Six Meals A Day

Shelle68

Ok, I have heard many times that eating 6 meals a day really works for some people. So I am looking for any information to elaborate on that. Information such as how many calories, carbs, fat, and protein, percentage-wise maybe, should the meals be...etc.

I appreciate any help on this.

Thanks

_Shelley_

I have a lot of friends who have been doing this and have been very curious about the benefits. My issue is finding the time to fit in that many meals, even just small ones.

What is considered a "meal" in this type of program? My friends who have had difficulty losing weight in the past, like myself, have been able to lose weight in this way.

Jentorres8814

bump

shumatet1982

Hey there.

If you like: Just add me, and take a look at my diary. I try eating 5 meals, wich doesn't always work out, and 6 might me a notch more difficult. But you (all of you :-) ) are very welcome to take a look at my meal plans.

gupton11

I disagree with that philosophy unless you are a pro athlete.

http://johnbarban.com/how-many-meals-do-you-eat/

Aimers70

It helps regulate the blood sugar if you eat smaller 'meals' spread throughout the day. Just take your calorie requirements and divide them. For me its about 200 calories each time. I started to do this and it really helped. Hope that helps!

sarahnicolexoxo

A lot of people do it and it boosts your metabolism. I started doing it over a month ago and love it. My dinner of course is bigger than my other meals. But, I do a 7AM snack which consists of a fiber bar. Then a 10AM breakfast which can be dry cheerios, or a yogurt, banana, etc. I do lunch which is a frozen meal, sandwich or even dry tuna... and then a 2 PM snack which are usually veggie straws, crackers, or yogurt.

NoExcuseTina

I eat 5 times a day...feel free to take a look at my diary: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/tinaswt

_Shelley_

Have you noticed a significant boost in your weight loss since you began?

I am sorry for all the questions! I am new to this whole thing

johnwhitent

OK, I can't address all of your questions in detail, but hopefully you will get more detailed answers than I can give. Around 4/5 years ago I lost 55 pounds through diet and exercise. One of my changes was going to three smaller meals supplemented by three snack times afterwards. Now if I eat a large traditional meal I am sluggish (and lazy) afterwards. I see most of my coworkers drop off in productivity after lunch while their bodies process that double cheeseburger and fries! After my small meals I am fine, but I do require a healthy snack in a couple of hours. This routine of a small meal followed by a snack later seems to keep my body fueled and satisfied while allowing me to consume far less calories than my old three big meal pattern did (actually small breakfast and large lunch and dinner.) I am very happy with my routine now and have learned what works and does not work for me. I slip up on occasion but can keep it under control overall by returning to my plan the next meal. Works for me!

gupton11

It does not boost your metabolism, the idea is to normalize your insulin levels throughout the day, fasting does the same thing and also boost HGH levels in your blood. I typically eat 2 meals a day and fast (water only) for 24 hours twice a week and I consistently lose weight.

johnwhitent

I disagree with that philosophy unless you are a pro athlete.

http://johnbarban.com/how-many-meals-do-you-eat/

I read the article and it just seems like he is trying to sell his program. As I put in my post I don't do five or six meals, and I'm not trying to "get ripped." But eating smaller meals with healthy snack in between is effective. My goal is simply to keep my body adequately fueled but not over fueled. My plan works for me and I think it will work for many others. It all starts with the question "what is your goal/objective?" If losing or controlling weight is primary then small portions of healthy foods supplemented by healthy snacks is a very good course to follow.

Shelle68

I eat 5 times a day...feel free to take a look at my diary: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/tinaswt

How did you put your TIME of day in there?

currlygirrl

I changed my setting to have 3 meals and 3 snacks. I usually try to keep my snacks smaller in calories but still with some protein and then eat slightly larger calorie meals. I work out pretty hard so after I add the 500 calories into my plan for the day I usually have like 1800 calories to eat, so I try to go for like 200 or so per snack and 300-500 per meal. I found that eating every 3 hours or so I'm not as hungry, but some days it does feel like eating is a full time job!

kevanos

I eat 5-6 meals a day like this:

Breakfast: 500 cal
snack: 300 cals
Lunch: 500 cals
snack: 300 cals
Supper: 500 cals
snack: 300 cals

total: 2400 calories
macronutrient ratio: 40% carbs: 30% protein: 30% fat

The biggest adavntage to this is that you never get hungry, unless you skip a snack. I work in a office and it is very easy to structure the time that I eat at. My snacks are simple; either granolar bars, fruit, cheese, yoghurt or crackers.

I find that this self regualtes itself too. if I eat a bigger meal, I tend to eat less when I snack next. Also my energy level is constrant throught the day.

Shelle68

Honestly, I WANT TO SEE WEIGHT LOSS!!! Things are just not working for me! I do not doubt that I am eating too big of meals and too many of them, but the reasons usually are that I am craving, hungry or both! I am SOOO tired of all of the programs, science, etc behind what we eat and why! I just really want to find what works for me to see WEIGHTLOSS and CONSISTENCY! Right now I do not have either. Just being honest!

Also, at 1500-1600 calories broken into 6 meals a day, I do not plan on eating my exercise cals back.... at least not all of them. I just have to figure out what works for me.

astovey

Today I am going out with friends for dinner...so I have a lot of cals left over for dinner
I really don't call them meals...more like healthy snacks

8:00- 100 cal thin bagel with spray butter, cinnamon, and Truvia

10:00- Blueberries

11:00- reduced fat sargento cheese stick

12:00- Fugi apple

1:30- 4 oz grilled chicken breast

3:00- Spicy black bean soup- 1 cup=80 cals

4:00- hard boiled egg

5:00- go home

johnwhitent

Honestly, I WANT TO SEE WEIGHT LOSS!!! Things are just not working for me! I do not doubt that I am eating too big of meals and too many of them, but the reasons usually are that I am craving, hungry or both! I am SOOO tired of all of the programs, science, etc behind what we eat and why! I just really want to find what works for me to see WEIGHTLOSS and CONSISTENCY! Right now I do not have either. Just being honest!

Also, at 1500-1600 calories broken into 6 meals a day, I do not plan on eating my exercise cals back.... at least not all of them. I just have to figure out what works for me.

Have you heard of Dr Ann? She has a book out called "Dr Ann's 10 Step Diet." It's kind of a trick in that it is not a diet like the thousands of fad diets that come out every year. She is a MD and nutritionist who has a passion for teaching people to eat healthy. She demonstrates that if we will just quit the fad diets and eat healthy then we will lose weight if we need to or gain weight for those few who need to gain. It is fantastic stuff. No gimmicks, no questionable science, just good healthy eating. Everyone on this planet would benefit from reading her books and listening to her on the radio (NPR.) She will help you I promise!

noturninback

bump

Newfiedan

It does not matter if its 4 or 6 meals a day, eating more often will help regulate blood sugar and keep your body in that fat burning zone, it is a simple concept to grasp once you know the basics. Low blood sugar = cravings which = eating more. Maintaining a stable blood sugar is beneficial for fat loss however and this is a big one, making better choices is more important when starting out, to optimize fat loss you need to keep sodium levels down, get rid of the junk in the diet and start eating for your type. Bottom line is that if you feel like crap on a diet you are not giving your body what it needs and that is the #1 reason diets fail in the end, We are all different an need to find out what works for us. I love Tom venuto's books for this, he cuts the crap, tells it like it is and what he teaches really works, long term not short term. I love his Burn the fat feed the muscle book, it has helped me learn the healthy path to fat loss and not these fad diets, it is literally a lifestyle change. I feel like a million bucks, am shedding fat easily for the first time in my life and I look 10X better. My diary is public feel free to look at that, I am doing cal cycling right now to speed fat loss as per Tom's method and it is working well for me so there are up and down days.

Shelle68

I eat 5-6 meals a day like this:

Breakfast: 500 cal
snack: 300 cals
Lunch: 500 cals
snack: 300 cals
Supper: 500 cals
snack: 300 cals

total: 2400 calories
macronutrient ratio: 40% carbs: 30% protein: 30% fat

The biggest adavntage to this is that you never get hungry, unless you skip a snack. I work in a office and it is very easy to structure the time that I eat at. My snacks are simple; either granolar bars, fruit, cheese, yoghurt or crackers.

I find that this self regualtes itself too. if I eat a bigger meal, I tend to eat less when I snack next. Also my energy level is constrant throught the day.

Excellent info! Thank you.... cals would be a bit much for me though.

Shelle68

Today I am going out with friends for dinner...so I have a lot of cals left over for dinner
I really don't call them meals...more like healthy snacks

8:00- 100 cal thin bagel with spray butter, cinnamon, and Truvia

10:00- Blueberries

11:00- reduced fat sargento cheese stick

12:00- Fugi apple

1:30- 4 oz grilled chicken breast

3:00- Spicy black bean soup- 1 cup=80 cals

4:00- hard boiled egg

5:00- go home

What is your daily calorie threshold? It looks like you are hardly eating? And nothing after 5? How do you do that? Just trying to figure this thing out.

therealangd

I eat 5 or 6 times a day. (Actually it feels like that's all I do)

8 am - oatmeal and fruit 260 cal
10 am - cut up veg (baby carrots, grape tomatos, celery, english cucumber) and homemade hummus.- 280 cal
12 pm - 1/2 can tuna, lebanese pita bread, 1 tbsp reduced cal ranch dressing. - 180 cal
3 pm - fruit and yogurt - 150 cal
6 pm - chicken breast, 1/2 cup potato or rice, broccoli - 350 cal
9pm - some type of snack depending on how hungry I am. More veg. a bowl of cereal. fruit. cottage cheese. - 250 cal

That's about 1500 calories for me for today. I should actually be eating more. And I do depending on the amount of exercise I plan for the day.

gupton11

I disagree with that philosophy unless you are a pro athlete.

http://johnbarban.com/how-many-meals-do-you-eat/

I read the article and it just seems like he is trying to sell his program. As I put in my post I don't do five or six meals, and I'm not trying to "get ripped." But eating smaller meals with healthy snack in between is effective. My goal is simply to keep my body adequately fueled but not over fueled. My plan works for me and I think it will work for many others. It all starts with the question "what is your goal/objective?" If losing or controlling weight is primary then small portions of healthy foods supplemented by healthy snacks is a very good course to follow.

Of course he's trying to sell his program, that's what most people in the fitness/nutrition business do. However, it doesn't change the fact that it's based off actual research and nutritional science. If you read his blog he gives away enough info that you don't actually need to buy it. I've read it, and it's good. I've been using it for almost a year and have lost 70lbs. It's not for everyone, but neither is eating every two to three hours.

dave4d

I split my meals into about 200 to 400 calories apiece. If I don't have time to eat every 3 hours, I will combine 2 of them. That is still only 600 calories at once. Sometimes I still get hungry between meals, especially at work, but I think it is a bored hungry, so I can wait it out until my next break, and eat again. Shakes, are fast, so are protein bars. Cottage cheese, and yogurt, or fruit is pretty low calorie, and doesn't usually take that long to eat. I make a lot of planned overs, so I can just pop them in the microwave at work. You can nuke oatmeal in less than 3 minutes. Tuna salad is easy to eat, but that is probably what takes me the longest to eat. I try to include a serving of protein, and carbs for every meal.

Shelle68

Let me add to the information of who is doing this, how you r doing it and why to WHAT KIND OF WEIGHT LOSS DIFFERENCE HAVE YOU SEEN?

THanks!

rileysowner

Bump for later reply. In short there is no evidence that it boosts your metabolism more than three meals a day, nor that it improves insulin or blood sugar.

ATT949

Why are you eating 1500-1600 calories?

astovey

Today I am going out with friends for dinner...so I have a lot of cals left over for dinner
I really don't call them meals...more like healthy snacks

8:00- 100 cal thin bagel with spray butter, cinnamon, and Truvia

10:00- Blueberries

11:00- reduced fat sargento cheese stick

12:00- Fugi apple

1:30- 4 oz grilled chicken breast

3:00- Spicy black bean soup- 1 cup=80 cals

4:00- hard boiled egg

5:00- go home

What is your daily calorie threshold? It looks like you are hardly eating? And nothing after 5? How do you do that? Just trying to figure this thing out.

I have it set for 1300 cals. I saved a whopping 700 cals for dinner because we are going out and I know either Chili's free chips and salsa or Texas Roadhouse free dinner rolls will kill me on cals. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS, Im just being social and I know I will eat it if it's in front of me.
I usually eat more throughout the day, but not too much...it just looks like less because I spread it out so much. But that way I don't get hungry and the whole insulin thing doesnt screw me up bc I have PCOS.

dave4d

I started eating this way about 4 years ago after I read Body for life. I lost 60 lbs. I have my pics from that on my profile. You do need to be careful with it though. When I went through my divorce, I was depressed, and eating 5 or 6 huge meals a day, and really gained weight fast. I am down 30lbs again with about 20 to go.

ATT949

Let me add to the information of who is doing this, how you r doing it and why to WHAT KIND OF WEIGHT LOSS DIFFERENCE HAVE YOU SEEN?

THanks!

I'm eating 800 to 1k cals/day and have been doing so since I started in December 2010. I was 295 then and am 228 (+/-) now.

My diary is public and my I post my weight and BP here every day:

http://cbeinfo.net/weight.htm

I'm glad I've lost the weight and am looking forward to getting into "onderland" (that makes me grin every time I say that word). I don't know if a "very low calorie diet" (as folks here have described my diet) will work for you but I'm pleased with the results.

People have warned me that I'll go into "starvation mode" and all sorts of other bad things* but I haven't read anything (other than anecdotes) that lends credibility to those claims nor have I seen any symptoms of same.

What I do know if that I'm losing a ton of weight, I feel great, and, by every measurement that I've made (BP, cardio, lean/fat ratio, body fat percentage, and muscle strength), I'm in better shape now than I've been for probably the last decade (even when I wasn't so fat).