3 big meals or 6 small meals-what works best for you?

Bluestar083

I have always been in the 6 small meals camp! I have a fast metabolism and get low blood sugar quickly and become shaky and irratitable so eat breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and after dinner snack. This of course has disadvantages as it means I have 6 opportunities to NOT make healthy food choices but on the bright side I feel like a meal is only ever a few hours away.

Sezmo83

Depends what time I get up and go to bed lol. Generally 3 or 4 meals a day though.

Silverkittycat

It varies, but lately 3 with a snack at night.

h0taru

Doing same thing that you, but I do not snack after dinner ( 5 meals so).

I can easily feel weak since I start to reduce my calories. Even if I can eat more than 1900 cal per day!

Nomomush

I also get hypoglycemic without food so I eat 6 meals a day...smaller portions for each meal. Also, it keeps me from being ravenous and feeling completely starving waiting for my next meal. That's what works for ME...different for everyone.

Onesnap

My lunch and breakfast are pretty low calorie. However, I eat every few hours (healthy whole food snacks, yogurt etc.). I also pre-log my workouts to spread those extra calories around during the day with healthy calories.

horsepullerlovesme

i do 6 meals a day. portion controled of course

kenlad64

I have been doing 5 meals of about 400 calories is working well for me right now, if I stop losing I will look at something different. YOu gotta find what will work for you and then "tweak" it necessary. I look forward to my meals and I enjoy them.

jeansjem

It depends for me, I try and stick with 3 meals a day but I end up snacking alot. I have notice since I start working out more that I really like to snack. I need to figure out how to cut that out.

crystalmichelle82

5-6 small meals

tishaloses

I was doing 3 meals but decided I am going to try 6 small meals and see how that works!!

Enigmatica

I'm best off doing a combo - big breakfast, medium lunch, and graze the rest of the day.

TeamLeela

def 6 small meals. I eat what I call "around the clock" 9, 12, 3, 6, 9. sometimes I'm not even hungry, but I just eat something very light. I dont have a set number of calories that I eat for each meal, I just try to eat the bulk of my carbs before 2pm. It may sound silly, but its what works for me.

nomoreexcuses121

I started out trying to eat 5-6 small meals per day, but found that I was constantly hungry and not losing any weight. I now eat a very small breakfast, same size lunch and dinner, and a small snack between lunch and dinner. I'd say about 200-250 for breakfast, about 100-150 for a snack and 300-400 for lunch and dinner. I've lost 16 pounds since May 1st and don't feel like I'm starving all the time.

Isrn2

Multiple small "meals". I plan out my breakfast, lunch and snacks before I head to work so I only take what I'm going to eat. I find I get really hungry about every 2 hours so I take a few bites of whatever snacks I've got for the day. Helps me stay full all day and makes it so I'm not STARVING when it comes time for dinner.

tmiqueen

I do breakfast, occasionally a morning snack if I'm feeling ravenous or shaky, lunch, a quick/small before dinner snack, then dinner. I find that doing that keeps me from overeating, because I'm already pretty satisfied before mealtimes.

lausa22

I have a small breakfast, big lunch, small/medium dinner, then a small supper.
Lunch is the biggest part of my day!

TeamLeela

Multiple small "meals". I plan out my breakfast, lunch and snacks before I head to work so I only take what I'm going to eat. I find I get really hungry about every 2 hours so I take a few bites of whatever snacks I've got for the day. Helps me stay full all day and makes it so I'm not STARVING when it comes time for dinner.

so do I !! I plan out what I'm going to eat every meal, every day for the entire week. It may sound a little OCD, but it takes the guess work out of it. I pretty much eat the same things all the time anyway. Over the weekend, I shop for the ingredients that I need for next week's meals. I prep what I can in advance. I cook what I can in advance also. I will portion it all out for the next 3 days so I'm only really cooking about twice a week. Sunday I piece together whatever's left.

VeganGal84

I eat about 6 times a day, but I think that it's more like 3 big meals plus 3 small snacks! So it's not always one or the other.

It works for me!

MrsCon40

Three big meals makes me happy... I love that feeling of FULL (that's probably what got me here )

A bunch of small meals keeps me snacking all day long and I don't like to feel like food has that much value. Planning a snack, making a snack, snacking a snack, or cleaning up after a snack all day long is not worth that much time investment.

... for me.

fbmandy55

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with 2 small snacks inbetween. One at 10am and one at 3pm. I just make my 3 main meals a little smaller to fit in the snacks.

dmpizza

I read that Jenifer Aniston eats 5 small meals. If it works for her, it must work for everyone.

adrian_indy

For the first time in my life, I have gone from 2-3 large meals to 5 small meals a day. Since I also for the first time started counting calories, I can not tell what the major contributor to my weight loss has been. But the smaller 5 meals, counting calories, and exercising 1-2 (preferably twice) a day has really spike my metabolism. There are days where I have cheated, but kept right on with 5 meals and I have continued to lose the weight in spite of the cheat meal.

Genetically, I tend to hold on to fat. I easily put muscle on but even in the best shape of my adult life I could never conqueor my love handles. I think the trick to it is to never let your body feel like it has to hold on to the fat. My suggestion is to give it a try. Technically 6 would be ideal, I just can't fit it into my day. Put a lean protein source in every meal (harder to digest, burns more calories) and mix it with 5 fruit or veggies through out the day. Seems to have been working for me.

neela31

I eat pretty often. It really depends on my hunger at the moment. I have something pre workout and post workout. I'll eat again once I get to work, then lunch, a snack, dinner, and another snack. I guess I eat about 7 times!!

solpwr

I've set up my diary in 3 hour intervals.

<9AM
9-noon
noon-3
3-6
6-9
>9PM

I try to eat something during every period. Usually happens, unless I'm really busy.

TeamLeela

I've set up my diary in 3 hour intervals.

<9AM
9-noon
noon-3
3-6
6-9
>9PM

I try to eat something during every period. Usually happens, unless I'm really busy.

that's exactly how mine is set up!!

solpwr

I've set up my diary in 3 hour intervals.

<9AM
9-noon
noon-3
3-6
6-9
>9PM

I try to eat something during every period. Usually happens, unless I'm really busy.

that's exactly how mine is set up!!

Did you do the math to get the intervals right? I'm pathetically bound to math.

jamiesadler

3 300 calorie meals and 3 100 calorie snacks or as close to it as I can get.

Acg67

i eat from 2:30 -10:30 pm, normally a small meal, a large meal and dessert

CINDYLOU1966

hi
I like to learn how to eat these 6 small meal .. but I not sure how to go about it and what to eat and how to do meal plans for the day . do you know where i can to to look at differtant meal plans and how much calories there are in them .. and what is the righ amount each mean and snak for calories ? if anyone know please let me know thanks you all so much . i am trying to stay with in 1200 to 1500 cal a day with my work out .. thanks

Missjulesdid

I like one big filling meal heavy on the protein and veggies, and three smaller meals/snacks. Sometimes my big meal is in the morning, and sometimes around 4:00 in the afternoon... If I eat my big meal at 4:00 then my evening snack is usually just 100 calories, If I have my big meal in the morning then I have a 100 or so calorie snack for lunch and then one small meal in the late afternoon/early evening and a 300 calorie snack while watching TV at night (usually a piece of fruit and some popcorn)

I've tried spreading my calories out evenly throughout the day but it leaves me very unsatisfied if I don't feel completely full (but not overstuffed) at least once in the day.