SO FULL! 6 small meals or not?

6 smaller meals for sure...makes me feel like i get to eat all the time...and helps with my metabolism...

I usually have breakfast, lunch, dinner with snacks inbetween.
Depending on the day, you could call some of my snacks a small meal - like a piece of toast with cheese or tomato, or ryvita crackers with hommus or guacamole, or an english muffin spread with banana.
If I'm busy and out on the road then snacks will be more likely to be a muesli bar or an apple and I'll eat a bit more at lunch time.

I also know that I really like to have a little snack when I'm finishing work, so I'll usually plan my meals for the day to include something like some almonds or carrot sticks or a muesli bar to munch on my way home. This means that I am not hungry and am less likely to be tempted by the crappy food at the train station.

There isn't a right way that will suit everyone, I think you need to experiment to see what works for you.

PS. Completely off topic... but SKW, I love your new pic, you're looking great!

6 sounds good. I've been doing 5 small meals, it keeps me from starving, being full or having munchies =D A few years ago I started my own diet idea, doing 5 small meals and stayed away from starches and I lost 20lbs a month... but why I didn't stick with it is beyond me LOL

3 big meals. 2 snacks.

cant do 6 small meals, not practical for me (although probably smarter for losing weight!!)...

I found this article really helpful. Christian Finn is my Guru!



http://www.christianfinn.com/six-small-meals-a-day/



Why Women Don't Need Six Small Meals A Day


Christian Finn
Author


This morning, I got a message from someone on Facebook.

"All the research I've done has said you're supposed to eat six small meals a day and I pretty much do," she wrote. "But I'm not losing and weight and feel hungry every 2 or 3 hours. What am I doing wrong?"

The idea that you need to eat 5-6 small meals a day to "keep your body fueled and stoke your metabolism" is the stock answer given to people who want to lose weight.

But it's actually a myth.

How it got started I don't know, but it's been debunked so many times that it surprises me people still believe it.

The most recent study I came across, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, looked at 3 versus 6 meals a day, and concludes that "increasing meal frequency does not promote greater body weight loss."

"There were no significant differences between the low- and high-meal frequency groups for adiposity indices, appetite measurements or gut peptides (peptide YY and ghrelin) either before or after the intervention. We conclude that increasing meal frequency does not promote greater body weight loss under the conditions described in the present study."

In fact, research going back to the 1990"s - nearly 20 years ago - shows no difference in weight loss with 3 or 6 meals a day.

It's a myth that's a lot more damaging for women, as they generally need fewer calories each day than men.

Let's take the example of a female trying to lose weight by eating 1200 calories per day.

If she was to eat six times a day, each meal would contain just 200 calories - the equivalent of a large banana and a few nuts. Such a small amount of food isn't going to do much for your hunger pangs and will probably leave you wanting even more.

In my experience, most women DON'T want to eat 6 times a day anyway. Who has time for that these days?

That's not to say that you CAN'T lose weight eating six times a day. Plenty of people have done it.

But it's not necessary, or even desirable, as far as weight loss is concerned.

With all due respect to Mr. Finn, he's painting with a rather broad brush and assuming that everyone's metabolism is the same. That's simply not true. For some people, maybe even a majority of people, eating every few hours may not have any effect on weight loss. But everyone's body is different. If your metabolism does not process food as efficiently, you DO need to eat every few hours.

I experienced extreme mood swings my entire adult life: I'd be all happiness & sunshine, then two hours later turn into Eeyore. "Why bother? It's useless anyway..." Once my doctor told me to cut out carbs and start eating protein every three hours, I have more energy than I ever remember having, and my periods of depression have completely disappeared. That's what my particular metabolism needed in order to stop constantly spiking and crashing. I now eat small meals at 6 a.m., noon and 6 p.m., and largeish snacks at 9 a.m. and at 3 & 9 p.m. And I've lost 30 lb in 4 months. And even if I hadn't lost any weight, it would be worth it to me because I feel so much better.

So I say, again, try it and see. You may be one of the people who sees no change, but you also might be one of the people who finds it extremely helpful.

I think that depression you've had might just have been a sugar crush. And cutting out carbs would have eliminated that.
But as you say, its a personal thing. Whatever works for you!

Three meals a day for me with some calories saved for snack in evening if required. Even if the 6 smaller meals worked for me I would have to stay as I am doing, time is of an essence and find planning three meals quite hard some days. What I am doing is working and I have no probs since finding this site....Please let it remain so, 23lbs down since the end of June so I am very happy.
We all have to do what is right for us at the end of the day x