Eating at odd times

DLDzioba

I know that ideally I should eat breakfast>Snack>Lunch>Snack>Dinner but I really cannot structure my day like that. I eat breakfast when I get up or on the way to work. I get to work and I don't have a break and I get off at 4PM so that's when I eat lunch, which pushes dinner to pretty late 8pm or 9pm sometimes. I can't change my work schedule so I'm stuck with eating like this.

Sometimes I can munch a pack of crackers or something while at work but not likely.

Is it going to affect my weight loss if I keep this schedule?

Sidesteal

I know that ideally I should eat breakfast>Snack>Lunch>Snack>Dinner but I really cannot structure my day like that. I eat breakfast when I get up or on the way to work. I get to work and I don't have a break and I get off at 4PM so that's when I eat lunch, which pushes dinner to pretty late 8pm or 9pm sometimes. I can't change my work schedule so I'm stuck with eating like this.

Sometimes I can munch a pack of crackers or something while at work but not likely.

Is it going to affect my weight loss if I keep this schedule?

No, and you do not need to do this "breakfast>Snack>Lunch>Snack>Dinner". You can literally eat all your calories in 1 big meal and if you don't have discomfort, and you are able to do so while still remaining in a calorie deficit, you will lose weight just fine.

Meal frequency is irrelevant outside of how it effects your mood/behavior. It, by itself, will not effect metabolism or energy expenditure.

Kelly_S

No, and you do not need to do this "breakfast>Snack>Lunch>Snack>Dinner". You can literally eat all your calories in 1 big meal and if you don't have discomfort, and you are able to do so while still remaining in a calorie deficit, you will lose weight just fine.

Meal frequency is irrelevant outside of how it effects your mood/behavior. It, by itself, will not effect metabolism or energy expenditure.

I have to agree 100%. I spread my calories out during the day to eat little and often because it suits my lifestyle and I get hungry between meals! But as I have been doing this for years my body is used to this and would most likely suffer at first if I switched. The only reason not snacking would affect you is if you are leaving yourself feeling hungry for the hours between meals - and again this is only because if you put your body into a shock starvation mode it starts to thin about storing calories for later in case the starvation carries on. If this isn't the case, as Sidesteal said, it doesn't matter at all in which order, or in what quantities you consume your daily cals