How often do you eat?

SephiraRose

I eat 3 meals a day at varied times and 2 small snacks. Try to stay within 1200 calories and usually don't eat back my exercise calories.

sloth3toes

The 3 basics. Snacks as necessary.

lharri0209

Maintenance mode here. I eat 3 meals each day and 2 snacks. I also work out 2-3 times each week. I leave extra cals for at night when I get hungry, which is often. I'm a night owl.

Cheeky_and_Geeky

Pretty close to maintenance.

I eat breakfast around 8am
Lunch at 12
Snack at 2-3
Dinner at 5
Snack at 7

ashleycde

*Edit* Double post. Darn internet.

ashleycde

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:

I'm laughing so hard at this right now because if I had to map out my meals, it would look so much like this. Except there may be more snacks before after dinner!

daw0518

I'm losing, and I eat whenever I want, pretty much. The beginning of my day is pretty structured - I eat breakfast, I take something with me to campus for lunch, but then when I get home after classes it kind of just turns into a free-for-all. I do most of my eating in the evenings & at night. If it fits in my calories, I eat it. If I had to count, I would say I eat 3-4 times a day, but a lot of my evening 'snacks' could probably be considered meals, so I just don't know.

Aeramis13

This is a personal question, regardless of "phase". Seriously. Some days I skip breakfast completely. If I do eat breakfast, i choose high protein options because it makes my day easier. I snack all through the afternoon until I head to the gym to work my *kitten* off, followed by protein and then dinner and evening snacks. What's your real question?

crystalflame

I've gone through losing phases and maintaining phases (and accidental gain phases, oops). I'm doing a very slight, slow cut right now. I've always eaten when the timing's convenient and when I feel like it. Usually 3 meals plus a snack during the work week and 2 really large meals on the weekends.

brevislux

Maintenance.
I eat every 3 hours, about 300 cals for each meal. I find it hard to eat large quantities in one sitting and don't like feeling full, so I rather eat smaller meals throughout the day to 3 large meals.

Achrya

I'm kinda losing/kinda maintaing. I eat constantly. I don't start eating til around 11am-noon, and I usually stop around 9pm, so I gotta cram 1800 or so calories into that window. So. Always eating.

Kathy_Noring

Pretty close to maintenance.

I eat breakfast around 8am
Lunch at 12
Snack at 2-3
Dinner at 5
Snack at 7

This is what I should try this week. I was eating a morning snack and an afternoon snack, but not saving anything for evening. Then I am hungry at night and I go over. And I like dinner early, so this schedule would suit me well. I eat breakfast earlier because I am up by 5.

Kathy_Noring

Thanks again, everyone. Lots of interesting strategies and approaches in these posts! We're certainly all unique in how we approach this.

JesterMFP

I generally have my first meal around 1pm, and it's usually between 400-600 calories. Then, I don't eat until come time between 6pm-8pm, when I have my main meal for the day and after dinner snacks. The vast majority of my calories are consumed in the evening.

I'm maintaining at the moment, although this is how I ate for a lot of the losing phase too.

tennisdude2004

normally twice a day. First meal between 12 - 1pm (later on the weekends).

Second meal about 8pm.

If I get hungry in between (a handful of almonds or hazelnuts).

scubasuenc

Losing.

I eat 3 meals and usually 2 snacks. I am a Type 2 diabetic and it helps me control my blood sugar better.

For folks who do not have a medical reason for small frequent meals, I don't think it mattes when you eat. It is just personal preference. Just focus on staying within your calorie goal.

chrisjhoward

I usually get up around 6am, have breakfast at 7am, lunch between 12pm and 2pm and dinner anywhere between 5pm and 9pm (part time evening work you see). Snacks at around 11am and 4pm if I'm hungry.

GertrudeHorse

I eat three main meals with ~600 calories for breakfast, ~700 for lunch and ~800 for dinner. I eat back my exercise calories as snacks spread throughout the day. But if I'm still hungry after that I will have an extra snack. I'm in maintenance at the moment but my pattern was similar when losing.

Kathy_Noring

I think it's interesting how many people don't eat until afternoon. My son does that, too. I wish I could do that, but I get a headache if I don't eat breakfast. I can go about two hours without eating after waking. In fact, I am such an early riser, I do typically wait two hours before I eat.

Kathy_Noring

Here's the schedule I am going to try this week. I had hoped to pre-plan, prepare, and pre-log all of my food for the week, but I don't think I will have time today. I have bicycle riding to do! Calorie counts are rough estimates (except breakfast, which rarely changes) to help me plan.

Meal 1 -- 6:45am (315)
Fruit or Veggie -- 10am (85)
Meal 2 -- Noon (400)
Snack 1 -- 4pm (150)
Meal 3 -- 5:30pm (400)
Snack 2 -- 7pm (150)
Total -- 1500

On long biking and/or heavy exercise days, I will obviously need to add more calories or risk bonking!

chelstakencharge

not a set schedule....I eat when I am hungry and only then....no mindless eating

Vessecora

The usual 3 a day (hopefully around 350 cal or so for each on a 1200 basis) for losing
And one or two snacks depending on my calorie allowance/hunger.

silverteacup

I eat 5 to 6 times a day in small amounts but really I graze on veggies all day doing this keeps me from feeling hungry and I can resist temptation because I have most likely just eaten something. No mindless eating....my grazing is always good nutritional choices.

cwolfman13

I typically eat breakfast and then I eat lunch. I generally have a pre-workout snack of apples and almonds in the afternoon and a protein shake afterwards, then home for dinner...which is generally served around 8:30 PM. This was pretty much my schedule while I was losing as well as in maintenance.

For the most part, my 3 meals are pretty well set...my "snacks" generally revolve around my workouts and what not so timing varies depending on schedule.

For weight loss, nutrient timing is largely irrelevant. It becomes more relevant to specific training goals and even more so for competitive athletes...but for the average Joe/Jane trying to knock off some weight, it's pretty low on the list of things that are important.

tennisdude2004

Update - I've just eaten..

Kathy_Noring

Update - I've just eaten..

LOL, thanks! We've been dying to know!

I definitely need more structure than "just eat when you're hungry." I am ALWAYS hungry, especially when I am cutting calories to lose.

BenjaminMFP88

Cutting on about a 1800 diet. I could care less about meal timings or frequency. Although, I do tend to eat nearly all my calories by the end of lunch...

fificrazy

Maintenance.
I eat as soon as I wake up (anywhere from 6 AM - 10 AM), have a snack drink (latte, fruit or veggie juice) around 11-12, then eat again when I get to work (regardless of when I ate breakfast... I've just been conditioned to want to nibble when I get there. Oooops.) I only pack 1 lunch though, so I figure when I eat it doesn't matter- it just might mean I might have to work an hour or two hungry at the end of the day if I have it too early :P it always feels like I've been brunching all morning by 1 o'clock!
Then I have dinner at 6.
Dessert at 7
Snack at 10
Generally another snack at 1 AM. Helps me dream. Hopefully I fall asleep then. Sometimes, when I can't, I'll eat my "breakfast" before bed so when I do eventually fall asleep around 4-5 AM, I can sleep in without waking up hungry in the morning so I can skip having a real breakfast, have time to shower, then start my days "eating routine" with the snack drink.

24lol25

I eat if I have the chance, or just when I get hungry.

avskk

I'm temporarily in maintenance, 1800 calories/day. Right now I tend to eat four times a day --breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner. Sometimes I have a snack before bed too. Breakfast around 350 calories, lunch ditto, snack 100-250 (usually 100 but sometimes I get chips from the machine at work), dinner near 500, remaining calories go either to booze or bedtime snack.

I lose around 1400 calories/day. When I'm losing I skip breakfast, lunch around 300, snack 100ish, dinner 500 or so, remaining calories for bedtime snack and booze. I just have to be really careful to pack my meals with high-nutrient and high-protein foods on this regimen.

I'm not strict about timing no matter what phase I'm in. If I'm hungry, I eat. This means that sometimes I have breakfast on a"losing" day or snack all day instead of sitting down to meals on a "maintenance" day. My hunger cues are fairly consistent but I am not a robot.