Eating 4/5 small meals or a few larger ones daily???

Options
2»

Replies

  • Barneystinson
    Barneystinson Posts: 1,357 Member
    Options
    3 meals, 1 protein shake, rarely snack.

    I like space between meals and I don't enjoy thinking about meals all day long.
  • BellySoonGone
    BellySoonGone Posts: 150
    Options
    I'd say 6/7 is a good number as long as all the nutrients are in check (balanced). In other words the number is important (quantity) and the quality is also paramount. Also, consistency from one day to the next also counts in the bigger picture...yo-yo diets = yo-yo weight..or just unsatisfactory results (but happy taste-buds - something's got to give)
  • immacookie
    immacookie Posts: 7,424 Member
    Options
    for me small meals often is like grazing then I am constantly thinking of food and that drives me crazy....

    Agreed... even if I plan my "small meals" out for the day I often end up going over because I never truly feel "full".

    My gut also feels better when it has time to rest.
  • Still_Sossy
    Still_Sossy Posts: 868 Member
    Options
    This is really good information, and the part about your body only being able to process so many calories makes sense to me. Pretty interesting! Thanks! I will keep checking back to see what other helpful tid bits someone may have!
  • Nich0le
    Nich0le Posts: 2,906 Member
    Options
    for me small meals often is like grazing then I am constantly thinking of food and that drives me crazy....

    Agreed... even if I plan my "small meals" out for the day I often end up going over because I never truly feel "full".

    My gut also feels better when it has time to rest.

    agreed.......I find that I do best with about 4 meal times a day but depending on what I have done for the day I can do just 3 or higher, the best advice I can give is to write down the times of day you are eating and rate your hunger on a scale of 1-10 and make adjustments until you can go from one meal to the next without feeling like grabbing everything in sight.

    What I like about smaller meals is never feeling stuffed or uncomfortable.
  • hamton
    hamton Posts: 245
    Options
    Frequency doesn't matter. Just eat however is convenient for you as long as you stay within your calorie goal. I eat two meals a day.

    http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html
  • wildon883r
    wildon883r Posts: 429 Member
    Options
    During the work week i eat 3 small breakast meals since i have to get up so early for work.

    4:00am- Wake up 250 cals
    6:30am- 1st break 200 cals
    8:45am- 2nd break 200 cals
    11:00am Lunch 350-450 cals
    4:00pm Supper 350-500 cals
    6:00pm 200-400 cals

    Between 1400-1700 per day about 200-800 under my 1lb a week or more loss rate.

    Generally speaking on weekends i eat 3 meals with snacks.
  • MzBug
    MzBug Posts: 2,173 Member
    Options
    Try it both ways and see what you like the best. I tried the 3 small meals and 3 snacks per day thing, eatting every 2.5 hours....it didn't fit my lifestyle. I couldn't keep up the "feeding" schedule, couldn't stop what I was doing or walk out of meetings to go eat a few mouthfulls. I changed to 3 meals (300-600 cals) and a snack (100-200 cals) where I am eatting every 4-5 hours. This works much better for me.
  • mclark_RN
    mclark_RN Posts: 2 Member
    Options
    :smile: My nutritionist recommends me to eat 6 times a day, that's including 3 snacks, breakfast, lunch plus dinner. But in moderate portions. By eating 6 meals a day, your metabolism will keep working constantly which is equal to more calorie burning. The key to loosing weight is to burn more calories than you eat. A fast-working metabolism will definately help you to burn fat and calories quicker. I hope that makes sense to you.
  • Sumo813
    Sumo813 Posts: 566 Member
    Options
    5-6 "meals" per day. Someone's probably already said this, but the fact you're getting hungry is a good sign. It means your metabolism IS rockin! But Men's Health in one issue did say that you should start out with a fairly big breakfast and slowly wind down each meal so that dinner is something very light like a salad.

    Typically when I do the 5-6 a day and it's early on... I feel too full. Bloated. Heavy. But after about a week or two, your body adjusts and gets cranking, and then your body is on that clock and knows when to start being hungry.

Categories