What Is A...?

EDesq
EDesq Posts: 1,527 Member
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Snack and Meal for you, relative to Calories? AND, does it matter?

For Me a Snack is anything eaten from 0-250 Calories; A Meal is ANYTHING eaten over 250 Calories. It matters, don't know exactly why, but intuitively I feel it matters. Maybe someone here will write something that resonates with Me.

Replies

  • 123456654321
    123456654321 Posts: 1,311 Member
    It has more to do with the time of day I'm eating rather then what I'm eating or the amount I'm eating. If it's between breakfast lunch and dinner....it's a snack. If it's breakfast, lunch or dinner...it's a meal. xD
  • Jenscan
    Jenscan Posts: 694 Member
    LOL... well, I couldn't be more opposite! :)

    To me, a meal is like this -- the first time I eat is breakfast. Then lunch is around 11 or 12. Then supper is 6 or so. Snacks are whatever come in between.

    Usually, my meals are about 300-500 calories, and snacks are smaller (but sometimes, cumulatively my snacks end up being MORE than a meal) -- but I don't make a hard and fast rule based on calories; it's time of day for me.
  • denise980
    denise980 Posts: 296
    LOL... well, I couldn't be more opposite! :)

    To me, a meal is like this -- the first time I eat is breakfast. Then lunch is around 11 or 12. Then supper is 6 or so. Snacks are whatever come in between.

    Usually, my meals are about 300-500 calories, and snacks are smaller (but sometimes, cumulatively my snacks end up being MORE than a meal) -- but I don't make a hard and fast rule based on calories; it's time of day for me.

    I do the same thing. It really depends on the time of day that I have the snack. But a lot of times, my cumulative snack calories do come close to meal calories
  • jamie1888
    jamie1888 Posts: 1,704 Member
    Me too... The number of calories doesn't matter. Anything I eat that doesn't fall into my breakfast/lunch/dinner time slots is considered a snack. Actually, you could just lable all your meals as, Meal #1, Meal #2, Meal #3, etc. It doesn't matter.
  • artickb22
    artickb22 Posts: 411 Member
    I stay within 500 cals or less for 3 meals a day, my times r different cause I work a swing shift, my dinnertime is around 1 am with lunch at 8p and breakfast usually around 1 or 2 pm. I eat fruit in-between to help keep my energy up and load up on fiber to help keep me feeling full. But at times my meals are 300 or less cals and my snacks may be the same. So long as your eating ur higher cal foods early in the day you have time to burn them off. I always keep my dinner as my smallest meal shooting for 200 cals or less for that one as I go to bed at 3 or 4 am.
  • Laurayinz
    Laurayinz Posts: 931 Member
    LOL... well, I couldn't be more opposite! :)

    To me, a meal is like this -- the first time I eat is breakfast. Then lunch is around 11 or 12. Then supper is 6 or so. Snacks are whatever come in between.

    Usually, my meals are about 300-500 calories, and snacks are smaller (but sometimes, cumulatively my snacks end up being MORE than a meal) -- but I don't make a hard and fast rule based on calories; it's time of day for me.
    Yup same here. Snacks usually end up totaling a meal, like 300-400 cals. each one is usually less than 100, though. (unless peanut butter or cheese is involved) eusa_shifty.gif
  • Zombriana
    Zombriana Posts: 764 Member
    Everything is a snack, unless It's my dinner or I'm at a restaurant!
  • MzBug
    MzBug Posts: 2,173 Member
    Generally a snack is 1-2 items ate in small portions. A meal would be 3 or more items in combination at larger portions. It all depends on what I am doing (if I can get away for a full meal) and also how long my day gets...over 16 hours I will have more snacks than meals.
  • Kolohe71
    Kolohe71 Posts: 613 Member
    I put anything not eaten as part of a regular meal (i.e. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner) under the snack catagory regardless of it's calorie count.

    It really is a personal preferance though, the important thing is to track EVERYTHING. Who cares what meal you credit it towards... Everything can be listed under Breakfast, but it won't effect your daily count at all.
  • lilRicki
    lilRicki Posts: 4,555 Member
    snacking is what gets me to the next meal...just something little to hold me over...today it was bear paws crackers...22 of them for 100 calories. I don't worry about the protein, calcium, sodium, etc..it's just a little somethin' somethin' to get me to lunch.
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
    I refuse to conform to the norm of society. I just associate the 3 most overrated meals of the day as timed events for feeding; i.e. breakfast = 1st meal, lunch = 3rd meal, 5th meal = dinner. 2nd, 4th, and 6th, are still meals...in fact these oftentimes have more calorie intake than breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
  • LovelySnugs
    LovelySnugs Posts: 389
    i completely gave up on the "meal vs snack" debate i was having with myself. now, i eat what i want, when i want, and my "meals" are labeled as time slots with suggested calorie intakes instead of as Breakfast, Snack 1, Lunch, Snack 2, etc. of course, the calorie intakes almost never match what i listed for myself. but i'm still new at this and trying things out. i figure as i get more practice and get over my current mental "i suck and i'm worthless" (they usually last about a month and a half), maybe things will line up a bit better than they have up to now.

    then again, i've never been one to pay attn to things like what i'm eating and when. those labels (other than Lunch, which i always had to eat at school) have never really applied to me and my life. maybe that's part of the problem. and now you've got me thinking again, as usual. hrmm. . .
  • LovelySnugs
    LovelySnugs Posts: 389
    i completely gave up on the "meal vs snack" debate i was having with myself. now, i eat what i want, when i want, and my "meals" are labeled as time slots with suggested calorie intakes instead of as Breakfast, Snack 1, Lunch, Snack 2, etc. of course, the calorie intakes almost never match what i listed for myself. but i'm still new at this and trying things out. i figure as i get more practice and get over my current mental "i suck and i'm worthless" (they usually last about a month and a half), maybe things will line up a bit better than they have up to now.

    then again, i've never been one to pay attn to things like what i'm eating and when. those labels (other than Lunch, which i always had to eat at school) have never really applied to me and my life. maybe that's part of the problem. and now you've got me thinking again, as usual. hrmm. . .
  • EDesq
    EDesq Posts: 1,527 Member
    I put anything not eaten as part of a regular meal (i.e. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner) under the snack catagory regardless of it's calorie count.

    It really is a personal preferance though, the important thing is to track EVERYTHING. Who cares what meal you credit it towards... Everything can be listed under Breakfast, but it won't effect your daily count at all.

    I'm really not talking about Naming a Meal...I'm asking "What IS a Meal" and is it relevant?
  • jcl1981
    jcl1981 Posts: 60 Member
    i think anything is a meal or a snack relative to the calories as you have posted. To me a snack is usually around 150-180 calories and a meal is 200-600 calories. I have breakfast at about 400 calories, snack 1 at about 180 calories, lunch about 300 calories, dinner about 500 calories and snack 2 about 150 calories. Works for me and my calorie intake is between 1550 and 1600 daily with about 30 minutes of exercise daily. Plus i try to make my snacks very high in protein or fiber to keep me from feeling too hungry.
  • momofJandA
    momofJandA Posts: 1,035 Member
    For me its about time of day: breakfast is first thing in the orning, lunch is around 12, and dinner is at 5:30- everything else is a snack.
    I try to eat 300 calories at each meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and a TOTAL of 300 split between all my snacks, equals out to my 1200 cals a day.
  • Jenscan
    Jenscan Posts: 694 Member
    I put anything not eaten as part of a regular meal (i.e. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner) under the snack catagory regardless of it's calorie count.

    It really is a personal preferance though, the important thing is to track EVERYTHING. Who cares what meal you credit it towards... Everything can be listed under Breakfast, but it won't effect your daily count at all.

    I'm really not talking about Naming a Meal...I'm asking "What IS a Meal" and is it relevant?

    It could be relevant to some of us, not to others. It's more of a personal preference, I think. But PP has it right that it doesn't matter where or when it goes, just that it counts towards the calorie count of the day. :)
  • Tree72
    Tree72 Posts: 942 Member
    I guess if you are asking conceptually how do I think of a meal versus a snack, I would say that for me a meal must include both protein and carbs and is intended to fuel my body for at least 3 to 4 hours. A snack could be almost anything and is generally just intended to last for an hour or two to get me through to the next meal.
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