Help with smaller/more frequent meals

chrisd25d

I'm new to this whole healthier thing and could really use some help/advise with the whole concept of eating smaller, more frequent meals.:huh: How often, how big, what kind of food combinations should I be working towards here? I'm used to eating one meal a day and grazing the rest of the day. This is going to be a HUGE change for me and any help/support anyone is willing to share would be greatly appreciated! :flowerforyou:

Saragre

I talked with a dietian who recommends 200-300 cal per meal 6 times a day, depending on how many daily calories are recommended for you. She urged me to try a fill 1/2 my plate with vegetables for lunch and dinner. The six meals a day feels like grazing to me!

kylakesgal

Hi there.....I eat 3 meals here and at least 2 snacks. My diary is open if you would like to view it for ideas. I try to keep my meals between 300-400 calories each and at snacks usually are 100-200 calories. By eating more frequently, this keeps your metabolism at top performance and I'm never starving either. Good luck to you:)

milaxx

I do 3 meals and 2 snacks. I try to make lunch my biggest meal since Sometimes my snacks are really simple like 12 almonds. Sometime they are more substantial it depends on my mood, but I try to keep my overall calories intact in mind as well as my sodium and sugar intake.

abyssfully

This is just an example of a typical day for me:

Meal 1: 1.25 cups of cereal, 1/2 banana with 1 cup 1% milk
Meal 2: 1 large apple and 1 cup of low-fat yogurt
Meal 3: 1 bowl of chicken noodle soup (low sodium), 3/4 tuna sandwich on 60% whole wheat bread, 7 baby carrots
Meal 4: Handful of almonds, 1 mixed whole grain/granola bar, 6 medium strawberries
Meal 5: 1 baked red potato, 1 dab of sour cream, 4 oz grilled steak, 1/4 cucumber (skin in tact), 1/4 cup of green peas
Meal 6 (optional): If I'm hungry, I'll have 1 slice of 60% whole wheat bread with 1 tbsp peanut butter

HTH

Edited to add: I have a protein and carb with every "meal." Make sure you get your healthy fat in somewhere during the day.

chrisd25d

Thanks so much to all of you for the wonderful info! Now I feel like I have a good idea of what I should be doing.

peytjalmom

A good balance of protein to carbs is 1 to 2. For instance, snacks can be 7g protein with 15g carbs. Meals can be 15g protein with 30g carbs. I got this info from a nutritionist.