Three square meals or being able to graze all day?

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Replies

  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    2 meals, rarely a snack. Simple and effective for me
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    Usually 2 big meals for me.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    i eat when im hungry.

    sometimes thats 4 small meals

    sometimes 2 big meals

    sometimes 6 small meals

    sometimes 3 normal meals

    i listen to my body....
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    the 2 meals a day people right on, nice to know its not just me. My meals are breakfast/ whenever i get round to eating and my evening meal which has most of the calories. Lunch is the one thats gone out of the window for me.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    I would like to do both. :wink:
    (Can't imagine why I got fat?)

    But my days vary from:
    3 even sized meals plus snacks
    2 large meals plus snacks
    2 small meals no snacks
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    999tigger wrote: »
    the 2 meals a day people right on, nice to know its not just me. My meals are breakfast/ whenever i get round to eating and my evening meal which has most of the calories. Lunch is the one thats gone out of the window for me.

    This is so much me usually... A breakfast/lunch type thing and a big dinner... sometimes wine and dessert.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I like to eat, I love food, almost every food, but I've also learnt to like to stop eating and feel that I have eaten, that I am satisfied, and knowing that I have got what I needed. So, meals works best for me. I don't like the stuffed feeling I grew up with being the norm, so I portion out what I'll be eating and eat that; if I don't feel satisfied, I wait for the feeling to come, and it always does. I aim for 5 meals a day, but sometimes I end up with 3, 4 or 6. Appetite varies, maybe depending on what I eat, haven't been able to recognize a pattern yet. Dinner is usually the largest meal, but not always. Sometimes I'll have dessert, but not always. Sometimes I'll have something inbetween, planned or unplanned, but not every day.
  • cocolattes
    cocolattes Posts: 3 Member
    I try to wait until I am starving to eat in the morning. So my Breakfast has gone out the window. I prefer 2 bigger meals because it works better for me and makes me feel full. For example, Today I work till 12 then will go to town, do my own oil change, and then probably eat around 2-3. Then I eat again around 7 and feel full until I go to bed. I drink water all morning to calm it down and my body is getting used to it.
  • scottacular
    scottacular Posts: 597 Member
    I like less frequent, large meals. More frequent small meals leaves me hungry. Currently on maintenance so four equal sized meals works out nicely for me. If I was cutting, it'd be three good sized meals and something more akin to a snack at the end of the day. When I'm on bulking calories, I'd probably fit a snack between the four large meals rather than increase the size of what I already eat.
  • toriraeh
    toriraeh Posts: 105 Member
    I usually eat 3 meals and an afternoon snack because I never know when my husband will be home for dinner and I try to wait for him. Breakfast and lunch are small-ish... Between 150-250 and dinner is usually anywhere from 500-700. I'm eating 1320 right now so a snack will usually be all I have left in the afternoon or evening.
  • Toadstool_
    Toadstool_ Posts: 120 Member
    I tend to stick to 3 small meals a day, a mid morning snack, and a mid afternoon snack as I eat quite obsessively throughout the entire day (full or not!) so it seems to be a good way of still eating frequently but not overdoing the calories. I have been considering trying out 3 larger meals a day and seeing whether I could eventually teach myself not to think about food all day, but for now, there's only a stone to lose, i'll shift that and see about trying out 3 larger meals later on :)
  • floatfitness
    floatfitness Posts: 8 Member
    I've competed in bodybuilding events and when I was placed on a 5-6 small meal plan I actually gained weight and began binge eating. I prefer 3 larger healthy meals which satisfies me, tastes better than snacks, fits my job/travel schedule better and I think about food much less. Trying to prepare so many meals a day was unrealistic and I noticed no improvement in my metabolism and I feel I am leaner doing 3 meals a day. I also don't want to eat late at night when I habe an adequate dinner. My biggest meal is typically lunch.
  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
    I have the same basic routine 5 days a week (weekends are pretty haphazard) - I drink a ton of coffee whenever I get up and then late morning after a couple of miles walking with the dog, I eat steel cut oatmeal, ff greek yogurt and a cup of blueberries. Some time in the mid afternoon (after workout if it's a lifting day), I eat a a cup of full fat plain greek yogurt mixed with a banana (around 100 g), 28 g of chocolate whey and 10g of unsweetened cocoa powder. Some time before 6 I have a snack - apple, or if its been a lifting day, that and oz of nuts along with. Then 7-7:30 is dinner - some kind of meat or fish, green veg, salad, and some starchy stuff (potato, rice, quinoa, whatever I feel like). That's it. If I am hungry before I got to bed I have a serving of ff greek yogurt. Basically that's three meals a day plus a snack - I just start the meal part late morning.
  • dewsmom78
    dewsmom78 Posts: 498 Member
    I prefer 3 meals and a snack. I usually do a meal replacement shake for breakfast, then a big nutritious lunch, and a smaller, low carb dinner. I will usually eat one snack, usually a frozen fruit bar or string cheese. I hate waiting 5 hours to eat a meal.
  • mathandcats
    mathandcats Posts: 786 Member
    I'll want to eat frequently during the day no matter what I do, so I make sure to leave calories for it. I'm a grazer.
  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,787 Member
    I prefer mostly grazing with one big meal. I snack in the morning if it's a workout day (skip morning food if it's a rest day), have a ~300cal lunch every day, have a biiiiig dinner, and maybe have another snack before bed.
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
    I think both patterns can work, but I've been seeing various studies lately that make me think that meals may be preferable to snacks. The best pattern for me personally seems to be breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner.
  • noclady1995
    noclady1995 Posts: 452 Member
    I don't feel like eating 5 times a day, for me, is grazing. Since I deliberately plan what I eat at each meal, I just consider them small meals. It helps me to not just think about it as eating time, but rather, fueling time. I also feel less hungry that way.
  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,709 Member
    Eat one meal per day and then no calories. It's tough at first, but pays off. Your blood sugar issues and crashes will cease, as will the psychological game-playing with following cravings. If you need to lose, go no-nonsense about it. After dropping my 173 lbs in 10 and 1/2 months, I still eat once a day, plus I do a protein shake to add back lean muscle faster. It makes the most sense to me and so many others.
  • blakexx3
    blakexx3 Posts: 89 Member
    Hmm I've been interested in this. When I was really thin about 118-120 lbs at 5'6" I ate 2 big meals a day - one of them always either being a salad or sandwich and never snacking in between. Then I obviously gained weight because I ate 2 big meals + a lot of snacking. Now I feel like I graze constantly throughout the day but I know what the OP means about liking to feel hungry so I do watch my snacking intake now and try my best to just eat when I'm actually hungry.
  • Julz519
    Julz519 Posts: 22 Member
    I eat 5 to 6 times per day with each meal having somewhere between 200 and 400 calories to get me to my goal of almost 1600 calories per day. They are all planned as well. This seems to work best for me because if they aren't planned and readily available and I allow myself to get really hungry then the will power is out the window and I will eat anything and everything in site!!!
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Most days I eat one small and one large meal per day. The small meal is usually around 250-400 calories and the big one 800-2000. It's not a hard and fast rule for me, it's just the way I prefer to eat.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    edited April 2015
    It totally depends for me. The thing is, I'd much rather stick to 3 meals a day, but very often when I do that I end up crashing around 4pm and having a snack, then I end up with almost no calories left for dinner... so I'm often better off having a lighter lunch, then a snack in the afternoon (or a lighter breakfast and a snack mid-morning).
  • CherokeeBabe
    CherokeeBabe Posts: 1,704 Member
    2-3 meals a day + snack or dessert depending on how I feel.
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    It totally depends for me. The thing is, I'd much rather stick to 3 meals a day, but very often when I do that I end up crashing around 4pm and having a snack, then I end up with almost no calories left for dinner... so I'm often better off having a lighter lunch, then a snack in the afternoon (or a lighter breakfast and a snack mid-morning).

    I find the same. I don't do well if I skip afternoon snack.
  • namluv
    namluv Posts: 194 Member
    my diary is 3 meals and 2 snacks... but in reality it takes me so long to eat (most of the time) it's like I never stop eating during the day so I guess I graze!
  • Curtruns
    Curtruns Posts: 510 Member
    I am an ELMO eater (eat less more often) That is the ONLY way to go and if you don't agree with me you are wrong. I am also a bit opinionated and passionate over trivial things. ;)
  • CoriannMichelle
    CoriannMichelle Posts: 8 Member
    I am a grazer. I function and perform best when my hunger is kept at bay. I plan my day in the morning by logging ahead of time and include lots of fruits, snacks, and low calorie things to help meet my goals. I also try to fit in at least a half hour walk so I can have a drink in evening. I do not eat after dinner and this fits fine for me since I go to bed around 9 pm and wake up early between 4 and 5 am. I eat most of my calorie intake while at work but the key is I bring healthy snacks and lunch from home.
  • CoriannMichelle
    CoriannMichelle Posts: 8 Member
    Breakfast is also my biggest meal of the day since I am most hungry in the morning.
  • TheJenProject
    TheJenProject Posts: 25 Member
    Not really a breakfast person, and lunch is usually a protein shake. I tend to graze more during the day on very low cal snacks i measure and keep in little ziplocs like cucumbers, tomato, pickles and then dinner is a nice full meal of veggies and lean protein which is filling (and bloating) so it stops me from overnight snacking (binge eating). Generally I find making sure I have emergency snacks on hand that are already weighed out and ready has been helpful to stop the binges. The idea of eating all day on little snacks keeps my cravings at bay and eating a full meal at dinner keeps me from hitting up the pantry! I also noticed, on weekends I would save all my cals for night to enjoy a big meal and this almost always leads to bingeing and going way over calories because when I`m super-hungry I`m not able to think clearly and my body wants carbs immediately!
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