1-2 meals a day or multiple?
UltraVegAthlete
Posts: 667 Member
I usually just eat 2 big meals a day, but I’m trying to eat every 2-3 hours now to see if it helps prevent cravings and overeating.
Does anybody have success stories from doing this? Do you feel better doing one or the either?
Does anybody have success stories from doing this? Do you feel better doing one or the either?
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Replies
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I ate every 2-3 hours because that's what you're "supposed" to do. 3 or 4 meals per day is just as fine. But I would be reluctant to try 1 or 2 meals per day. So the questions I have to you, is - how many meals are you planning to eat per day, now? How many calories? Are you eating a balanced and varied diet, or depriving yourself?0
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I prefer eating 2-3 times per day, and find eating more often (lots of little meals) makes me unsatisfied. Fewer big meals for me.
It's personal, though -- try both and see what you prefer.1 -
It depends what you call a meal. I have breakfast, lunch and dinner and then 2 snack meals in between. This works for me, but you have to find what works best for you.0
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I prefer two meals because I do not like to eat in the morning. Time meals in a way that works for you.0
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1-2 meals a day might work for some. However, having had issues with restrictive diet and binge episodes, I'm pretty sure that would instigate some bad habits for myself. I tend to eat 4-6 times a day (every few hrs) and it works really well for me. It allows for nutritional variety, keeps me satiated throughout the day and ensures I keep myself on track.1
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Always eat a couple meals a day! I have always always had success with it. I couldnt even imagine eating 2 meals a day. Id die of starvation for sure haha its proven that more meals a day, 5-6 smaller meals per day is actually better for metabolism and successful weight loss rather than 2 meals. 2 meals seems more like youd be binge-ing and starving which would def make me not wanna diet hahah15
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On nonlifting days, I eat one large meal. On lifting days, I have a snack (usually a protein shake) prior to lifting. I don't have to take food to work, worry about when I'm going to eat, and I get to eat a ton of food at once when I get home in the evening! If I eat more often, I will snack my way through the day and end up with far more calories and terribly unbalanced macros.1
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UltraVegBabe wrote: »I usually just eat 2 big meals a day, but I’m trying to eat every 2-3 hours now to see if it helps prevent cravings and overeating.
Does anybody have success stories from doing this? Do you feel better doing one or the either?
Well going from your previous posts I would say the cravings and 'overeating' is due to the fact you only eat fruit and vegetables and probably not eating sufficient calories.4 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »I prefer eating 2-3 times per day, and find eating more often (lots of little meals) makes me unsatisfied. Fewer big meals for me.
It's personal, though -- try both and see what you prefer.
Same. I want at least one substantial (650+ calorie) meal per day. 6 tiny meals just wouldn't cut it. Don't worry about what you should do; just find what works for you and do it.
Make sure you're getting sufficient quantities of fat and protein in the process.2 -
I eat one meal a day, spreaded over 2-3 because it's a large amount of food. I've been doing it for the past month and it's working like a charm. I eat food I truly enjoy and my cravings went away. I still weight my food and count calories, but daily ~21 h fast was a game changer for me.0
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tiptoethruthetulips wrote: »UltraVegBabe wrote: »I usually just eat 2 big meals a day, but I’m trying to eat every 2-3 hours now to see if it helps prevent cravings and overeating.
Does anybody have success stories from doing this? Do you feel better doing one or the either?
Well going from your previous posts I would say the cravings and 'overeating' is due to the fact you only eat fruit and vegetables and probably not eating sufficient calories.
And how is this helpful? I like eating my fruit and vegetables, I find that I do eat enough calories (2000-3000 calories a day, actually), and “overeating” is just overeating. As in, I’ve reached 2500 calories for the day but then decide to eat 1000 calories worth of airpopped popcorn. Sound impossible? Haha nope3 -
ShaeTheSweetest wrote: »Always eat a couple meals a day! I have always always had success with it. I couldnt even imagine eating 2 meals a day. Id die of starvation for sure haha its proven that more meals a day, 5-6 smaller meals per day is actually better for metabolism and successful weight loss rather than 2 meals. 2 meals seems more like youd be binge-ing and starving which would def make me not wanna diet hahah
Some people find better success eating two meals a day rather than 5-6. It's personal preference and doesn't do anything for your metabolism.4 -
I eat two meals a day: lunch and dinner. In between, I usually have a banana when I get home from work and I have a tea and maybe a snack before bed depending on how I feel and how many calories I have left:).
This is ideal for me, I think it’s good to try a few tweaks and see what works for you.0 -
UltraVegBabe wrote: »tiptoethruthetulips wrote: »UltraVegBabe wrote: »I usually just eat 2 big meals a day, but I’m trying to eat every 2-3 hours now to see if it helps prevent cravings and overeating.
Does anybody have success stories from doing this? Do you feel better doing one or the either?
Well going from your previous posts I would say the cravings and 'overeating' is due to the fact you only eat fruit and vegetables and probably not eating sufficient calories.
And how is this helpful? I like eating my fruit and vegetables, I find that I do eat enough calories (2000-3000 calories a day, actually), and “overeating” is just overeating. As in, I’ve reached 2500 calories for the day but then decide to eat 1000 calories worth of airpopped popcorn. Sound impossible? Haha nope
But are you getting enough protein and fat? Are you reaching those macro goals? They are extremely important for optimum health.4 -
UltraVegBabe wrote: »tiptoethruthetulips wrote: »UltraVegBabe wrote: »I usually just eat 2 big meals a day, but I’m trying to eat every 2-3 hours now to see if it helps prevent cravings and overeating.
Does anybody have success stories from doing this? Do you feel better doing one or the either?
Well going from your previous posts I would say the cravings and 'overeating' is due to the fact you only eat fruit and vegetables and probably not eating sufficient calories.
And how is this helpful? I like eating my fruit and vegetables, I find that I do eat enough calories (2000-3000 calories a day, actually), and “overeating” is just overeating. As in, I’ve reached 2500 calories for the day but then decide to eat 1000 calories worth of airpopped popcorn. Sound impossible? Haha nope
I think the point she was making is that you are most likely experiencing cravings, and overeating in response, because of all the stuff you won't eat. And that it's possible no matter how many times you eat per day, your body will continue to ask for what it's missing, regardless of what you like.
Anyway, I feel better eating 3 meals plus a couple of snacks, but not eating in the AM. I've never been much if a big meal person, I feel really heavy if I eat a ton all at once, so eating one or two big meals would never work for me. But im not hungry in the morning so i stopped forcing myself to eat until i was hungry, which is lunch time. Meal timing is personal preference, so spreading your eating out more could help.1 -
ShaeTheSweetest wrote: »Always eat a couple meals a day! I have always always had success with it. I couldnt even imagine eating 2 meals a day. Id die of starvation for sure haha its proven that more meals a day, 5-6 smaller meals per day is actually better for metabolism and successful weight loss rather than 2 meals. 2 meals seems more like youd be binge-ing and starving which would def make me not wanna diet hahah
It's not "proven" that more meals a day is better. Plenty of people feel great and succeed eating once or twice a day. It works for them because they're not starving all day, that's kind of why they do it I think.5 -
UltraVegBabe wrote: »tiptoethruthetulips wrote: »UltraVegBabe wrote: »I usually just eat 2 big meals a day, but I’m trying to eat every 2-3 hours now to see if it helps prevent cravings and overeating.
Does anybody have success stories from doing this? Do you feel better doing one or the either?
Well going from your previous posts I would say the cravings and 'overeating' is due to the fact you only eat fruit and vegetables and probably not eating sufficient calories.
And how is this helpful? I like eating my fruit and vegetables, I find that I do eat enough calories (2000-3000 calories a day, actually), and “overeating” is just overeating. As in, I’ve reached 2500 calories for the day but then decide to eat 1000 calories worth of airpopped popcorn. Sound impossible? Haha nope
But are you getting enough protein and fat? Are you reaching those macro goals? They are extremely important for optimum health.
I reach them most days. I get between 35-65 grams of protein a day depending on what I eat, 10-20g fat, and 382949471724 grams of carbs.UltraVegBabe wrote: »tiptoethruthetulips wrote: »UltraVegBabe wrote: »I usually just eat 2 big meals a day, but I’m trying to eat every 2-3 hours now to see if it helps prevent cravings and overeating.
Does anybody have success stories from doing this? Do you feel better doing one or the either?
Well going from your previous posts I would say the cravings and 'overeating' is due to the fact you only eat fruit and vegetables and probably not eating sufficient calories.
And how is this helpful? I like eating my fruit and vegetables, I find that I do eat enough calories (2000-3000 calories a day, actually), and “overeating” is just overeating. As in, I’ve reached 2500 calories for the day but then decide to eat 1000 calories worth of airpopped popcorn. Sound impossible? Haha nope
I think the point she was making is that you are most likely experiencing cravings, and overeating in response, because of all the stuff you won't eat. And that it's possible no matter how many times you eat per day, your body will continue to ask for what it's missing, regardless of what you like.
Anyway, I feel better eating 3 meals plus a couple of snacks, but not eating in the AM. I've never been much if a big meal person, I feel really heavy if I eat a ton all at once, so eating one or two big meals would never work for me. But im not hungry in the morning so i stopped forcing myself to eat until i was hungry, which is lunch time. Meal timing is personal preference, so spreading your eating out more could help.
And I guess you’re right. I get a bit defensive about my eating habits. I apologize to her for snapping.2 -
I know you don't agree OP, but I'm just going to put this out there. 35-65g of protein and 10-20g of fat is low. If my numbers were that low consistently I would be starving and contemplating chewing my arm off. I think honestly what you're going to have to do is find a compromise between how you like to eat and what works for your body. It might take a lot of trial and error. Looking back I ate pretty low fat and protein for awhile without realizing it, and now that I'm eating more of both I feel much better and lost my extra weight way easier. You can get more protein and fat from plant sources if you want. Maybe if the meal timing doesn't help, you can try playing around with those numbers a little. Good luck7
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I personally do better with 2 main meals, lunch and latish dinner, with a small snack at bedtime, or whenever I actually get hungry otherwise. Trying to space out a bunch of small meals was annoying, and breakfast doesn't usually sit well until I have been up for a couple hours. My husband is similar, but my Mom has to eat every couple hours, or she starts feeling lousy. And my brother has to be reminded to eat at all, and to stop talking long enough to actually get the food in his mouth1
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My preference is to eat a couple of big meals and some snacks. I don't like to eat breakfast, although I do need to eat something in the morning in order to take a medication, so I generally will eat something quick in the morning and then eat again in the evening.0
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Really depend on you, some people feel good eating 2-3big meals a day, some people like me tend to few strong cravings between meal so I eat light meal and snack in between. I am on 1200 cal, on a normal work day, have around 350cal of food for breakfast but not in one setting, I have some in my drive to work and some spread out in the morning. Lunch after 1pm and dinner after 5pm for 300 each, 250 cal. for snack in my drive home and after gym.0
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This is up to preference. I'm not usually hungry for breakfast, but eat it sometimes when I feel like it or when we're eating it as a family. I often have 2-3 meals a day with many snacks, usually grab and go vegetables. When I want to go out I sometimes don't eat all day to have one big meal, but I don't like doing this on normal days because I find cramming enough nutrition into one meal challenging. I also don't like having more than 3 equal meals because I don't like the amount of prep and mental work involved in making the meals both satiating and satisfying.
The difference to diet is minimal, and is mostly related to what you feel works better for you. Eat however many meals you want whenever you want.0 -
I eat 5 meals a day with each a similar size calorie wise. This works well for me and I rarely feel hungry although others have greater success with fewer meals. It really is trial and error to find what works best for you.0
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UltraVegBabe wrote: »tiptoethruthetulips wrote: »UltraVegBabe wrote: »I usually just eat 2 big meals a day, but I’m trying to eat every 2-3 hours now to see if it helps prevent cravings and overeating.
Does anybody have success stories from doing this? Do you feel better doing one or the either?
Well going from your previous posts I would say the cravings and 'overeating' is due to the fact you only eat fruit and vegetables and probably not eating sufficient calories.
And how is this helpful? I like eating my fruit and vegetables, I find that I do eat enough calories (2000-3000 calories a day, actually), and “overeating” is just overeating. As in, I’ve reached 2500 calories for the day but then decide to eat 1000 calories worth of airpopped popcorn. Sound impossible? Haha nope
So are you still training? Running? Cycling? Marathon? Track meets? Ifso, you aren't getting sufficient calories and particularly not getting sufficient protein and good fats.
Just overeating? Yet just yesterday you said on a post you are binge eating.0 -
Totally a personal preference as long as all your food is within, and close to, your calorie goal. I have breakfast about 10, lunch about 2 and dinner about 6 - that works for me.
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tiptoethruthetulips wrote: »UltraVegBabe wrote: »tiptoethruthetulips wrote: »UltraVegBabe wrote: »I usually just eat 2 big meals a day, but I’m trying to eat every 2-3 hours now to see if it helps prevent cravings and overeating.
Does anybody have success stories from doing this? Do you feel better doing one or the either?
Well going from your previous posts I would say the cravings and 'overeating' is due to the fact you only eat fruit and vegetables and probably not eating sufficient calories.
And how is this helpful? I like eating my fruit and vegetables, I find that I do eat enough calories (2000-3000 calories a day, actually), and “overeating” is just overeating. As in, I’ve reached 2500 calories for the day but then decide to eat 1000 calories worth of airpopped popcorn. Sound impossible? Haha nope
So are you still training? Running? Cycling? Marathon? Track meets? Ifso, you aren't getting sufficient calories and particularly not getting sufficient protein and good fats.
Just overeating? Yet just yesterday you said on a post you are binge eating.
Some days I overeat, some days I binge eat. They’re different, especially mentally. I overeat on vegetables, sweet potatoes, popcorn... I binge eat on nut butters and processed foods I avoid at all costs.
I guess it’s just a cycle for me of eating just whole plant foods, then having a day where I just want to devour the entire kitchen. I’m hoping having multiple meals or snacks in a day will help me.
I am still training for a marathon and 50 Mile race in July, but the last two weeks I’ve been slacking and have only run around 25-35 miles each week. I’m getting back into it, though. The weather in February makes it hard to be motivated to run 10+ miles at 6 am in the morning.1 -
UltraVegBabe wrote: »tiptoethruthetulips wrote: »UltraVegBabe wrote: »tiptoethruthetulips wrote: »UltraVegBabe wrote: »I usually just eat 2 big meals a day, but I’m trying to eat every 2-3 hours now to see if it helps prevent cravings and overeating.
Does anybody have success stories from doing this? Do you feel better doing one or the either?
Well going from your previous posts I would say the cravings and 'overeating' is due to the fact you only eat fruit and vegetables and probably not eating sufficient calories.
And how is this helpful? I like eating my fruit and vegetables, I find that I do eat enough calories (2000-3000 calories a day, actually), and “overeating” is just overeating. As in, I’ve reached 2500 calories for the day but then decide to eat 1000 calories worth of airpopped popcorn. Sound impossible? Haha nope
So are you still training? Running? Cycling? Marathon? Track meets? Ifso, you aren't getting sufficient calories and particularly not getting sufficient protein and good fats.
Just overeating? Yet just yesterday you said on a post you are binge eating.
Some days I overeat, some days I binge eat. They’re different, especially mentally. I overeat on vegetables, sweet potatoes, popcorn... I binge eat on nut butters and processed foods I avoid at all costs.
I guess it’s just a cycle for me of eating just whole plant foods, then having a day where I just want to devour the entire kitchen. I’m hoping having multiple meals or snacks in a day will help me.
I am still training for a marathon and 50 Mile race in July, but the last two weeks I’ve been slacking and have only run around 25-35 miles each week. I’m getting back into it, though. The weather in February makes it hard to be motivated to run 10+ miles at 6 am in the morning.
You've posted multiple threads alluding to this issue and appear to be unphased by the advice that perhaps your restrictive eating habits are leading to binges. From info you gave in another thread, you tend to eat very low fat and protein. You might have better luck resolving the binge cycle by upping both macros on a daily basis. I really don't think meal timing is your problem here.
But you've received this advice many times and appear not to want to consider it.5 -
UltraVegBabe wrote: »tiptoethruthetulips wrote: »UltraVegBabe wrote: »tiptoethruthetulips wrote: »UltraVegBabe wrote: »I usually just eat 2 big meals a day, but I’m trying to eat every 2-3 hours now to see if it helps prevent cravings and overeating.
Does anybody have success stories from doing this? Do you feel better doing one or the either?
Well going from your previous posts I would say the cravings and 'overeating' is due to the fact you only eat fruit and vegetables and probably not eating sufficient calories.
And how is this helpful? I like eating my fruit and vegetables, I find that I do eat enough calories (2000-3000 calories a day, actually), and “overeating” is just overeating. As in, I’ve reached 2500 calories for the day but then decide to eat 1000 calories worth of airpopped popcorn. Sound impossible? Haha nope
So are you still training? Running? Cycling? Marathon? Track meets? Ifso, you aren't getting sufficient calories and particularly not getting sufficient protein and good fats.
Just overeating? Yet just yesterday you said on a post you are binge eating.
Some days I overeat, some days I binge eat. They’re different, especially mentally. I overeat on vegetables, sweet potatoes, popcorn... I binge eat on nut butters and processed foods I avoid at all costs.
I guess it’s just a cycle for me of eating just whole plant foods, then having a day where I just want to devour the entire kitchen. I’m hoping having multiple meals or snacks in a day will help me.
I am still training for a marathon and 50 Mile race in July, but the last two weeks I’ve been slacking and have only run around 25-35 miles each week. I’m getting back into it, though. The weather in February makes it hard to be motivated to run 10+ miles at 6 am in the morning.
You've posted multiple threads alluding to this issue and appear to be unphased by the advice that perhaps your restrictive eating habits are leading to binges. From info you gave in another thread, you tend to eat very low fat and protein. You might have better luck resolving the binge cycle by upping both macros on a daily basis. I really don't think meal timing is your problem here.
But you've received this advice many times and appear not to want to consider it.
I do consider it. But I can’t just switch on a flip and be like “yeah, I’m going to eat X-Y-Z today!” Or “I’m totally not going to binge today because I am better than that.” It took me months to eat fat again. It took months for me to add more food to my list of maybe 5-10 things I ate. Months of seeing professionals, struggling to move forward... I may have a week where everything is just peachy, but then I give up. Something or maybe nothing at all happens, and I just give up. In one day, i can be hitting all my macros, im feeling great, and then BAM! I have a binge.
So yes, I’m going through multiple forums and posts, trying to figure out how other people recover. How other people get better or deal with it or ANYTHING! Because I’m sick of waking up everyday and having to make choices on what I’m going to eat, if I should, what I should and shouldn’t eat, how far I’m going to run... all of this on top of life. On top of taking care of my little sister and going to school and working and trying to still be happy. And me. And read books and sing songs and play with my cats and talk to my friends. So excuse me, if it seems like I’m not taking the advice into consideration. It’s just so exhausting. And hard. And i don’t have any faith in myself most days.0 -
The only way to know is to experiment and see what works for you. I eat 3 meals a day with no snacks becauseihavemore success with less cravings (plus I like volume more food). I have tried 2 meals, eating every 2-3 hours, which works for some people. Like I said experiment, try eating for a week every 2-3 hours and see if you like it. If not it is easy enough to switch back or try another combination.0
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UltraVegBabe wrote: »UltraVegBabe wrote: »tiptoethruthetulips wrote: »UltraVegBabe wrote: »tiptoethruthetulips wrote: »UltraVegBabe wrote: »I usually just eat 2 big meals a day, but I’m trying to eat every 2-3 hours now to see if it helps prevent cravings and overeating.
Does anybody have success stories from doing this? Do you feel better doing one or the either?
Well going from your previous posts I would say the cravings and 'overeating' is due to the fact you only eat fruit and vegetables and probably not eating sufficient calories.
And how is this helpful? I like eating my fruit and vegetables, I find that I do eat enough calories (2000-3000 calories a day, actually), and “overeating” is just overeating. As in, I’ve reached 2500 calories for the day but then decide to eat 1000 calories worth of airpopped popcorn. Sound impossible? Haha nope
So are you still training? Running? Cycling? Marathon? Track meets? Ifso, you aren't getting sufficient calories and particularly not getting sufficient protein and good fats.
Just overeating? Yet just yesterday you said on a post you are binge eating.
Some days I overeat, some days I binge eat. They’re different, especially mentally. I overeat on vegetables, sweet potatoes, popcorn... I binge eat on nut butters and processed foods I avoid at all costs.
I guess it’s just a cycle for me of eating just whole plant foods, then having a day where I just want to devour the entire kitchen. I’m hoping having multiple meals or snacks in a day will help me.
I am still training for a marathon and 50 Mile race in July, but the last two weeks I’ve been slacking and have only run around 25-35 miles each week. I’m getting back into it, though. The weather in February makes it hard to be motivated to run 10+ miles at 6 am in the morning.
You've posted multiple threads alluding to this issue and appear to be unphased by the advice that perhaps your restrictive eating habits are leading to binges. From info you gave in another thread, you tend to eat very low fat and protein. You might have better luck resolving the binge cycle by upping both macros on a daily basis. I really don't think meal timing is your problem here.
But you've received this advice many times and appear not to want to consider it.
I do consider it. But I can’t just switch on a flip and be like “yeah, I’m going to eat X-Y-Z today!” Or “I’m totally not going to binge today because I am better than that.” It took me months to eat fat again. It took months for me to add more food to my list of maybe 5-10 things I ate. Months of seeing professionals, struggling to move forward... I may have a week where everything is just peachy, but then I give up. Something or maybe nothing at all happens, and I just give up. In one day, i can be hitting all my macros, im feeling great, and then BAM! I have a binge.
So yes, I’m going through multiple forums and posts, trying to figure out how other people recover. How other people get better or deal with it or ANYTHING! Because I’m sick of waking up everyday and having to make choices on what I’m going to eat, if I should, what I should and shouldn’t eat, how far I’m going to run... all of this on top of life. On top of taking care of my little sister and going to school and working and trying to still be happy. And me. And read books and sing songs and play with my cats and talk to my friends. So excuse me, if it seems like I’m not taking the advice into consideration. It’s just so exhausting. And hard. And i don’t have any faith in myself most days.
I'm sorry you've had such a difficult time. If you have a history of disordered eating and have been under a professional's care for it, I'm not sure we have much more to offer, or that we even should, with this in mind.
I hope your find something that does work for you, in any case. I'm sure it is exhausting.3
This discussion has been closed.
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