6 meals a day?

jesshall281

Hi there,

I've heard 6 meals a day is great to keep your metabolism on top form, now im sure not many of us can afford to buy 6 meals a day, so would fruit count as a meal?

for example:
breakfast Meal 1
fruit Meal 2
Lunch Meal 3
fruit Meal 4
Dinner Meal 5
fruit Meal 6

Or do they actually have to be mini meals which include every food group?

babyblake11

as long as its healthy it doesnt matter..
and this isnt a rule, do whatever suits you

dittiepe

fruit counts. It doesn't actually have to be 'meals'. 3 meals and 2-3 snacks. Basically you want to eat something every 3-4 hours, and keep the calories at or under 300 per.

beach_bum_gurl

I eat every 3-4 hours, which equates to 5-6 times a day. These are not what the general public would consider full meals, but they are balanced meals. Each of them has between 200-300 cals on average. I like eating this way, as it keeps my head hunger under control.

Robscofle

Hi

To me, 6 meals/day means eat 6 x per day whether it be 6 small meals or 3 meals and 3 snacks. I eat 5-6 x per day to keep my metabolic rate as high as possible.

Regards
Rob

manderann

I think it's just to keep you from eating until you're stuffed three times a day. I usually have oatmeal and coffee for breakfast, a yogurt for a morning snack, a light lunch, some fruit and crackers in the afternoon and then a slightly larger dinner. I eat the same amount as I was when I only ate three times/day, but you don't get the "food coma" feeling if it's spread out more.

byHISstrength

Yeah, I think it is mainly important to eat every 3 -4 hours. My snacks usually consists of protein, good fats, and carbs.

RakhiK

I recently got advised to have 5-6 mini meals a day to prevent your body from going into "starvation" mode where it holds on to the fat stores to protect itself.

I was told you should take your daily target calorie intake and divide by 6 and have a good balance of carbs and protein.

Kelly_Wilson1990

I eat six small meals. I always eat some protein with my carbs.

valleyfrog2

thats the way that my diet is from a docters office except before lunch and dinner fiber and fiber with breakfast so it goes

brakfast snack fiber or protein 15 min before lunch lunch snack fiber or protein 15 min before dinner dinner then snack and for snack I have fruit

SarahofTwins

I eat about 5 times daily...breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. Also it's helped that I cut back on some of my carbs and ate more protein.

philOHIO

You aren't eating MORE food, just spreading it out. Sometimes tough to do with work and busy schedules... carry around a small bag of nuts or trail mix... and ALWAYS have a drink handy, water or flavored water.

jesshall281

Thanks a lot everyone, i also eat every 3-4 hours, i start hunger shakes if i don't! so thanks for clearing up that they can also be snacks, couldn't imagine actually eating 6 MEALS a day!

bevskiwolf

I eat 6 TIMES a day Lots of great advice here. Under 300 cals, etc. Usually I stick to 200 or so. It really helps as I only usually have a protein shake to start then I get hungry around 12 and 2-3. I like eating after working out too, usually have some protein. I can't go to bed hungry- I can't sleep. I feel SO much better since I'm eating all day long instead of starving between breakfast and supper...don't ask, just really bad dieting over the years! Anyway, I also bumped up my cals from 700/800 a day to 1300 1400. I haven't wanted to binge or cheat in 2 weeks. That's a miracle for me. xoxo