Why Several Small Meals?

exuberantself

I know everyone says that it's better to eat smaller meals and snacks all day (rather than a few larger meals), but why is that so? And how often should you eat? Sometimes I feel like I'm not hungry at all, but eat something small to pace myself; sometimes, I'm starving an hour later and filling my empty space with water for the sake of consuming anything.

diannethegeek

Meal timing won't affect your weight loss. Some people feel better on six small meals a day and others prefer 3 meals and still others will only eat one. Assuming you don't have a medical reason to eat throughout the day and are staying within your calorie and macro goals, it really doesn't matter which one you choose.

Find what works best for you, makes you feel good throughout the day, and helps your workout performance the most.

goldenbeautyxo

I've read that you should eat something every 2-3 hours (never go more than 3 hours without eating, supposedly). If your not hungry by your next meal, your portions are too big. The reason for this is to keep your metabolism going!
Also, everyone is different. so what works for me, might not work for you..and that's ok do whatever your body is comfortable with.

diannethegeek

I've read that you should eat something every 2-3 hours (never go more than 3 hours without eating, supposedly). If your not hungry by your next meal, your portions are too big. The reason for this is to keep your metabolism going!
Also, everyone is different. so what works for me, might not work for you..and that's ok do whatever your body is comfortable with.

The idea that eating every 2-3 hours boosts your metabolism is a myth. It takes something like 72 hours without food to see a slow down in your metabolism. It's really okay to go longer than 3 hours without food, as long as you feel okay while doing it.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

To keep from getting so hungry that I Hoover everything in sight and screw up my calorie goal and macro balance for the entire day.

Nice2BFitAgain

I've read that you should eat something every 2-3 hours (never go more than 3 hours without eating, supposedly). If your not hungry by your next meal, your portions are too big. The reason for this is to keep your metabolism going!

this is not true

Also, everyone is different. so what works for me, might not work for you..and that's ok do whatever your body is comfortable with.

this is true.

You have to figure out what makes YOU feel best. Eat/workout so that you have a calorie deficit and be patient. the weight will come off.

sijomial

I know everyone says that it's better to eat smaller meals and snacks all day.

I have never actually met anyone who says that.

Who is this "everyone" you speak of?

susannamarie

Smaller, more frequent meals may work for some people. Personally, I find it easy to work on an empty stomach in the morning and impossible to sleep without feeling full. So I usually eat lunch in the afternoon and dinner late at night so that I can go to bed comfortably full.

You should follow the meal planning pattern that helps you adhere to your calorie limit.

diannethegeek

I know everyone says that it's better to eat smaller meals and snacks all day.

I have never actually met anyone who says that.

Who is this "everyone" you speak of?

Women's magazines and snack food companies, mostly. You know, people who are trying to sell you something.

PJPrimrose

My DH does better with 3 squares a day. I eat meals and snacks to keep my energy up. I'd say, in general, most guys eat 3 bigger meals. Women seem to do better with meals and snacks. I didn't do a study or anything but I noticed this in general.

iwtfytj

I eat three meals a day. If I eat smaller meals throughout the day, for some reason I'm likely to accidentally overeat. Just do what works best for you.

QuietBloom

It's not. Eat however many times, whenever you like. It doesn't effect your metabolism.

sijomial

I know everyone says that it's better to eat smaller meals and snacks all day.

I have never actually met anyone who says that.

Who is this "everyone" you speak of?

Women's magazines and snack food companies, mostly. You know, people who are trying to sell you something.

Ah, that makes sense. Journalists and salesmen - great sources of unbiased scientific opinion.

j75j75

I eat one maybe two meals a day. Works for me!!

timetravelforfitness

The small meal thing didn't work for me. I found myself always thinking about food and always hungry. I find that if I eat a 300-400 calorie breakfast, a 500-700 calorie lunch and a 400-500 calorie dinner I'm happiest. I'll sometimes have a smaller breakfast and then have a second breakfast, usually around 200 and 100 calories, but lunch is nearly always my highest calories, and when it isn't I find myself eating poorly before dinner.

We're all different. When I found myself eating too much on the "small meals" diet I felt stupid and wrong. It made me really happy when I read I wasn't alone. The best thing to do is try something for a week or two and see how it makes you feel. As Dr. George Sheehan said, we're each an experiment of one.

thavoice

I've read that you should eat something every 2-3 hours (never go more than 3 hours without eating, supposedly). If your not hungry by your next meal, your portions are too big. The reason for this is to keep your metabolism going!
Also, everyone is different. so what works for me, might not work for you..and that's ok do whatever your body is comfortable with.

The idea that eating every 2-3 hours boosts your metabolism is a myth. It takes something like 72 hours without food to see a slow down in your metabolism. It's really okay to go longer than 3 hours without food, as long as you feel okay while doing it.

Exactly.
Saying you must eat every 2-3 hours is a myth, and can give you quite the opposite results.
*takes alot of time and effort to do it.
*because we all know calorie deficiency is what makes you lose weight, if you eat 5-6 meals a day you are never really going to feel full or satisfied.
*As before, it takes days and days to really slow down your metabolism.
*the constant planning of all those meals/snacks can take a toll on you

dopeysmelly

Small meals don't work for me. I like my breakfast, lunch and dinner, thank you very much. Any more often and I'd be tempted to graze all day.

AwesomeGuy37

It works for some people like me. I eat about every 3-4 hours, hungry or not, and I rarely ever get hungry. When I miss a meal, I instantly want to eat something more calorie dense. I'm trying to keep that from happening. I don't actually eat smaller meals, but eat a couple small snacks in between my meals as the day goes by. It is important for me to feel full.

rockmama72

I'm usually three square kind of gal. When I get enough protein, I usually don't need to snack.

Sometimes I skip breakfast and eat a light lunch so I can eat a giant, amazing dinner. I have a list of 200-400 calorie meals that are extra nutritious and filling.

This method has worked better for me with weight loss because it fits my lifestyle so well.

lindsey1979

I think the general idea behind it is to keep your blood sugar/insulin levels more constant. Depending on the person, this can be a big issue or not one at all. For people that have big swings, they're more likely to be hungrier and overeat if they don't eat smaller meals on a more consistent basis. For others, it doesn't matter at all. It's really an individual thing in controlling your own hunger and energy levels.

aarondnguyen

Meal timing and frequency are completely irrelevant and unnecessary to weight gain/loss.

Example: Two people on 2,000-calorie diets. Person A eats 5 square meals a day. Person B eats 2 square meals a day.

This means Person A has five 400-calorie meals while Person B has two 1,000-calorie meals. At the end of the day, the energy your body expends to metabolize the 2,000 calories will be the same in both cases. You can't trick your body into being more "efficient" by eating smaller meals or manipulating the frequency of calorie consumption. Of course, with bulkier meals, you'll be bloated, however.

Eat whichever way works best for you -- while hitting your caloric target and macro nutrient ratio (whether this means having breakfast or not, for example).

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jsuaccounting

I think it could help prevent blood sugar dips in some people. However, for other people, eating less often actually works better. You just have to see what works for you.

nixxthirteen

It depends on your own personal schedule, habits, appetite, etc. For example, I eat 4 meals a day and it fits my schedule perfectly. Because I work afternoons, it tends to go: breakfast at ~11:30 am, lunch at 4:30 pm, dinner after work at 10:00 pm, and a good snack before bed around 2:00 am. On an exercise day, I fit in something like a smoothie to get back calories expended without being too terribly full. Or I indulge :P

BRA_S

I heard that too in the beginning of my weight loss I tired it, but found out I am more satisfied with 4-5 meals a day. Same results.

determinedbutlazy

It makes no difference, it is completely down to personal preference.

Aaron_K123

Meal timing won't affect your weight loss. Some people feel better on six small meals a day and others prefer 3 meals and still others will only eat one. Assuming you don't have a medical reason to eat throughout the day and are staying within your calorie and macro goals, it really doesn't matter which one you choose.

Find what works best for you, makes you feel good throughout the day, and helps your workout performance the most.

Strongly agree^^^

I've tried the whole eat eat smaller meals throughout the day and it didn't work for me. I ended up hungrier and constantly thinking about my next meal. If prefer to eat more calories in one sitting than to spread that 1 meal over 2 or even 3 meals. But as stated above, find what works for you and ignore all that speeding up or starting your metabolism mumbo jumbo.

Not to disagree but to provide a counter example I used to eat 2 meals a day, skip breakfast and have a sizable lunch and sizable dinner. I then read about eating every 3 hours or something like that and thought I'd give it a try while dieting and found that for me it worked great. Don't get me wrong I now have come to realize that the idea behind eating lots of small meals throughout the day (ie boost metabolism) is completely false but I just happened to find that I had more energy and got more out of my day spacing my food into smaller meals throughout the day.

As MrM said, just find what works for you and don't sweat the details. Only thing that matters for weight loss is calories in calories out and how happy you are doing it. If eating frequent meals makes it easier for you then do that, if its a pain in the butt then don't do it and just eat your 2 or 3.

Psychgrrl

I tend to eat better with smaller meals because I get less hungry and am less likely to over eat.