Large meal vs small meals?

bcrodriguez87
bcrodriguez87 Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I am on week 2 of my journey and have lost 7lbs so far. I usually eat 3 meals a day at around 400 calories per meal. I haven’t gone over 1300 calories yet and I exercise 40-60 minutes (cardio) a day. I see people saying to eat 5-6 small meals a day, but I find it hard to do. I’m a busy mom and can’t find the time to eat all day long. If I continue to eat 3 meals a day will it hurt me in the long run? Does eating 6 small meals a day really make a big difference? TIA

Replies

  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
    I prefer 3 big meals to 6 small meals. I feel more satisfied and do not get cravings when I eat a delicious meal of 500-700 calories. My calories are 1500-1600 net, though. With exercise cals I eat about 2000. I'm losing 1lb. Per week. On 1300 calories you don't have much flexibility.

    I don't think at all that 6 small meals boost metabolism. In the USA when people sat down and ate 3 meals a day as an average people were thinner. Snacking has to be controlled or it can cause weight gain with too many calories. For some it may be easier to control 3 meals rather than 6.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    I’ve found that I control my calories well when I eat frequently and only have one “normal sized” hot meal a day. But I eat that way because I prefer to, not because it’s better than any other way of timing your meals. You definitely won’t do yourself any harm eating three meals a day, or two, or nine. The human body is actually remarkably adaptable!
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    Whatever works best for you. I eat 2 large meals a day (600-800 calories each)
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Just stop eating when you get to your calorie target. You'll be ok.
  • emilyvictoria7
    emilyvictoria7 Posts: 102 Member
    I used to be big on 2 large meals a day but I was skipping breakfast, and would be starving before dinner. Slowly integrated breakfast back in, but still at 3 meals a day I had weird periods of hunger between meals. I'm also someone who doesn't like to graze all day, I really like having a full meal because I love eating (hence all the weight gain two years ago!).

    What's been working for me is a style of eating where you eat a lot and have very small snacks with lots of water. So I have a heavy protein breakfast ~200 calories of eggs, a banana and coffee midday ~125 calories, a lunch that has a protein (tuna lettuce wraps, egg salad lettuce wraps, lunch meats lettuce wraps) but then filler food like a nice big salad plus some yogurt or cottage cheese (usually ~350-400 calories), an afternoon snack that's fattier (yogurt, nuts etc) ~150 calories, dinner with a protein and lots of vegetables but minimal carbs ~500 calories, and maybe an after dinner snack that's starchy so I feel full before bed and don't get hunger pains ~100 calories. I usually average out between 1450-1500 calories daily.

    So my meals are BIG but it's usually very vegetable heavy to do so. I can eat more, without consuming extra calories. And as you can see I cut out the carbs from my bigger meals (i.e. no bread with my "sandwiches", limited rice with a stirfry etc). Plus lots of water (before the bigger meals, and definitely with/before the snacks).

    There's an actual name for this my dietician told me but I have no idea what it is. I second what everyone above says; eat in a way that works for you and your body. Took me over a year to finally figure out this is what works for me of mixing up foods/exercise, etc. And it's far from perfect!
  • HavtaLose
    HavtaLose Posts: 59 Member
    I'm in the same boat as you OP. Being a SAHM of 4 kids, weighing and logging my calories of 3 meals is time consuming itself, I can't imagine doing it 6 times. So I eat 3 meals. With a calorie goal of 1330, my breakfast is around 400, lunch is 500 and dinner is whatever calories is left. I don't get much time for exercise everyday, so if I earn extra calories then that becomes my treat after kids go to bed.

    Meal timing or number of meals is irrelevant as long as you're under your calorie goal. So do whatever your body feels good with and don't over complicate things otherwise it will feel too hard and you're more likely to quit.
  • Fitnessmom82
    Fitnessmom82 Posts: 376 Member
    Eat however you like! With kids, work ect...i can't do many small meals. I do three meals per day and a few small snacks. One way is not better than the other!
  • idabest777
    idabest777 Posts: 97 Member
    It all depends on what works best for you.

    I like to eat frequently, even if I have a large meal i'm going to want a snack 2 hours later. I typically have a average sized lunch and dinner (300-400 cals) and the rest of my calories I use for snacks. 1-2 in the morning, 1-2 in the afternoon, and 1-2 after dinner.
    Even though my snacks are pretty low calorie, just the fact that i'm eating frequently keeps any hunger pangs away.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited February 2018
    elisa123gal wrote: »
    i've heard the old "it doesn't matter it is all just calories" here for years. But i've been eating six times a day on my eating plan..and gosh the weight is flying off.. i weigh less now then i have counting calories on here since friggin 2011. i'm eating healthy all day long... i've lost 17.5 pounds so far since jan 1st..and think it will be 20 pounds lost when i weigh in Friday. it involves a lot of preparing and eating..anyway.. i'm just amazed. CICO didn't work for me.. i think it does for others.. it is individual.

    And how many calories per day are you eating?


    Because it matters. If I ate six times a day and consumed 3500 calories while doing so, I'd gain weight. If I ate six times a day and consumed 1800 calories, I'd lose weight.

    How often you eat doesn't change the fact that CICO governs weight.
  • hetanneli
    hetanneli Posts: 1 Member
    As a busy person I feel like 3 meals + one afternoon snack works the best. I used to eat 5 to 6 smaller portions per day, but always ended up finding myself snacking on something with poor content, such as a random protein bar (which often are "low in carbs" but very high in fats) or an entire bag of nuts. Don't get me wrong, nuts are amazing and definitely good for you, but when it comes to high fat food, it's all about the portion sizes. I also might have snacked on a cookie or something equally unnecessary since I was only concentrating on "I must eat at least five times today, whoops I forgot to have my third meal and it's getting pretty late, oh I'll just grab something quickly so that my diet plan doesn't get messed up".

    Now that I've been eating 3 meals + one snack I feel like I'm way more in control. I also used to go way under my calorie needs and yet I didn't lose weight (at least not drastically). I ate an average of 1300 calories per day, thinking that reducing my calorie intake would be the most sufficient way to shed weight. I'm an active person, I workout everyday for several hours, my body needs way more than 1300 calories to be able to keep on going. I didn't gain or lose weight, my muscles weren't working properly, I was suffering from energy/calorie deprivation.

    Atm, I try to get equal amounts of calories each meal (something around 500 each) plus I have a snack (about 200 cals). I feel more energetic, I am more aware of what I put in my mouth and I can finally control it. Eating is no longer a burden, or something that scares me, I enjoy it and meal planning is actually pretty fun when you don't have to be insanely strict on the calories, since the meal sizes aren't tiny anymore.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    I can't even imagine trying to eat 5-6 times a day.
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,374 Member
    I can't either... 2 meals and a snack (depending on what the meals consisted of) is more than enough for me.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    elisa123gal wrote: »
    i've heard the old "it doesn't matter it is all just calories" here for years. But i've been eating six times a day on my eating plan..and gosh the weight is flying off.. i weigh less now then i have counting calories on here since friggin 2011. i'm eating healthy all day long... i've lost 17.5 pounds so far since jan 1st..and think it will be 20 pounds lost when i weigh in Friday. it involves a lot of preparing and eating..anyway.. i'm just amazed. CICO didn't work for me.. i think it does for others.. it is individual.

    I think you might want to learn what CICO means. Perhaps you're thinking of calorie counting?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    I can't even imagine trying to eat 5-6 times a day.

    It would drive me crazy. I really don't think I could manage it.
  • natasor1
    natasor1 Posts: 271 Member
    2 times a day and one snack of veggies in between. I commit biggest sin in a diet: skip breakfast- and doing just fine. Stay on my current 122 lb for last 45 years. Nothing wrong with it. I've heard that skip breakfast and not to feel revenious at nite this is for few people who can resist the urge ( just saying simply strong will power). In fact, to skip breakfast has only problem, eating too much for dinner. If u can stay on your normal caloric defecit (or balance) you will be just fine.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    I can't even imagine trying to eat 5-6 times a day.

    It would drive me crazy. I really don't think I could manage it.

    I'd be hangry all the time. Little meals don't satisfy me, they just feel like a tease. I've never been a nibbler/grazer, I like big meals.

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