Skip snacks?

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WalkingGirl1985
WalkingGirl1985 Posts: 2,047 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Does anyone skip snacks and just eat meals?
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  • CraftyGirl4
    CraftyGirl4 Posts: 571 Member
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    Sometimes I do, if I'm not hungry. There is no point in force feeding yourself.
  • caitlinclock
    caitlinclock Posts: 528 Member
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    I do. Sometimes I only eat two meals per day. I know it's not ideal but everyone is different in what they can do.
  • 2bFitNTrim
    2bFitNTrim Posts: 1,209 Member
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    I only eat a snack if I'm hungry and need it. :happy:
  • Beach_Chica
    Beach_Chica Posts: 111
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    I tend to get hungry around 10am or 11, so I manage to give myself a fiber bar or fruit. I don't snack a lot during the day, but I did more than I usually do today. Mine was more out of nerves and trying to proportion what I took in. Some days, however, I don't need anything.
  • ThoughtsOfBelle
    ThoughtsOfBelle Posts: 34 Member
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    I usually only have a snack in the afternoon (usually cheese flavoured rice cakes or similar)... my problem is being around OTHER people who snack.. if im on my own i dont eat a heap, but if im in a group, ill eat what they're eating. Peer pressure poundage!!
  • dlcam61
    dlcam61 Posts: 228 Member
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    I rely on snacks to keep my blood sugar even. Too long between meals & it dips which causes me to want to binge out on everything in sight because my body thinks its starving! Hypoglycemia sucks lol:flowerforyou:
  • Egger29
    Egger29 Posts: 14,741 Member
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    I'm guessing that most people here will have heard the 5-6 meals a day system encouraged one place or another. Unfortunately, very rarely is it explained WHY that is beneficial.

    First off, most people correlate "snacking" with "junk food" (I.e. Chips, popcorn, cookies, various sweets etc). That isn't necessarily true as you could just as easily "Snack" on Carrot sticks, Celery, Fruit....you name it.

    Everytime you eat something, your body's metabolism gets a boost due to the natural process of Digestion. Once the digestive process is completed however, the body,,,,realizing there is no more food...shuts down the metabolism to conserve energy. (Your conscious brain might know there's more food coming...but your body doesn't know that genetially speaking on the cellular level).

    As such, one of the primary reasons for spacing smaller meals out over the course of the day is to prevent or reduce this slowdown of the metabolism and digestive system. How does one do this? Simple.

    Take your daily caloric requirements and divide by 5 or 6 depending on what you can attempt to fit into your schedule. (Eg..am 1800 calorie diet, spread over 6 meals would be 300 calories per meal).

    IN that sense you have Breakfast, Mid-Morning Snack, Lunch, Mid-Afternoon Snack, Dinner and Evening Snack.

    Each one of these meals would be around 300 Calories giving you the needed total over the course of the day.

    Remember Quality of calorie choice outweighs Quantity.
  • sas16
    sas16 Posts: 610
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    Lately, I haven't been snacking much. I haven't been hungry so I skip it. I've just been doing the meals. Or if I'm not hungry enough for a complete meal, I'll have a snack (apple or maybe just a bowl of cereal). It all depends on the day and my hunger. I don't want to forcefeed myself just because I have cals left.
  • MsLisaB
    MsLisaB Posts: 256
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    I don't snack. I eat 3 meals a day, ranging between 250 and 500 cals each. If I DO snack it's either because I've had a big exercise day or a bad day. I have coffee with milk which I count towards breakfast, or the occasional Chai Latte or dessert if I have spare cals.

    I don't subscribe to the eating 6 times a day to boost your metabolism theory. There's plenty of research around that both supports and repudiates this school of thought.
  • Erica2bFit
    Erica2bFit Posts: 9 Member
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    I have found that if I eat a small snack between meals I do not eat as much at meal time. If I do not snack I tend to eat more while preparing my meals. My snacks usually are protiens and a cook carb.
  • Yasmine91
    Yasmine91 Posts: 599 Member
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    I always make sure I have a mid morning snack, an evening snack and a late snack. They usually consist of a diet yoghurt. Eating 6 meals a day can increase your metabolism :) and with my low calorie meals, I ahve nothing to worry about :)
  • Memah
    Memah Posts: 129
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    I don't skip them intentionally, but rather eat a snack if I'm hungry. A usual snack for me is fruit, or a plain rice cake with a Laughing Cow cheese wedge.

    If I try to eat snack just for the sake of eating them, I find myself feeling stuffed unnecessarily. What I will do sometimes is add a snack-type food in with a meal if I'm low on calories for the day.
  • mrsewert
    mrsewert Posts: 430 Member
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    I skipped my morning snack this morning but then I had two snacks this afternoon. :laugh:
  • FitnessTim
    FitnessTim Posts: 234 Member
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    I eat six meals a day whether I'm hungry or not. Hunger is not a good method to use to determine when to eat. The key is to keep the motor burning and not to go into a lower metabolic state. When you skip meals you tend to overeat when you do finally sit down to eat.

    We all know that sleepy feeling we get when we've had a big meal. That is your body going into fat storage mode.
  • fkplatt
    fkplatt Posts: 2
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    Skipping snack time can slow your metabolism which is not good. Don't forget to try to eat 4-6 times daily, but obviously not big meals every time! Good luck! :)
  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,887 Member
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    Eat less, more often. I had a hard time snacking when I started on here but now I eat at least 2 snacks a day and, as a result, I am more satisfied with my smaller portions at meal time.
  • binary_jester
    binary_jester Posts: 3,311 Member
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    Eat when you are hungry. If it is 3 times a day, twice a day or 6 times a day as long as they are quality calories and you are keeping to your goals. Unfortunately meal frequency for increased thermogenesis has pretty much been disproved along with time-a day eating impacting your metabolism.

    I'll probably get ripped for that statement, but I have listed 2 studies here in this thread:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/135209-supporting-scientific-techniques-and-topics

    and there are more to back it up.
  • DiscoveringDena
    DiscoveringDena Posts: 57
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    I HAVE to have my snacks :) I usually eat one between breakfast and lunch, then again in the afternoon before dinner. I usually don't do any after dinner. I would definitely say, no do not skip.
  • MsLisaB
    MsLisaB Posts: 256
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    Eat when you are hungry. If it is 3 times a day, twice a day or 6 times a day as long as they are quality calories and you are keeping to your goals. Unfortunately meal frequency for increased thermogenesis has pretty much been disproved along with time-a day eating impacting your metabolism.

    I'll probably get ripped for that statement, but I have listed 2 studies here in this thread:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/135209-supporting-scientific-techniques-and-topics

    and there are more to back it up.

    I'm with you on this. I hope you don't get ripped. Thank you for posting references to back it up too.
  • FitnessTim
    FitnessTim Posts: 234 Member
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    Eat when you are hungry. If it is 3 times a day, twice a day or 6 times a day as long as they are quality calories and you are keeping to your goals. Unfortunately meal frequency for increased thermogenesis has pretty much been disproved along with time-a day eating impacting your metabolism.

    I'll probably get ripped for that statement, but I have listed 2 studies here in this thread:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/135209-supporting-scientific-techniques-and-topics

    and there are more to back it up.

    The studies mentioned only provide extract with the whole paper probably being available for a cost(?). This was one 8-week study and does not disprove that meal frequency help with weight loss or energy. Did the test subject exercise? How did the test subjects feel about 1 meal versus 6?

    This quote from the study should be noted:

    "We conclude that increasing MF does not promote greater body weight loss under the conditions described in the present study."

    For that study, under those conditions they saw no difference in weight loss with different meal frequencies. The test subjects that had only 1 meal a day were prevented from overeating during that one meal. For all we know they could have been famished by the time their meal came.

    I do know someone who eats 1 meal a day and he is pretty fit. There is also Herschel Walker who eats 1 meal a day. When I first read about him I thought he was the exception but not I'm not sure. He may be on to something.

    http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=dm-walker012210

    I'm glad you brought the subject up. It still surprises me when I hear what fitness experts have been telling us for years may not be true. I'll stick with my six meals a day because it works for me, but at least when I miss a meal I won't let it bother me.

    Can we at least finally agree that to lose weight you must eat less calories than you burn? There are many ways to do that but at the end of the day if you have eaten less than you used you will have lost weight.

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