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    Should I eat scheduled meals if I'm not hungry?

    Posts: 28
    edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
    Someone mentioned to me that I should try eating 5 smaller meals a day instead of 3 large meals. I've been trying it out and I am finding if I never let myself get super hungry, I am able to resist temptation better.

    My question is: If I'm not hungry at all, should I still eat my scheduled mini-meal or wait until the next one?

    Help?

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    Replies

    • Posts: 378 Member
      I suspect you would be able to resist temptation better if you saved calories for the times of the day when you were most hungry, rather than sticking to an arbitrary schedule.
    • Posts: 375
      If you're not hungry, why eat?
    • Posts: 28,072 Member
      Pick whichever way will help you meet your calorie target the easiest. To be perfectly honet, its a totally individual thing and so only you can answer that question. Maybe you can experiment as see which one works best.
    • Posts: 851 Member
      I suspect you would be able to resist temptation better if you saved calories for the times of the day when you were most hungry, rather than sticking to an arbitrary schedule.

      agreed
    • Posts: 3,845 Member
      I eat when it's time, I don't care what my body is trying to tell me. It serves me well doing it that way.

      Most people, in my opinion, have no idea what "listen to your body" means. Not many people can actually do it. If you could do that, you wouldn't be here logging calories every day.

      Eat when it's time.
    • Posts: 120 Member
      I eat like you do - 5-ish small meals in a day. The difference is, I don't "schedule" mine - I don't give them times. I eat when I'm hungry, and I don't eat when I'm not. I end up eating 4-5 small meals in a day, every day.
    • Posts: 4 Member
      Stick with the schedule and eat a mini meal/snack. Your body will quickly adapt and get used to eating on a regular schedule.
      In a week or 2 you will notice that your body is ready to eat every couple/few hours once you get in a routine.

      The key is "mini" meal though :)
    • Posts: 149 Member
      I was told by a personal trainer to eat every few hours to keep my metabolism fired up. In the beginning, I had a hard time eating when I wasn't hungry, but now I get super hungry if I go past 3 1/2 or 4 hours. The key is balancing the calories & nutrients out so you're not taking in too many.
      It works for me but.........you know what works best for your body. Do that, and you'll do fine. Good luck!
    • Posts: 80
      Don't waste your time with 5 smaller meals, there is no metabolic increase or any other benefits to them, I'd stick with the 3 meals a day and keep yourself satisfied with a nice big dinner rather than it being your last meal with few calories left! Hope this helps!

      Jesse Short
      ISSA Certified Personal Trainer
    • Posts: 529 Member
      Stick with the schedule and eat a mini meal/snack. Your body will quickly adapt and get used to eating on a regular schedule.
      In a week or 2 you will notice that your body is ready to eat every couple/few hours once you get in a routine.

      The key is "mini" meal though :)

      ^^^^^This
    • Posts: 74 Member
      back when i started eating 5 small meals a day, it was difficult to adjust my body to it, because i wasn't hungry when i was supposed to snack. but now that i've forced myself to eat the 5 meals every day, i scheduled the times of my meals (7:30am, 10:00am, 12:30pm, 3:30pm, 6:30pm), and now i actually get hungry within a few minutes of when i'm supposed to eat. so, in my oppinion, i think you should eat the 5 meals a day, and try scheduling them. you're body will adjust to it.
    • Posts: 2
      My question to you is this... if you choose not to eat when you are supposed to because you are not hungry... when you get hungry will you be able to make good food decisions or will you become more impulsive because you are hungry? Just something for you to ponder....
    • Posts: 589 Member
      As long as you're netting enough calories for the day, it doesn't matter when you eat them. :)
    • Posts: 28
      Wow - what a great fantastic response!! Thank you all for the great feedback. I think I'll stick with it and see what happens. It's only been a few days, so I bet I'm still adjusting to how I should feel.
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