Is it okay to not eat 3 meals a day???

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Cyan99
Cyan99 Posts: 84 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey, I don't normally eat three full meals a day. Most of the time I'll eat one or two and maybe a couple of snacks, but I VERY rarely eat three full sized meals, either because I'm busy, or just not feeling hungry.

I've been doing this for pretty much my entire teenage life and I don't consider myself healthy, I'm a petite person but I'm not unnaturally skinny... My weight fluctuates between 105-110lbs but otherwise is pretty steady.
However, when I filled out all the stuff on here and started putting in meals it's telling my that I'm eating WAY under the amount of calories I need - I've never intentionally dieted or ate less to lose weight, I've always thought I ate a healthy amount...

Should I be making an effort to eat more? Is the way I eat unhealthy? Or is it okay for me to carry on as I am, and it's just due a natural difference in the amount of calories each person needs... Btw, I'm 18 and I exercise regularly but not in extreme amounts.

:smile:

Replies

  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    The number of meals you eat doesn't matter. The number of calories you eat does. If you aren't eating enough calories you need to eat more, whether by eating more meals, or bigger meals is purely personal preference.
  • bacitracin
    bacitracin Posts: 921 Member
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    Calculate your basal metabolic rate (what your body uses every day even if you were in a coma). Calculate your total daily energy expenditure, which is your BMR and any activity at all. You'd have to eat that many calories to maintain your body.

    To actually become healthy, you might have to eat more, because you might need to start resistance training to build muscle and stave off osteoporosis, or you might want to do some cardio to get your body running more efficiently.

    We can't tell you if you're healthy or not. We can't tell you if what you're doing is okay or not, without medically examining you.

    Talk to your doctor. Get a referral to a registered dietitian (all dietitians are nutritionists, but not all nutritionists are dietitians.) Don't ask some random schmoes on the internet. :)
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
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    The number of meals you eat doesn't matter. The number of calories you eat does. If you aren't eating enough calories you need to eat more, whether by eating more meals, or bigger meals is purely personal preference.

    Pretty much this. If you are significantly undereating, then you definitely need to eat more. You don't necessarily need to eat more often, just more calories (either more food or more calorie dense food like nuts, full fat cheese, avocados and nut butters).
  • lisabinco
    lisabinco Posts: 1,016 Member
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    Personally, I think it's perfectly okay to not eat if you're aren't hungry. Your body knows what it needs when it needs it.
  • honkytonks85
    honkytonks85 Posts: 669 Member
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    Generally I skip breakfast and only eat lunch and dinner. It works for me. Do what works for you as long as you hit your macros/calorie goals.
  • CorlissaEats
    CorlissaEats Posts: 493 Member
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    Three is an arbitrary number. You can eat however many you want, however your body requires fuel so eating less than it requires is NOT healthy. Speaking as a chronic undereater who now has some lovely healthy issues relating to undereating-- please eat enough!!!!! I've never had an eating disorder, I didnt even realise it wasnt enough until I started logging things.

    I am almost never hungry. Hunger is not a cue to base eating on if you are an undereater! Figure out your TDEE or the number you require to maintain and then make choices to equal that number. For me that means I consume about 300 cals in nuts in the morning in order to get close to my goal by bed time. Please eat enough to fuel your body-- your gallbladder, heart and other internal organs will silently thank you.

    PS. I wasnt "fat" until my lifestyle/job changed about 5 yrs ago and what worked to keep me thin for the first 25+ yrs stoppped working.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Personally, I think it's perfectly okay to not eat if you're aren't hungry. Your body knows what it needs when it needs it.

    I would argue that hunger cues tend to be one of the least reliable ways to make sure you're eating enough. Our bodies tend to send out the hormones that control hunger partially out of habit, which is why so many obese people claim to be always hungry and many very underweight people claim to not feel hunger.

    Certainly hunger should be taken into account, but energy levels, concentration, mood, as well as physical cues like skin, hair, and nails all need to be considered as well.
  • Cyan99
    Cyan99 Posts: 84 Member
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    I'm about 5'3" and fairly active, plus regular cardio at the gym.... I've never considered myself unhealthy and it's not the meal timings or number of meals I'm so bothered about, it's that this site's telling my I'm not getting enough calories even though I don't feel hungry or tired or anything that would suggest I'm not eating enough :/
  • Cyan99
    Cyan99 Posts: 84 Member
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    Three is an arbitrary number. You can eat however many you want, however your body requires fuel so eating less than it requires is NOT healthy. Speaking as a chronic undereater who now has some lovely healthy issues relating to undereating-- please eat enough!!!!! I've never had an eating disorder, I didnt even realise it wasnt enough until I started logging things.

    I am almost never hungry. Hunger is not a cue to base eating on if you are an undereater! Figure out your TDEE or the number you require to maintain and then make choices to equal that number. For me that means I consume about 300 cals in nuts in the morning in order to get close to my goal by bed time. Please eat enough to fuel your body-- your gallbladder, heart and other internal organs will silently thank you.

    Thanks - that's really made me think. I'll probably start trying to eat more high-calorie/protein foods like nuts and stuff... I've never really considered the idea of having to eat MORE to be more healthy.
  • Cyan99
    Cyan99 Posts: 84 Member
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    Well...how many calories are you eating?

    Up until yesterday I haven't been paying any attention, but (from the last two days only) it seems to be around 800-1000 a day. I'm not really sure what's a normal amount but this site seems to think I need more than that....
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Personally, I think it's perfectly okay to not eat if you're aren't hungry. Your body knows what it needs when it needs it.
    This is actually very much false. Hunger is driven by hormonal response, and significant undereating blunts the hormonal response for hunger. This is why people that are starving, after a cvertain point, stop feeling hungry. It's also why if you eat at 2pm every day, you feel hungry at 2pm every day.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    I'm about 5'3" and fairly active, plus regular cardio at the gym.... I've never considered myself unhealthy and it's not the meal timings or number of meals I'm so bothered about, it's that this site's telling my I'm not getting enough calories even though I don't feel hungry or tired or anything that would suggest I'm not eating enough :/
    If you're 5'3 and 105 pounds, you are medically underweight. 110 is actually the bare minimum for a healthy weight for you height. Being underweight has just as many health risks as being overweight. Based on your stats, you should be eating around 2000-2200 calories minimum. 800 is nowhere near enough.
  • Cyan99
    Cyan99 Posts: 84 Member
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    [/quote]
    If you're 5'3 and 105 pounds, you are medically underweight. 110 is actually the bare minimum for a healthy weight for you height.
    [/quote]

    SERIOUSLY!! That's a bit scary....

    I don't think I've EVER been over 110lbs (i'm about 107 at the moment) and I've never considered myself underweight O.O
  • Cyan99
    Cyan99 Posts: 84 Member
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    2100 calories a day hun


    Holy *kitten*
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    If you're 5'3 and 105 pounds, you are medically underweight. 110 is actually the bare minimum for a healthy weight for you height.
    [/quote]

    SERIOUSLY!! That's a bit scary....

    I don't think I've EVER been over 110lbs (i'm about 107 at the moment) and I've never considered myself underweight O.O
    [/quote]
    The healthy weight range for your height is 107-135 pounds, with the 'ideal' being 120.

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