How often do YOU eat to get results?

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MeShika
MeShika Posts: 10
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm doing a "Biggest Loser" contest through my job til November, and would like to lose about 30lbs doing it. With this being said, it has been calculated that I eat 1200 calories a day, but am curious, how often do you realistically eat a day and WHAT DO YOU EAT BETWEEN MEALS!?!? I really want to get a handle on this whole thing, so I can get my own routine. Can you help?
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  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    I'm doing a "Biggest Loser" contest through my job til November, and would like to lose about 30lbs doing it. With this being said, it has been calculated that I eat 1200 calories a day, but am curious, how often do you realistically eat a day and WHAT DO YOU EAT BETWEEN MEALS!?!? I really want to get a handle on this whole thing, so I can get my own routine. Can you help?

    Meal frequency should be based entirely on your lifestyle and personal preference.

    There is no metabolic advantage to consuming food more frequently. Choose whichever method makes it easiest for you to hit your nutritional/calorie targets by end of day.
  • Madux1818
    Madux1818 Posts: 307 Member
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    I'm doing a "Biggest Loser" contest through my job til November, and would like to lose about 30lbs doing it. With this being said, it has been calculated that I eat 1200 calories a day, but am curious, how often do you realistically eat a day and WHAT DO YOU EAT BETWEEN MEALS!?!? I really want to get a handle on this whole thing, so I can get my own routine. Can you help?

    Meal frequency should be based entirely on your lifestyle and personal preference.

    There is no metabolic advantage to consuming food more frequently. Choose whichever method makes it easiest for you to hit your nutritional/calorie targets by end of day.



    Sidesteal, welcome back!!!!
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    I'm doing a "Biggest Loser" contest through my job til November, and would like to lose about 30lbs doing it. With this being said, it has been calculated that I eat 1200 calories a day, but am curious, how often do you realistically eat a day and WHAT DO YOU EAT BETWEEN MEALS!?!? I really want to get a handle on this whole thing, so I can get my own routine. Can you help?

    Meal frequency should be based entirely on your lifestyle and personal preference.

    There is no metabolic advantage to consuming food more frequently. Choose whichever method makes it easiest for you to hit your nutritional/calorie targets by end of day.



    Sidesteal, welcome back!!!!

    Thank you :)
  • marcenepea
    marcenepea Posts: 364 Member
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    LOL I'm also doing a Biggest Loser challenge at work. It end the beginning of Nov. I try to eat anywhere from 1300 - 1700 calories a day depending on how hungry I am. And I just eat when I'm hungry. The first time I started I tried sticking to 1200 or less and was miserable. This seems to work alot better for me, however everyone is different. Find what works best for you and keeps you motivated. Good Luck.
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
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    Definitely the frequency of food intake is a personal preference and has no effect on weight loss, but my personal preference is to eat practically constantly. If I stretch my breakfast out far enough. . . fruit, yogurt, cereal in a snack bag. . . I practically run into my morning snack. . . trail mix, string cheese. . .edamame. . . which then practically runs into lunch. And so on.

    It works for me and I never let myself get hungry. I always have "safe" food with me for an emergency because my biggest issue is getting ravenous and then eating whatever stale donuts I might find in the teacher's lounge! I'm a teacher, and yes, my students know I have food on my desk all the time.
  • MeShika
    MeShika Posts: 10
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    LOL I'm also doing a Biggest Loser challenge at work. It end the beginning of Nov. I try to eat anywhere from 1300 - 1700 calories a day depending on how hungry I am. And I just eat when I'm hungry. The first time I started I tried sticking to 1200 or less and was miserable. This seems to work alot better for me, however everyone is different. Find what works best for you and keeps you motivated. Good Luck.

    Thanks for the encouragement!
  • klsdwn
    klsdwn Posts: 54
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    You do what's best for YOU! You do not have to work out six times a week like I do. I'm not an expert AT ALL just a girl trying to be healthy and do what's best for my body! Good luck to you!
  • vsetter
    vsetter Posts: 558 Member
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    When I was eating 1200 calories, I ate 6 times per day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were usually around 300 calories each, Snacks in between were about 100 calories each. But I will agree with marcenepea --- it is really rough to stick to. And it is really hard to get proper levels of fiber and protein when eating that little bit of calories.

    I now eat more and have so much more flexibility. I would focus on increasing your activity rather than being strict to 1200 calories. 1500-1700 calories is so much more manageable (and better for your long-term goals).

    Just my opinion --
  • Debbe2
    Debbe2 Posts: 2,071 Member
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    Honestly I focus on eating when I am hungry. I also try to focus on minimizing eating out of boredom and emotional eating. That's the best approach I've found. With that being said I enjoy breakfast and so that's a given for me. Everything else depends on the situation and preference for the day. Some days 2 or 3 meals and other days 4 to 6 small meals or snacks. I keep hearing that change is good when it comes to our bodies but not sure that's proven or opinion. Anyway good luck on your challenge!
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    I'm doing a "Biggest Loser" contest through my job til November, and would like to lose about 30lbs doing it. With this being said, it has been calculated that I eat 1200 calories a day, but am curious, how often do you realistically eat a day and WHAT DO YOU EAT BETWEEN MEALS!?!? I really want to get a handle on this whole thing, so I can get my own routine. Can you help?

    Meal frequency should be based entirely on your lifestyle and personal preference.

    There is no metabolic advantage to consuming food more frequently. Choose whichever method makes it easiest for you to hit your nutritional/calorie targets by end of day.

    ^^This.

    With that said if you are consuming 1200cals+eating back exercise calories, sometimes its easy to skip breakfast and start eating after 1pm. You'll have larger meals that way....if you prefer.

    You are eating back exercise cals.....right.....?
  • MeShika
    MeShika Posts: 10
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    ^^This.

    With that said if you are consuming 1200cals+eating back exercise calories, sometimes its easy to skip breakfast and start eating after 1pm. You'll have larger meals that way....if you prefer.

    You are eating back exercise cals.....right.....?
    [/quote]
    Okay, so I don't always take care of eating the back exercise calories. I guess I didn't really consider it. But okay, I'll start. Thanks for that insight!
  • bulbadoof
    bulbadoof Posts: 1,058 Member
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    I eat when I'm hungry. I find that smaller frequent meals stave off hunger better than bigger meals with a lot of time between them. I know it doesn't physically accelerate my weight loss - it just helps me control my hunger better.

    When I'm hungry and I'm trying to conserve calories, I'll reach for some fiber with a glass of water. A few leaves of spinach, a serving of vegetables, half a slice of whole-grain bread (whichever grain you prefer), a handful of raspberries, you get the idea. It'll satisfy your stomach between meals and snacks for under 50 calories every time.
  • 12774
    12774 Posts: 1,416 Member
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    1 chobani yogurt

    2fruits

    1 , 100cal snack

    1 Kellog protein strawberry drink

    breakfast is my smallest meal, lunch my largest
  • AlexandraLynch
    AlexandraLynch Posts: 161
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    Well, 300-500 for three main meals. Between the second and third, and after the third, I throw in a 150-200 calorie snack, and one day a week I very deliberately eat at least 2000 calories. It confuses my body, and if I have a persistent chocolate brownie sundae craving, I just have to wait til Monday to have it. If I need to go over due to life issues, then I do so and get back on track tomorrow, but by and large that doesn't happen.

    Usually I cook, so I'm either eating freshly made or leftovers (leftovers are usually breakfast) but I do keep frozen Lean Cuisine's around for times when I need to eat and am too tired and sore (I have fibromyalgia) to do more than push buttons on the microwave.

    For snacks, I favor a little cheese and a few crackers, a yogurt, or a small cup of ice cream. I do not feel deprived when I am watching TV and eating ice cream every evening. (grin)
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    I'm doing a "Biggest Loser" contest through my job til November, and would like to lose about 30lbs doing it. With this being said, it has been calculated that I eat 1200 calories a day, but am curious, how often do you realistically eat a day and WHAT DO YOU EAT BETWEEN MEALS!?!? I really want to get a handle on this whole thing, so I can get my own routine. Can you help?

    Meal frequency should be based entirely on your lifestyle and personal preference.

    There is no metabolic advantage to consuming food more frequently. Choose whichever method makes it easiest for you to hit your nutritional/calorie targets by end of day.

    This.

    That said, I try to eat 4-5 times throughout the day. Eating more often helps prevent me from getting hungry, which prevents cravings and binges. It's not a metabolic thing, it just helps me stay in control.
  • xXKatrinaXx
    xXKatrinaXx Posts: 234
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    I dont go by breakfast, lunch, or dinner. eat 6 small meals a day. 6AM, 9AM, 12PM, 3PM, 6PM, and 9PM. All about 300 calories. I heard it is good to eat like this (every 2-3 hours) because it is good for your metabolism.
  • LaNena01
    LaNena01 Posts: 61 Member
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    BUMP
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    I aim for about 1200-1300 calories per day.

    I'll have (roughly) 200-300 cals for breakfast, a 100 cal snack about 10 am, a 200-300 cal lunch, another 100-200 cal mid afternoon snack, then about 400 cals for dinner.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    This all comes down to personal preference... Your main goal is to get in your caloric intake and hit your macro's.... Beyond that if your exercising make sure you are eating your exercise calories if your calorie deficit has already been figured in through your MFP settings. Don't create to large of a calorie deficit, that can work against you over time. I would recommend a heart rate monitor if you have not gotten one already to better track your calorie burns. I consume 85% of my exercise calories per my Polar FT60 HRM. All that being said I am a Type 2 Diabetic so my meal frequency is based on that, so I have 3 Main Meals and 3 Snacks a day like I said you have to do what works best for you.... Best of Luck...
  • mcedes02
    mcedes02 Posts: 56 Member
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    Honestly...it depends on my day! I tend to try to have about 4 hours between meals and have 3 meals a day. I occasionally have a very light snack (fruit or crackers or rice cake type snacks) between lunch and dinner. Depending on how early we do dinner I might have light snack before bed. I've had a lot of success w/keeping my NET between 1200-1400 and keeping my sodium 2200 or below. Portion control and food choices are where I feel is the 'secret' to eating is! Good luck!

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