Eating 5-6 small meals a day...Who else does this?

All depends on the person. I've done it or at least had small snacks scattered throughout a day, but I tend more to be a light breakfast, light lunch, big 'ol dinner and room for chocolate or popcorn. It's more about your total calories for the day. Some people need to split it up across 5-6 small meals, some don't. Good luck!

All depends on the person. I've done it or at least had small snacks scattered throughout a day, but I tend more to be a light breakfast, light lunch, big 'ol dinner and room for chocolate or popcorn. It's more about your total calories for the day. Some people need to split it up across 5-6 small meals, some don't. Good luck!

This is me as well. Protein drink for breakfast, snacks all day including lunch and then I have a big dinner with some desert as a reward for staying in my calories/going to the gym.

I'm a grazer by nature- meaning that I pretty much eat all the time, so the small meals throughout the day (keeping within my macros and calorie limits of course) works better for me. I tend to get grouchy and headache-y if I allow myself to get hungry, and by then I tend to overeat. It's better for me to keep my blood sugar as even as possible all day. Conversely, My fella eats all of his calories in 2-3 sittings each day.

What ever works best for you is the best way to go. Keep a careful balance between eating enough and eating too much, keep it between the extremes and you'll do well. I plateaued at 1200 calories per day, but now I eat more like 1600-1800 and lose an average of .5 to 1 lb per week.

Good luck!

Me :flowerforyou: It took a bit to get into a rhythm, but now I find I get light headed if I don't eat every few hours simply out of habit. I always have food with me omnomnomnomitynom

I eat about 5 times a day usually...3 full meals plus two snacks. I absolutely can't stand to feel hungry..it makes me cranky.

Today I began eating 6 small meals per day. A new friend told me yesterday she lost over 100 lbs. eating 5-6 small meals per day.

I have always starved myself to lose weight. I am excited about this, although I've heard of people doing this, but I never actually had someone to break it down to me like she did.

I've broken down my calories for each meal for now, ensuring breakfast and mid-way of my shift is a bit more calories.

I like how your food diary is broken down into six sessions with intended max calories for each meal.

I learned from the folks at Precision Nutrition to start thinking about my food in a similar way. To avoid the mindgames that can accompanying calling these "meals," I tend to think of them as "feedings" instead. I have a certain expectation of "meals"--including ideas about volume and type of food. So, I think of them as feeding or fueling sessions (though as a big foodie, I can't really think of food as strictly "fuel"--it's also fun).

My food diary is broken down into three-hour periods throughout the day. I don't have a strict intention to eat six times a day. But I do want to notice *when* I'm eating what I eat. Sometimes I'll eat larger portions or a wider range of foods, and other times I find that I'm eating fewer calories. I tend to eat 4-6 times a day, from the data I'm gathering during this return to tracking. I found that I got a little low-energy when I didn't have some simpler carbs in the earlier part of the day. So now I'm making a point of putting in fruit and some whole grains in the mid-morning or lunch period.

I'm having a great time just bringing my attention to my eating and tracking my food, mood, and times when I eat.

When I move to a more structured fitness plan, I'll use what I'm learning about my patterns to build a solid feeding plan as well. With the right kind of food, prepared in advance and readily on hand, I'm confident that I'll continue to see success without feeling the least bit "deprived."

I'm not on a diet--I'm on a pathway to a healthy, enjoyable, sustainable lifestyle.

I do.

Today I began eating 6 small meals per day. A new friend told me yesterday she lost over 100 lbs. eating 5-6 small meals per day.

- she lost the weight WHILE eating 5-6 small meals a day.

- she lost weight BECAUSE she was eating fewer calories than she was burning.

- if eating more often makes this easier for you - more power to you. But the relevant information is the total calories you're eating, not how you break it up.

I started four weeks ago and have lost 9 lb so far. Patrick Holford's books are the best to explain this. You need to eat small amounts of good quality carbs though, like brown rice and savory rough oatcakes, and good quality lean protein, lots of green veg and two small portions of fruit a day. The fruit needs to be eaten with a protein like a small handful of seeds or nuts. I am eating a way healthier and more varied diet since starting this. Exercise is really important too though. At least 15 min brisk walk and some resistance exercises like stretches, yoga or cycling whenever possible. The regular eating maintains the blood sugar at an even level so, with a bit of planning and a good store cupboard, you can always have what you need to hand. Good luck!

The regular eating maintains the blood sugar at an even level so,

That's what your Pancreas does for you. Unless your diabetic you do not need to try and control your blood sugar (you wont be able to) Eat lost of small meals if it fits into your lifestyle but it's not some medical miracle of losing weight I'm afraid.

I am doing it right now... It has only been a week and a half so I don't know if it is paying off yet.. but I hope so.

I do, but not because I think it's going to improve my results beyond what it does to help me stay within my calorie goals.

I don't think anyone said it worked any other way. That IS the benefit of eating more, smaller meals.

I do, but not because I think it's going to improve my results beyond what it does to help me stay within my calorie goals. I tend to plan multiple snacks into my day because I'm a boredom snacky eater, and if I plan for them then I'm more likely to hit up the vending machine for something that's going to put me 300+ calories over my goal. Beyond any boost it may or may not give you in terms of staying satisfied, it's not going to increase your weight loss over where you would land if you ate all of your calories in a 6 hour window each day (which a good number of people actually do and achieve stellar results).

Thanks for this, BarbieAS, though you may have meant it differently than I'm reading it. Maybe that's the thing--satisfaction, satiety, "ease of use." I agree with the notion that there's no singular "magic bullet." And to my thinking, if breaking out meals into smaller portions across the day helps keep folks from getting desperate and snarfing junk just to stave off feelings of hunger...then it "works."

I think it's about each of us paying close attention to our own lifestyles, emotions, and patterns--and adjusting where we can see the greatest benefit. I know that for myself, paying closer attention to what I'm eating by planning ahead and availing myself of smart food choices when I want to eat helps me to flow easily through the day without feeling pressed about food. Eating more than three times a day allows me to break out of that learned mindset that "3 square meals" is the "right" way to eat. My lifestyle and my current eating preferences don't suit that kind of eating.

So maybe the OP's friend DID lose weight *because* of her 5-6 small meals a day, because eating that way helped her pay more attention to her food choices and avoid that feeding frenzy that can set so many of us back. Maybe there's no metabolic magic to it, but it's still meaningful behavior change.

I find all of this so interesting, how we each come to find our own paths to wellness and how that path changes as we keep on the journey. Thanks for the food for thought!

The amount of meals per day that will be optimal is really up to you. I choose to do between 2-4 meals, but somebody may prefer once a day or 8 times a day.

I do, but not because I think it's going to improve my results beyond what it does to help me stay within my calorie goals.

I don't think anyone said it worked any other way. That IS the benefit of eating more, smaller meals.

There's a common misconception that eating frequently "keeps the metabolism moving faster" or some such. It's thrown around with a very high degree of frequency as an (THE) advantage of eating frequently. I was referencing that, though I didn't do it explicitly.

I'll apologize for my over-sensitivity. I will point out, you're the only one in this thread to mention "metabolism" at all. But I do think you meant well. I just get frustrated with every question on this forum leading to some never-ending fight about some perceived psudo-science even if no one mentions it. But you do seem nice enough and I sincerely apologize for questioning your motives.

Eating more frequently, for me, got me used to eating less as a "meal". Some of my "meals" are 5 crackers and a slice of pepper-jack cheese. Use to be I'd eat half a package of cheese and a sleeve of crackers. A lot of this, for me, is about re-defining my relationship with food. I have learned that I can eat a little something and it does keep me from getting hungry. Like a lot of people, I think, I was just kind of used to eating until I was stuffed. Small, frequent meals encourage me to eat less and eat more variety. All of that helps me maintain a calorie deficit which, of course, is what causes weight loss.

And I agree, changes in metabolic rate don't happen that fast. It's the opposite of the "starvation mode" myth. A day or two doesn't change your metabolism, let alone the couple of hours between meals.