5-6 meals / day. - anyone have success with doing this?

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wdwgirl3
wdwgirl3 Posts: 36 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi there.
this week I changed the settings in my food diary to 6 meals / day.thought I would give it a try and see how it works out. I have a 1800 cal limit. I am hearing / reading such conflicting information on how to do this, how many hours in between eating, cal limit per meal., how it affects blood sugar.... It's Just a little confusing. I work out 3 times a week with my trainer and 1 to 2 days on my own . Lift weights, and cardio. Anyone currently trying this method and working, not working?? Any suggestions./tips would be great! Thanks :)
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Replies

  • BurtHuttz
    BurtHuttz Posts: 3,653 Member
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    My diary is not set to reflect 5 to 6 meals a day, however I do eat about that frequently and log the in-betweens as snacks. 1800 sounds like a very healthy limit.

    But really, the reason I eat five or six times a day is because that is how frequently I get hungry. Satisfying hunger keeps me from getting TOO hungry and then overeating.

    Don't worry too much about hours between eating and calorie limits per meal, etc. Your body is your body and generic rules will only be so helpful. A little bit of trial and error over the course of a month or two should help you get into a routine you're comfortable with, and as long as you're at your daily target cals or below, you should see results.
  • glubben
    glubben Posts: 45 Member
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    I eat 6 times a day. I would call them all meals. 3 meals and 3 snacks. I try to eat every 2-3 hours to keep my metabolism going. it could be somthing a simple as an orange for a snack. The hardest part is remebering to eat when you get busy.
  • nexangelus
    nexangelus Posts: 2,080 Member
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    I prefer eating smaller and more frequently, it suits me perfectly and helps stop hunger pangs : )
  • jbdowns35
    jbdowns35 Posts: 352
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    This is the only way I've ever been able to shed weight & get healthier. It just does the trick for me. I suggest you read Chris Powell's book - Chose to Loose. I recently started his plan which involves eating 5 times a day. You alternate High Carb days & Low Carb days & have one 'free day' each week. I'm really enjoying it. But even if you decide not to follow the plan, I still recommend reading his book. It has helped in my understanding of how our bodies work - how our metabolisms function in relation to how much we eat, what we eat & how often.
  • cprough
    cprough Posts: 40
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    I do not eat 5 or 6 MEALS a day..... but I am a sncaker. I eat 3 meals (2 lite meals and 1 good one) but I have my snacks in between. I try to make the snacks healthy, like fruit, cheese or yogert. So, I guess it works out to about the same thing as 5 or 6 small meals a day.
  • cprough
    cprough Posts: 40
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    good idea. I wm going to read the book. Need all of the motovation that I can get.
  • RangerJess
    RangerJess Posts: 32
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    I would love to have 5-6 meals a day. Unfortunately I work with the public and we have a very strict "no eating in front of people" rule at work so I'm stuck with the 3 meals. I do snack a lot - probably more than I should!
  • jessicamc90
    jessicamc90 Posts: 16 Member
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    Yes I am the same I have 3 meals and try to snack healthy in between such as fruit :)
  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member
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    Broscience_Meal_Frequency_Diet_The_Rock_www_leangains_com_zpsb6d5d99a.jpg
  • miracole
    miracole Posts: 492 Member
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    my food diary is set up this way. I eat approximately 2000-2200 calories a day and average a 700 cal burn from exercise every day, so my MFP limit is set at 1500 cals.

    This is my third week with this setup so far, I've dropped 4 lbs in the first 2 weeks and have been feeling a lot better in general, much more energy for my marathon training. Feel free to add me if you want to take a look at my food habits.
  • mizzie1980
    mizzie1980 Posts: 379 Member
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    I wouldn't say that I eat 5 meals a day. I eat the typical 3, but I do have at least 2 snacks daily, so it's really the same thing. The idea is that you 1) keep your metabolism going and 2) don't get as hungry so you don't have the urge to overeat when you do eat. It's really this second reason that I do it. If I don't eat anything between breakfast and lunch, I tend to eat the rest of my calories at lunch which puts me over after dinner.

    The key to remember is that the 5 or 6 "meals" just means you eat 5 or 6 times. It DOESN'T mean 5 or 6 500 calorie meals. So long as you stay within your calories goals, it doesn't really matter one way or the other how often you eat it. Do what works for you.
  • SALSACHICA1
    SALSACHICA1 Posts: 66 Member
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    A long time ago I did the 6 meals a day and lost 10lbs in 2 weeks. I would say it works as long as you are eating GOOD food at each meal. I currently am good to get 3 in me due to time but I try to do my snacks when I can. How do you change it to be 6 meals on MFP?
  • jeanine89
    jeanine89 Posts: 95 Member
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    When I first started I did the whole 5 meals a day for about a year. But as you go on for a long time on a diet you will then not have so many food cravings thru-out the day. I still have days when I eat snacks SMALL snacks. I have been dieting for a long time now its been a slow yet steady journey. Lots of stoping and starting back on the diet. It does work to eat like this but it's also sometimes hard to get that many times to eat during the day. GL
    SW 286
    CW 193
  • stonel94
    stonel94 Posts: 550 Member
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    I have my food diary as breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, post workout, and desert. So I have breakfast (yogurt or oatmeal usually), lunch (some form of protein), and then I have snacks, and I have a protein shake post workout, and then I have dinner, and I have some kind of dessert (chocolate, ice cream, fruit, whatever I want as long as it fits macros and calories). So I do eat pretty often, but not like meals, like I might have breakfast, lunch, then some almonds and fruit, then workout, and then have my shake, and then have some veggies and dip or popcorn or a yogurt or something, and then have dinner, and then a while after dinner have my dessert. This way I'm not getting hungry all the time and I'm not wanting to snack more or eat more at meals. But lately I've been busy and with friends, and it was my birthday, so I did more like the 2 or 3 bigger meals, and that was fine for me too. But I think eating more frequently, whether it really does help speed up your metabolism, is important because then you won't get really hungry and overeat. What I do is try to know what Im having for my meals, like at school I look at the menu for the day and choose stuff, and at home I find out what the options are for lunch and what is for dinner, and I add all that stuff in, and see what I need more of, and then design my snacks around that. If I need fat and or protein I have nuts, if I need carbs popcorn, if I need protein but no fat, nonfat yogurt. Stuff like this.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Eat as many or few meals a day as you like based on adherence, energy levels and gym performance. From a direct weight loss perspective, intra-day meal timing is irrelevent.
  • wdwgirl3
    wdwgirl3 Posts: 36 Member
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    This is the only way I've ever been able to shed weight & get healthier. It just does the trick for me. I suggest you read Chris Powell's book - Chose to Loose. I recently started his plan which involves eating 5 times a day. You alternate High Carb days & Low Carb days & have one 'free day' each week. I'm really enjoying it. But even if you decide not to follow the plan, I still recommend reading his book. It has helped in my understanding of how our bodies work - how our metabolisms function in relation to how much we eat, what we eat & how often.


    Thanks for the tip ... I will for sure check t his book :)
  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member
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    Eating several small meals to keep your metabolism going is a long ago debunked myth. Meal timing and frequency is irrelavent. Hit your macros and calories for the day every day in whatever manner you like.
  • wdwgirl3
    wdwgirl3 Posts: 36 Member
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    my food diary is set up this way. I eat approximately 2000-2200 calories a day and average a 700 cal burn from exercise every day, so my MFP limit is set at 1500 cals.

    This is my third week with this setup so far, I've dropped 4 lbs in the first 2 weeks and have been feeling a lot better in general, much more energy for my marathon training. Feel free to add me if you want to take a look at my food habits.

    Thank you! I will :)
  • thecanface
    thecanface Posts: 1,180 Member
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    I eat like this.. of course they're small meals and i make sure i'm within calories, but i prefer eating all day when i feel hungry, than eating a few times and thinking about food even when i'm not hungry.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    Eat as many or few meals a day as you like based on adherence, energy levels and gym performance. From a direct weight loss perspective, intra-day meal timing is irrelevent.

    this

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