How many times a day do you eat?
Replies
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There's no hard and fast rules about meal timing, other than what works for you and what's convenient for you. There's a lot of people out there that say you MUST eat x times a day, or whatever.... but that's not strictly true.
six small meals a day works well for many people, because it stops them from feeling hungry and wanting to have unplanned snacks, and makes sticking to their eating plan easier.
other people find eating just 2 meals a day suits them better, maybe because of work hours, maybe because they have no appetite in the morning, or whatever.
Meal timing isn't important if you're hitting your calorie and macro targets, and are not suffering from ill effects due to the timing of your meals (no point going hungry half the day because some health guru says breakfast makes you fat.... and no point forcing yourself to eat early in the morning if you're not hungry because some other health guru says not eating breakfast makes you go into "starvation mode"). Your meal timings need to be convenient for you, so you can stick with your eating plan in the long term.
I'm a breakfast and eat regularly through the day person. Going long periods without food does not suit me AT ALL. So I eat 4-7 times a day. But not everyone is like me in this respect... so go with what works for you.0 -
How hard was my workout? Do you count my fruit smoothies as a meal? average day, 3 meals and a snack, hard core days 4 meals 2 snacks0
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six small meals a day works well for many people, because it stops them from feeling hungry and wanting to have unplanned snacks, and makes sticking to their eating plan easier.
True and it's also easier to stay within your daily calorie limit.0 -
I believe as long as you stay in your cal limits and you are eating nutritious foods it doesn't matter when you eat, how much you eat at one time or how often you eat. find what works for you. I'm diabetic so I have to eat often. I personally eat about 6 times a day. Breakfast at 5am is usually toast and cheese with my coffee since I eat while driving to the gym. If I'm hungry I'll eat again about 8, a banana lately. Around 9:30 or 10 I eat an apple and cheese. Around 1 I eat a half sandwich, salad or leftovers approx 400 cals. About 3 I eat an ounce of nuts. About 6 or 7 I eat 4-6 oz of fish or chicken, sometimes beef along with a huge pile of veggies and sometimes a small serving of carbs. About 8 I may eat a snack of cheese and wasa crackers, popcorn, or a couple squares of dark chocolate.0
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Usually 5. 3 main meals and 2 snacks.
Breakfast
Snack
Lunch
Snack
Dinner
Sometimes another snack.0 -
Work days I have 3 meals and 2 snacks, if I have some calories left and feel a bit peckish then I'll have another snack late evening, weekends eating is a bit more random0
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And it doesn't matter what you eat and when over a 24 hour period.
At work we get 2 x 15 min breaks, and 30 min lunch. Thankfully, because before in my old job I used to eat cereal or protein bars in the toilets lol.0 -
And it doesn't matter what you eat and when over a 24 hour period.
That depends on your goals0 -
Usually 5. 3 main meals and 2 snacks.
Breakfast
Snack
Lunch
Snack
Dinner
Sometimes another snack.
Likewise. Sometimes the snack between lunch and dinner gets skipped because of time constraints at work, but always at least 4 meals a day.0 -
six small meals a day works well for many people, because it stops them from feeling hungry and wanting to have unplanned snacks, and makes sticking to their eating plan easier.
True and it's also easier to stay within your daily calorie limit.
Really? Hmm...if I eat a breakfast (say someone at work brings in bagels, or I go out with my family for a weekend breakfast), I'm ravenous all day. I can easily go over my calories by 1000cal or more (and I eat 3000cal or more a day as it is) and still feel hungry at bedtime.
However, if I don't eat until the afternoon, I feel comfortable all day, and get to eat a couple of VERY satisfying meals after work when I can enjoy them.
The point here is that meal timing is irrelevant for weight loss (many studies are beginning to recommend short term...i.e. around 24hrs...fasting for improving virtially every measurable health marker, by the way). Your body isn't drained of ANYTHING after you sleep. Most often THERE IS STILL FOOD IN YOUR STOMACH. How the hell will you be drained of nutrients if you're still digesting dinner?
Seriously people, think this stuff through.
Oh, and for the record...hunger...for the majority in todays 1st world society, is a matter of boredom and habit...and not much else.0 -
I eat when I'm hungry. Sometimes twice, sometimes 6 times. I always eat all my calories though :-) as others have said... Meal timing is irrelevant as long as you hit your goals. Some people have trouble eating large meals so they graze all day, some people (like me) love a huge, filling meal. I eat a 1000 calorie dinner on the reg.0
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I eat when I'm hungry. Sometimes twice, sometimes 6 times. I always eat all my calories though :-) as others have said... Meal timing is irrelevant as long as you hit your goals. Some people have trouble eating large meals so they graze all day, some people (like me) love a huge, filling meal. I eat a 1000 calorie dinner on the reg.
I just had my 1300cal breakfast 10 minutes ago
. 0 -
six small meals a day works well for many people, because it stops them from feeling hungry and wanting to have unplanned snacks, and makes sticking to their eating plan easier.
True and it's also easier to stay within your daily calorie limit.
Really? Hmm...if I eat a breakfast (say someone at work brings in bagels, or I go out with my family for a weekend breakfast), I'm ravenous all day. I can easily go over my calories by 1000cal or more (and I eat 3000cal or more a day as it is) and still feel hungry at bedtime.
However, if I don't eat until the afternoon, I feel comfortable all day, and get to eat a couple of VERY satisfying meals after work when I can enjoy them.
The point here is that meal timing is irrelevant for weight loss (many studies are beginning to recommend short term...i.e. around 24hrs...fasting for improving virtially every measurable health marker, by the way). Your body isn't drained of ANYTHING after you sleep. Most often THERE IS STILL FOOD IN YOUR STOMACH. How the hell will you be drained of nutrients if you're still digesting dinner?
Seriously people, think this stuff through.
Oh, and for the record...hunger...for the majority in todays 1st world society, is a matter of boredom and habit...and not much else.
Ditto. Every single word.0 -
I usually eat 5-6 times a day. Little and often works better for me. I don't think it matters though. Everyone is different so just do what works for you0
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Most of the time I eat 3 meals and 3 snacks.0
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Five times/day, on average, with no real pattern to my meals. I like to have one substantial meal, and the rest are often small or snacky.0
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ThisI eat 5-6 meals a day usually spanned out to 2-3 hrs from each other. I don't eat past 6 PM unless it is completely needed.... like I'm super low on cals or I am to hungry to not eat til the AM.0 -
3 times a day.0
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six small meals a day works well for many people, because it stops them from feeling hungry and wanting to have unplanned snacks, and makes sticking to their eating plan easier.
True and it's also easier to stay within your daily calorie limit.
Really? Hmm...if I eat a breakfast (say someone at work brings in bagels, or I go out with my family for a weekend breakfast), I'm ravenous all day. I can easily go over my calories by 1000cal or more (and I eat 3000cal or more a day as it is) and still feel hungry at bedtime.
However, if I don't eat until the afternoon, I feel comfortable all day, and get to eat a couple of VERY satisfying meals after work when I can enjoy them.
The point here is that meal timing is irrelevant for weight loss (many studies are beginning to recommend short term...i.e. around 24hrs...fasting for improving virtially every measurable health marker, by the way). Your body isn't drained of ANYTHING after you sleep. Most often THERE IS STILL FOOD IN YOUR STOMACH. How the hell will you be drained of nutrients if you're still digesting dinner?
Seriously people, think this stuff through.
Oh, and for the record...hunger...for the majority in todays 1st world society, is a matter of boredom and habit...and not much else.
Yes really - don't forget everybody is different and what works for some might not work for others. Spreading calories over more meals works perfectly for me. If I ate 500 calories for breakfast, morning snack and lunch - that's already 1500 and I'm only half way through with only 500 left to keep me going for the rest of a day (my limit is 2000). If I spread it over let's say 6 x 330cals then even if I don't skip a meal I know I have lots left so don't have to worry that will exceed the limit - works perfectly for me.
Yes, the body will be drained of nutrients (I didn't say all but various
) and this also depends what and when you ate your last meal before going to bed. Where is my body going to get proteins from if I didn't eat any a day before ? 0 -
I eat breakfast every day, no matter what. I also have lunch every day.
As for snacks, I have one in the morning and usually one in the afternoon.
There are some days, usually in winter when I'm not burning extra sneaky calories by yardwork etc. when I'm not hungry for dinner. This doesn't happen often. I plan for dinner daily, too.
TL; DR: 3 meals, 2 snacks.0 -
3 with an evening snack.
I've done the 6 small meals a day eating every 2 hours or so and after my body adjusted I was hungry all the time. It was really annoying. I had to bring snacks with me when I went places or I had to plan my trips around food.0 -
I feel that my day has not began if I don't eat breakfast. So I eat around 8 am and sometimes not again until 4 pm . I have. A snack then, and dinner around 6. Maybe a snack before bed. It is not ideal or I would not need to loose weight. I hope this sight will help me be accountable. 0
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I eat mostly once a day, sometimes twice, occasionally 3 times a day0
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3 - 50
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3 meals (usually 200-400 calorie range per) and anywhere from 3-5 snack types in between. I love eating. 0
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I do three meals, two snacks and a small dessert – unless my breakfast is especially filling (which I always eat within 30 minutes of getting up and after at least 8 oz of water), in which case I won't force-feed myself a morning snack, I will just reallocate those calories to a later meal. My snacks usually hover around 100-150 calories (carrots and hummus, cottage cheese and fruit, yogurt). My meals are between 300-400 calories and my dessert is right around 100 calories. I aim for around 1300 calories a day. Everything is so spread out I really don't get hungry until just before it's time for my next meal or snack.0
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I eat 2x a day...In the morning I drink a special K Protein shake. In The evening I between lunch and dinner I eat big and that's it for the day!!! Also for snack I may eat some sort of fruit. I am always under My calorie intake. I also workout at the gym 5x per week.0
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I typically eat 4-5 meals a day. This is what I aim for ideally:
Meal 1: carb with a little protein. Usually fruit with oatmeal.
Meal 2: carb & protein. Usually Greek yogurt with fruit or apple or banana with peanut butter.
Meal 3: Lunch. I try to have protein with greens.
Meal 4: Light snack. Lara bar, nuts, apple, or smoothie.
Meal 5: Dinner. Protein with greens.0 -
Currently 3 meals as I am dieting and prefer bigger meals to keep me full. When I'm not dieting I like to add a snack or two!0
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six small meals a day works well for many people, because it stops them from feeling hungry and wanting to have unplanned snacks, and makes sticking to their eating plan easier.
True and it's also easier to stay within your daily calorie limit.
Really? Hmm...if I eat a breakfast (say someone at work brings in bagels, or I go out with my family for a weekend breakfast), I'm ravenous all day. I can easily go over my calories by 1000cal or more (and I eat 3000cal or more a day as it is) and still feel hungry at bedtime.
However, if I don't eat until the afternoon, I feel comfortable all day, and get to eat a couple of VERY satisfying meals after work when I can enjoy them.
The point here is that meal timing is irrelevant for weight loss (many studies are beginning to recommend short term...i.e. around 24hrs...fasting for improving virtially every measurable health marker, by the way). Your body isn't drained of ANYTHING after you sleep. Most often THERE IS STILL FOOD IN YOUR STOMACH. How the hell will you be drained of nutrients if you're still digesting dinner?
Seriously people, think this stuff through.
Oh, and for the record...hunger...for the majority in todays 1st world society, is a matter of boredom and habit...and not much else.
Yes really - don't forget everybody is different and what works for some might not work for others. Spreading calories over more meals works perfectly for me. If I ate 500 calories for breakfast, morning snack and lunch - that's already 1500 and I'm only half way through with only 500 left to keep me going for the rest of a day (my limit is 2000). If I spread it over let's say 6 x 330cals then even if I don't skip a meal I know I have lots left so don't have to worry that will exceed the limit - works perfectly for me.
Yes, the body will be drained of nutrients (I didn't say all but various) and this also depends what and when you ate your last meal before going to bed. Where is my body going to get proteins from if I didn't eat any a day before ?
Thanks, your statement in bold just perfectly proved my point. Everybody IS different, and the meal timing has nothing to do with it. Your initial statements certainly didn't imply that any other way than your own could be effective.
And as for being drained of nutrients...that wouldn't be the fault of meal timing either (even if it WERE true...I regularly go 24hrs and more without food, and my body certainly isn't chewing its muscles to get protein lol). It would be the fault of the person eating..apparently, only carbs and fats for dinner lol.
Basically my friend, and I mean this with no disrespect...your information was inaccurate, and misleading. If any of it were in any way true, I would be a no muscle, high body fat wreck.0
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