Eating too much

I'm confused about this, too! I added some taller ladies and some of them are eating like 1200 calories a day. I don't think I could eat less than 1500 calories lol. I'm currently at 1680 calories and I always get to eat more because I exercise!!!!

Hopefully we can get other people's input on this (:

Caitlin

Don't compare your calories to others. You are unique and your caloric requirements will be as well. If you are losing weight, don't mess with it. Frankly, I think way too many people here are eating 1200 calories. If what you are doing works for you stick with it.

As for the many small meals a day keeping your metabolism up, there is absolutely no research evidence for that.

There are several studied done recently on meal timing and all of them point to the same thing, when you eat does not matter. They did everything from one meal a day to several meals a day. In 2007 Stote et al in the A Journal of Clinical Nutrition did a study of people half the group eating one meal a day (dinner in early eveing). The other half did three meals a day. After the test time they let the whole group eat as they normally would for 11 weeks to normalize their eating pattern, then the switch the groups around. The study time was 8 weeks, and they were eating enough to maintain their body weight. The results, 3 meals a day no change in weight. 1 meal a day lost 3 pounds and an average of 4.6 pounds of fat (probably because it is difficult to eat all your calories in one meal). That is not old science, it is recent. When you eat makes no difference. See also Smeets et al British Journal of Nutrition 2008 finding no metabolic rate change between 2 or 3 meals a day; and Farshchi et al Am Jrnl of Clinical Nutrition 2005 using 3, 6 or 9 meals a day again finding no change in metabolic rate.

The multiple meals a day may help you feel more satisfied, it may, but it will do nothing to significantly increase your calorie burning. I believe the numbers for calories burned for 100 calories of protein is like 10. You would be better off not eating that rather than thinking eating something will help you lose weight.

As Parks et al say in their article in the Am Jrnl of Clinical Nutrition, "Simply put, the question of whether there is a health benefit from the consumption of multiple small meals will ultimately depend on how much energy is consumed, as opposed to how often or how regularly one eats." Translation, it is all about calories.

Sorry for offending you with actual research. I would love to see research that shows differently if you have it available I would appreciate you posting it. My point was this, it will make no difference physiologically, although it may make a difference psychologically. If eating a bunch of small meals helps a person maintain their caloric budget all power to you, for many it does not yet because of people saying that it will increase your metabolism they struggle eating 5-6 meals a day when they would be much happier with 3. Again, if you have the research links available or even information on it so I can find them I would very much like to see it.

Don't compare, what you are doing is obviously working, so keep it up!
You are much taller (and maybe heavier) than me and I'm losing weight eating 1400 - 1600 cals per day plus my exercise calories.
I think too many people are subsisting on 1200 cals a day when they don't have to - personally I have no interest in eating such a small amount and I doubt that it would be necessary or advisable for you to do it either.

Sorry for offending you with actual research. I would love to see research that shows differently if you have it available I would appreciate you posting it. My point was this, it will make no difference physiologically, although it may make a difference psychologically. If eating a bunch of small meals helps a person maintain their caloric budget all power to you, for many it does not yet because of people saying that it will increase your metabolism they struggle eating 5-6 meals a day when they would be much happier with 3. Again, if you have the research links available or even information on it so I can find them I would very much like to see it.

There is no reason to be rude. We are all here to educate and HELP one another. There is tons of research about insulin and blood sugar levels as well as the hormones ghrelin and leptin that stimulate hungar and feelinging full to our brains. Insulin, ghrelin and leptin are all controlled by what we eat and how often. this is not new research either. All you have to do is google it. I actually know L and it is laughable that you say she is offended by research as we both are in the science field and research is our lives (though we are not nutritionists). It is not ALL about calories. If you eat 1200 calories of candy a day in one sitting, you better believe that that is going to mess with your body. You may not be fat, but you won't be healthy and you sure won't feel very well either.

Personally, I go by how I am feeling - I budget my calories. if I am hungry I eat and if I am not I don't. Every body is different and every body has more/less sensitivity to insulin, ghrelin and leptin absorption and secretion. You have to do what is right for your body.

As for the orignal poster - if its working for you, then don't change a thing!! Good Luck!

Teresa

I was not intending to be rude. I simply want to see the studies that show the value of many small meals a day. I can find ones that show it is of no use in terms of metabolism, and even in terms of insulin levels that it keeps them higher on average through the day. I would like to see the others. I have included enough in my post that you can refer to the studies in question, I simply want to see the others, and don't say google it, as google is not particularly discerning as to the results you get, not to mention you need to enter the exact correct search terms. I do find it frustrating that when actual peer reviewed clinical research is cited the response is everyone is different so it does not apply. Anyway none of this has anything to do with the OP's question which was not that they were overeating, but that while staying within their calorie budget their calories assigned by MFP seem so much higher than those of their MFP friends.