Mealtimes

candistyx

When I was growing up (and now) my family didn't really restrict eating to meal times (although we did have meal times). If we wanted to eat something, we ate something, if we saw something nice we might have it there and then, the whole idea of "it'll spoil your appetite" might be used if my parent's didn't want to spend the money on whatever treat we were nagging for, but never as a way of restricting food to set mealtimes.

At my grandmothers house life was very different. You did not eat EVER in the street (which I did with my immediate family all the time), you ate at breakfast, which was always the same, cereal, toast with honey or butter, at lunch, something light like sandwiches or cold cuts and last nights left over starches, you'd have tea and cake at tea (mid afternoon) and then another meal at supper that was warm and big and hearty.

Now my life these days is so disorganised and irregular I can't really see it being possible to set aside specific times like that for meals. But I wonder if that is a better way. Because my mind now knows that ANY time is potentially a time to eat. In her life eating was segregated to its own little part of the day and thus would be unable to intrude on other hours. Maybe?

What do you think.

PandaFlight

I can see pros and cons to both of them. Not having a set time means that you can just eat when you get hungry, which can be good or bad. Some people can eat way too much whereas others will find it suits them better.
Eating at a set time means that your feel it's time to eat when you don't really need to. When I was in school I wouldn't be hungry at 12:15 but at 12:30 (lunchtime) I'd be ravenous. But then set meal times can mean that you won't snack in between. It's up to each individual person to find out what works for them.

Saruman_w

I eat at certain times of the day. My body gets used to the schedule I guess, 'cause if I don't eat at the time I usually do I start to get really, really hungry.

meggonkgonk

For me, setting specific times as goal eating times was key (and really planning the majority of my food out in the mornings) to learning sustainable eating habits and for having peace of mind in between meals. M-F I eat pretty much at the same times for Breakfast, snacks and lunch and then allow myself wiggle room for dinner. But on the weekends I eat less often (two bigger meals instead of 3 and less snacks) - so its not like planning to eat at a certain time will automatically make you hungry at those times.

glypta

I try to stick to certain times and outside of them, really ask myself if I'm hungry or just plain greedy (very, very often, it's the latter!). I benefit from the routine/structure of work, so I wait 'til 9am at work for breakfast (two boiled eggs, I'll have brogut from home) then lunch at 1pm, unless I'm REALLY hungry before then, then dinner between 5 and 6. If I'm genuinely hungry outside of these times, I'll eat, but the rigidity makes me think, which is what I need for me, as a greedy/food-lover/emotional eater/whatever else that's not genuine hunger, it'll apply to me.

amybwila

Generally I'll eat every 3 hrs or so...even if it's just a cheese stick, a handfull of almonds or a piece of fruit. Nothing worse than waiting til you're ravenous! If I wait too long I become extremely cranky!

TK421NotAtPost

Different things work for different people, but my stance on this is that Grandma knows best.

Unplanned meals and snacks are a good way to derail a carefully laid dietary plan. One of the strongest tools for keeping your diet in line with your goals is to plan out your meals well in advance.

csch79

I grew up eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner at specific times but also snacked throughout the day. I ate too much and gained weight.

Now that I have a child, things are different. Meal times are much more structured and snacking is limited. That works for us. I always try to plan a couple of days in advance.