How do you structure your meals?

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bahrainbel_2
bahrainbel_2 Posts: 79
in Health and Weight Loss
How do you structure your meals? I'm trying to get my calorie split for meals correct, I've noticed that many people have a large break fast and then two smaller meals, I have to force breakfast down my throat, as I don't really feel like food in the morning. I'm hungriest at dinner time, but often don't sit down to eat till about 9pm and don't think a big meal is right at this time. Once I have finished work and been to the gym, it's the first chance I get and I am so so hungry by then, it's a struggle not to go for something large and carbohydrate based.

Do you think switching my exercise to the mornings would help, the idea of leaving my house at 5am, with the lovely scottish winter on the way, isn't a nice though. Bigger protein based lunch? I often eat lunch at my desk, as work is pretty busy.

Any suggestions would be greatly received, i hate being so hungry by time i get home and fighting with myself not to binge.

thanks in advance!

Replies

  • whatwentwrong
    whatwentwrong Posts: 228
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    i don't :/ i try to have at least 2 small meals a day (i'm normally not up in time for breakfast), and then i pretty much have snacks whenever i'm hungry, but they're low-calorie things :)

    for years i've been hearing that breakfast is the important meal of the day, but then i read that it's the LEAST important? i'm really not sure what to believe, so i just do what feels right for me. i usually eat my first meal about 1-2 hours after i get up, and if i'm on the go i'll grab a shake or string cheese or something.
  • docHelen
    docHelen Posts: 198
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    hi
    I think i've got to the point of needed to loose weight by eating big meals too late in the evening, so i would strongly recommend eating more earlier in the day and less in the evening. if you are not a morning person, then something healthy and filling at lunch time i think would be best, and give you the calories before you exercise. personally i do run in the morning, before breakfast and before i am awake enough to notice how early it is!!
    good luck
  • chedges9090
    chedges9090 Posts: 208 Member
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    You are eating late. But, if that is your schedule you have to deal with it. I am sure others will have some diff advice-- but, here is mine. I like a large dinner. It is when I sit and eat with my husband. A great tip for me.. was to count may calories in a different order. So, my first count of today is last nights dinner. (unfortunately, it was large).. but, I have 450 calories left for breakfast and lunch. I CAN do that. My breakfast and lunch is smaller. Also, I have time today to get excercise in. Knowing that I only have 450 calories left.. if I excercise.. i can also add a snack in... and may be able to stay in my caloire count!! It has worked very well for me all week! Again, I know that some will say .. eat large breakfast.. etc, Those are very very good points. But, it's just not the way my body works-- or my lifestyle. Great advice on this site.. Soak it all in :) Have a great day. Good Luck
  • martinh78
    martinh78 Posts: 601
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    Do you snack?

    That doesn't mean having cereal bars and such all day. I often split my lunch, so I'll eat half at 1pm, and half at 3:30pm.

    Try doing something similar with breakfast. Have a quick bite before leaving home, and finish when you get to work? Or just eat it all at work if you are not hungrey first thing.

    Rather than adding meals to your plan just split the ones you already have.

    It doesn't matter what time you eat if you are eating smaller and more often. Eating more through the day should help you feel less hungry at 9pm.
  • nsblue
    nsblue Posts: 331 Member
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    To keep my metabolism going as well as my blood sugars level, i have 3 meals a day and 3 healthy snacks. breakfast at 7:30am ish....snack at 10am... lunch at noon...snack at 2pm...supper at 5pm .. and evening snack before 7pm.

    breakfast is balanced...not overly big...my biggest meal is at supper. just check out my diary n you will see the breakdown in how I split the day up.
    I make sure I have protein balanced through the day... I find this balanced with the carbs maintains my hunger. infact am never hungry n have to remind myself to eat.
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
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    Everyone is different. Some are more hungry in the morning, and others in the evening. Plan for your "time of the day" by having a snack and some water before, and then possibly a small snack after. I like a big mid-morning meal and a dinner. Both are pretty close to 600 cals. The rest of the day I keep it to some small snack style stuff. Planning your day is also good - then you know where you'll be, and how to get there.

    Good luck.
  • bahrainbel_2
    bahrainbel_2 Posts: 79
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    i do snack, on fruit usually. it's not regular though, just if i am very hungry.

    i'm starting to think i'm going to have to bite the bullet and exercise in the morning.
  • aytach
    aytach Posts: 3 Member
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    It's a good idea to have 4 (or ideally 5 if you can manage) equally spaced meals throughout your day. The meal sizes should also be equal or just a bit smaller as the day goes on. It takes some planning but has several advantages:

    - you are never too hungry (so you don't overeat)
    - your body keeps burning calories at a high rate throughout the day and never goes into starvation mode (i.e. try to be efficient with it's energy expenditure and burn cals at a slower rate)

    Post-exercise is the best time to have carbs. Otherwise, I would keep the carbs low (and protein high) in the evenings.

    Morning workouts are great but I am not an early morning person, so I know what you mean. Maybe you can do a short home-workout to wake up your body?

    And last but not least.. Breakfast *is* important, so try to get used to eating as soon as you wake up. Your body will start craving food when it becomes a habit. Otherwise, the body stays in starvation mode a very long time and starts slowing down the burn rate to preserve calories.
  • CindyWarner
    CindyWarner Posts: 138
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    I try to have some protein in the morning so I feel more energized. Almond butter is my favorite protien.
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
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    And last but not least.. Breakfast *is* important, so try to get used to eating as soon as you wake up. Your body will start craving food when it becomes a habit. Otherwise, the body stays in starvation mode a very long time and starts slowing down the burn rate to preserve calories.

    All breakfast does is make it less likely you will overindulge on snacks later on. If you dont snack much anyway, then breakfast makes no difference. It takes several days for your body to think about going into starvation mode, not just a night.

    It also doesnt matter when you eat. You can eat 6 small meals, or all your daily calories right before bed, it makes no difference as long as you make a calorie deficit. Its up to you to try different things and see what works best for you :)
  • Toddahlie
    Toddahlie Posts: 116 Member
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    my meals are "different" for culture i think.

    First, i take breakfast, then a snack, lunch, "once" (in my country is very common eat this meal) and next dinner
  • GPSHEALTHCOACHING
    GPSHEALTHCOACHING Posts: 497 Member
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    I space my meals evenly throughout the day. I eat 6 mini meals, each about 200-250 calories. This works great for me. No stuffed feeling, keeping blood sugar steady all day. Requires a little more planning but sometimes meals are simply a protein shake with a banana or fiber one bar and piece of fruit.......
  • aytach
    aytach Posts: 3 Member
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    Distribution of caloric intake absolutely does matter when you look at how the body digests food, stores and uses the fuel. I am not an expert myself but have read extensively expert materials from different sources. So I can safely insist that taking all your calories at once (or not) *does* make a difference.

    And kickstarting your metabolism by having breakfast plays an important role in the daily burn cycle.

    It is true that caloric deficit is the first requirement, but it is definitely the only one!
  • aytach
    aytach Posts: 3 Member
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    Correction on last sentence of last post:

    It is true that caloric deficit is the first requirement, but it is definitely NOT the only one!
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
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    I might get some flack for this but it works for me and I feel great. I am not a daytime eating person. I don't feel hungry in the morning and I don't feel hungry at lunchtime. After reading about intermittent fasting I decided it was the right thing for me. I basically eat nothing during the day - I will put some milk and sugar in my coffee but that's it.
    When I get home from work I will get ready for my feast :) I typically eat from 7 until bedtime. When I get home from work I'll have something high in protein. Then when my husband comes home from work (9-10 pm) I will sit down with him to eat again.
    I don't see the point of forcing myself to eat breakfast if I don't feel like it. And I don't believe that a bunch of small meals raise anyone's metabolism, it's pretty much BS.
  • charlibets
    charlibets Posts: 83 Member
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    Three meals, three snacks. 1200 calories.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    Distribution of caloric intake absolutely does matter when you look at how the body digests food, stores and uses the fuel. I am not an expert myself but have read extensively expert materials from different sources. So I can safely insist that taking all your calories at once (or not) *does* make a difference.

    And kickstarting your metabolism by having breakfast plays an important role in the daily burn cycle.

    It is true that caloric deficit is the first requirement, but it is definitely the only one!

    for weight loss it doesn't matter what you eat or when you eat it, only a caloric deficit

    some food for thought...

    if you'd like to read some on meal frequency;

    http://www­.ncbi.nlm.­nih.gov/pu­bmed/19943­985
    This study shows there was no difference in weight loss between subjects with high/low meal frequencie­s.

    http://www­.ncbi.nlm.­nih.gov/pu­bmed/91554­94
    Evidence supports that meal frequency has nothing to do with energy in the subjects.

    http://www­.ncbi.nlm.­nih.gov/pu­bmed/11319­656
    Yet again, no difference in energy in the subjects compared to 2 meals/d to 6 meals/d.

    http://www­.ncbi.nlm.­nih.gov/pu­bmed/19059­98
    Eur J Clin Nutr. 1991 Mar;45(3):­161-9.Link­s
    Influence of the feeding frequency on nutrient utilizatio­n in man: consequenc­es for energy metabolism­.

    http://www­.ncbi.nlm.­nih.gov/pu­bmed/11319­656
    Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2001 Apr;25(4):­519-28.Lin­ks
    Compared with nibbling, neither gorging nor a morning fast affect short-term energy balance in obese patients in a chamber calorimete­r.

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