When do you eat?

soccerkon26
soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
in Food and Nutrition
When do you eat? Or how do you know when to eat?

Are you used to eating at the same time each day? Do you wait until you're hungry? If so, what does that look like for you?

I feel like I eat out of habit (same time each day), and I eat if I am craving something. I'm interested in what others do! I feel like I should try and focus on my body more and listen to if it's actually hungry.
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Replies

  • pinggolfer96
    pinggolfer96 Posts: 2,248 Member
    If I'm hungry I just eat. But my routine is pretty set so my hunger cues and meals tend to be around the same times everyday
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
    I eat every 4 hours.
    Waking up coffee with lots of milk is a meal for me.
    By eating often I avoid getting hungry.
    If I get hungry I will eat anything that is not tied down, so this schedule really helps.
    I try to stop eating after dinner.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I've tried a few different meal arrangements. Right now I'm on four meals a day and I think I'm settled. I don't have set times for my meals, but ranges that I really try to stay within. I have to make meals fit with my schedule for the day, but I aim to eat when I'm hungry. It's no big deal - looking forward to eating is also enjoyable, and I know I won't starve if I have to wait an hour.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    First meal at about 9am. Then every two hours or so the rest of the day till around 10pm.
  • neldabg
    neldabg Posts: 1,452 Member
    edited June 2016
    soccerkon26 wrote: »
    When do you eat? Or how do you know when to eat?

    Are you used to eating at the same time each day? Do you wait until you're hungry? If so, what does that look like for you?

    I feel like I eat out of habit (same time each day), and I eat if I am craving something. I'm interested in what others do! I feel like I should try and focus on my body more and listen to if it's actually hungry.

    That last part is something I've been trying myself, but I don't think I've reached that point yet. I change my meal times as I feel necessary, but I try to eat before I'm too hungry. I find that if I wait until I'm hungry, the hunger feeling can take an hour before going away.
  • jackslovely
    jackslovely Posts: 45 Member
    I usually have breakfast at 730ish. There are days where i need a snack so ill get it around 11:15 then lunch at 230 and dinner when i get home at 830.
  • xmichaelyx
    xmichaelyx Posts: 883 Member
    Weekdays:
    8am snack
    11am lunch
    2pm snack
    4pm dinner


    Weekends:
    non-stop
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
    I eat when I'm hungry. It can be very sporadic, I don't have a set time. I could be hungry as soon as I wake up (4:30 am) or I get hungry at 10am or at 12 pm or sometimes I've gotten hungry way until 3 pm.
  • lolosensan2
    lolosensan2 Posts: 28 Member
    I eat when I'm hungry. Usually every 3 to 4 hours.
    Weekdays:
    8/9am
    12/1pm
    4/5pm snack
    6/7pm

    Weekends are all over the place cause I like to sleep iiinnnnnnn.
  • sashayoung72
    sashayoung72 Posts: 441 Member
    I stopped worrying about when and how close. (who invented breakfast anyway?) I might have a bar and coffee and call it breakfast but i eat a good sized lunch anywhere from 10 am to 2 and then dinner at 6ish to later and it's usually my main meal. I try not to throw in to many snacks and focus on larger meals.
  • brdnw
    brdnw Posts: 565 Member
    soccerkon26 wrote: »
    When do you eat? Or how do you know when to eat?

    Are you used to eating at the same time each day? Do you wait until you're hungry? If so, what does that look like for you?

    I feel like I eat out of habit (same time each day), and I eat if I am craving something. I'm interested in what others do! I feel like I should try and focus on my body more and listen to if it's actually hungry.

    when i'm hungry
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
    I eat according to my appetite. Very little early in the day, saving up my calories for dinner and snacks--because I learned that's when I'm actually hungry. This is something you'll have to work out on your own using trial and error. I definitely save room for snacks, and keep things in small quantities that I can have based on craving.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    I eat whenever. It can be sporadic. Most of my calories are saved for dinner and dessert.
  • solieco1
    solieco1 Posts: 1,559 Member
    Breakfast, elevenses, lunch, tea, dinner most days
  • saires_au
    saires_au Posts: 175 Member
    I pre log my meals into breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks (normally 3 items)
    Breakfast is about 7.30-8 am
    Lunch 11.30-11.30
    Dinner 17.30-1900

    Depending on the day and if I'm working or not. I then have my snacks as I'm hungry. On a busy morning with an early lunch I don't have a snack between if I'm home and plan a late lunch I'll have a snack before if I'm hungry. I like to eat something after dinner when I'm not at work so will save a snack for then
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    When I can. I work in retail, and some days I go in at 4 AM, while others I may not go in until 10 or 11.
  • pie_eyes
    pie_eyes Posts: 12,964 Member
    Lunch at 1-4

    Supper at 10-12


    If I have breakfast it's at 10
  • Nikion901
    Nikion901 Posts: 2,467 Member
    No set times for my meals, it varies depending on hunger level and type of previous meal. I'm retired so I no longer need to eat based on work schedule and wake up anywhere between 7:30 and 9 AM ... usually only want a couple of cups of water first thing. Later comes some coffee and if I'm hungry by then I have a meal. Fron them on it's when I'm hungry again and can vary from 2 hours to 5 hours till the next meal. I stop eating 2-3 hours before bedtime.
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
    When I am hungry usually 4-6 small meals daily.
  • soccerkon26
    soccerkon26 Posts: 596 Member
    JanetYellen wrote: »
    If I get hungry I will eat anything that is not tied down

    This made my day LOL
  • nixxthirteen
    nixxthirteen Posts: 280 Member
    Days where I work 7am - 3:30pm:

    6:30am = 2 slices of Weight Watchers bread with 2 Laughing Cow triangles (or 30g greek yogurt cream cheese spread) and some cucumber slices. A coffee (1 splenda, 1/3 cup unsweetened cashew milk) and a banana.

    9:30-10am = a second coffee, with a bar of some kind. Right now I'm really digging the Quaker Harvest greek yogurt bars in Nut Medley flavour.

    Somewhere between 1 and 2pm = A big serving of fresh fruit (or raw mushrooms and red pepper dip), a greek yogurt cup, and then my main lunch. Usually either a Healthy Choice steamer, or a ww tortilla with shredded chicken breast mixed with salsa, or a tuna sandwich with light tuna mixed with mustard, or lean deli meat sandwiches with tzatziki in place of mayo...

    6pm-ish = dinner. Almost always a ton of roasted veg, a chopped romaine salad, lean meat (centre cut pork chops, ribeye steaks, chicken breast or drumsticks, haddock, salmon, pork tenderloin...). Sometimes I'll have 100g of cooked jasmine rice.

    Before bed I typically have one more small snack. Some oreos or an ice cream bar or popcorn.
  • melissa6771
    melissa6771 Posts: 894 Member
    9am-1pm I drink a big protein iced coffee
    12- breakfast, egg, egg whites, cheese, cereal/milk
    3:30- lunch- carb/protein
    6:45- dinner-carb/protein/veg
    10pm-snack

    This seems to really work for me.
  • pdxwine
    pdxwine Posts: 389 Member
    For me, it is pretty much based on time.

    8:30 or 9am -breakfast
    11 am - 8 unsalted roasted almonds
    Noon or 1-ish - lunch
    5pm - snack of hummus and vegetables
    8pm - dinner
  • lulalacroix
    lulalacroix Posts: 1,082 Member
    Eating early and often does not work well for me. I usually eat my first meal around 1-2 pm. Then I have dinner at a regular time and can have a snack/snacks later in the evening if I want or have the calories for it. This method works best for me to stay under my calorie allotment.
  • Owlie45
    Owlie45 Posts: 806 Member
    Medium breakfast at about 730 then generally nothing until 6 for dinner. Then a snack sometime before bed.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited June 2016
    I eat when I'm hungry. Breakfast is usually just a cup of coffee, sometimes something more. Lunch is somewhere between 11:00 - 3:00, dinner somewhere between 5:00 - 9:00. I'm not usually very hungry in the morning and I prefer my dinner to be the biggest meal of the day. I don't like multiple small meals because they're unsatisfying and I'm hangry all the time, I'd rather have larger and less frequent meals.

    Eat whenever is best for you for adherence, satiety and workout performance. When/how often you eat is irrelevant for weight loss purposes. You can eat one meal per day or ten meals per day, at any hour you want - as long as you maintain a consistent calorie deficit, you'll lose weight. The eating schedule that works best for your personal preferences is the one you're most likely to stick to.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,225 Member
    I eat when I'm hungry. I'm almost never hungry when I wake up. This usually leads to eating just twice a day. I'm down nearly 80lbs so it works for me.
  • robot_potato
    robot_potato Posts: 1,535 Member
    Coffee with lots of milk when i wake up, so i don't kill anything.
    Breakfast after kids leave for school, or brunch together on weekends
    Lunch- i'll either eat a bit early(maybe 11) and then run errands, or have a few snacks rather than a full lunch
    Snack- after school with the kids, i'll partake if i have extra calories
    Dinner with the family- around 6/7
    Late snack if i have an abundance of calories/am still hungry
    Breakfast & dinner are pretty set, lunch kind of happens whenever.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    soccerkon26 wrote: »
    When do you eat? Or how do you know when to eat?

    Are you used to eating at the same time each day? Do you wait until you're hungry? If so, what does that look like for you?

    I feel like I eat out of habit (same time each day), and I eat if I am craving something. I'm interested in what others do! I feel like I should try and focus on my body more and listen to if it's actually hungry.

    I consistantly eat around the same times every day. I tend to get hungry about every 3-5 hours while I am awake. I'm not starving every 3-5 hours but I am getting hungry.
    8 AM- 200-300 calories
    noon- 300-500 calories
    6-7 PM- 300-600 calories
    Snacks at 3-4 and 9 PM- 100-300 calories I don't always eat at both of these time periods.
  • paymentm
    paymentm Posts: 105 Member
    Weekdays:
    Breakfast: 7 AM 200-300 cals
    Lunch: Noon 300-400 cals
    Supper: Between 6 PM - 7 PM 400-500 cals

    If I go for a run I will eat something under 200 cals if I'm hungry. I'm eating 1200 cals a day. I work 9-5 so have to stick to a schedule.

    Weekends:
    Whenever I'm hungry.

    I tend to eat a lot less over the weekend because I'm not on a schedule and pretty busy instead of sitting at a desk all day. I do however tend to make up the calories in alcohol...

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