Having a regular eating schedule

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gpstreet
gpstreet Posts: 184 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I wonder if training the body to expect meals at regular times would help in weight control. Has there been any scientific research on this ? I did once read that putting your body into starvation mode can actually put weight on. Something about the body tries to store everything it eats.
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Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    "Starvation mode," as commonly used in weight loss discussions, is a myth. If eating meals regularly helps you meet your calorie goals, then it will help.
  • TiffanyR71
    TiffanyR71 Posts: 217 Member
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    Personally, when I'm able to have some flexibility with meal timing, then I eat when I'm hungry... Though I'm sure it doesn't actually matter when you eat, just what+how much...
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
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    Starvation mode is a myth.

    But eating regular helps me being disciplined. I plan my menu's and eat 3 main meals and 2 snacks
    Some food i use daily ( like my popcorn and almond snack in the evening)

    For the last 6 months it kept me on track
    But this is personal, so for everybody different.

    I dont believe you have to eat this or that or not eating after 6 or 8 or 10AM Or not eating breakfast etc.
    Its all about calories in versus calories out.

    But for me yes i eat pretty much at a schedule But no problem to go out and have a dinner sometimes and eat later or earlier.
    Only in my regular lifestyle and normal day life i eat regular.
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
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    I don't think we really know the answer to this. The main thing is that you have a calorie deficit. So if eating at regular times helps you with that, go for it. If being more flexible on times to eat helps, do that. I have heard of some research indicating cortisol release when meal time is varied, and generally good/well defined circadian rhythms seem to be very helpful for health and well-being, so I think having regular meal times COULD be helpful, but again, this is mostly hypothesis/speculation, and the primary thing to focus on is what helps YOU as an individual to maintain a deficit over time.
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
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    I'll add, if you have a history of binge eating, generally speaking establishing a clear meal plan is an important component of minimizing your vulnerability to binge eating. I do try to eat at regular times and find it helps me with meal planning and understanding the appropriate amount of food for me, which help me to maintain a deficit.
  • LoupGarouTFTs
    LoupGarouTFTs Posts: 916 Member
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    I gained weight having regularly scheduled meals--it was the unscheduled snacks that did me in. Now that I have regularly scheduled snacks, too, I find that being so disciplined has helped me control my eating. I do try to give myself a little flexibility--so breakfast is scheduled for between 7 and 9 a.m. and all meals have a similar 2 hour window, but I think that knowing approximately when I will be eating has given me a feeling of control over my hunger pangs.
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
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    you dont gain weight by being on a schedule.
    You gain when you eat to much calories.


    Only being on a schedule will help some people to stay on track or to be organised as they want etc.
    and for some it helps to avoid being or getting hungry. All very personal.

    But you only gain from eating to much.
  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,789 Member
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    Keeping to a (loose) schedule helps me avoid binging and boredom eating. If those aren't your problems or scheduling doesn't help you with them, eat whenever you want!
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    No. The body does not need to be trained like that.
    But some people do well when they have a consistent plan.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    It's all about calories in<calories out. When you eat doesn't matter.
  • ElvenToad
    ElvenToad Posts: 644 Member
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    Since I found mfp and started eating within a calorie deficit to lose weight, I have put myself on an eating schedule. For me it has been a huge help. All my meals and snacks are at certain times of the day and I don't eat in between them. The times are spaced about 2 hours apart so I never go too long without eating, and its broken up into small portions. This helps me stay in my deficit, but more importantly it has taught me the difference between true hunger and boredom hunger. This is something I never learned before as I would always eat mindlessly before I ever felt hungry. I would also eat massive quantities of food and was used to feeling stuffed. So for someone like me, I think it has been amazing. For others it might be totally unnecessary. I think its just a matter of figuring out what works for you, the individual.

  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    As lots of folks have already said, you don't need a schedule. However, many people find that a schedule helps them avoid mindless snacking.
  • Looncove_Farm
    Looncove_Farm Posts: 115 Member
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    I find my body has created its own schedule and when it says its hungry I can almost guess what time it is within a half hour. Breakfast is around 630 am to 7am. Lunch will fall somewhere between 1130am and 12noon. The dinner will hit around 5pm and 530pm, when my stomach grumbles I eat but its normaly right around those times. OH, snacks,9am and then around230 or 3pm.
    This actualy works for me and I kinda like that im learning to only eat when im hungry and im stopping before im stuffed.
  • gpstreet
    gpstreet Posts: 184 Member
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    I eat at regula intervals but I have an impatient stomach. It is only 10 minutes before lunchtime and it is already moaning.
  • bzyivy
    bzyivy Posts: 4
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    girlviernes wrote: »
    I'll add, if you have a history of binge eating, generally speaking establishing a clear meal plan is an important component of minimizing your vulnerability to binge eating. I do try to eat at regular times and find it helps me with meal planning and understanding the appropriate amount of food for me, which help me to maintain a deficit.

  • bzyivy
    bzyivy Posts: 4
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    Looncove_Farm wrote: »
    I find my body has created its own schedule and when it says its hungry I can almost guess what time it is within a half hour. Breakfast is around 630 am to 7am. Lunch will fall somewhere between 1130am and 12noon. The dinner will hit around 5pm and 530pm, when my stomach grumbles I eat but its normaly right around those times. OH, snacks,9am and then around230 or 3pm.
    This actualy works for me and I kinda like that im learning to only eat when im hungry and im stopping before im stuffed.

    Thank you for your feed back...I'm new too this community and using the fit app is heightening my aware ness big time...planned my food for today...pouting out out there...bzyivy.
  • bzyivy
    bzyivy Posts: 4
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    way2dreamy0 wrote: »
    Since I found mfp and started eating within a calorie deficit to lose weight, I have put myself on an eating schedule. For me it has been a huge help. All my meals and snacks are at certain times of the day and I don't eat in between them. The times are spaced about 2 hours apart so I never go too long without eating, and its broken up into small portions. This helps me stay in my deficit, but more importantly it has taught me the difference between true hunger and boredom hunger. This is something I never learned before as I would always eat mindlessly before I ever felt hungry. I would also eat massive quantities of food and was used to feeling stuffed. So for someone like me, I think it has been amazing. For others it might be totally unnecessary. I think its just a matter of figuring out what works for you, the individual.

  • bzyivy
    bzyivy Posts: 4
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    Yes,metoo..im a late night bingr eater..my metabolism along with menopause and the many losses in my life had life hiding under an armor off fifty pounds. No. More! Im in for the journey back to harmony and self love....
  • gpstreet
    gpstreet Posts: 184 Member
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    learn to love yourself and be confidence in everything you do.
  • Edwilson_Coutinho
    Edwilson_Coutinho Posts: 2 Member
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    Quantity matters, but quality is more important!

    It's much better for your body to have scheduled meals and snacks. Firstable, you control your system with that, which means you say when you're going to eat.

    Eating scheduled meals and snacks enable you to eat normally and not eat a lot at one time.
    You control better your insuline in your blood when you eat on the same time, which means, you control when you will collect more energy from your food to put into your body.

    Quality is more important, because to lose weight you need to enable your body to burn your fat inventories. If you keep eating the same things, but on less quantity, you are just collecting less energy and your body still won't burn your fat inventories.

    You need to eat better to enable your body burn that fat. ;)

    But i'd suggest one step at time. Which one fits better on your lifestyle now. I started scheduling my meals. After 2 or 3 months (which means when it became a habit), i started controlling the amount of calories and lost 5 kgs in 2 months, because of controlling quantity.

    Now, i'm wating as little as i can in every single meal (1500 calories per day) and i cannot eat less than that. The minimum amount is 1200 calories which is not enough for me.

    So, now i'm introducing more quality to my meals and snacks, more proteins, better carbs and better fat to enable my body to burn all the fat that i still have (i still need to lose 10 kgs).

    If you just worry about quantity, you'll never have a longterm solution.

    My advice: start to which one is easier for you and just introduce the next one after the first one turned to be completely natural for you. ;)

    One article about it: http://lifehacker.com/fitness-is-a-skill-not-a-talent-heres-how-to-develop-1651281013

    Set some rules for yourself, but not too hard at first or you'll lose motivation.
    It cannot be just a diet, it needs to be a habit change, a lifestyle change or someday it'll come back.
    This stuff is super personal, but it's also great to have some support. If there is a close friend that is doing the same, call him/her, discuss, ask, help each other.

    Always, introduce what you think it's the best for you. ;)

    The last one, at least for me it was the supper booster to start eating fruits and vegetables, Pact app.
    For me, i'm literally making money and having better habits, so it can boost your motivation somehow. ;)

    Good Luck! ;)

    The best research resource for scientific article: PubMed. ;)

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