Eating throughout the day

Options
Struggling to get my food in for the day. Who would of thought eating a lot would be so hard.They say don't eat when your not hungry. It seems like I only get hungry in the evening. Thats how I used to eat once a day. I'm almost forcing myself to eat throughout the day I don't want to not eat my allotted calories for the day which is already 400 calories less than what was recommended . By the way I work Night shift 11:30 PM to 8:00AM
I try to snack on fruits and veggies during that time sometimes I don't even get that in.any suggestions on how to get my calories (1800) in throughout the day?

Replies

  • blueeyedtraveler
    blueeyedtraveler Posts: 209 Member
    Options
    My Zumba instructor's husband is a personal trainer and he works with all of us on how to lose weight, the right now. His suggestion, make sure you are eating EVERY 3 hours. It's a struggle at first, but then you will get used to it. I'm only netting 1400 calories a day, so that's a little over 300 each time I each, but you can figure it out with the 1800, as well.

    Good luck to you!
  • Meganne1982
    Meganne1982 Posts: 451
    Options
    Nuts would be a great choice because you get a lot of healthy calories with not a lot of food :)
  • workoutqueen628
    Options
    Eating once a day sets you up to fail-- you wait til you're starving and you binge and eat a high calorie, high fat meal. And then, you gain weight. Eating throughout the day helps break that vicious cycle- it allows you to eat smaller portions and not wait until you're starving. Allow yourself to adjust to the new eating schedule & you will like it much better- plus you will see the results you want!
  • Mundy86
    Mundy86 Posts: 167 Member
    Options
    I have never had that issue. Wish I did. But eating every 3 hours has helped me with being hungry all the time. I have been doing that for the last week may be a bit longer. It works for me as when I start to get hungry I would tell myself only an hour more. Now I can go through and not realize its been three hours. My next thing to work on is serving size.
    Sorry if my post is weird posting from my phone.
  • wanttogetskinny
    Options
    Start small. Another member suggested eating nuts, and I second that opinion. You get a lot of healthy calories with very little food.

    I think that if you're used to eating just at night, your metabolism is used to that as well. Thus, your metabolism is probably REALLY slowed down during the rest of the day....so you aren't hungry. You need to 're-train' your metabolism slowly so that your body begins wanting food at other times.
  • craft338
    craft338 Posts: 870 Member
    Options
    i had that problem too. i made sure to eat more durring the day, and when i would get really hungry in the evening, i would put some chocolate protein in my coffee and it would fill me up for a few hours til it was time for me to eat again. the protein really helped me to control the hunger and work on my eating schedule. if u don't like the protein powder, maybe some cottage cheese or something with high protein. good luck! :)
  • barbiecat
    barbiecat Posts: 16,918 Member
    Options
    that is a great question :bigsmile:

    :flowerforyou: this journey is about training yourself into good habits, attitudes, and behaviors that are healthy. :bigsmile: at first it will seem odd to eat a little bit every three hours but after awhile it will be natural, your body will be nourished and you will reap the rewards of healthy behavior.

    :flowerforyou: if you keep doing your old behaviors you will get your same old results......do new things and you will get new results.

    :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: never, never, never give up
  • sylvia1970
    sylvia1970 Posts: 134
    Options
    I tend to keep it traditional. 3 meals a day and no supper.

    But it depends on what you do in the day and the food you eat.

    If i've had even balance of calorie meals in the day then i tend to feel hungry and have a supper no later than 8.30pm, otherwise it puts me off my breakfast. It also depends on how busy you are and if you've exercised; that changes how hungry you get.
  • CassarahW
    CassarahW Posts: 93 Member
    Options
    There are a lot of higher calorie foods that also have a very high nutrition impact. Nuts were mentioned, one of my favorites is avacados, dried fruit isn't too bad. You do want to make sure you keep your energy up through out the day so you do want to make sure you are eating regularly (every 3 hours is what I've heard and studied as well) but focusing on calories will drive you crazy! Eat healthy foods from all the food groups (including good fats) and suppliment with vitamins and minerals if you feel you're not consuming enough diversity or enough food to meet at least your RDA. There are always exceptions to the rules and some people don't require as many calories as others. That being said, the more active you are the more calories, vitamins, and minerals you need. Other wise your body will start pulling from it's body's resources which could depelete bone density, break down lean body mass, and hinder nerve function.