. I only plan on staying in this current job for another 6-8 months so staying open minded on how I might implement changes :-)

bzchristina

Since going Paleo, exercising much more often and eating food that keep me feeling full much more longer, I find I'm not eating as frequently. As many of you, I find myself eating twice a day. I'd like to do more research on intermittent fasting and incorporate it into my week somehow.

Something I'm concerned with is that I may not be getting enough protein. For those who eat infrequently, how do you ensure you're getting enough of your protein?

justaspoonfulofsugar

Since going Paleo, exercising much more often and eating food that keep me feeling full much more longer, I find I'm not eating as frequently. As many of you, I find myself eating twice a day. I'd like to do more research on intermittent fasting and incorporate it into my week somehow.

Something I'm concerned with is that I may not be getting enough protein. For those who eat infrequently, how do you ensure you're getting enough of your protein?

Here is a quote from marks daily apple about protein:
Protein takes priority. If there is ample glycogen (stored glucose) and the body is getting the rest of its energy efficiently from fats, protein will always go first towards repair or building cells or enzymes. In that context, it hardly seems fair to assign it a “burn rate” of 4 calories per gram. It’s like saying the 2×4 studs that support the walls of your house can burn nicely if you run out of firewood. They will, but I prefer to burn other fuel first. At a minimum you need .5 grams of protein per pound of lean mass/per day on average to maintain your “structure”. If you are moderately active you need .7 or .8, and if you are an active athlete you need as much as 1 gram of protein per pound of lean mass. That’s at a minimum, but it’s on a daily average. So a 155 lb moderately active woman who has 25% body fat (and thus) has 116 lb of lean body mass needs 93 grams of protein on average per day (116 x .8). If she gets 60 or 80 some days and 110 on others, she’ll still be in a healthy average range. And even if she exceeds the 110, it’s no problem if she’s eating low carb because the excess protein will convert to glucose, which will reduce her effective carbohydrate needs (see below). At 4 calories per gram, that’s between 320 and 440 calories per day in protein. It’s not that much.

Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/definitive-guide-to-the-primal-eating-plan/#ixzz2qZPDspcA

Dragonwolf

Since going Paleo, exercising much more often and eating food that keep me feeling full much more longer, I find I'm not eating as frequently. As many of you, I find myself eating twice a day. I'd like to do more research on intermittent fasting and incorporate it into my week somehow.

Something I'm concerned with is that I may not be getting enough protein. For those who eat infrequently, how do you ensure you're getting enough of your protein?

Base your meals around your protein source (which is generally going to be your primary calorie source, anyway, in most cases). For example, a 4oz sirloin steak with 1/8" fat is about 225 calories and 22g of protein. Double that up to 8oz or add another protein source (steak and eggs much?), and you have about half of your protein for the day. It sounds like a huge amount at first, but you're eating half of your calories in one sitting - it's a lot of food in general, especially if you're active and/or a larger person. Over the course of the day, it will even out to about the same as getting your protein from the same sources, but in 3+ meals.

Keep in mind, too, that vegetables have a small amount of protein in them, as well, so pair your meat with some nuts/seeds, broccoli, mushrooms, and carrots atop a bed of kale and other dark greens, and you can tack on as much as 10g of protein onto your meal.

redheadmommy

Since going Paleo, exercising much more often and eating food that keep me feeling full much more longer, I find I'm not eating as frequently. As many of you, I find myself eating twice a day. I'd like to do more research on intermittent fasting and incorporate it into my week somehow.

Something I'm concerned with is that I may not be getting enough protein. For those who eat infrequently, how do you ensure you're getting enough of your protein?

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Just plainly eat more protein at meals. One size doesn't fit all, because there is a wide range of personal preference when it comes to protein not to mention budget. Personally I would love to eat giant filet mignon every dinner, but that is not an option due to the cost and the food preference of my family members.

there is chicken, duck, turkey, salmon, cod or any other fish , shrimp , steak, ground beef , pork , organs ,eggs, dairy (if you primal) or even protein powder.

I find a protein price comparison on he web. Very interesting, because the writer actually calculated the price of 1 lb dietary protein 454 g protein on your MFP column and compared that from different food sources. It is based on US prices, which may differ significantly from your local prices, but nevertheless it is an interesting comparison :
http://mikesmixrecoverydrink.com/a-protein-cost-comparison/

Since the legumes are out, practically eggs are the cheapest option, followed by chicken and unflavoured whey protein powder.

Akimajuktuq

Akimajuktuq Holy cow! I haven't been on here in a while so this is first time seeing your updated pic. YOU look A-mazing! Considering the challenges of getting real food in the Arctic, even more congrats!

Plus your advice to OP is right on.

Well, thank you. I'm still doing the best I can with what I have. I have even kicked my addiction to dairy, finally. Only more good things to come for this year. :blushing:

Akimajuktuq

Interesting to see everyone's thoughts on this. Laurie (akimajuktuq) - no I didn't mention my physical job as I only have 4 more weeks left before I start on the 3.5 months of the year where I work indoors and I'm pretty much sedentary and this is when I plan to try and implement new eating patterns. For the rest of the year - over winter I've only done 2 hours physical work by 10am so would be fine (can't stand BP coffee btw) but over summer I've completed 4 hours very physical work by 10am so it wouldn't work then. If you remember I did try IF briefly but found 9:30-10am was my maximum time before I physically needed food for energy after about 2-3 hours physical work. I only plan on staying in this current job for another 6-8 months so staying open minded on how I might implement changes :-)

OK, I getcha now. When I was doing a 20 minute body weight training routine in the mornings it destroyed my ability to IF on those days. I could make it to 10 am and then I felt sick. So with 2 hours of intense activity, I'm not sure if waiting to 10am would work. But no harm in trying. Of course how long one can IF before needing to eat is impacted by how early you get up and what you are doing. I am up between 6 and 7am. I walk a dog a bit and walk to work (15 mins total) and have "standing breaks" now instead of scheduled workouts, so I usually have no issue making it to noon. If I were up at 5am and actually exerted myself, then no way I'd make it to noon. I value my IF so much that I tossed the scheduled workouts in exchange for more movement during the entire day. As spring approaches, I will have more expectations of myself when it comes to activity.

primalkiwi

If I were up at 5am and actually exerted myself, then no way I'd make it to noon. I value my IF so much that I tossed the scheduled workouts in exchange for more movement during the entire day. As spring approaches, I will have more expectations of myself when it comes to activity.

I like your approach Laurie - winter is naturally a time of hibernation and reduced activity until spring hits and we start feeling new energy rising and want to start moving.
I'm looking at this less as IF and more as simply intuitive eating - the patterns I mentioned above are generally my weekends and times when I'm home alone for a few days and I get more of a chance to actually tune in to my body. It would be great if I could also incorporate intuitive sleeping patterns but I don't think the boss would be too keen on me having a nana nap at 2pm ;-)

chani8

I have coffee and nuts first thing in the am, then brunch at 10am, lunch at 2pm, dinner at 6pm. I thought this was already so hard. Can't imagine eating only twice a day. I wouldn't be able to eat enough calories that way.

Dragonwolf

I have coffee and nuts first thing in the am, then brunch at 10am, lunch at 2pm, dinner at 6pm. I thought this was already so hard. Can't imagine eating only twice a day. I wouldn't be able to eat enough calories that way.

The people that eat fewer meals eat more per meal. Some people do better on multiple small meals (and can be full on ~300 calories), while others can't. I know I, personally, can't do the "eat 6 times a day" thing and stay sated. I never feel hungry on that schedule, and therefore, never feel full, which makes it hard for me to gauge whether I've eaten enough. Conversely, I can't eat enough food on only one or two meals, because I can't eat that much food in one sitting. So, I generally do best on 2-3 meals a day (it varies by day, but I'll generally have a BPC or protein shake for breakfast, then a full lunch and dinner and am fine for the day).