How often do you eat?

Kathy_Noring

How do you space your meals/calories? Are you in losing or maintenance phase?

prestigio

Gaining fase.

Eating 3 to 6 meals per day (depending on how time allows me to).
Always eating breakfast, diner and lunch (biggest meals).
Morning snack, afternoon snack and evening snack are optional (small meals).

gypsy_spirit

I've lost a little over 100 pounds and have about 30 more to lose. I am still in a calorie deficit. I have never eaten a specified number of meals or eaten them at any specified time. I simply stay within my calorie deficit for the day. It's worked well so far.

sarafischbach9

I eat 4 times a day. I space my meals between 4 to 6 hours. I try not to go beyond 6 hours but sometimes like at work I have no control of when I can eat. I am losing. It will be the same when I maintain except I will eat 3 meals and 2 snacks.

cwannabee

While I generally don't have any strict routine as long as I'm within my calorie goal, I generally eat 4 times per day. Breakfast, Lunch, mid afternoon snack, and dinner. I try to leave at least 500 caloires for dinner (consume 1,300 to 1,500 per day) and I try not to eat within 2 hours before bed. I'm still losing weight. I'm down to the last 10 pounds though.

middleton110

Losing.

I typically try to eat every couple of hours. Over the summer, when I worked, it was easier eating 200-300 calorie meals every 2-3 hours (and I'd actually feel hungry every couple of hours). With my school schedule, I unfortunately sometimes go closer to 6 hours without eating (not recommended! Your blood sugar crashes and you eat everything in sight.).

Either way, I tend to feel groggy if I eat more than about 500 (well-rounded) calories in one sitting.

As long as you're hitting your calorie goal, it's convenient for you, and actually eating decent food, go for it.

hilts1969

maintaining, twice a day during the week every 15 hours and then 9 hours

wijody

I eat 2-3x per day - usually 3, but will sometimes do 2 if I eat a later lunch. This works for me in losing and maintenance. I always sleep terribly if I eat even remotely close to bedtime, so I tend to do a longer 'fast' each night - often eating dinner around 4 pm and not eating again until breakfast.

knra_grl

I am losing - I basically eat when I am hungry - at work more frequently at home not as frequently - I think it's because when I work I take a lunch so it's basically all portioned out for the day and at home if I want a big lunch I will have it so my calorie intake is higher on the weekend for my basic 3 meals than it would be at work (with the exception of breakfast that's pretty much a standard 200-300 cals)

CyberEd312

In Maintenance currently but my eating is the same now as it was in the beginning. I eat 3 main meals a day and in between I have 3 snacks, i do not believe in meal frequency when it comes to weight loss though, if you have the calories eat them when you can work them in, my set up is just what works best for me but may not for other.... Best of Luck

Sarauk2sf

I loosely structure my meals around workouts, however, I generally do not eat much, if anything, in the morning (other than my lattes) so I have more calories in the evening. I am a bit more structured when trying to lose weight than bulking or maintaining.

rschwabe1

Eat when you're hungry, lol. Stop complicating it.

callyart

It depends on the day.

I will have a normal breakfast of around 200 calories, then if I am hungry about half 10-11 I will have a piece of fruit, and then a small lunch between 12.30-2pm. I like the keep a lot of my calories for when I get home to have a good hearty meal, because I find this works better for me. If I am under my calories then, I can have a snack/treat on something usually nuts, or a glass of milk, some crisps etc.

I hate the thought of not having calories at the end of the day and being really hungry so this works for me.

Mostly though, I notice when I am getting hungry, so I eat.

12skipafew99100

I'm losing. I eat breakfast , lunch and dinner with snacks in between and before bed. I don't think it matters when you eat. Just that you keep your calories under your goal each day.

Makoce

Im on maintenance currently.
I do 16:8 fasting though, so I eat my first meal at 1PM, a snack at 4PM, dinner at 7PM, a small snack at 8:50 as my window closes at 9PM.

This works for me personally to stop binging -- but when I was losing I was eating every 2 - 3 hours throughout the day.

It doesnt matter when you eat as long as it works for you

rschwabe1

Im on maintenance currently.
I do 16:8 fasting though, so I eat my first meal at 1PM, a snack at 4PM, dinner at 7PM, a small snack at 8:50 as my window closes at 9PM.

This works for me personally to stop binging -- but when I was losing I was eating every 2 - 3 hours throughout the day.

It doesnt matter when you eat as long as it works for you

Well said. I use "IF" as well. It ultimately comes down to (you) putting in the effort and dedication. Results will come with patience.

Kathy_Noring

Im on maintenance currently.
I do 16:8 fasting though, so I eat my first meal at 1PM, a snack at 4PM, dinner at 7PM, a small snack at 8:50 as my window closes at 9PM.

This works for me personally to stop binging -- but when I was losing I was eating every 2 - 3 hours throughout the day.

It doesnt matter when you eat as long as it works for you

Interesting! I will look into this.

aarondnguyen

Currently cutting on sub 1800 calories with no regard to meal timing or frequency.

Kathy_Noring

I have been playing around with my mealtimes and snacking to see what works well for me to keep me feeling satisfied and not getting so hungry I binge. I tried one week of eating three larger meals and two small snacks. This seems to make me feel the most satisfied. I like to feel sated after a meal; not stuffed, but satisfied, no more rumbling tummy. Last week I tried eating 6x/day, and a pretty even distribution of calories. I felt hungry most of the time. It's like I never ate quite enough to feel satisfied. This coming week (I weigh in tomorrow), I am going to try three 400ish-calorie meals and two 150-calorie snacks, I think. See what that shakes up. I am going to try to eat lunch later, so that the afternoon and evening don't feel so long!

One thing I did last week that really worked out nicely is planned and pre-logged all of my meals and snacks. It makes it easier to stay on track.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I'm in maintenance. I've done all kinds of meal arrangements-- it doesn't matter for weight loss as long as you're in a calorie deficit. Arrange them in the way that gives you the best performance and allows you to stick to your calorie goal.

For example, I love to snack at night. So I just leave myself extra calories for that purpose. I also know that I can't perform my workouts properly if I don't eat breakfast.

Others are completely different from me. They find it's easier to stick to their calorie goal when they eat most of their calories early in the day. Or for others they only eat during a narrow window (intermittent fasting).

You should do whatever makes you feel the best.

ashleycde

I have never eaten a specified number of meals or eaten them at any specified time. I simply stay within my calorie deficit for the day. It's worked well so far.

I'm the same way. I am in the losing phase, and I eat when I'm hungry, as long as it still fits within my day.

dezb64

I eat 4-6 times a day. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner being the larger meals and snacks in between that. I have just hit maintenance so I am still trying to figure out how many calories I should eat.

lumiereducoeur

Eat when you're hungry, lol. Stop complicating it.

True dat! That's how I do it too - just make sure you're not mistaking boredom or thirst for hunger, haha.

lauriebeakley1

I don't mean this to sound snarky but if I'm hungry, I eat. It's that simple. I'm in losing mode, I stay in my calories & it works for me. Simple.

njitaliana

I don't get up till 9 AM,and I go to sleep around 11:30 PM. Since I'm not up that many hours, I space my meals out to approximately every four hours. I have breakfast, lunch, dinner and an evening snack.

Kathy_Noring

Thanks for chiming in, all. It's not that I think there's some magic in eating a certain way, I am just curious about how others do it. Just trying to glean ideas.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Ah I see.

I eat a lot. I like to have something every couple of hours. Usually it's something like this

Breakfast 1: carb
(workout)
Breakfast 2: protein
Lunch
Snack
Dinner
Snack
Snack
Snack

:laugh:

Dewymorning

I eat three large meals (400-600 calories, or more) and three small snacks (150 calories-250 calories).

Blue801

I usually get hungry in the afternoon so I save most my calories for the afternoon & evening. I usually just do 2 meals right now while losing. If I get hungry I snack. I log my 2 meals for the day so I know how many extra calories I have for snacks or meal addons.:drinker:

sjbtiger

I eat three large meals (400-600 calories, or more) and three small snacks (150 calories-250 calories).

This is pretty much what I am doing as well and I'm sort of losing but mostly recomping.

madonetwo

I eat three meals and 3 snacks a day. This levels out my blood sugar and helps me keep from getting too hungry. If I don't have a protein rich snack before driving home my car tries to drive through McDonalds or similar places. The late morning snack keeps me full till lunch.