5-6 meals a day?

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  • SomeNights246
    SomeNights246 Posts: 807 Member
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    I get hypoglycemic and I also have an eating disorder. I am a binge eater. When I get symptoms of hypoglycemia it triggers a binge. (not the only trigger just one of them) I have to eat every few hours. It's the only way for me to avoid the symptoms. I eat whatever fits in my calories.

    My experience is actually.. very similar. My eating disorder is a restrictive one, though.

    In any case, I have to eat every few hours, too. If I go too long without food, my iron levels plummet. My blood sugar plummets. I get cranky, light headed, and experience general ED symptoms. So, 5-6 meals a day works for me.

    It does for many people. However, some people do better eating 3 meals a day. Or just 2. I've known many have success eating just one really big meal every day. Do what works for you.
  • JoeCWV
    JoeCWV Posts: 213 Member
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    I am not sure what the definition of a "meal" is. I usually eat three meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and supper). I usually graze in the evening "snacks". If I am hungry in between my meals I eat. I keep granola bars at work to snack on. Some days I eat one, some days I eat two (or more), and other days I don't eat any. I have my regular meal times and then let my hunger decide when else to eat. If it gets to be late in the evening and I am still way under my goals for the day I will eat something wholly unhealthy such as chocolate, alcohol, or ice cream to get my calorie count up. This has worked for me. I found that the less regimented I was on meal times the better it works for me. Do what works for you.
  • mizzbugsy
    mizzbugsy Posts: 40 Member
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    Have you ever watched a toddler?? They know to graze. They eat numerous meals a days, are constantly climbing, jumping, running, playing and generally having a good time. If we mimicked a toddlers behavior for 1 week, I'm sure all of us would be SHOCKED!!! It's in our core being. We are born needing to eat every couple hours. And then for some reason, it gets beat out of us.... only a huge Breakfast, then only a huge lunch, and then only a huge dinner and maybe a small snack. This is wrong. It's not who we are...Try small meals. It's ok!
  • Val8less
    Val8less Posts: 107 Member
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    I miss my Provida group....Lost weight doing the 6week BMO...then MT died...so sad...and then the website community pretty much disbanded..NOW found my way over to MFP...and would love to connect with those who have done 6WMBO!...I'm a type A
  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
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    I eat 5-6 times a day. It works for me. I try to eat a high protein breakfast, some kind of fruit and nut bar at my morning break, leftovers for lunch, whatever is handy for afternoon break (yogurt, Luna bar, fruit are things I try keep handy), dinner has a few old standbys that my kids like with the occasional new thing, after dinner is usually a protein shake and/or a frappucino depending on how many calories I need to eat to maintain.

    Good luck finding what works for you.
  • FitnessTrainer69
    FitnessTrainer69 Posts: 283 Member
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    5-6 a day has helped my lose <80lbs. It also has helped me gain lean muscle. I believe it boosts your metabalism by making your body constantly digest food and not store fat if your portions are correct. If you only eat 1-2 a day then your body stores fat to fuel itself through the day. The 5-6 doesnt include my protien shake with breakfast or post workout or before bed. so you could say 8-9 a day !
  • FitnessTrainer69
    FitnessTrainer69 Posts: 283 Member
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    I agree with you completely. Even if your meals aren't measured out, it will still boost your metabalism.
  • Drevious
    Drevious Posts: 69 Member
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    Eating "mini-meals" works for some people but not for others. If you are trying to speed up your metabolism then it's a really great way to do it. Not to be a huge nerd about it...but I use my organizational skills to plan, organize, prep, and keep on track. I have a color-coded excel google doc that I use to plan out my meals for the week, make a grocery shopping list, and keep recipes for food prep. Yeah, kinda nerdy but it keeps me organized and on top of everything. I usually go to the Farmers Market on Sunday morning and then spend a few hours cooking everything for the week. Mason jars are a great way to keep salads fresh and it looks pretty.

    If you want more tips or if you want to see my nerdy excel sheet, just ask. I'm happy to share!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,704 Member
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    Have you ever watched a toddler?? They know to graze. They eat numerous meals a days, are constantly climbing, jumping, running, playing and generally having a good time. If we mimicked a toddlers behavior for 1 week, I'm sure all of us would be SHOCKED!!! It's in our core being. We are born needing to eat every couple hours. And then for some reason, it gets beat out of us.... only a huge Breakfast, then only a huge lunch, and then only a huge dinner and maybe a small snack. This is wrong. It's not who we are...Try small meals. It's ok!
    If we mimicked toddlers behaviors, we'd only eat sweet things and maybe some milk. Put out cookies and broccoli and I'll bet dollars to donuts the kid goes for cookies. Not to mention that children usually under eat because they'd rather play.
    "Grazing" doesn't work if one consumes more than their TDEE.
    Now that's not to say that it's a bad strategy, but there are lots of people that graze everyday and are overweight. There are some they aren't.
    Weight loss STILL boils down to CICO and how one approaches it so it works is usually going to be a trial and error approach.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,704 Member
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    I agree with you completely. Even if your meals aren't measured out, it will still boost your metabalism.
    It doesn't boost your metabolism. You're speaking in terms of TEF which isn't speeding up of metabolism because it's negated by calorie ingestion.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • lafilledelarue
    lafilledelarue Posts: 66 Member
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    I often do three square meals per day, plus a morning snack and afternoon snack, which, on occasion can be like a little meal. Private MFP email me if you'd like me to give you a detailed list of the types of snack foods I eat. If I'm ravenous (low blood sugar) I am more tempted to overeat. It's also not good for my thought processes.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,704 Member
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    I often do three square meals per day, plus a morning snack and afternoon snack, which, on occasion can be like a little meal. Private MFP email me if you'd like me to give you a detailed list of the types of snack foods I eat. If I'm ravenous (low blood sugar) I am more tempted to overeat. It's also not good for my thought processes.
    Why not just be honest and let them know you're into a no sugar diet approach? Whether people agree with you or not, shouldn't be afraid to say it.

    Heck, people ask me all the time about my diet. I eat ice cream, processed foods and fast food regularly. I also eat a boatload of whole foods. What's my one rule? Don't exceed my TDEE on a consistent basis.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • lafilledelarue
    lafilledelarue Posts: 66 Member
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    :-)
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
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    I do it everyday. Works well for me.
  • dieselbyte
    dieselbyte Posts: 733 Member
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    Meal frequency has nothing to do with weight/fat loss. 5-6 meals, 1-2 meals... all that matters in the end is CICO. If eating 5-6 meals helps you feel satiated longer, than so be it. Personally, if I eat small meals I'm never satisfied. Even though I log "snacks" into my diary, I consume roughly 3-4 meals a day, with all "snacks" making up one meal or eaten with a meal.

    There is no magic to weight loss. Consuming 5-6 meals doesn't "stoke" your metabolism, and only eating 1-2 meals doesn't slow your metabolism down. The single, most effective way to boost metabolism is to get out and move more.
  • akaporn
    akaporn Posts: 231 Member
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    Eating a lot of meals in a day suppose to help you regulate the insulin level and help you stay full longer with the same amount of calories.

    But, for me, I prefer to have decent breakfast (Milk, banana, fresh fruits), and if I have a big lunch (12" sub), that would fill me up for the rest of the day. I normally sleep around 9pm and I prefer to sleep with empty stomach so I try not to eat anything after 7pm. If I exercise in the evening I probably drink some fruit/veggie juice.
  • BombshellPhoenix
    BombshellPhoenix Posts: 1,693 Member
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    Meal frequency has nothing to do with weight/fat loss. 5-6 meals, 1-2 meals... all that matters in the end is CICO. If eating 5-6 meals helps you feel satiated longer, than so be it. Personally, if I eat small meals I'm never satisfied. Even though I log "snacks" into my diary, I consume roughly 3-4 meals a day, with all "snacks" making up one meal or eaten with a meal.

    There is no magic to weight loss. Consuming 5-6 meals doesn't "stoke" your metabolism, and only eating 1-2 meals doesn't slow your metabolism down. The single, most effective way to boost metabolism is to get out and move more.

    ^QFT

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