Largest meal?!

xDeannaGarciax
xDeannaGarciax Posts: 675
edited September 21 in Food and Nutrition
So I've heard conflicting advice from day 1 and I am curious what my fellow MFP'ers have to say!

* If you are eating 5 small meals a day, which one, if any should be the largest of the day?

Thank you ahead of time!! :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • baggins706
    baggins706 Posts: 310
    Breakfast, you have more time during the day to burn that off. Dinner should be the lightest.
  • smuehlbauer
    smuehlbauer Posts: 1,041 Member
    Breakfast, you have more time during the day to burn that off. Dinner should be the lightest.

    I've heard the same, but it is hard when you have been raised to do the opposite!
    Had to make the switch!
  • wolverinefactor
    wolverinefactor Posts: 38
    My breakfast is the most amount of food usually. And most nights I aim for a salad and some sort of meat.
  • waguchan
    waguchan Posts: 450 Member
    I try to spread the calories more evening throughout the day. I eat 6 times per day: 3 "meals" and 3 "snacks". I try to eat equal number of calories during each meal, and the same for each snack. Actually, my snacks are usually close to the same calories as my meals too. But sometimes, if I go out to dinner or something, a meal might have an extra hundred calories. It helps me fell less hungry throughout the day.

    Also, my dietitian told me that your metabolism is sort of like the I Love Lucy show where she works in a chocolate factory. When the conveyor belt was getting a slow and steady stream of chocolates, Lucy was able to work just fine. But when the conveyor belt was going too fast, too much chocolate was being dispensed at once, then Lucy couldn't handle all of it and she had to find a place to hide all the extra chocolates coming down the line that she didn't have time to box up. So just like that conveyor belt, our metabolism prefers to be fed at steady intervals throughout the day. It can't use the extra calories from a large meal and stores those as fat.
  • JMMills
    JMMills Posts: 2
    I keep them all the same in calories. Around 300. This keeps my metabolism burning all day long, and keeps me satisfied after every meal. Eating a larger meal makes feel more hungry following smaller meals/snacks, etc. Give it a try and see what you think.
  • xDeannaGarciax
    xDeannaGarciax Posts: 675
    I try to spread the calories more evening throughout the day. I eat 6 times per day: 3 "meals" and 3 "snacks". I try to eat equal number of calories during each meal, and the same for each snack. Actually, my snacks are usually close to the same calories as my meals too. But sometimes, if I go out to dinner or something, a meal might have an extra hundred calories. It helps me fell less hungry throughout the day.

    Also, my dietitian told me that your metabolism is sort of like the I Love Lucy show where she works in a chocolate factory. When the conveyor belt was getting a slow and steady stream of chocolates, Lucy was able to work just fine. But when the conveyor belt was going too fast, too much chocolate was being dispensed at once, then Lucy couldn't handle all of it and she had to find a place to hide all the extra chocolates coming down the line that she didn't have time to box up. So just like that conveyor belt, our metabolism prefers to be fed at steady intervals throughout the day. It can't use the extra calories from a large meal and stores those as fat.

    HAHA! I LOOOOOVE LUCY! Great thinking!!
  • xDeannaGarciax
    xDeannaGarciax Posts: 675
    I've heard breakfast the most out of them all. Although what waguchan said makes lot's of sense to me. THANK YOU ALL FOR THE GREAT ADVICE!!!:bigsmile:
  • xDeannaGarciax
    xDeannaGarciax Posts: 675
    I keep them all the same in calories. Around 300. This keeps my metabolism burning all day long, and keeps me satisfied after every meal. Eating a larger meal makes feel more hungry following smaller meals/snacks, etc. Give it a try and see what you think.

    Thank you so much! I most defenitly will!
  • xDeannaGarciax
    xDeannaGarciax Posts: 675
    I keep them all the same in calories. Around 300. This keeps my metabolism burning all day long, and keeps me satisfied after every meal. Eating a larger meal makes feel more hungry following smaller meals/snacks, etc. Give it a try and see what you think.

    Thank you so much! I most defenitly will!
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    It does not matter. As long as your calories are what they need to be at the end of the day, you can eat one meal. Most people can't do that though. But whatever works for you.
  • rcatr
    rcatr Posts: 374 Member
    Breakfast and Lunch are my largest (if you can call it that :laugh: ) and it tapers off after that
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    Lunch and dinner have been my biggest lately but I'm trying to get back into Breakfast being my biggest because it really helps me from snacking and being hungry at night.
  • david1956
    david1956 Posts: 190 Member
    So many theories, but the one that makes most sense to me is 5-6 small ones, and the protein/carb balance reasonably consistent over all of them. Some people also believe the post-workout one is the meal that can be say twice the size of the others.

    On the other hand very lean and fit trainers I know subscribe to the "big breakfast and progressively smaller meals" idea. There is something I don't like about that idea, especially if you have any hint of diabetes which is true of a very big slice of the population as they hit say their fifties. It means you have a big glycemic load early in the day, then a low one later. I just don't think that's a good idea, all of the advice I've got is to try to maintain an even (and not high) glycemic load throught the day. Like the "I Love Lucy" post up there, consistency maintains a consistent metabolic rate and a consistent glucose level. The trainers who seem to get great results from the big breakfast idea all seem to be young, very lean and with presumably high metabolic rates. I wouldn't do it, just my own body-type.
  • LotusF1ower
    LotusF1ower Posts: 1,259 Member
    There is no way I would have the time to eat more than three times in the day, I would end up rushing the food down or walking around chomping away :laugh:
  • imagymrat
    imagymrat Posts: 862 Member
    I get the best results from taking in at least 500-600 calorie breakfasts, then my next 4 meals are tppered off, I don't eat carbs, such as bread/pasta after 3-4p.m only protein foods after that, like other posters, this works for me, and my body. I have an extremely fast metabolism. Gotta find your groove! but if anything eat a minimum of 4 times a day.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    I don't know what is proper, but generally lunch or dinner are my biggest meals. Many times its lunch. Breakfast is still rather small for me.
  • aujourdhui
    aujourdhui Posts: 16
    yep, def. breakfast. And my trainer suggested having something light in the evening if you have to eat to keep the metabolism running smooth through the night. But only something like an egg- no carbs, just protein, since all you're doing is sleeping. I think what he also meant was watching what you eat in the evening period; like don't eat a big supper because all you're doing is relaxing and then going to sleep.
  • aujourdhui
    aujourdhui Posts: 16
    Uggh! So true, " you won't eat it if you don't buy it!" Why did I think that I could just have a taste of that Ben and Jerry's? I didn't eat the whole thing, but I def. had more than my plan of just having a few tablespoons!
    Anyhow, wise words to live by!
  • aujourdhui
    aujourdhui Posts: 16
    I liked your response. It makes a lot of sense to me that any extra calories would turn into fat if the body isn't using them. What about how to eat when you are doing a hardcore workout? Is there a certain way to eat around that? I guess, I never know if or what I should eat before the workout and what to eat/ how to eat after the workout. Does it matter if you eat a meal afterwards if your workout is in the afternoon, or should you just eat lighter after you finish working out? Am I just overthinking it?
  • vanessaxlynne
    vanessaxlynne Posts: 67
    I try to spread the calories more evening throughout the day. I eat 6 times per day: 3 "meals" and 3 "snacks". I try to eat equal number of calories during each meal, and the same for each snack. Actually, my snacks are usually close to the same calories as my meals too. But sometimes, if I go out to dinner or something, a meal might have an extra hundred calories. It helps me fell less hungry throughout the day.

    Also, my dietitian told me that your metabolism is sort of like the I Love Lucy show where she works in a chocolate factory. When the conveyor belt was getting a slow and steady stream of chocolates, Lucy was able to work just fine. But when the conveyor belt was going too fast, too much chocolate was being dispensed at once, then Lucy couldn't handle all of it and she had to find a place to hide all the extra chocolates coming down the line that she didn't have time to box up. So just like that conveyor belt, our metabolism prefers to be fed at steady intervals throughout the day. It can't use the extra calories from a large meal and stores those as fat.

    HAHA! I LOOOOOVE LUCY! Great thinking!!



    Thats so funny, I remember that show and that episode
  • Becka77
    Becka77 Posts: 284 Member
    I try to keep them the same at around 300cal each with light snacks in between. Although, I tend to be hungriest after I workout, and during the week I workout right after work so I usually wind up adding in some extra calories at dinner.

    You should listen to your body and do whatever feels right for you. I used to never eat breakfast, other than drink coffee, and usually have a diet coke for lunch and then by 5:00 I would be starving to death and wind up overeating because I couldn't get rid of that "starving" feeling.

    When I first started my lifestyle change my first step was to force myself to eat breakfast and lunch and that alone has helped a lot. If I start to feel hungry in between meals I have a light snack to tide me over. I don't have a problem overeating now, because I don't let myself get to the point that I feel like I'm starving.
  • Becka77
    Becka77 Posts: 284 Member
    I liked your response. It makes a lot of sense to me that any extra calories would turn into fat if the body isn't using them. What about how to eat when you are doing a hardcore workout? Is there a certain way to eat around that? I guess, I never know if or what I should eat before the workout and what to eat/ how to eat after the workout. Does it matter if you eat a meal afterwards if your workout is in the afternoon, or should you just eat lighter after you finish working out? Am I just overthinking it?

    I personally can't workout on a full stomach because it makes me feel heavy and sluggish, especially if it is intense cardio, but I also can't workout on an empty stomach or I get nauseous so I usually just have something light beforehand, like a piece of string cheese and then I eat afterwards. I am always the hungriest right after I workout. According to what I've read, you should have some sort of carb and protein within 30 minutes of working out to aid in recovery.
  • Stewie316
    Stewie316 Posts: 266 Member
    Dinner is my biggest meal and breakfast is my smallest. I tried having breakfast be my biggest meal in the past, but I would end of eating more by the end of the day. I find what works best for me is to save half of my calories for dinner. At breakfast, I'm not that hungry and am fine with a cup of coffee or tea and something that's less than 200 calories.
  • godblessourhome
    godblessourhome Posts: 3,892 Member
    Dinner is my biggest meal and breakfast is my smallest. I tried having breakfast be my biggest meal in the past, but I would end of eating more by the end of the day. I find what works best for me is to save half of my calories for dinner. At breakfast, I'm not that hungry and am fine with a cup of coffee or tea and something that's less than 200 calories.

    same here. :)
  • lilmissy2
    lilmissy2 Posts: 595 Member
    I agree that it doesn't matter as long as you are eating regularly. I can kind of see the logic in 'eat smallest for dinner because you only have sleep to burn it off' but that's not really the way it works. If you don't take in enough energy earlier in the day (and remember we are aiming for a deficit afterall) then your body will start to burn fat, when you eat your dinner it will go back to burning food until the energy from that food is gone. If you eat more at the beginning of the day and less at the end then your body will burn mostly food during the day and use fat overnight. So it doesn't really make any difference whether that time where you are not burning food is during the day or overnight, as long as your overall calorie deficit for the day is right.
  • mamagooskie
    mamagooskie Posts: 2,964 Member
    Lunch is usually my biggest meal. I used to hoard all my calories for night, but that didn't work for me, so I changed things up and this works better.

    My lunch and dinner are quite often similar in calories with low cal snacks mixed in as needed.
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