Eating Every Couple Of Hours

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jjjuuunnniiieee
jjjuuunnniiieee Posts: 31
in Food and Nutrition
On Sunday I had a meeting with a Nutritionist, and he wants me to get up to speed on having a little something to eat every 3 hours or so. I have eaten four times since 6am so far today but I feel SO much more hungry than I ever have.

Is this normal? Anyone else go through this? I must admit, I'm not used to eating like this and it's making me feel a tad guilty since I'm already at my calorie limit. And this is on a day I'm not even doing my cardio! *Shakes fist*

Replies

  • dababers
    dababers Posts: 135
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    You don't say what you're eating. Six times a day means three small meals and three snacks. Healthy food. Track the calories you eat and make wiser choices. You will find balance.
  • larisadixon
    larisadixon Posts: 201 Member
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    I eat 6 times a day and try to keep my meals between 150-250 calories each. I am never hungry, however it all depends on the type food you eat, plus your body does have to get used to eating smaller portions avery 3 hrs. good luck, i hope you stick to it.
  • Tarah1357
    Tarah1357 Posts: 139 Member
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    I find when I eat small frequent meals...I too get hungry more often. I thought it had something to do with the metabolism speeding up with having to burn through the calories being consumed so frequently. I'm not entirely sure what the correct answer is...but the hunger part does happen to me too. So I usually try to incorporate more fiber/protein during my hungriest times.

    Good luck!
  • david081
    david081 Posts: 489 Member
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    On Sunday I had a meeting with a Nutritionist, and he wants me to get up to speed on having a little something to eat every 3 hours or so. I have eaten four times since 6am so far today but I feel SO much more hungry than I ever have.

    Is this normal? Anyone else go through this? I must admit, I'm not used to eating like this and it's making me feel a tad guilty since I'm already at my calorie limit. And this is on a day I'm not even doing my cardio! *Shakes fist*

    I'm doing this at the moment - I exercise a lot and find it helps with energy levels...

    For me - 0730 - 1000 - 1230 - 1500 - 1730 - 2000 ( more protein, less carbs as the day goes on...
  • AbiNichole
    AbiNichole Posts: 300 Member
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    I'm still pretty new at logging on MFP but I typically eat all day long. My cal limit is 1200 (w/o exercise) so I usually have a 300-400 calorie bfast and lunch w/ 100-200 calorie snacks between them and 200 cals or so for dinner. Your nutritionist is right, he wants your metabolism to stay up all day and the two ways to jump start it are by eating or by working out.

    Right now, your stomach is probably getting used to the difference. Trust me, you'll get used to it and enjoy it. You've just gotta focus on having smaller meals. You shouldn't hit your maximum allotment of calories too early in the day. Try to make your meals 300-400 and your snacks 100-200 cals. That should help. Best of luck. Friend me if you want to take a peep at my journal.:smile:
  • jjjuuunnniiieee
    jjjuuunnniiieee Posts: 31
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    Thanks for the replies everyone!

    I'm definitely new at this whole food diary thing, so I'm sure it'll take a few tries to find the right calorie balance. :D
    I'm searching online for some tips as well, so I'm sure it'll get better!
  • Amandac6772
    Amandac6772 Posts: 1,311 Member
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    I eat 4-5 times a day...sometimes I don't want the afternoon snack but it keeps my blood sugar stable so I don't that shaky feeling. I eat a BUNCH of protein during the day.
  • NoExcuseTina
    NoExcuseTina Posts: 506 Member
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    I eat just about every 3 hours...5 times a day...and I love it! I am less hungry, but it did take me about a week to get used to it and now I get fuller with fewer calories. When you start, your are tempted to eat more because you are used to eating larger meals...just be sure to log everything and do not go over your daily calories...check out my food diary for some ideas!

    PS - lots and lots of veggies! they are low in calories and filling!!!!!
  • sacchariine
    sacchariine Posts: 55
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    You'll probably get use to it. I do that and at first I was ALWAYS hungry, now not so much. But yes, it is three snacks in between. Try to eat after a workout, I'm always less hungry afterwards.Try a protein shake which is good after a work out, plus filling. Also try to get more out of your food. A small muffin has 200 cals while an apple and banana also has 200 cals. A hand full of baby carrots is only about 30 cals. More bang for your buck! My last piece of advice would be to drink water! Your body doesn't know to tell the difference between being hungry and thirsty, so sometimes we eat when we really need to drink. Drink a glass of water after a meal, or if you feel hungry. 8 cups a day! =)
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,239 Member
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    On Sunday I had a meeting with a Nutritionist, and he wants me to get up to speed on having a little something to eat every 3 hours or so. I have eaten four times since 6am so far today but I feel SO much more hungry than I ever have.

    Is this normal? Anyone else go through this? I must admit, I'm not used to eating like this and it's making me feel a tad guilty since I'm already at my calorie limit. And this is on a day I'm not even doing my cardio! *Shakes fist*

    I am questioning the 6 meals a day thing completely. Here is a good summary of what research has found http://www.leangains.com/2011/01/better-blood-glucose-with-lower-meal.html Basically, 3 meals a day leads to a better blood glucose. It is worth the read.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,239 Member
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    I find when I eat small frequent meals...I too get hungry more often. I thought it had something to do with the metabolism speeding up with having to burn through the calories being consumed so frequently. I'm not entirely sure what the correct answer is...but the hunger part does happen to me too. So I usually try to incorporate more fiber/protein during my hungriest times.

    Good luck!

    Sadly, there is absolutely no evidence of frequent meals causing an overall increase in your daily metabolism. The thermic (sp?) effect of food varies based not only on the type of food, but on how much you eat in a meal. Thus a smaller meal made up of the same mix of carbs, protein and fat will produce a lower thermic effect of a shorter duration than a larger meal of the same proportions. After a whole day what studies find is that the overall numbers are basically the same. Thus, there is no increase in your metabolism because of many small meals a day. I really with nutritionists and dietitians would get up to speed on the recent research. Here is the appropriate section from a summary of the research out there:
    1. Myth: Eat frequently to "stoke the metabolic fire".


    Truth

    Each time you eat, metabolic rate increases slightly for a few hours. Paradoxically, it takes energy to break down and absorb energy. This is the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). The amount of energy expended is directly proportional to the amount of calories and nutrients consumed in the meal.

    Let's assume that we are measuring TEF during 24 hours in a diet of 2700 kcal with 40% protein, 40% carbohydrate and 20% fat. We run three different trials where the only thing we change is the the meal frequency.

    A) Three meals: 900 kcal per meal.

    B) Six meals: 450 kcal per meal.

    C) Nine meals: 300 kcal per meal.

    What we'd find is a different pattern in regards to TEF. Example "A" would yield a larger and long lasting boost in metabolic rate that would gradually taper off until the next meal came around; TEF would show a "peak and valley"-pattern. "C" would yield a very weak but consistent boost in metabolic rate; an even pattern. "B" would be somewhere in between.

    However, at the end of the 24-hour period, or as long as it would take to assimilate the nutrients, there would be no difference in TEF. The total amount of energy expended by TEF would be identical in each scenario. Meal frequency does not affect total TEF. You cannot "trick" the body in to burning more or less calories by manipulating meal frequency.

    Further reading: I have covered the topic of meal frequency at great length on this site before.

    The most extensive review of studies on various meal frequencies and TEF was published in 1997. It looked at many different studies that compared TEF during meal frequencies ranging from 1-17 meals and concluded:

    "Studies using whole-body calorimetry and doubly-labelled water to assess total 24 h energy expenditure find no difference between nibbling and gorging".

    Since then, no studies have refuted this. For a summary of the above cited study, read this research review by Lyle McDonald.

    Earlier this year, a new study was published on the topic. As expected, no differences were found between a lower (3 meals) and higher meal (6 meals) frequency. Read this post for my summary of the study. This study garnered some attention in the mass media and it was nice to see the meal frequency myth being debunked in The New York Times.

    Origin

    Seeing how conclusive and clear research is on the topic of meal frequency, you might wonder why it is that some people, quite often RDs in fact, keep repeating the myth of "stoking the metabolic fire" by eating small meals on a frequent basis. My best guess is that they've somehow misunderstood TEF. After all, they're technically right to say you keep your metabolism humming along by eating frequently. They just missed that critical part where it was explained that TEF is proportional to the calories consumed in each meal.

    Another guess is that they base the advice on some epidemiological studies that found an inverse correlation between high meal frequency and body weight in the population. What that means is that researchers may look at the dietary pattern of thousands individuals and find that those who eat more frequently tend to weigh less than those who eat less frequently. It's important to point out that these studies are uncontrolled in terms of calorie intake and are done on Average Joes (i.e. normal people who do not count calories and just eat spontaneously like most people).

    There's a saying that goes "correlation does not imply causation" and this warrants further explanation since it explains many other dietary myths and fallacies. Just because there's a connection between low meal frequencies and higher body weights, doesn't mean that low meal frequencies cause weight gain. Those studies likely show that people who tend to eat less frequently have:

    * Dysregulated eating patterns; the personality type that skips breakfast in favor of a donut in the car on the way to work, undereat during the day, and overeat in the evening. They tend to be less concerned with health and diet than those who eat more frequently.

    * Another feasible explanation for the association between low meal frequencies and higher body weight is that meal skipping is often used as a weight loss strategy. People who are overweight are more likely to be on a diet and eat fewer meals.

    The connection between lower meal frequency and higher body weight in the general population, and vice versa, is connected to behavioral patterns - not metabolism.

    Quoted from: http://www.leangains.com/search/label/Intermittent Fasting Primer

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