6 meals as opposed to 3!!! Just try it!!!!

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shelly650
shelly650 Posts: 319
in Health and Weight Loss
Well I have always eaten 3 good 'big' meals a day with one or two snacks!! So when I joined MFP earlier this month, i continued eating 3 meals and two snacks.....but just cut down on portion size and started exercising!! I have been reading other peoples posts about how good eating 6 meals a day is, and, although i still have to do so, i decided to change my settings on MFP from:

- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Snacks

to

- Breakfast
- 2nd meal
- 3rd meal
- 4th meal
- 5th meal
- 6th meal

I always struggle to stay within my calorie guidelines while eating 3 bigger meals a day and therefore sometimes exercise just so i can get extra calories to eat a certain food, which i no is wrong!!
So when i changed my settings, I continued to have a good breakfast (porrige, which i have every morning!) and have 5 smaller meals! I noticed i stayed within my calorie guideline of 1200 calories so much easier than when i had my regular 3 meals!!

So, I ask those of you who eat 3 meals to try this and see how it works!! Just plan your food for the day with 6 meals instead of 3 and let me no how you get on!! Remember, you'll be eating more often therefore wont need as much food!!

Replies

  • rbcool
    rbcool Posts: 20
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    Sounds like a great idea !! I 'll try it and see if it's for me . Thanks for the tip:smile:
  • denise980
    denise980 Posts: 296
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    If my job allowed for that, I definitely would. But I work at a school and the meal times are very regimented.... And on top of it I work in a science lab (no food allowed). If I can try this over my vacations, I will definitely give it a shot!

    Thanks for the idea.
  • lilscotslass
    lilscotslass Posts: 18
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    That does sound good... rather than feeling so hungry by one of your 3 main meals that you eat too much have 6 smaller meals spread out more and you won't feel as hungry (or have as many cravings for snacks I imagine!).

    Going to try that out, thanks!
  • annacataldo
    annacataldo Posts: 872 Member
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    I eat 6 times a day, 3meals, 3snacks.. I wouldnt imagine eating a tiny breakfast and then having to wait another 2hours or whatever just to get full. I also, however, am usually always under my calories and have trouble having big enough meals cuz im always so full. Yesterday I had to stuff myself just to gain a couple hundred more calories for my nighttime snack, but i was still 400calories under.
    If you plan ur meals right you can have 3 big meals, and 3big snacks... i dont have enough time to make 6meals a day.
  • redxmasqueen
    redxmasqueen Posts: 81
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    Eating that way also keeps your metabolism going throughout the entire day. Your body has a harder time metabolising one large meal. It 's too much all at once. I have some friends who say they don't know why they are not losing weight as they don't eat all day. What they are doing is eating a day's worth of calories in one sitting late at night. SO....SO.....SO.... bad!!!
  • AmwayMan
    AmwayMan Posts: 20
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    I eat 6 meals a day and it has works for me. I eat 3 meals and 3 snacks. If you plan ahead for all of them it works great. The plus side to doing it, is you are always full and you are never hungry.
  • htarlow
    htarlow Posts: 4 Member
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    Co-worker of mine who turned me on to this site had a the great idea of breaking intake into time slots instead of meal number. I have mine labeled as

    7am -> 10am
    10am -> 12pm
    12pm -> 3pm
    3pm -> 5pm
    5pm -> 7pm
    7pm -> 7am (nothing should ever be in this slot)

    I like this approach cause it allows me to see when I am eating and ensures a nice distributed intake throughout the day.
    (each of my 5 'meals' are similar in size. I do not believe in 'snacks')
  • kaits108
    kaits108 Posts: 305 Member
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    Co-worker of mine who turned me on to this site had a the great idea of breaking intake into time slots instead of meal number. I have mine labeled as

    7am -> 10am
    10am -> 12pm
    12pm -> 3pm
    3pm -> 5pm
    5pm -> 7pm
    7pm -> 7am (nothing should ever be in this slot)

    I like this approach cause it allows me to see when I am eating and ensures a nice distributed intake throughout the day.
    (each of my 5 'meals' are similar in size. I do not believe in 'snacks')

    Ohhh I like that idea!!
  • ottawagirl613
    ottawagirl613 Posts: 112 Member
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    For people that are reluctant to try this because of the extra time involved in the prep: You do not have to make 6 meals instead of three. You dont even have to portion out six meals and waste bags/containers. Pack the same lunch your normally would just eat half of it in one sitting and the other half in another. Or eat your full sandwich/soup/salad and save your fruit/nuts/bars for a few hours later. The point is basically to eat smaller portions every 2-3 hours or so, and never to fill your stomach to bursting in one sitting. This keeps your metabolism running smoothly without dips from too much or too little fuel. When you feel less hungry you make fewer bad food decisions :wink:
  • mikebesurfing
    mikebesurfing Posts: 15 Member
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    Co-worker of mine who turned me on to this site had a the great idea of breaking intake into time slots instead of meal number. I have mine labeled as

    7am -> 10am
    10am -> 12pm
    12pm -> 3pm
    3pm -> 5pm
    5pm -> 7pm
    7pm -> 7am (nothing should ever be in this slot)

    I like this approach cause it allows me to see when I am eating and ensures a nice distributed intake throughout the day.
    (each of my 5 'meals' are similar in size. I do not believe in 'snacks')

    Wow that sounds like a great idea... Do you plan out your meals? How long have you been doing it his way and how much have you lost?

    Cheers
    Mike:smile::smile: :smile:
  • htarlow
    htarlow Posts: 4 Member
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    Mike, I have only been doing this for about 1.5 months & lost about 12 lbs. I plan my meals the day before. I start by copying forward my daily diary and then make some changes for variety. I end up eating a lot of the same food within a given week but I find that if by keeping myself from getting hungry, I don't crave variety.


    (FYI... My diary is public)
  • triannataylor
    triannataylor Posts: 32
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    Co-worker of mine who turned me on to this site had a the great idea of breaking intake into time slots instead of meal number. I have mine labeled as

    7am -> 10am
    10am -> 12pm
    12pm -> 3pm
    3pm -> 5pm
    5pm -> 7pm
    7pm -> 7am (nothing should ever be in this slot)

    I like this approach cause it allows me to see when I am eating and ensures a nice distributed intake throughout the day.
    (each of my 5 'meals' are similar in size. I do not believe in 'snacks')

    I would love to do this but I work shiftwork so somedays 7pm-7am is most of my awake time!!


    Does anyone else have a really hard time eating properly on shift work?? I find on the night shift I am WAY under on my calories but on days I'm up longer and end up eating more, and on evenings I come home starving and raid the cupboard : /
  • htarlow
    htarlow Posts: 4 Member
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    I have heard too many people complain about prep time. When organized, it should not take more than 30 min to prepare an entire day's food. I do it in 15min.




    On another note:

    I was recently talking to a friend who works in the medical field. She observed that during the 10 years she worked in a 'family practice' facility, she never saw an obese person who was older than 60 years old ( I am sure there are a few out there who do). Scary!




    LIMITATIONS

    Because I don't want to put limitations on the food that I eat:

    I choose to put limitations on...

    • The things that I do.
    • The places I go.
    • The events I attend.
    • The tickets I can purchase.
    • The clothes I can wear.
    • The health I enjoy.
    • The people I meet.
    • The games I can play.
    • The activities I can be involved in.
    • The places I sit.
    • The length of time I can stand.
    • The energy I have to spend.
    • The jobs I apply for.
    • The car I can drive.
    • The confidence I feel.
    • The ability I have to do simple tasks.
    • The friends I run with.
    • The admiration of my spouse.
    • The feeling of running.
    • The fun of shopping.
    • The children I can hold.
    • The enjoyment and vitality of my life.
  • htarlow
    htarlow Posts: 4 Member
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    Do you drink your 8 cups + of water? I find on days that I don't I get hungry between meals.
  • hollyknouse
    hollyknouse Posts: 232 Member
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    This is exactly what I try to do and it works great for me!
  • shelly650
    shelly650 Posts: 319
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    Do you drink your 8 cups + of water? I find on days that I don't I get hungry between meals.

    Yep! I usually drink 9!! Some days i dont!! I do find it helps keep my cravings at bay!! I bring a litre bottle of water with me most times so i keep sipping on that!!
  • TrainerRobin
    TrainerRobin Posts: 509 Member
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    Eating that way also keeps your metabolism going throughout the entire day. Your body has a harder time metabolising one large meal. It 's too much all at once. I have some friends who say they don't know why they are not losing weight as they don't eat all day. What they are doing is eating a day's worth of calories in one sitting late at night. SO....SO.....SO.... bad!!!

    At one of my recent in-depth seminars at the Cooper Institute they discussed this theory in depth and I found the newest research very encouraging. But not as you might imagine. In a nutshell, what we now know is that the old theory that eating small meals spread across the day keeps one's metabolism burning higher is not all true. All of the studies to prove this have proven just the opposite. That our bodies are so efficient, that they essentially care how many (and the quality of) calories that we take in ... not when we take them in after all.

    One of the most interesting studies used a large number of individuals and divided them into groups, controlling for many factors. In the end, there was no difference in weight loss or gain whether the group was assigned to eat 100% of their calories before bed, or whether they were instructed to eat their calories in six small meals across the day.

    So, the good news is that it really doesn't matter when we eat those calories -- it just matters how many (and what quality they are). If you like a late night, snack, it won't make any difference to your long-term weight loss (although if you weigh in the morning the scale may not be as friendly but your progress will be the same).

    All of that said, there was one big benefit from spacing one's meals out across the day -- most people are better able to regulate their caloric intake if they don't let themselves get super hungry by waiting too long. Additional studies showed that the general public was better able to control binges and going past their daily calorie budgets if they ate regularly. So if that's an issue for you, then spacing your meals out across the day is likely to benefit you.

    So, in a nutshell, WHEN you consume your calories doesn't affect your metabolism or caloric burn but it MAY affect your ability to control your caloric intake. There is no reason at all not to take this approach, but it's good to know that it won't make a difference in your calorie burn from a physical level. So if you get the late night munchies and it fits into your "calorie budget" then you don't need to feel guilty.

    :drinker:
  • therobinator
    therobinator Posts: 832 Member
    Options
    Eating that way also keeps your metabolism going throughout the entire day. Your body has a harder time metabolising one large meal. It 's too much all at once. I have some friends who say they don't know why they are not losing weight as they don't eat all day. What they are doing is eating a day's worth of calories in one sitting late at night. SO....SO.....SO.... bad!!!

    At one of my recent in-depth seminars at the Cooper Institute they discussed this theory in depth and I found the newest research very encouraging. But not as you might imagine. In a nutshell, what we now know is that the old theory that eating small meals spread across the day keeps one's metabolism burning higher is not all true. All of the studies to prove this have proven just the opposite. That our bodies are so efficient, that they essentially care how many (and the quality of) calories that we take in ... not when we take them in after all.

    One of the most interesting studies used a large number of individuals and divided them into groups, controlling for many factors. In the end, there was no difference in weight loss or gain whether the group was assigned to eat 100% of their calories before bed, or whether they were instructed to eat their calories in six small meals across the day.

    So, the good news is that it really doesn't matter when we eat those calories -- it just matters how many (and what quality they are). If you like a late night, snack, it won't make any difference to your long-term weight loss (although if you weigh in the morning the scale may not be as friendly but your progress will be the same).

    All of that said, there was one big benefit from spacing one's meals out across the day -- most people are better able to regulate their caloric intake if they don't let themselves get super hungry by waiting too long. Additional studies showed that the general public was better able to control binges and going past their daily calorie budgets if they ate regularly. So if that's an issue for you, then spacing your meals out across the day is likely to benefit you.

    So, in a nutshell, WHEN you consume your calories doesn't affect your metabolism or caloric burn but it MAY affect your ability to control your caloric intake. There is no reason at all not to take this approach, but it's good to know that it won't make a difference in your calorie burn from a physical level. So if you get the late night munchies and it fits into your "calorie budget" then you don't need to feel guilty.

    :drinker:

    Amen from one Robin to another. :)
  • Dbist
    Dbist Posts: 5
    Options
    a feature request would be to view reports by these fields (type of meal, time of day) .
  • triannataylor
    triannataylor Posts: 32
    Options

    I was recently talking to a friend who works in the medical field. She observed that during the 10 years she worked in a 'family practice' facility, she never saw an obese person who was older than 60 years old ( I am sure there are a few out there who do). Scary!

    I work in a long term care facility and I can tell you many of our residents are overweight or obese!!!
    MANY!

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