How far apart are your "meals/snacks"?

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nas24
nas24 Posts: 880 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm doing the 6 meals a day thing to keep up my metabolism, and so far its working. I was just wondering how far apart i should make them? Is is 2 or 3 hours?

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  • medoria
    medoria Posts: 673 Member
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    I do three big meals each day four hours apart starting with breakfast, then I can take a little snack between lunch and dinner, and one after dinner as weel but these snacks rearly contain more then 100-150 kcal each. I dont count coffe as a snack.
  • shellyrulz
    shellyrulz Posts: 148 Member
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    I try to do every 3 hours.
  • natskedat
    natskedat Posts: 570 Member
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    Eat food when you're hungry. If you're not hungry, don't eat food.
  • ashley0616
    ashley0616 Posts: 579 Member
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    I'm trying to eat every 3 or so hours. Depending on what I eat, I can go longer or I get hungry sooner. But I try to stick to 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. You can look at my diary to see the breakdown. :happy:
  • Wilfred808
    Wilfred808 Posts: 113
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    eat when youre hungry dont worry about meal frequency its largely irrelevant
  • ItsMeLori
    ItsMeLori Posts: 346
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    2-3 hours keeps my sugar levels even.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    Eat food when you're hungry. If you're not hungry, don't eat food.

    I agree. If you're feeling hungry you should eat either a meal or a snack. There's no need to schedule your eating habits too rigidly, your hunger signals will probably vary from day to day depending on what you eat. As long as everything is healthy you don't need to worry too much.
  • ItsMeLori
    ItsMeLori Posts: 346
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    eat when youre hungry dont worry about meal frequency its largely irrelevant

    My sugar levels tend to drop if I eat to far apart. I get less light headed when I stand up.
  • nas24
    nas24 Posts: 880 Member
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    Well i guess i break it up that way because that is the ONLY way i would even eat the calories i do. Even at that, im always WAY below my calorie amount. I'm really struggling to keep up. I spread it out into 6 mini meals/snacks because thats the only way i can get everything down. This is only my 1st week, so maybe soon, my body will want more. Thanks for the in put
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
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    I know experts say eat every 2-3 hours.

    Here's my eating schedule during the work week (weekends vary and I tend to be more active):

    8:30am: oatmeal at work (I tend to like the brands found at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, not the higher sugar ones).
    11am: piece of fruit
    Noon: lunch. Typically an Amy's Organic or Kashi frozen meal
    2pm: another piece of fruit or salt-free nuts
    3:30pm: Yogurt (typically organic, fat free or low fat)
    5:30pm: veggies or something like a mozzarella cheese stick
    6:30-7:30pm: gym
    8:30pm: homemade dinner (we eat late in our house), veggies from the garden if they are in season
    9:30pm: healthy snack if I still have calories left for the day

    My calorie range is between 1,200-1,600 depending on how much activity I get in the day. I did not have a lot to lose, so I took it really slow. :)
  • Wilfred808
    Wilfred808 Posts: 113
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    if you have a preexisting condition then what i said doesnt apply to you, sadly you might have to eat every few hours
  • Wilfred808
    Wilfred808 Posts: 113
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    if you have a preexisting condition then what i said doesnt apply to you, sadly you might have to eat every few hours
    oh lord... that was to the lady who replied to me
  • zaiikaa
    zaiikaa Posts: 112
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    Often, lol!

    Breakfast around 8am: Something full. Yesterday was mini pancakes, scrambled egg whites, bacon, and bananas.
    (Depending on how early I eat breakfast, maybe a small snack around 10)
    Lunch around 12pm
    Afternoon snacks - usually one or two. Yesterday was a mini pancake w/ nutella at 2pm and half a nutella bar right before the gym.
    Dinner at around 6pm.
    Snack at 8pm - usually my naughty snack of the day like a little ice cream.
  • Katahna
    Katahna Posts: 326 Member
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    Eat food when you're hungry. If you're not hungry, don't eat food.

    It's like nutrition has taken a page out of some ancient chinese wisdom.

    Eat when you're hungry, sleep when you're tired, that is life.


    There isn't really a right or wrong way to approach a diet, considering everyones bodies react differently.

    What I did to figure out what and when to eat, was trying a very small snack when I'm hungry mid morning, and seeing how long it takes before I feel hungry again, and I just ate enough to make it through about 3 hours till lunch time, then repeat for the afternoon.

    Trial and error, like everything else.

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