Who here eats 6 (small) meals a day?

Runnermadre

I was watching Jillian Michaels a while back, and she was talking about the idea of eating 6 meals per day, and said that it was a bad idea. She said it keeps your insulin levels way up, and could possibly lead to type 2 diabetes later in life. I think the best idea is to not let yourself get too hungry before you eat, but you don't really need "6 small meals." Three well rounded meals with a couple small snacks should do the trick. :-)

hpsnickers1

Oh heck, no. I tried that the first six months here and all I did was spend my day obsessing on food and weighing food and logging food. The only reason I was hungry every couple of hours was because I was eating carbs every couple of hours (they have a tendency to keep you hungry all day).

I now eat lots of protein and fat and I stay full for 5-6 hours. I eat once, twice, or a few times a day. It depends on how often I feel hungry. And this depends on how active I get. The more energy I expend the more my body wants back in (i.e exercise makes me hungry)

I eat when I'm hungry.

I agree with Jillian Michaels on this one. You get fat and inactive due to chronic high blood sugar levels and excessive insulin production (this promotes fat storage). The constant hunger comes from the blood sugar highs and crashes.

Ripped365

I do...only because I weight train and run long distance. I have to constantly fuel my body. I will even consume fat free cottage cheese or casein protein before bed if lacking calories due to daily training.

CakeFit21

I just eat when I'm hungry and I don't really count how often. I work my food around my workouts and eat back all of my exercise cals. I try my hardest not to obsess over how many times I eat, I just eat.

Selyan

I eat 4 meals, but normally also eat 2 "snack meals". I'm just hungry every 3 hour.

HeidiMightyRawr

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.

I don't know much, if anything, about whether eating more frequently may help with metabolism - I choose to eat like that because I get hungry often.
However, Correlation =/= causation. If there is a positive correlation between eating frequently and a high metabolism, there is nothing in that that suggests whether the eating caused an increase in metabolism, or the higher metabolism caused people want to eat more frequently.

Seamoan87

Thanks everyone for your advice, facts and information. I'm really trying to find what's right for me with help so I can get in the best shape. I've been a little discouraged lately since I've upped my workouts now to 5 days a week instead of the 2 I do for martial arts, and don't seem to be progressing.

wish21

I am starting this today. I found that when I just eat further apart I'd be hungrier and have really bad headaches. So today I'll be putting something in my mouth every 2 hours and drinking water 1 tall glass in the am, afternoon, and at night. That will equal my 10.5 cups a day. I also plan to keep my calories between 1300 and 1700 even with exercise and I will be zig-zagging my calories too

lovefunmotion

I don't really have small meals but 3 normal meals and 2 snacks.
I eat every 2-3 hours. Breakfast at 9, lunch at 12, snack at 2-3, dinner at 5-6, then another snack at 8-9.
Snacks are usually 200 calories each, breakfast + lunch meals are 300 each and then I usually have a bigger dinner for 500 This seems to work for me. I'm hardly ever hungry this way and don't feel like I'm depriving myself.

thefitfeather

Everything I've read has said small meals 5-6 times per day. Usually on gym days I do six. Eat protein with every meal and if you are too full to have protein and a carb, then just eat the protein. I consider a protein shake and a piece of fruit a meal. I think it really depends on what your goals are.. I'm looking to gain muscle and the added weight that comes with that and shows on the scale is more than welcome for me!

Seamoan87

Everything I've read has said small meals 5-6 times per day. Usually on gym days I do six. Eat protein with every meal and if you are too full to have protein and a carb, then just eat the protein. I consider a protein shake and a piece of fruit a meal. I think it really depends on what your goals are.. I'm looking to gain muscle and the added weight that comes with that and shows on the scale is more than welcome for me!

Yeah, I did that this morning after my workout. Protein shake and a banana. I was surprisingly full but it is 45 grams of protein in the shake. So I will consider that a meal from now on after a workout. I want to gain muscle to but I also want to lose 20 pounds. Mainly from my stomach and thighs/legs.

Gshepmix83

I eat 5-6 small meals every 2-3 hours when I can and I do walking workouts with Leslie Sansone or I just go walking. Also I try to get my daily water intake (it sucks when you have to pee every few minutes).

Goldenbast

Wow..it seems the opinions go one way or the other. But I think it it is wrong to say eating more often makes your blood sugar stay high..it actually makes your blood sugar stay level and the opposite is true..you can avoid diabetes by eating in this fashion. BUT only if you eat right....eating this way works for me VERY well, it is the only way I can stay eating healthy and feeling good...but you have to make sure you are getting the proper nutrients. Maybe it works for me because I combine eating all day with eating balanced according to myplate.gov. You should eat a certain number of grains/veggies/fruits/dairy/protein per day according to that site. I have also heard that your body will enter into a mini starvation mode if you go for a time without eating, but if you eat the right foods often, your blood sugar will stay level and your metabolism will continue to work at a higher rate.

I think everyone has the right of it in some way.....I think that it depends on the body itself...some people grow hungry very easily which can lead to binge eating or eating unhealthy foods, so eating many small meals through the day allows them to stay on track and healthy whereas those who do not grow hungry often, will just feel like they are eating to eat....so it all boils down to doing what actually works for you. If you are unhappy or unenergetic then obviously it does not work...but it doesn't hurt to try something..you never know if it works or not until you try it and find your body's happy medium.