Who here eats 6 (small) meals a day?

Dustinryan24

My personal trainer told me to do this and I thought he was crazy, but it works! I lost 22 lbs (have since gained a few back so I'm re-committing myself). It's important to eat something within a half hour of waking up to get your metabolism working again. My diet is roughly as follows:
6:45 wake up
7:00 oatmeal with fruit (1/2 or sometimes whole banana, 1/2 cup blueberries or strawberries) and walnuts (1 oz)
9:30/10:00 apple with almond butter
12:30/1:00 salad with turkey or grilled chicken
3:00 pear, pineapple, banana, or some other fruit
5:00 carrots
7:00 cardio and/or weight training
8:00 grilled chicken with veggies

Let me know if you have questions.

^^^^^ i agree with this.. i dont see why people think eating 6 times a day is dumb? youre never hungry, and depending on your goals, you can spread your protein intake out through the day.. I lost about 40 pounds doing this in 7 months..

NotAllWhoWanderAreLost

i will have to answer this in terms of what i did when i was successful (as i am just now returning to MFP after a long hiatus where i gained back about 16 pounds)... I lost 71 pounds by eating 6ish "meals" a day. I say 6-ish because its a lot of grazing, i suppose, and generally 3 meals. I faithfully record/measure/weigh/count what i eat. That is key if you eat frequently, IMO. I also spread water consumption out thru the day.

My main "meals" tend to be around 300 calories each and my snacks keep me satisfied between meals and round out my day. I guess i am naturally a grazer. When i know i will be eating a larger dinner, i try to do 300/100/250/100/550 +/- . (Altering those numbers for exercise calories, if that applies!)

Then there are the days that i am out all day, running errands and lunch and snack tend to be a clif bar and an apple, spaced out over time. It happens. Oh, and one little thing i found recently: Target sells individual Market Pantry string cheeses up front in their Target Cafe. Works great when my hunger is getting to Critical Level when i'm shopping! :laugh:

Seamoan87

My personal trainer told me to do this and I thought he was crazy, but it works! I lost 22 lbs (have since gained a few back so I'm re-committing myself). It's important to eat something within a half hour of waking up to get your metabolism working again. My diet is roughly as follows:
6:45 wake up
7:00 oatmeal with fruit (1/2 or sometimes whole banana, 1/2 cup blueberries or strawberries) and walnuts (1 oz)
9:30/10:00 apple with almond butter
12:30/1:00 salad with turkey or grilled chicken
3:00 pear, pineapple, banana, or some other fruit
5:00 carrots
7:00 cardio and/or weight training
8:00 grilled chicken with veggies

Let me know if you have questions.

Eating right after I wake up makes me feel a little ill. I don't know why and also makes me feel like I'm forcing myself to eat since I don't feel hungry in the mornings.

Acg67

My personal trainer told me to do this and I thought he was crazy, but it works! I lost 22 lbs (have since gained a few back so I'm re-committing myself). It's important to eat something within a half hour of waking up to get your metabolism working again. My diet is roughly as follows:
6:45 wake up
7:00 oatmeal with fruit (1/2 or sometimes whole banana, 1/2 cup blueberries or strawberries) and walnuts (1 oz)
9:30/10:00 apple with almond butter
12:30/1:00 salad with turkey or grilled chicken
3:00 pear, pineapple, banana, or some other fruit
5:00 carrots
7:00 cardio and/or weight training
8:00 grilled chicken with veggies

Let me know if you have questions.

^^^^^ i agree with this.. i dont see why people think eating 6 times a day is dumb? youre never hungry, and depending on your goals, you can spread your protein intake out through the day.. I lost about 40 pounds doing this in 7 months..

it's only dumb if people follow such a meal plan because they think they are revving up their metabolism or other nonsense like that. Meal frequency is a personal preference

SinIsIn

I eat 3 meals a day and try and snack between each meal.

LeanMeanFitnessMachine

You really don't have to eat THAT much - even a 100 calorie yogurt cup will do the trick. I do it to keep my metabolism up & because I LOVE eating. By eating 6 small meals a day, I'm able to eat allllllll the time so I never feel hungry or get cravings to binge.

As for my workout: I go to the gym 3-4 days a week for 60-90 minutes. Right now I focus alot of my time on lifting because I am trying to build more muscle.

Acg67

Eating right after I wake up makes me feel a little ill. I don't know why and also makes me feel like I'm forcing myself to eat since I don't feel hungry in the mornings.

the simple answer is just don't eat in the morning if you're not hungry. Eating breakfast doesn't confer any special advantages to weight loss.

Just eat the same number of calories spaced out over less meals.

danniellexxx

I have breakfast lunch and dinner and then 2 snacks, the snacks usually consist of fruit or vegetables though ...

LeanMeanFitnessMachine

Meal frequency is irrelevant unless your are an athlete

Irrelevant to weight loss directly, yes. But some studies do show that eating more frequently may help to speed up metabolism, which means a higher fat burn. Although, this is not proven, there are many correlations with this fact.

LeanMeanFitnessMachine

It's important to eat something within a half hour of waking up to get your metabolism working again.

Your metabolism works all the time. There is no need to start it up again in the morning.

This is partially correct - your metabolism slows down when not digesting, and speeds up when you eat (and need to digest).

LeanMeanFitnessMachine

It's important to eat something within a half hour of waking up to get your metabolism working again.

Your metabolism works all the time. There is no need to start it up again in the morning.

This is partially correct - your metabolism slows down when not digesting, and speeds up when you eat (and need to digest).

Acg67

Meal frequency is irrelevant unless your are an athlete

Irrelevant to weight loss directly, yes. But some studies do show that eating more frequently may help to speed up metabolism, which means a higher fat burn. Although, this is not proven, there are many correlations with this fact.

Some people are lead to believe this due to TEF, but assuming the same macronutrient composition there will be no difference in TEF

from Lyle McDonald

Say we have two people, both eating the same 3000 calories per day from identical macronutrients. One eats 6 meals of 500 calories/meal while the other eats 3 meals of 1000 calories/meal and we’ll assume a TEF of 10%. So the first will have a TEF of 50 calories (10% of 500) 6 times/day. The second will have a TEF of 100 calories (10% of 1000 calories) 3 times/day. Well, 6X50 = 300 calories/day and 3X100 = 300 calories/day. There’s no difference.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/meal-frequency-and-energy-balance-research-review.html

dkmclean

I eat every two hours, starting with breakfast at 6:00AM and I don't eat after 6:00PM. I lost 52 lbs in 8 weeks at the beginning of the year and have kept it off using this method. Snacks are always fruits/yogurt/protein bars or shakes. I record it all in myfitnesspal and try not to exceed my calorie goal for the day.

LeanMeanFitnessMachine

Meal frequency is irrelevant unless your are an athlete

Irrelevant to weight loss directly, yes. But some studies do show that eating more frequently may help to speed up metabolism, which means a higher fat burn. Although, this is not proven, there are many correlations with this fact.

Some people are lead to believe this due to TEF, but assuming the same macronutrient composition there will be no difference in TEF

from Lyle McDonald

Say we have two people, both eating the same 3000 calories per day from identical macronutrients. One eats 6 meals of 500 calories/meal while the other eats 3 meals of 1000 calories/meal and we’ll assume a TEF of 10%. So the first will have a TEF of 50 calories (10% of 500) 6 times/day. The second will have a TEF of 100 calories (10% of 1000 calories) 3 times/day. Well, 6X50 = 300 calories/day and 3X100 = 300 calories/day. There’s no difference.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/meal-frequency-and-energy-balance-research-review.html

Thats interesting! I've never come across this article. Thanks for the info, I'll have to check it out!

carrie_eggo

Meal frequency is irrelevant unless your are an athlete

Irrelevant to weight loss directly, yes. But some studies do show that eating more frequently may help to speed up metabolism, which means a higher fat burn. Although, this is not proven, there are many correlations with this fact.

Some people are lead to believe this due to TEF, but assuming the same macronutrient composition there will be no difference in TEF

from Lyle McDonald

Say we have two people, both eating the same 3000 calories per day from identical macronutrients. One eats 6 meals of 500 calories/meal while the other eats 3 meals of 1000 calories/meal and we’ll assume a TEF of 10%. So the first will have a TEF of 50 calories (10% of 500) 6 times/day. The second will have a TEF of 100 calories (10% of 1000 calories) 3 times/day. Well, 6X50 = 300 calories/day and 3X100 = 300 calories/day. There’s no difference.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/meal-frequency-and-energy-balance-research-review.html

You can't argue with Lyle. :drinker:

I eat 6 times a day simply because I like to eat and I feel better if I eat frequently.

Jackie9950

I eat 6 meals - breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner, evening snack.. My meals are ~300 calories, and my snacks are ~100 calories. It works out very well for me because I get hungry all the time. And I work out once a day, 60 minutes of cardio 5 times a week, and 25 min of strength training 2-3 times a week.

This is what I do as well. I might eat a little more cals during the meals/snacks but only if I plan on eating back my exercise calories. Doing it this way means that I always have food on hand and I don't feel the need to seek out bad food! I do Zumba 3-4 times a week and cardio/strength 2 times a week with my treadmill or doing the 30ds.

JennLifts

I end up with 6, just so i dont have to eat so much at once, but when I'm short on time, I just end up eating meal after meal to keep up haha

taso42

I do this, but mainly because it's what I'm used to, and I enjoy eating every few hours. When my schedule is sporadic and I don't know when I'll have a chance to eat again, I tend to "double up" on the meals.

MaximalLife

And what is/are your workout regimen? I feel that as I start to workout more, I'll probably need to be eating 6 small meals but I can't fathom the idea. I've done it before and it feels like I'm always eating and sometimes I'm not hungry enough to eat that much. And I'm just curious to see how everyone else does it.

My dairy is open - check it out.
I eat 6 meals a day - LOVE IT!


In general I do 90 minuted of cardio with 30 minutes of resistance 6 days a week.

I rest resistance Tuesday and cardio every 10 days or so.
My resistance is lower weights but high reps, then heavy every 3rd workout.

And I split my body into 3 muscle groups:
1. Legs
2. Chest- triceps - shoulders
3. Arms - back

I do a lot of weird things for cardio like military march, boxing type training,
dancing, floor rolls, squat thrust intervals and the good ole jumping jack.
And I jog, swim, play tennis, fast walk and bike.

Lost 64lbs and nearly 20% body fat - it works for me.

bloodguilt

Me, every 3-4 hours. Check out my current routine on my profile.