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little meals or big meals? help please

stephyj528
stephyj528 Posts: 93 Member
edited February 7 in Health and Weight Loss
ok. i have a lot of battles going on in my head. i get bored counting cals but ik it works this site helped me lose 20lbs 4yrs ago ik it can help again. before i did 1200 cals and lost 20lbs in 2 months tons of exercising i was desperate to get it off. this time around im dreading it bc it was hell and i dont want it as bad. since although ive put on my weight again i have gained healthier emotional habits like slow and steady wins the race (1540 cals 1lb a week). i also want to say i wish the community part was on the MFP ap on my phone. i love these forums its helps with motivation and struggles.

to get to my point do you focus more on calories to lose weight vs eating healthy? im trying a mixture but sometimes eating veggies and protein doesnt cut it. what helps you in these times? how do you contain yourself at night? i do amazing during the day then at night its snack time every hour. im changing my bad habits but sometimes i want cheetos or little debbie. and sometimes half of one just pisses me off. i deprive and then pay for it later. this being said i do crave green beans and broccoli somtimes too.. anyways....

my most important question is do you eat lots of little meals? if so can i have an example of times you eat and what you eat? i fear doing this (ive tried it a couple times before) im not always full or satisfied. however when i eat 2 big meals of 600 or 700 cals i feel im not changing my eating habits like portion control, etc......

Replies

  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
    You can eat one big meal a day and devour all your calories. You can eat 6 meals a day and divide them up as you wish. You can graze all day long - as long as you stay within your calorie range.

    There are many schools of thought on what your calories should be comprised of, but actually I eat a variety of foods. I do not avoid any particular foods. I work on meeting my calories to fuel my work outs. I work to meet my macros to feed my nutritional needs.

    Maybe you are dreading this because you were so restrictive and used exercise as a punishment for eating last go round? Just a guess - but that's what I did my whole life until the last 19 months. You don't have a lot to lose, so go slow. Eat meals that meet your needs.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Totally up to you.
  • teamAmelia
    teamAmelia Posts: 1,247 Member
    When I'm at home, I eat small meals (every 3-4 hrs) and that worked. That's better than just eating 3 meals a day and going many more hours still craving food. I started losing more weight. But, it could be just bc I was exercising more, too and was cooking my own foods and counting more carefully. At work, I eat 3 times a day: A few hrs before work, mid-way through my shift, and then after work. I'd say eat as many small meals as you can if you are the type to crave food, even after you've finished eating.
  • pinkiemarie252
    pinkiemarie252 Posts: 222 Member
    Ugh I was totally responding and my cat stepped on the keyboard and wiped it out :( So to sum up, I feel really gross if I eat very much early in the day and after years and years of eating most or all of my calories at night, I'm psychologically wired to eat that way. It's no big deal though. Just find healthy and low calorie foods that you actually like and you can sit and eat for hours. One example, I like baby carrots with a little hummus. Another example is air popping popcorn in this microwave bowl that I have. Then spray on a little cooking spray to make some popcorn salt stick. You get to sit there and eat handfuls of food for very few calories.
  • pinkiemarie252
    pinkiemarie252 Posts: 222 Member
    When I'm at home, I eat small meals (every 3-4 hrs) and that worked. That's better than just eating 3 meals a day and going many more hours still craving food. I started losing more weight. But, it could be just bc I was exercising more, too and was cooking my own foods and counting more carefully. At work, I eat 3 times a day: A few hrs before work, mid-way through my shift, and then after work. I'd say eat as many small meals as you can if you are the type to crave food, even after you've finished eating.

    Also, yes, this. To both the cooking your own food (I try for at least 5 days a week) and to exercising more. The more you exercise the more you get to eat.
  • JimiB73
    JimiB73 Posts: 34
    To each his own....you can have one huge meal or 8 small meals. At the end of the day, you'll lose weight if you are in a calorie deficit. Do whatever makes you feel best.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    You can eat one big meal a day and devour all your calories. You can eat 6 meals a day and divide them up as you wish. You can graze all day long - as long as you stay within your calorie range.

    There are many schools of thought on what your calories should be comprised of, but actually I eat a variety of foods. I do not avoid any particular foods. I work on meeting my calories to fuel my work outs. I work to meet my macros to feed my nutritional needs.

    Maybe you are dreading this because you were so restrictive and used exercise as a punishment for eating last go round? Just a guess - but that's what I did my whole life until the last 19 months. You don't have a lot to lose, so go slow. Eat meals that meet your needs.

    FTW!
  • stephyj528
    stephyj528 Posts: 93 Member
    thanks! i LOVE hummus and carrots and i forget about popcorn..i used to do some in a paper bag with olive oil. i like your idea better tho!
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    When I eat depends on my day.

    For example, today I wanted a wonderful burrito for lunch, which has more calories than I usually eat in a meal, so I had breakfast, morning snack, late lunch, no afternoon snack and then will have tilapia and green salad for dinner. If I have any calories left over, I might have a small desert.

    On the weekends, I generally have three meals a day and maybe one snack.

    During the week, I will generally have six small meals a day (not this week, though, on vacation), and three of those meals are eaten at work-morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack.
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
    For the vast majority of the population, meal timing makes no difference in weight management. Unless you have a blood sugar-related health problem or (possibly) are a high-level athlete, it shouldn't impact your success in any way, provided you're honest about the calories expended and eaten.

    That said, if you're the sort who likes to 'graze,' then trying to eat one (or more) large meal(s) is probably a bad idea. Similarly, if you're the sort who prefers to chow down on a big pile of food at a time, it's probably not in your best interest to combine that with snacking. In both cases, this mix of incompatible strategies seems likely to cause you to exceed your goals.
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