Normal eating

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ashleygroizard
ashleygroizard Posts: 181 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
What’s normal eating? What do people think about three healthy small meals a day and two to three snacks getting the right amount of nutrients needed for your body? Is that good for weight loss and converting food to energy and fueling my body? I’d like to know what other people think

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  • Phirrgus
    Phirrgus Posts: 1,894 Member
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    "normal" for me is eating when hungry, only eating until not hungry, and not worrying about it all the time.

    That said, actually doing that is another animal altogether. I've been eating at maintenance for a while now, but as I'm beginning to slide back towards old habits, it's time to start counting calories again.
  • Nerys52
    Nerys52 Posts: 86 Member
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    Normal for me is small meals. I do 5 small meals and a few snacks. I have to watch nutrition, I have several health issues ( see profile). I am homebound. I cook from scratch. I do 1300 calories daily.
    Breakfast- midmorning - lunch - dinner - evening - snacks.
    I have Rx meds that have to be taken with food or is severe nausea. And is dosages spread out over the day.

    I like variety of foods and adding small bits of items for more flavor and on a Japanese Youtube I see was mention they eat way more different items, so more different nutrients in the same day, in a day than is in western food.
    Also their small portions, bowls, ways of serving foods etc. inspired me.

    So instead of a plain half sandwich cheese with a slice of cheese. I do 1/2 slice cheese, 1/2 tomato in thin slices, mini gherkin in bits,small salad leaf and a little sprig fresh herb.

    Still have a few Easter leftovers, which get used up slowly as a snack.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,429 Member
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    I don't even do the same schedule every day, and consider that perfectly normal. (I'm in year 3 of maintenance, but did about the same while losing.)

    Usually I eat 3 meals, but in the Winter it's frequently 2 meals (I don't get up as early to go rowing: river frozen ;) ). If I dither around the house for a while, then eat a solid breakfast, I'll go for hours without eating again, and end up only eating one more (big) meal in the evening. Once in a while I eat 4 meals, if I'm hungry and have sufficient calories left for it.

    Snacks vary a lot. If I get hungry, I'll eat a little something; if I don't, I won't. Or I might have a small snack to get in some extra protein, if I'm going out for dinner and planning something that won't fully achieve my nutrition goals (I'm vegetarian, so protein at some restaurants can be limited).

    Any eating schedule that meets your energy and nutrition needs, while fitting in with the rest of your life, and keeping you full and happy, is a "normal" schedule, IMO.
  • zeejane4
    zeejane4 Posts: 230 Member
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    "Normal" is a completely subjective term and will vary between individuals. And it can change, (in my case quite a bit over the past few years). For me right now 'normal' is 16:8IF along with a moderate carb intake (50g-75g net carbs). A month ago I was eating a high carb, mostly plan based diet and no IF. Who know's what my 'normal' will be next month. I like to experiment with different ways of eating-it keeps maintenance from becoming boring.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    ashleygroizard wrote: »
    What’s normal eating? What do people think about three healthy small meals a day and two to three snacks getting the right amount of nutrients needed for your body? Is that good for weight loss and converting food to energy and fueling my body? I’d like to know what other people think

    I think normal is sticking to what you feel is mostly natural or comfortable. Abnormal is overthinking it and second-guessing yourself. Weight loss requires a calorie deficit. The rest is up to you.
  • Kimmotion5783
    Kimmotion5783 Posts: 417 Member
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    'Normal' means different things to different people. "Normal" in my opinion means what you do on average. Normal is your most common routine from day to day. For example, in terms of my "normal", I eat three square meals a day, and 2 sometimes 3 snacks besides (morning, noon and night). It's what those meals and snacks consist of that makes all the difference. Most of my day consists of vegetables and fruit, with some lean protein thrown in for good measure. Coffee in the morning, water most of the day with maybe a cup of almond milk, tea or kombucha in the afternoon just to break up the monotony a little. That's my definition of normal, but of course everyone is different. It takes a little experimentation to find what works for you.
  • kbmnurse1
    kbmnurse1 Posts: 316 Member
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    I eat 5-6 smaller meals a day. This works best. An example of my day. Breakfast 1/2 cup fresh berries/5oz plain Greek Yogurt/12 GM Cranberry Granola a drizzle of honey and coffee. Lunch 1.5 cups homemade Chicken Vegetable soup with 1.5 oz Oyster crackers. Snack 4 Chocolate rice cakes (small) with a smear of peanut butter. Dinner 8oz baked chicken thighs with a side mozzarella/tomato salad. If I have snack after dinner it may be a Raspberry popsicle or a small ice cream sandwich. I try to stay at around 1300cal/daily. I work out 5x weekly burning about 300 calories each day. I only count back 1/2 of my calories if that.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
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    diannethegeek wrote: »
    As I recall, you mentioned being recently diagnosed with an eating disorder in another thread, right? I mention it because EDs can really skew your perspective of what normal is and I'm not sure that the advice to trust your body or to eat the way that works for you is the best advice in this specific instance. Because your eating disorder is always going to lie to you about what is and isn't normal, so it may take a while before you're comfortable with the way that you should be eating, if that makes sense.

    ^^ This.

    My therapist and dietitian *insist* that it's "normal" to eat a snack every day, especially when one is a distance runner. I maintain that they're full of bull feces, but I also recognize that my brain is not fantastic on determining what "normal" meal patterns are.

  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
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    If the question is, can you eat without doing anything fancy like intermittent fasting or six small meals, and still lose weight, then yes, you can. In fact I lost 125 lbs and normalized my blood sugar readings while eating an ordinary diet, three meals a day, at least one snack, and usually two. What matters for weight loss is calories in versus calories out, and if eating in this way makes that easier for you, then it will work.
  • roobella
    roobella Posts: 59 Member
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    I'll be honest.. after years of stress eating and trying to get back on track using things like WW and SW my minds a bit warped on what's normal.

    After getting back into tracking on here, I just eat as and when I feel hungry. I tend to also do my meals back to front in that my biggest meal is first thing in the morning with my smallest at night
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    diannethegeek wrote: »
    As I recall, you mentioned being recently diagnosed with an eating disorder in another thread, right? I mention it because EDs can really skew your perspective of what normal is and I'm not sure that the advice to trust your body or to eat the way that works for you is the best advice in this specific instance. Because your eating disorder is always going to lie to you about what is and isn't normal, so it may take a while before you're comfortable with the way that you should be eating, if that makes sense.

    That being said, and hopefully you're taking advice from your treatment team on this, I think that three meals and three snacks sounds like a perfectly good meal plan. I don't think they even need to be small meals, just regular size meals that fit your energy/nutrition needs. Personally, I usually do two meals and then snack throughout the night. But that's just because I tend to be hungrier in the evenings and I like to save some calories for after dinner. But that's what works for me and you should work with your doctors to find what works best for you.

    This. Ignore what I said. This.
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
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    I work.. a lot (love my job)
    I live solo
    I can't, don't and won't cook.

    Normal for me is:
    Breakfast: Coffee and maybe something light (yoghurt, piece of toast, etc) when I get to work.
    Lunch: Skip it. I'm too busy and never hungry during the day.
    Snack: Maybe cheese and crackers, muesli bar or something as mid afternoon if I'm peckish
    Dinner: Grab some take away (burger or kebab) on the way home, or chuck a 'man size' frozen dinner in the microwave or a pizza in the oven at about 8pm and then 1 or 2 (or more if I have the calories left) fun size chocolate bars for desert.

    That's pretty much how my normal looks. Lost about 45kg (100lb) eating like this. Went from being couch bound and so unfit I avoided anywhere that had stairs to having just completed my first triathlon eating like this. Went from having my doctors worried to having "just great, really great" test results and health markers eating like this.

    Most importantly, enjoyed every moment and have never struggled a day getting these results eating like this.

    But that's my normal and no one else's. I can't do someone else's normal anymore than someone else can do mine.
  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
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    I would think it would vary for each person depending on lifestyle and preference.

    For me on a typical work day I eat 3 square, balanced meals during the day with no snacking or eating at night.

    The weekend varies. Sometimes it's one big meal and other times it's 2 decent sized meals and maybe I'll go out for dessert or have a treat.

    My good friend on here does great grazing all day and another person is does one meal a day and is maintaining nicely. Everyone is different.

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