Why Several Small Meals?

exuberantself
exuberantself Posts: 10
in Health and Weight Loss
I know everyone says that it's better to eat smaller meals and snacks all day (rather than a few larger meals), but why is that so? And how often should you eat? Sometimes I feel like I'm not hungry at all, but eat something small to pace myself; sometimes, I'm starving an hour later and filling my empty space with water for the sake of consuming anything.

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Meal timing won't affect your weight loss. Some people feel better on six small meals a day and others prefer 3 meals and still others will only eat one. Assuming you don't have a medical reason to eat throughout the day and are staying within your calorie and macro goals, it really doesn't matter which one you choose.

    Find what works best for you, makes you feel good throughout the day, and helps your workout performance the most.
  • goldenbeautyxo
    goldenbeautyxo Posts: 23 Member
    I've read that you should eat something every 2-3 hours (never go more than 3 hours without eating, supposedly). If your not hungry by your next meal, your portions are too big. The reason for this is to keep your metabolism going!
    Also, everyone is different. so what works for me, might not work for you..and that's ok :) do whatever your body is comfortable with.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    I've read that you should eat something every 2-3 hours (never go more than 3 hours without eating, supposedly). If your not hungry by your next meal, your portions are too big. The reason for this is to keep your metabolism going!
    Also, everyone is different. so what works for me, might not work for you..and that's ok :) do whatever your body is comfortable with.

    The idea that eating every 2-3 hours boosts your metabolism is a myth. It takes something like 72 hours without food to see a slow down in your metabolism. It's really okay to go longer than 3 hours without food, as long as you feel okay while doing it.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    To keep from getting so hungry that I Hoover everything in sight and screw up my calorie goal and macro balance for the entire day.
  • Nice2BFitAgain
    Nice2BFitAgain Posts: 319 Member
    I've read that you should eat something every 2-3 hours (never go more than 3 hours without eating, supposedly). If your not hungry by your next meal, your portions are too big. The reason for this is to keep your metabolism going!

    this is not true
    Also, everyone is different. so what works for me, might not work for you..and that's ok :) do whatever your body is comfortable with.

    this is true.

    You have to figure out what makes YOU feel best. Eat/workout so that you have a calorie deficit and be patient. the weight will come off.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    I know everyone says that it's better to eat smaller meals and snacks all day.
    I have never actually met anyone who says that.

    Who is this "everyone" you speak of?
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    Smaller, more frequent meals may work for some people. Personally, I find it easy to work on an empty stomach in the morning and impossible to sleep without feeling full. So I usually eat lunch in the afternoon and dinner late at night so that I can go to bed comfortably full.

    You should follow the meal planning pattern that helps you adhere to your calorie limit.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    I know everyone says that it's better to eat smaller meals and snacks all day.
    I have never actually met anyone who says that.

    Who is this "everyone" you speak of?

    Women's magazines and snack food companies, mostly. You know, people who are trying to sell you something.
  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
    My DH does better with 3 squares a day. I eat meals and snacks to keep my energy up. I'd say, in general, most guys eat 3 bigger meals. Women seem to do better with meals and snacks. I didn't do a study or anything but I noticed this in general.
  • iwtfytj
    iwtfytj Posts: 41 Member
    I eat three meals a day. If I eat smaller meals throughout the day, for some reason I'm likely to accidentally overeat. Just do what works best for you.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    It's not. Eat however many times, whenever you like. It doesn't effect your metabolism.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    I know everyone says that it's better to eat smaller meals and snacks all day.
    I have never actually met anyone who says that.

    Who is this "everyone" you speak of?

    Women's magazines and snack food companies, mostly. You know, people who are trying to sell you something.
    Ah, that makes sense. Journalists and salesmen - great sources of unbiased scientific opinion.
  • j75j75
    j75j75 Posts: 854 Member
    I eat one maybe two meals a day. Works for me!! :smile: :smile:
  • timetravelforfitness
    timetravelforfitness Posts: 242 Member
    The small meal thing didn't work for me. I found myself always thinking about food and always hungry. I find that if I eat a 300-400 calorie breakfast, a 500-700 calorie lunch and a 400-500 calorie dinner I'm happiest. I'll sometimes have a smaller breakfast and then have a second breakfast, usually around 200 and 100 calories, but lunch is nearly always my highest calories, and when it isn't I find myself eating poorly before dinner.

    We're all different. When I found myself eating too much on the "small meals" diet I felt stupid and wrong. It made me really happy when I read I wasn't alone. The best thing to do is try something for a week or two and see how it makes you feel. As Dr. George Sheehan said, we're each an experiment of one.
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
    I've read that you should eat something every 2-3 hours (never go more than 3 hours without eating, supposedly). If your not hungry by your next meal, your portions are too big. The reason for this is to keep your metabolism going!
    Also, everyone is different. so what works for me, might not work for you..and that's ok :) do whatever your body is comfortable with.

    The idea that eating every 2-3 hours boosts your metabolism is a myth. It takes something like 72 hours without food to see a slow down in your metabolism. It's really okay to go longer than 3 hours without food, as long as you feel okay while doing it.
    Exactly.
    Saying you must eat every 2-3 hours is a myth, and can give you quite the opposite results.
    *takes alot of time and effort to do it.
    *because we all know calorie deficiency is what makes you lose weight, if you eat 5-6 meals a day you are never really going to feel full or satisfied.
    *As before, it takes days and days to really slow down your metabolism.
    *the constant planning of all those meals/snacks can take a toll on you
  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
    Small meals don't work for me. I like my breakfast, lunch and dinner, thank you very much. Any more often and I'd be tempted to graze all day.
  • AwesomeGuy37
    AwesomeGuy37 Posts: 436 Member
    It works for some people like me. I eat about every 3-4 hours, hungry or not, and I rarely ever get hungry. When I miss a meal, I instantly want to eat something more calorie dense. I'm trying to keep that from happening. I don't actually eat smaller meals, but eat a couple small snacks in between my meals as the day goes by. It is important for me to feel full.
  • rockmama72
    rockmama72 Posts: 815 Member
    I'm usually three square kind of gal. When I get enough protein, I usually don't need to snack.

    Sometimes I skip breakfast and eat a light lunch so I can eat a giant, amazing dinner. I have a list of 200-400 calorie meals that are extra nutritious and filling.

    This method has worked better for me with weight loss because it fits my lifestyle so well.
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    I think the general idea behind it is to keep your blood sugar/insulin levels more constant. Depending on the person, this can be a big issue or not one at all. For people that have big swings, they're more likely to be hungrier and overeat if they don't eat smaller meals on a more consistent basis. For others, it doesn't matter at all. It's really an individual thing in controlling your own hunger and energy levels.
  • aarondnguyen
    aarondnguyen Posts: 270 Member
    Meal timing and frequency are completely irrelevant and unnecessary to weight gain/loss.

    Example: Two people on 2,000-calorie diets. Person A eats 5 square meals a day. Person B eats 2 square meals a day.

    This means Person A has five 400-calorie meals while Person B has two 1,000-calorie meals. At the end of the day, the energy your body expends to metabolize the 2,000 calories will be the same in both cases. You can't trick your body into being more "efficient" by eating smaller meals or manipulating the frequency of calorie consumption. Of course, with bulkier meals, you'll be bloated, however.

    Eat whichever way works best for you -- while hitting your caloric target and macro nutrient ratio (whether this means having breakfast or not, for example).

    /thread
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • jsuaccounting
    jsuaccounting Posts: 189 Member
    I think it could help prevent blood sugar dips in some people. However, for other people, eating less often actually works better. You just have to see what works for you.
  • nixxthirteen
    nixxthirteen Posts: 280 Member
    It depends on your own personal schedule, habits, appetite, etc. For example, I eat 4 meals a day and it fits my schedule perfectly. Because I work afternoons, it tends to go: breakfast at ~11:30 am, lunch at 4:30 pm, dinner after work at 10:00 pm, and a good snack before bed around 2:00 am. On an exercise day, I fit in something like a smoothie to get back calories expended without being too terribly full. Or I indulge :P
  • BRA_S
    BRA_S Posts: 111 Member
    I heard that too in the beginning of my weight loss I tired it, but found out I am more satisfied with 4-5 meals a day. Same results.
  • determinedbutlazy
    determinedbutlazy Posts: 1,941 Member
    It makes no difference, it is completely down to personal preference.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    Meal timing won't affect your weight loss. Some people feel better on six small meals a day and others prefer 3 meals and still others will only eat one. Assuming you don't have a medical reason to eat throughout the day and are staying within your calorie and macro goals, it really doesn't matter which one you choose.

    Find what works best for you, makes you feel good throughout the day, and helps your workout performance the most.
    Strongly agree^^^

    I've tried the whole eat eat smaller meals throughout the day and it didn't work for me. I ended up hungrier and constantly thinking about my next meal. If prefer to eat more calories in one sitting than to spread that 1 meal over 2 or even 3 meals. But as stated above, find what works for you and ignore all that speeding up or starting your metabolism mumbo jumbo.

    Not to disagree but to provide a counter example I used to eat 2 meals a day, skip breakfast and have a sizable lunch and sizable dinner. I then read about eating every 3 hours or something like that and thought I'd give it a try while dieting and found that for me it worked great. Don't get me wrong I now have come to realize that the idea behind eating lots of small meals throughout the day (ie boost metabolism) is completely false but I just happened to find that I had more energy and got more out of my day spacing my food into smaller meals throughout the day.

    As MrM said, just find what works for you and don't sweat the details. Only thing that matters for weight loss is calories in calories out and how happy you are doing it. If eating frequent meals makes it easier for you then do that, if its a pain in the butt then don't do it and just eat your 2 or 3.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    I tend to eat better with smaller meals because I get less hungry and am less likely to over eat.

Categories