Eating 5x a day?

rhiannondream

I just got into an argument with my mother about the benefits of having 5 small meals a day. Particularly, I've read that having the daily meals- bfast, lunch, and dinner with 2 small snacks in between helps keep you from binging. Well, she keeps nagging that snacking between meals is what's making me "fatter" and so today I felt that maybe I should cut snacks and eat only 3x a day. Today I wound up binging by dinner because I was so hungry. Granted, after looking back, I should have traded yogurt and protein bars for maybe veggie-protein based snacks instead but even when I brought that up, she insisted even eating vegetables alone is going to make me fat just due to the calories.

What the hell??? Her idea of losing weight is strictly cardio (cuz according to her, lifting weights makes women "bulky") and only eating one or two meals a day which I think is ridiculous. I am going to go see a doctor to get my blood tested for thyroid issues or PCOS, the latter which I have most of the symptoms for but she does not educate herself on this disease and won't take it seriously, saying that I don't really have it and use it as an excuse and simply eat too much. She looks at me in disgust when I eat more than twice a day and always mutters that I'll never lose weight if I continue to eat more than that. I feel that when I did used to eat only once or twice a day, I would binge like crazy and it may have shot my metabolism as well...

My diary is currently spotty since I just came back after feeling down about my lack of success, but when I do use a food scale and jot down every ingredient in my food, clean or not, I usually only range from 1200-1800 cals a day and maybe 60-150 carbs. I eat mostly clean (I have the occasional slip up, I have a sweet tooth and I'm no food saint) and I recently upped my lazy 3x a week workout to 6x a week with HIIT and Pilates. I'm trying hard to believe I am doing everything I possibly can to get myself on the right track. I am so frustrated that my own mother is not supportive and just criticizes me and won't educate herself on health as it is today. Sometimes I don't think mother always knows best....

fivethreeone

Unfortunately this is a common myth. The number of times that you eat in a day doesn't matter at all, as long as the calories are all there. Some people eat 6 times a day, some people eat one time a day. As long as you're getting your total necessary calories, eat however often suits your schedule/whims.

Unknown

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ywalchle

Is there perhaps a way for her to talk to a medical professional for them to clear up her long believed myths?

Unknown

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Psychgrrl

I tend to eat 4-5 small meals per day and I only label them as "Meal #1," "Meal #2," etc. as opposed to Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks. It works better for me. I also drink lots and lots of green tea.

ywalchle

Is there perhaps a way for her to talk to a medical professional for them to clear up her long believed myths?

Most won't.

I know, but there's always hope

stef_monster

I've never heard any convincing evidence on the whole meal frequency/ timing debate. Eat as often as you want, whenever that may be. As long as you're hitting your goals, you should be fine. Well, as long as you don't have thyroid or PCOS issues. Then you should probably listen to your doctor or nutritionist.

I guess you could technically 'get fat' on vegetables alone... but could you imagine the sheer volume you'd have to eat?! I know some people on Weight Watchers that gained weight because fruits and vegetables had zero 'points', but they were eating their normal daily intake plus five bananas or some craziness like that, and going over their maintenance calories.

The plan you outlined sounds great, honestly. I hope that you're able to implement it and see results soon. Good luck with the blood tests!


*Edited for typo

hugamime

Unfortunately it seems like your mother doesn't know what she's talking about and is buying into "myths".

At my job, I get a ten minute break after every 60 minutes, so I eat A LOT of very small portions (almost exclusively veg, some lean protein) throughout the day. At 5'8" and 120 pounds, I would in no way call myself "fat."

It is not how often you eat, it is what you eat. If health snacking keeps you on track, do it.

lenchmob

Eat as many times a day as you want.
Just make sure it is on target with your macros and calorie intake.

Personally I like to try and balance my calories over 6 meals.
My intake is 1800 / 200 / 30 / 120 (calories/protein/fat/carbs) per day so I try to hit around 300 / 35 / 5 / 20 per meal.

LolBroScience

Unfortunately it seems like your mother doesn't know what she's talking about and is buying into "myths".

At my job, I get a ten minute break after every 60 minutes, so I eat A LOT of very small portions (almost exclusively veg, some lean protein) throughout the day. At 5'8" and 120 pounds, I would in no way call myself "fat."

It is not how often you eat, how much you eat. If health snacking keeps you on track, do it.

Fixed it for you.

hill8570

Depends on the person. Eating lots of little meals drives me nuts, although I'll snack between my three big meals. OTOH, other folks (such as yourself, sounds like) do better on a lot of smaller meals. Whatever works best for you -- at the end of the day it's all about the total calories.

aleggett321

Playing the devils advocate for a sec. I have kids your age and I know how hard it is to keep our stupid mom mouths shut! Even if were wrong. Although it comes out sounding so critical, she may just be trying to support you with what she thinks is good advice. Maybe try a "thanks mom, I know you're trying to help but I really need to try it this way for a while"?

Oh, and I like 5 or 6 small meals a day. Keeps the hungries away.

Good luck to you.

shadow2soul

I just got into an argument with my mother about the benefits of having 5 small meals a day. Particularly, I've read that having the daily meals- bfast, lunch, and dinner with 2 small snacks in between helps keep you from binging. Well, she keeps nagging that snacking between meals is what's making me "fatter" and so today I felt that maybe I should cut snacks and eat only 3x a day. Today I wound up binging by dinner because I was so hungry. Granted, after looking back, I should have traded yogurt and protein bars for maybe veggie-protein based snacks instead but even when I brought that up, she insisted even eating vegetables alone is going to make me fat just due to the calories.

How often you eat in a day really isn't important. At the end of the day, it's the amount of calories you consumed that will determine whether or not your going to gain fat. For some people, eating 1 or 2 meals a day is easy and helps keep them on track. For other people, 5-6 small meals (or 3 meals 2-3 snacks) is the easier approach to keep them on track. It really is different for every person.

Her idea of losing weight is strictly cardio (cuz according to her, lifting weights makes women "bulky") and only eating one or two meals a day which I think is ridiculous.

To each there own I guess. Have you tried showing her pictures of the women on here that lift? I know there are several success threads full of pictures of women who lift and just look absolutely amazing.
Doing only cardio, is likely to get you to a lower scale weight. If what the scale says is all that matters, then that would be the way to go...I guess...

I am going to go see a doctor to get my blood tested for thyroid issues or PCOS, the latter which I have most of the symptoms

Good for you. If you do have either issue, treatment for it should help you with your weight loss (although it will still probably be slower than a person without either issue...but not impossible).

lindabeth333

You need to do what is right for you. Maybe your Mom isn't the right person for you to talk with about this. It sounds like she is stressing you out. You are 27 years old - she cannot control what you do. If your Mom insists on giving you unwanted advice - its easiest to just say -" OK thanks" and then just do what you need to do to take care of yourself.

rhiannondream

My mother has made fun of my weight since I can remember. Even when I finally lost 30 lbs on my own, she merely stated I "still have some ways to go." I don't think that's deserving of much "thanks"... She won't even consider my opinions as she is the "always right" type. I hate to be the so-called ungrateful child who blames mom but she has never been supportive of my attempts to be successful at anything.

I suppose the exact # of times you eat throughout the day isn't what matters but I don't think eating ridiculously under calories with empty carbs (she thinks eating only white rice is healthy) helps either. Eating daily meals and small snacks through the day has immensely helped me from binging. The ironic thing is that my mother kept stating "what works for others won't always work for you" so why is she trying to say what works for her will work for me??

Moving along from that whiny subject- thank you all for your opinions. I was previously doing weightlifting- and I LOVE it, but since my new job I couldn't make it to the gym hours and have taken up HIIT and cardio instead. I am currently building up a barbell rack in the garage tho so I can get back on track with the lifts.

What are some of your favorite go-to healthy snacks or quick fix meals? I work a 9-5 so I have at least one snack on hand for between bfast and lunch since I seem most hungry during the mornings. I had been having a chia seed cup, greek yogurt with fruits, or quest bar but I'm thinking of doing something more natural and veggie-based since I have a crap time eating enough vegetables...Since I'm pretty sure I have a hormone disorder I am trying not to have many carbs such as high sugar fruits.

meganjcallaghan

I spread my food out into at least 5 or 6 separate meals a day. perhaps you should show your mother my ticker so she can see how fat it's keeping me :P lol.

stef_monster

Plain greek yogurt with some nuts, or used as a dip for carrots, celery, broccoli, bell pepper slices, or cucumbers. Any veggie with any nut butter or hummus. String cheese. Cherry tomatoes with cheese cubes.

I can't think of any more off the top of my head, but I hope that helps.

katew221

Try showing her your diary - explaining how MFP works and how you can see exactly how much you are taking on and burning off each day really helps non-calorie watchers to understand how, actually, a little treat here and there is perfectly okay

My Dad would panic when he saw me have a treat, or eat a big portion and it used to bug me, so I would show him, okay I am eating 700 calories in this meal, but see I only have eaten this many all day because I went for a run earlier, etc. etc. It really helped get him on board and on my side.

I think parents can be overly critical because they love us and care about us. It doesn't always feel warm and fuzzy, but it is love. If you can make her a part of it, and feel more relaxed about what great care you are taking of the precious body that she made for you, it may help her chill out a bit more and be happy for you. Good luck!

MrGonzo05

It is good to eat somewhere between 1 and 42 meals per day, but thy meals must not number 43, or zero.

SuperC_85

I only eat two meals a day,
Meal frequency has not affected me or my weight loss at all.

Also used to believe the whole breakfast thing, which I hated cause it would set me up to be hungry the whole day grrr.

arguablysamson

I just got into an argument with my mother about the benefits of having 5 small meals a day. Particularly, I've read that having the daily meals- bfast, lunch, and dinner with 2 small snacks in between helps keep you from binging. Well, she keeps nagging that snacking between meals is what's making me "fatter" and so today I felt that maybe I should cut snacks and eat only 3x a day. Today I wound up binging by dinner because I was so hungry. Granted, after looking back, I should have traded yogurt and protein bars for maybe veggie-protein based snacks instead but even when I brought that up, she insisted even eating vegetables alone is going to make me fat just due to the calories.

What the hell??? Her idea of losing weight is strictly cardio (cuz according to her, lifting weights makes women "bulky") and only eating one or two meals a day which I think is ridiculous. I am going to go see a doctor to get my blood tested for thyroid issues or PCOS, the latter which I have most of the symptoms for but she does not educate herself on this disease and won't take it seriously, saying that I don't really have it and use it as an excuse and simply eat too much. She looks at me in disgust when I eat more than twice a day and always mutters that I'll never lose weight if I continue to eat more than that. I feel that when I did used to eat only once or twice a day, I would binge like crazy and it may have shot my metabolism as well...

My diary is currently spotty since I just came back after feeling down about my lack of success, but when I do use a food scale and jot down every ingredient in my food, clean or not, I usually only range from 1200-1800 cals a day and maybe 60-150 carbs. I eat mostly clean (I have the occasional slip up, I have a sweet tooth and I'm no food saint) and I recently upped my lazy 3x a week workout to 6x a week with HIIT and Pilates. I'm trying hard to believe I am doing everything I possibly can to get myself on the right track. I am so frustrated that my own mother is not supportive and just criticizes me and won't educate herself on health as it is today. Sometimes I don't think mother always knows best....

Hi,

Unfortunately, mom is absolutely right. Multiple meals (definitely more than 3) are a bad, bad deal. You've got to take responsibility and not excuse your binging on not having food in your stomach every second of the day. We evolved to deal with feast and famine, which is why two or even one meal a day equals losing much, much faster. Overeating and undereating are natural parts of the eating cycle. Being hungry does NOT equal starvation.

I've never personally known a multiple meal eater to lose ANY serious amount of weight. I tried it years back and lost only water weight. Your body needs time to clean out the contents of your stomach, and no, you don't get away with just having caloric content in a surplus or deficiency since your body has to excrete insulin with each of those little meals, which is why some of the absolute fattest women just have a coffee and then a bagel and then some fruit, some pasta, and some fish, plus more fruit. And by the end of the day, they not only stay huge, but they always will because they just can't bring themselves to be hungry even for a little while, even if they do manage to eat somewhat healthfully.

We all need that "I'm full" feeling regularly. Plus, keeping track of the calories of 5 daily meals is very hard. I'd imagine that would be very easy to screw up.

Pudding1980

Keeping track of the calories of five meals is hard? Why so? I eat six times a day and it's no harder to track than three meals. And I've been losing.

Phrick

I just got into an argument with my mother about the benefits of having 5 small meals a day. Particularly, I've read that having the daily meals- bfast, lunch, and dinner with 2 small snacks in between helps keep you from binging. Well, she keeps nagging that snacking between meals is what's making me "fatter" and so today I felt that maybe I should cut snacks and eat only 3x a day. Today I wound up binging by dinner because I was so hungry. Granted, after looking back, I should have traded yogurt and protein bars for maybe veggie-protein based snacks instead but even when I brought that up, she insisted even eating vegetables alone is going to make me fat just due to the calories.

What the hell??? Her idea of losing weight is strictly cardio (cuz according to her, lifting weights makes women "bulky") and only eating one or two meals a day which I think is ridiculous. I am going to go see a doctor to get my blood tested for thyroid issues or PCOS, the latter which I have most of the symptoms for but she does not educate herself on this disease and won't take it seriously, saying that I don't really have it and use it as an excuse and simply eat too much. She looks at me in disgust when I eat more than twice a day and always mutters that I'll never lose weight if I continue to eat more than that. I feel that when I did used to eat only once or twice a day, I would binge like crazy and it may have shot my metabolism as well...

My diary is currently spotty since I just came back after feeling down about my lack of success, but when I do use a food scale and jot down every ingredient in my food, clean or not, I usually only range from 1200-1800 cals a day and maybe 60-150 carbs. I eat mostly clean (I have the occasional slip up, I have a sweet tooth and I'm no food saint) and I recently upped my lazy 3x a week workout to 6x a week with HIIT and Pilates. I'm trying hard to believe I am doing everything I possibly can to get myself on the right track. I am so frustrated that my own mother is not supportive and just criticizes me and won't educate herself on health as it is today. Sometimes I don't think mother always knows best....

Hi,

Unfortunately, mom is absolutely right. Multiple meals (definitely more than 3) are a bad, bad deal. You've got to take responsibility and not excuse your binging on not having food in your stomach every second of the day. We evolved to deal with feast and famine, which is why two or even one meal a day equals losing much, much faster. Overeating and undereating are natural parts of the eating cycle. Being hungry does NOT equal starvation.

I've never personally known a multiple meal eater to lose ANY serious amount of weight. I tried it years back and lost only water weight. Your body needs time to clean out the contents of your stomach, and no, you don't get away with just having caloric content in a surplus or deficiency since your body has to excrete insulin with each of those little meals, which is why some of the absolute fattest women just have a coffee and then a bagel and then some fruit, some pasta, and some fish, plus more fruit. And by the end of the day, they not only stay huge, but they always will because they just can't bring themselves to be hungry even for a little while, even if they do manage to eat somewhat healthfully.

We all need that "I'm full" feeling regularly. Plus, keeping track of the calories of 5 daily meals is very hard. I'd imagine that would be very easy to screw up.

Is 68 pounds not a "serious amount of weight?" Because I've eaten 5 times a day since the end of December and that's where my loss stands as of this morning. It doesn't matter. Less in than out matters. Period.

zollarn

I am one of those people who NEEDS snacks between meals cause I am always hungry,,, I feel that if I am eating almonds, cherry tomatoes and carrots instead of Doritos and Pepsi, that it makes it HUGE difference! If you feel you need the snack then EAT IT! Just make good choices about what is should be.

arguablysamson

I just got into an argument with my mother about the benefits of having 5 small meals a day. Particularly, I've read that having the daily meals- bfast, lunch, and dinner with 2 small snacks in between helps keep you from binging. Well, she keeps nagging that snacking between meals is what's making me "fatter" and so today I felt that maybe I should cut snacks and eat only 3x a day. Today I wound up binging by dinner because I was so hungry. Granted, after looking back, I should have traded yogurt and protein bars for maybe veggie-protein based snacks instead but even when I brought that up, she insisted even eating vegetables alone is going to make me fat just due to the calories.

What the hell??? Her idea of losing weight is strictly cardio (cuz according to her, lifting weights makes women "bulky") and only eating one or two meals a day which I think is ridiculous. I am going to go see a doctor to get my blood tested for thyroid issues or PCOS, the latter which I have most of the symptoms for but she does not educate herself on this disease and won't take it seriously, saying that I don't really have it and use it as an excuse and simply eat too much. She looks at me in disgust when I eat more than twice a day and always mutters that I'll never lose weight if I continue to eat more than that. I feel that when I did used to eat only once or twice a day, I would binge like crazy and it may have shot my metabolism as well...

My diary is currently spotty since I just came back after feeling down about my lack of success, but when I do use a food scale and jot down every ingredient in my food, clean or not, I usually only range from 1200-1800 cals a day and maybe 60-150 carbs. I eat mostly clean (I have the occasional slip up, I have a sweet tooth and I'm no food saint) and I recently upped my lazy 3x a week workout to 6x a week with HIIT and Pilates. I'm trying hard to believe I am doing everything I possibly can to get myself on the right track. I am so frustrated that my own mother is not supportive and just criticizes me and won't educate herself on health as it is today. Sometimes I don't think mother always knows best....

Hi,

Unfortunately, mom is absolutely right. Multiple meals (definitely more than 3) are a bad, bad deal. You've got to take responsibility and not excuse your binging on not having food in your stomach every second of the day. We evolved to deal with feast and famine, which is why two or even one meal a day equals losing much, much faster. Overeating and undereating are natural parts of the eating cycle. Being hungry does NOT equal starvation.

I've never personally known a multiple meal eater to lose ANY serious amount of weight. I tried it years back and lost only water weight. Your body needs time to clean out the contents of your stomach, and no, you don't get away with just having caloric content in a surplus or deficiency since your body has to excrete insulin with each of those little meals, which is why some of the absolute fattest women just have a coffee and then a bagel and then some fruit, some pasta, and some fish, plus more fruit. And by the end of the day, they not only stay huge, but they always will because they just can't bring themselves to be hungry even for a little while, even if they do manage to eat somewhat healthfully.

We all need that "I'm full" feeling regularly. Plus, keeping track of the calories of 5 daily meals is very hard. I'd imagine that would be very easy to screw up.

Is 68 pounds not a "serious amount of weight?" Because I've eaten 5 times a day since the end of December and that's where my loss stands as of this morning. It doesn't matter. Less in than out matters. Period.

Well, hey, then more power to ya!

Do what works, by all means. I just know that most don't respond well to that, in my experience. And many who do respond well to a point quit before long. if a person has pituitary, thyroid, or insulin/blood sugar issues, they'd definitely run into problems.

Unknown

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motivatemychange

I eat 3 times a day, my sister eats 5 times a day and we've both lost weight! It's not about how often you eat in the day, it's about how much you eat in a day! If eating 5 times a day helps you then carry on. At the end of the day, you know your own body better than anyone else!

Unknown

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MireyGal76

I eat all the time.. Am constantly snacking on (mostly) healthy foods.

I also lift and box in addition to running when I can.

I've lost weight, gotten stronger, and feel fabulous.


Find what works for you, and do it. There's no point in arguing with people who disagree with you... Just keep doing what works and when you get results, they won't be able to argue much!

sheenarama

I eat 7 meals a day:

Breakfast
Second Breakfast
Elevensies
Lunch
Afternoon Tea
Supper
Dinner