Set Meal Times vs. smaller, more frequent "snacking"?

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  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    It's 100% personal preference.
  • beamie2687
    beamie2687 Posts: 95 Member
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    I prefer three full meals with very little snacking. Breakfast is usually around 500 calories with lots of protein (otherwise I have a blood sugar crash around 10am!), then a 5-600 calorie lunch, and a small dinner. Since I eat more in the beginning of the day, I'm not usually as hungry for dinner and can get away with 400 calories with some room to spare if I want a small dessert or a glass of wine.

    If I do need a snack, due to hunger or a workout, I go for something with protein and fat (again, blood sugar issues) like milk, nuts, or sometimes hummus (though I often find I need more than hummus).
  • SteveMFP123
    SteveMFP123 Posts: 298 Member
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    I always have my breakfast, lunch and dinner at set times, then I snack throughout the evening as that's when I'm most hungry.
  • lifeskittles
    lifeskittles Posts: 438 Member
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    I HAVE to eat a carb + protein combo at least every 2 hours or so or I feel really sick...I get really low blood sugar. I'm not diabetic or anything, but I do heavy lifting for almost 2 hours each day so I utilize a lot of carbs. So I guess my opinion is more based on true hunger than "snacking" per say...since I'm legitimately really hungry every couple of hours :P
  • musicandarts
    musicandarts Posts: 187 Member
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    I avoid snacking religiously. This was a major source of calories for me. For emergency uses, I have Werthers Hard Candy (3 for 70 cals). Also, once you stop snacking, the craving goes away.
  • Makterbro
    Makterbro Posts: 101 Member
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    I usually eat two really big meals (Breakfast and Lunch) then I eat a small snack for dinner. The reason is because I usually work out in the evening and if I am hungry then I feel really weak.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Well we're all different but if I'm hungry, eating less than 150-180 calories is just not going to work out.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
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    Turning_Hopes_to_Habits wrote: »
    LyndseyLovesToLift wrote: »
    I eat 7 times a day Monday-Friday. Preworkout Quest bar, post-workout protein shake, breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, dessert. I'm almost never hungry.

    Weekends are different. I eat more calories on weekends, but fewer meals. As is my intention.

    I don't do either of these things for weight loss purposes. The number of calories I eat takes care of that. Meal timing doesn't matter. This is just how I eat.

    Do you mind sharing how those calories shake out? I'm not sure I'd ever be hungry if I ate that much, either! I imagine you're a lot more active than me, otherwise you like smaller meals.

    I also am wondering if I might like being hungry for a little while before a meal. Like NoelFigart1 said, food does taste a lot better to me when I'm hungry first.

    Quest bar - 160-190 calories
    Protein shake - 250-300 calories
    Breakfast - 200 calories
    Lunch - 250-300 calories
    Afternoon snack - 150-250 calories
    Dinner - 400-550 calories
    Dessert - 140-210 calories

    On weekdays I eat about 1850 calories per day, but eating more on weekends brings my average daily intake to 2000 calories.

    As for exercise, I do 4 days of lifting for an hour each day and just 1 day of cardio for an hour. Other than that, I have a desk job and avoid exercise on weekends. I'm maintaining now, but when I was losing I ate 1650 calories during the week, evening out to 1850 as a daily average over the week.

    I don't like hunger. Being hungry makes me VERY cranky. I try to avoid it, and my husband and coworkers thank me for that. Plus, the hungrier I get, the more I eat once I finally have a meal, which can lead to eating more than I should. I prefer to eat as often as possible.
  • court_alacarte
    court_alacarte Posts: 219 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    Well we're all different but if I'm hungry, eating less than 150-180 calories is just not going to work out.

    boom. me too. that's why i stick to 2-3 square meals. snacking just stalls me on my weight loss since eating them doesn't fill me up and i end up eating a full regular meal anyway.

    however my mother on the other hand LIVES off of snacking and has in fact lost weight the past few months.

    different strokes. just find what works for you :)
  • freeoscar
    freeoscar Posts: 82 Member
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    I started out breaking my calories fairly evenly among the 3 main meals. Did that for a month and I found myself always a little hungry. So I've been doing a very light breakfast, and basically pushing those calories into a protein-heavy dinner, which leaves me much more satisfied throughout the day.
    I also think that mixing things up during weight loss helps me stick to it, sort of like mixing up workout routines and schedules.
  • Turning_Hopes_to_Habits
    Turning_Hopes_to_Habits Posts: 103 Member
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    Yeah, I can't stave off hunger with less than 215 calories, and sometimes that's not enough.

    Lyndsay, that's a great and tasty routine, but I don't think it would work for me. I would categorize all of those meals except for dinner as snacks. I do keep my breakfast small, my lunch between 400-500 calories, and then I have dinner and a late-night snack if I'm hungry (which I am 80% of the time).

    But I will snack on small things throughout the day sometimes, and I'm going to see how I do without that. Or, sometimes, I get hungry and eat my lunch early. I want to try eating by the clock a little while and see what happens.

    I failed today, BTW. I had my breakfast late, which is normal for me. I should have waited until 3:00 to have my lunch, but I caved and ate it at 1:30. Given my hunger and skin issues this week, I'm going to be supremely pissed if I don't get my period soon. This had better be due to an early period. Of course, I'm irritable, too, so that's one more clue that this week is not business as usual for me or my body. :neutral_face:

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