Eating 4/5 small meals or a few larger ones daily???

I'm 3 meal encounters and 3 snack encounters each day.

I do 5 - 6 meals a day. It helps me because I know I'm always eating soon after.

I was depriving my body too much of what it was telling me it wanted. So I have decided to listen to it more and even though I just started..I feel a lot better. If you feel better eating 3 meals a day then try it out and see how it works for you. We learn from trial and error. Every body is different.

My motto is to do what I can with what makes me happy, as long as it is still working.

I prefer 3 meals and 3 snacks. I do usually eat more calories at dinner than any of the other. I've been consistently losing each week so I believe this is working for me now. If it ever stops working (ie - I don't lose weight), then I'll change my approach. If you prefer three meals and saving calories for later and it works for you, I say go for it because you are right - you can find a study to back up anyone's cause.

You should eat smaller "meals" more frequently throughout the day. This should help you keep that full feeling, which should inherently prevent you from overeating during any one meal. Additionally, drink 8+ cups of water per day as this will help with keeping you feeling full longer/more consistently. Additionally, try to make breakfast your highest caloric meal of the day, with your last meal being least in calories.

Here's an example of what my food intake might look like (~2k calories):
1) Breakfast (within 30 minutes of waking) - 4 egg white omelette with low fat chesse and some sort of vegetable, 3 - 5 slices of turkey bacon, piece of fruit and/or low fat greek yogurt
2) Snack approx 2 hours later - south beach mix nuts or turkey jerky
3) Lunch (approx 2 - 3 hours later) - salad with grilled chicken or fish, vegetable, fruit
4) Snack (approx 2 hours later) - celery w/ low fat peanut butter or low fat string cheese)
5) Dinner (approx 2 hours later) - grilled chicken or tuna, or fish. veggies, maybe a serving of whole wheat pasta.
6) Snack (before bed) - protein shake (~115 calories of protein mixed water)

I have read and follow, eat when you are hungry.....and only eat till you are full....chew every bite fully and enjoy every bite. When you are full push the plate away....

for me small meals often is like grazing then I am constantly thinking of food and that drives me crazy....

I saw a video recently on youtube about how the body uses food. It stated that if you eat a 1000 calorie meal at one time, your body will only use what it needs at that time, say 400 calories, and store the other 600. I really feel that this is true because sometimes I'll have lots of calories to spare during a day and eat a huge meal and gain weight. So know I'll still have that same meal, but I'll split it up into smaller portions.

I eat 6 meals per day inverted per calories... Which means that I eat my biggest meal at breakfast and then eat less and less per meal to the end of the day. This will fill you up in the morning and you won''t be hungry all day... Your metabolism will stay high as well.

<<<<<<<<<<<< Proof is in the pudding

I eat all day...LOL! I just don't go over my calorie intake~ Then most of the time by the end of the day I worked off 1/4 to half of what I've eaten! It really does depend on you and your activity level.

I eat 3 small main meals aprox 300-400 calories each and 3 snacks aprox 100-150 calories each, spread out every 3 hours at least minimum totaling 1200 calories, then take into account whatever my exercise calories are and eat some more of those back but only if I feel hungry or did alot , usually not all of it. I try not to go over 1600 max.