Several small meals a day or 2-3 big meals?

daisydreams1234
daisydreams1234 Posts: 4 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Is it just a preference, or is one better then the other?
many small (100-250 cal) or 2-3 big (450-600 cal) meals? are there any benefits to either choice? or does it not really matter all that much?

thanks <3

Replies

  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,464 Member
    There may be some benefits to both, but ultimately, the meal schedule that keeps you happy and helps you achieve your goals is what’s best for you.
    My personal experience is to never go more than 4-5 hours without a meal or a planned, healthy snack, but you may be different.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    daisydreams1234 wrote: »
    Is it just a preference, or is one better then the other?
    many small (100-250 cal) or 2-3 big (450-600 cal) meals? are there any benefits to either choice? or does it not really matter all that much?

    thanks <3

    It doesn't matter at all. Personally, I wound find it a total pain in the *kitten* to have to stop what I'm doing and eat every couple hours or whatever.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    It's just a preference, but if one or the other makes hitting the calories easier for you, that one is better for you.

    I much prefer 2-3 meals, but some enjoy snacking. For me snacking is unsatisfying and would make hitting my goal harder (and be generally annoying); others find they do better eating small amounts more often because it keeps them satisfied and not hungry.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
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  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,779 Member
    It's personal preference.

    I once gave into the "you must eat 6 smaller meals a day to lose weight" mantra, but it didn't work for me. I never felt satisfied and ended up eating more food and gaining weight instead of losing (before I started calorie counting on MFP).
    For me two main meals a day (lunch, dinner) and an evening snack is standard now, sometimes with a small breakfast or an afternoon snack, depending on my activities/inclination that day.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,393 Member
    For me two main meals a day (lunch, dinner) and an evening snack is standard now, sometimes with a small breakfast or an afternoon snack, depending on my activities/inclination that day.

    ^^This is what I do too.

    ...and yeah, when I tried a lot of smaller meals I was always thinking about food and never satisfied.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    There are people with versions of hypoglycemia that must eat small meals in certain intervals. There are people like me that if I eat before 11am (or thereabouts) I am hungrier for the rest of the day. So in specific situations it can matter but mostly it should just be what feels easiest.

    My very brief experiment with 6 meals a day resulted in more hunger, constant thoughts of food, annoyance at the extra meal planning, and that I never ate enough to feel full.
  • vampirequeen1959
    vampirequeen1959 Posts: 196 Member
    Eat whichever way suits you best. I like three 'proper' meals a day but I know other people but my daughter is a grazer. Just watch your calories and make sure you're getting the right mixture of foods whichever way you choose.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    edited February 2020
    I think it's best to experiment and see what works best for you... I love eating a big dinner with room for a bedtime snack. I would be so disappointed if I only got a small 300 calorie dinner or something.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    Personal preference. I prefer 1-2 large meals and 5-7 small meals/snacks
  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 2,023 Member
    I eat every couple hours for 12 hour period. I need it to keep my blood sugar level. I eat the most calories in the morning before my workout.
  • shaf238
    shaf238 Posts: 4,021 Member
    Personal preference. I like to space out my intake over a number of meals, but some days mean I have to have a whopper dinner (I'm bulking atm so have a high daily calorie intake).
  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
    As others have said, for weight loss, it doesn't matter. For me, personally, I prefer two main meals (lunch/supper) and saving room for an evening snack. If I do three meals/day, I still end up wanting that snack at night, so just skip the morning meal because it's easier for me that way.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,102 Member
    There is plenty of research about what is the best meal number and timing and it says blah blah blah (<=== things that don't really matter arithmetically beyond a tiny fraction of daily energy expenditure, and that in ways that are largely irrelevant if you're calorie counting and sticking to a sensible goal).

    In an actual practical sense, what folks said above is right: Whatever works best for you is best. Any tiny theoretical advantage of a particular approach - all of which are widely and wildly disputed - is outweighed (heh) by the fact that if you're on a schedule that works best for you, it's easier to stick to your calorie goal, so you're more likely to actually continue long enough to lose a material amount of weight, and keep it off.

    Experiment, and see what keeps you full and happy on a reasonable calorie goal, then keep doing that. It'll work great. ;)
  • katarina005
    katarina005 Posts: 259 Member
    daisydreams1234 wrote: »
    Is it just a preference, or is one better then the other?
    many small (100-250 cal) or 2-3 big (450-600 cal) meals? are there any benefits to either choice? or does it not really matter all that much?

    thanks <3

    Small meals throughout the day. Maybe it benefits the metabolism, don't know for sure. But its what most athletes and celebrities too and it's better for your digestion
  • minimiss669
    minimiss669 Posts: 86 Member
    Im so glad to read this post. I am happy to switch it up on different days. I wasn't being successful eating every 4 or 5 hours and would often eat all of my calories by noon and then be sad the rest of the day, because I couldn't eat. But, inevitably, I would go over my limit a couple of hundred calories so I was basically maintaining my weight instead of being in a deficit. Eating small meals every few hours is much more satisfying for me because I never have to wait that long before eating, I can enjoy a vast variety of foods, and I feel less deprived. On other days, maybe I'll want to feel full and eat a bigger meal. I just really like the variety smaller meals offers. There are lots of good recipes. But, I was worried that it went against all of the information I've read about insulin and intermittent fasting.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited May 2020
    I wouldn't call 400-600 cals a BIG meal but it doesn't how cals in a meal that you eat, it's how much in total, based on your wt loss/maintenance/gain goals are, that you eat each day. How you go about doing it is entirely up to you.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,261 Member
    daisydreams1234 wrote: »
    Is it just a preference, or is one better then the other?
    many small (100-250 cal) or 2-3 big (450-600 cal) meals? are there any benefits to either choice? or does it not really matter all that much?

    thanks <3

    Neither is objectively better than the other - and of course it isnt a false dichotomy either, you can do any combination of calories - not neccesarily 2-3 big meals or many mini meals
    Some people even do one meal a day (thats definitily not for me)

    I eat 3 meals per day, not all the same calorie size and one mid morning snack and one small after dinner snack

    But sometimes I skip the mid morning snack and sometimes I only have 2 main meals -, every day doesnt have to be the same either.
  • minimiss669
    minimiss669 Posts: 86 Member
    I think that might be key... not every day has to be the same. Switching it up might have unusual advantages.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,261 Member
    Well, no, I'm not saying switching it up is the key to anything or has any advantages.

    I see no advantages, other than personal preference, to eating exactly the same calorie/ timing pattern every day or it being different on different days.

  • minimiss669
    minimiss669 Posts: 86 Member
    paperpudding wrote: »
    Well, no, I'm not saying switching it up is the key to anything or has any advantages.

    I see no advantages, other than personal preference, to eating exactly the same calorie/ timing pattern every day or it being different on different days.

    Darn it, I thought I hit upon a key to weight loss! Something else I wonder about eating large meals, say as you would if you were eating within a small time window. If I'm eating more than I need at that moment, doesn't the extra get stored as fat? Im guessing that the body doesn't work that way, but I associate being full with gaining weight.

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