How often do you eat?

That is almost the exact meal pattern I have, I eat at 9.30am, 1pm, 4.30pm and 8pm. My family all eat the same pattern.

I have a good breakfast, a mid morning snack (usually a piece of fruit), good lunch, mid afternoon snack (peanuts, popcorn, cracker bran cookies, a glass of milk or another fruit portion), a light dinner and a glass of non fat milk before bedtime.

I think they release all these new studies/recommendations/tips just to confuse people and keep the diet industry in full swing. It is ridiculous. :grumble:

Personally, I eat 3 meals per day, and 2-3 snacks per day. But, I've read many different approaches about how often to eat, from 6+ mini-meals per day, to only 1 big meal per day. I also know people who've experienced success with all of these strategies. It also depends what your lifestyle is like and what your goals are. I say do whatever you feel you can do consistently to get to (and maintain) your goal.

And yeah, I also think WHAT you eat matters more than when you eat it.

I don't really space it out, because my schedule is different every day. I do always eat a good breakfast in the morning. But after that it can totally vary. Some days I just have snacks throughout the morning & afternoon every couple hours, then I have dinner, and maybe a snack later on. Some days I have an actual lunch with maybe just one snack before dinner. I almost always end up having a bowl of cereal or something sweet in the evening. No timetable at all though. I eat when I get hungry.