Is anybody having 2-3 meals instead of 5-6 and still fit?

MashaSK

It's just harder to find a balance with food for me then exercise. I try to eat 5 times a day small amount of food, mostly meat/vegetables fruits and nuts. But I hate it! I am not hungry till 11 am at least every day and torture myself with breakfast at 5 am, and it's hard to snack in office healthy (people think you are an idiot while you eat a carrot or a cucumber)

jaysonhijinx

I'm not fit right now but I'm working my *kitten* off to get there with 3-4 days of strength training and usually 3-4 days of basketball and soccer to cover my cardio with the odd run or fast paced walk.

I eat 3 meals a day but will have a morning and afternoon snack if I'm hungry. My 3 meals are proper sized meals that fill me up and usually consist of fresh or steamed veggies, eggs, meat & fish. Stuff I snack on usually take the form of more veggies, greek yoghurt, nuts, tuna, bread and peanut butter.

Everyone is going to be different and have their own personal preference, this is just what works for me. Shake things up, see what works for you.

MashaSK

ehh basically 7 days a week of excercises You are a HERO! ufff I'll try to steal something from your diary too, very bored with my food already

01divey

On a small cut at the moment of around 1lb a week average, aiming for 8lb fat loss total (3lb down already)
3 days Full body workout per week, No cardio as yet as my diet is almost perfect. Im literally eating to fuel my worouts, no treats.
Take a look at my food diary, you really dont have to eat carrot sticks alone. All about calories in calories out.
Keep protein high, fat relatively high, carbs moderate, plenty of water, pretty much what 90% of people on here advise!
Give it time, you dont actually need cardio as it can be detrimental to fat loss. What i mean is, if your diet is almost spot on and your strength training, then you'll want your calories to repair/rebuild. why waste calories on the treadmill? just eat sensibly.
I feel that maybe people hit the cardio as they feel it justifies the fact that they can eat more and get away with it?
I've personally lost more weight on a cut when eating right, little or no cardio and consistent strength training, rather than hours on the treadmill!
Good luck.

Helloitsdan

Feeding frequency has nothing to do with weight loss.
Try not to consume more than 40% of your calories in 1 sitting and youll be fine.

I eat 2-3 meals daily.
My last meal is at 10pm and my first for the day is at 2pm the next day.

Sometimes if you are cutting extreme calories, its easier to adopt a smaller eating window so your food becomes more filling.
Macronutrients will play a huge key role in this as their settings are what decides how satiated you are throughout the day.

On a small cut at the moment of around 1lb a week average, aiming for 8lb fat loss total (3lb down already)
3 days Full body workout per week, No cardio as yet as my diet is almost perfect. Im literally eating to fuel my worouts, no treats.
Take a look at my food diary, you really dont have to eat carrot sticks alone.

Truth!

All about calories in calories out.

Your hormones dont agree.

Keep protein high, fat relatively high, carbs moderate, plenty of water, pretty much what 90% of people on here advise!
Give it time, you dont actually need cardio as it can be detrimental to fat loss. What i mean is, if your diet is almost spot on and your strength training, then you'll want your calories to repair/rebuild. why waste calories on the treadmill? just eat sensibly.
I feel that maybe people hit the cardio as they feel it justifies the fact that they can eat more and get away with it?
I've personally lost more weight on a cut when eating right, little or no cardio and consistent strength training, rather than hours on the treadmill!
Good luck.

Best advice ive seen today.

beccah88

I eat 3 meals a day, with 1 or 2 snacks depending on what they are. I tried eating more small meals instead of 3 but like you I hated it. It's worked for me so far, I've lost about 7 inches all round and I'm probably fitter than I've been in a long time.

MashaSK

and how long do you do strength training per day?

beccah88

On a small cut at the moment of around 1lb a week average, aiming for 8lb fat loss total (3lb down already)
3 days Full body workout per week, No cardio as yet as my diet is almost perfect. Im literally eating to fuel my worouts, no treats.
Take a look at my food diary, you really dont have to eat carrot sticks alone. All about calories in calories out.
Keep protein high, fat relatively high, carbs moderate, plenty of water, pretty much what 90% of people on here advise!
Give it time, you dont actually need cardio as it can be detrimental to fat loss. What i mean is, if your diet is almost spot on and your strength training, then you'll want your calories to repair/rebuild. why waste calories on the treadmill? just eat sensibly.
I feel that maybe people hit the cardio as they feel it justifies the fact that they can eat more and get away with it?
I've personally lost more weight on a cut when eating right, little or no cardio and consistent strength training, rather than hours on the treadmill!
Good luck.

Best advice I've seen. I wish I'd had someone tell me this years ago. I've had better results with doing very little cardio, with strength training instead than I ever did with doing cardio almost everyday.

01divey

You have to work out whats best for you, if you dont like cardio, dont do it although it could be beneficial for your heart/respiratory system, it can be detrimental to fat loss.
I wish i had known this years ago, but thats the joys of working out and experimenting as i have found a way that suits me, and it feels like a great achievement on its own!
i never believed diet was so important until i followed it consistently and saw the results for myself.
i switched from brown rice, pasta, bagels etc to salad, fruit, vegetables and that switch alone made a huge difference after two weeks of how and where have water retention. The bloated feeling disappeared after around a week.
Im very happy with my results of the last month, and i wish you all well.
Remember, diet is key.

01divey

@ Mashenka85

I strength train mon, wed, fri, in general but may switch to tues, thurs, sunday some weeks. i do it when i feel im ready and have sufficiently recovered from the last workout otherwise i wont be working out as well as i could and could actually be slowing down my progress. I know i dont HAVE to do it JUST BECAUSE its a monday or a wednesday. Thats why people find it hard to be consistent. as they feel they have to do it, and its a routine so it gets boring.
I workout for an average of 45-60 mins 3 times a week, short rest periods, Full Body compound based movements @ approx 80% maximum.
Rest is very important.

kennie2

having small meals just stops you binging and endlessly snacking
but if youre fine having 2-3 thats awesome and doesnt have any benefits or withdraws on weight loss

Zichu

I usually have about 3 meals a day with snacks. Depending on what I have for breakfast will determine whether or not I have a second meal a few hours later. If I am only have Ready Brek and fruit, I tend to be really hungry a few hours later so I had turkey sausage, eggs and sugar and salt reduced baked beans.

My snacks tend to be around 200 to 300 calories at times. I'm currently eating 2121 calories a day, so my meals are usually split up into 500 to 600 calories which leaves me 170 for my protein shake and fruit for the remaining 150 calories. At times though, if I have reached my protein goal for the day before a protein shake, I tend to go for more fruit instead of going for a protein shake.


If you aren't hungry at 5am, don't force yourself to eat... No good comes from forcing yourself to eat if you feel uncomfortable or even nauseous... I wish I were like you, when I get up at 5:30am I am hungry pretty much instantly, but I only have like 5 or 10 minutes to get out of the house which is mainly getting dressed, comb hair and off we go. I'm only out till 7:10am though, but I still wait it out a bit till everyone has gone to school or work before I cook something up. I would just get in peoples way if I were to start cooking up sausage, egg and beans while people are getting ready lol.

Also, don't be worried about what people think if you snack on carrot or cucumber sticks. If you enjoy it, just do it. They will most likely be jealous that you are able to sustain a healthy diet while they snack on there biscuits, cakes and chocolate lol.

laddyboy

Bump to read later.

Anonymou5

I don't understand why doesnt cardio work for losing fat?

Is it not just calories out - calories in?!

rsward

bump

anoroc751

I think people confuse what 5 meals per day means. Snacks count. It only meant to eat so that you are never super hungry. It will help increase your metabolism and help keep you from overeating througout the day. Meals are meals, regardless of the food or the time of day you it them.

As for cardio. I do agree that many will benefit from a good weightlifting program alone. This increases your metabolism throughout the day. Too much cardio without enough calories can eat away at your muscles.

On the other hand a good ballance is good if that's what you want. I like to do 5ks, warrior dashes and I am training for a tough mudder. I want to have a strong cardio side to help me get through it.

I know several people at the gym who look good and only weight lift but they readily admit they have poor cardio strength. To each his own just do what is best for you.

Good luck and keep moving.

01divey

@ Samuel Gray

Dont get me wrong, doing cardio doesnt mean you WONT lose weight. I just meant that you dont have too. I dont like cardio particuarly, unless im playing sport or doing something fun for example.
You can lose weight, and feel bettery by following a good solid balanced diet, and following a consistent strength training program.
I was simply offering a glimmer of hope of an alternative to all those people that hate cardo

01divey

* better

Anonymou5

Oh , right. I happen to love cardio! So anyone out there who likes cardio don't just give up your cardio workouts as I believe you can lose weight with a purely cardio program. (No disrespect to strength programmes as I know alot of people who enjoy them)

jetabear10

I don't have meals per se...I just eat all day long. I do have "lunch" and "dinner"

Every couple of hours or so, I am eating something. During the day I feel like I don't stop eating! lol

JenaePavlak

i eat 5-7 times a day... A typical day:

5am: Protien Powder w/1 cup milk
8am: 3 whole scrambled eggs w/2 cups broccoli, onions, green &red peppers & Chobani Greek yogurt
11am: Detour Lean Protein Bar
1pm: Chicken & Mixed veggies or chicken breast & salad
3pm: (Depending on if I'm hungry) chicken and/or veggies
5pm: Detour Lean Protein Bar
7pm: Chicken or Ham wrap or a previously made hotdish (basically beef, egg noodles, veggies, & cream of chicken...) maybe chick w/veggies and brown rice...

I do the protein drink right away in the morning (tastes just like choc. milk) to stop the fasting process because that is when your body is most likely to use your lean muscle for fuel instead of fat.