Anyone doing 5 meals a day?

Options
NickyCat101
NickyCat101 Posts: 69
in Food and Nutrition
I just wanted to know more about what others doing 5 meals a day are doing an any general tips. Thanks! :)

Replies

  • klynnwalker4
    klynnwalker4 Posts: 21
    Options
    What I do:

    Breakfast: 300 calories
    Snack: 200-300 calories
    Lunch: 300 calories
    Snack: 200-300 calories
    Dinner: 300 calories
    Snack: Shakeology

    I can get more specific if you'd like. That's just my general plan.
  • kmbrooks15
    kmbrooks15 Posts: 941 Member
    Options
    I do the following:

    Breakfast: 200-300 calories
    Snack: 100-150 calories
    Lunch: 400 calories
    Snack: 100-150 calories
    Dinner: 500-600 calories
    Snack: 100-200 calories

    This will vary on days when I work out, because I have more calories available on those days. I'm not a big morning eater, so my meals tend to get a little bigger as the day goes on.

    Feel free to look at my diary if you want. Just ignore Wednesday through Sunday of last week--I had gallbladder surgery and wasn't able to watch my food intake as much (was kind of sick after and had to pretty much eat whatever would stay down).
  • SoCalMike
    SoCalMike Posts: 24
    Options
    Not sure they count as 'meals'. I follow along the lines of kmbrooks15. I have some 'snacks' inbetween breakfast/lunch/dinner, and I tend to have the biggest caloric intake for dinner. If I have calories left I may have a little ''treat' after dinner, trying to stay within my calorie goal. My 'snacks' are usually fruit, a few slices of meat, or some tasty veggies. It keeps me from being ravenous at lunch time and especially at dinner. In the old days you would not want to be between me and the refridgerator when I got home from work. It was an ugly sitch, if you know what I mean!

    In reality, I think it's better to have higher caloric intakes for breakfast, but culturally I'm not really geared for that at this point. I'm sure it's much more mental than reality.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Options
    I do 5 or 6 mostly because I enjoy eating often.

    "Breakfast": cheese omelet, turkey bacon, slice of whole grain toast.
    "2nd breakfast": oats & peanut butter, shot of whey
    "Lunch": leftovers or a sandwich or turkey chili
    "before i leave work snack": usually a meal replacement type of shake
    ... and then when I get home I usually have a pre-workout banana, usually with peanut butter
    "Dinner": something dinnery, like chicken and a sweet potato
    "late snack": whatever I need to finish off my macros and cals for the day

    As usual, every time I share this, I realize I should be eating more veggies.

    Anyway, that's MY routine. It's somewhat irrelevant to you. Your routine may look drastically different than mine. What matters is that it feels right to you and keeps you satiated and content.
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
    Options
    I'm doing 5-6 meals a day because at 3800 calories I can't fit all this food into 3 meals.
  • carrie_eggo
    carrie_eggo Posts: 1,396 Member
    Options
    I do 3 meals plus 3 snacks....mainly because I like to eat!
  • kmbrooks15
    kmbrooks15 Posts: 941 Member
    Options
    I do 5 or 6 mostly because I enjoy eating often.

    "Breakfast": cheese omelet, turkey bacon, slice of whole grain toast.
    "2nd breakfast": oats & peanut butter, shot of whey
    "Lunch": leftovers or a sandwich or turkey chili
    "before i leave work snack": usually a meal replacement type of shake
    ... and then when I get home I usually have a pre-workout banana, usually with peanut butter
    "Dinner": something dinnery, like chicken and a sweet potato
    "late snack": whatever I need to finish off my macros and cals for the day

    As usual, every time I share this, I realize I should be eating more veggies.

    Anyway, that's MY routine. It's somewhat irrelevant to you. Your routine may look drastically different than mine. What matters is that it feels right to you and keeps you satiated and content.

    "2nd breakfast"...reminds me of Pippen in Lord of the Rings! LOL

    I'm like several others...eating more often helps me to not be so hungry, which helps me not to binge. I also enjoy "treats" for some of my snacks, like Skinny Cow ice cream bars or candy or Snackwells cookies. I like 100 calorie popcorn bags if I want salty, or Special K cracker chips. You can do the snacks if you choose wisely.

    Joe--3800 calories!? I can see why you have to eat so often!
  • OnMyWeigh464
    OnMyWeigh464 Posts: 447 Member
    Options
    I do 3 meals us two snacks. My snacks usually consist of a fruit or veggie and a protein (hard boiled eggs. Yogurt. Laughing cow cheese)
  • nrimas
    nrimas Posts: 83 Member
    Options
    I prefer this because it keeps hunger at bay. When I get hungry, it's like I fall off a cliff. I get SUPER CRAZY hungry really fast and dangerous things happen. I agree with most of the posts where "meals" tend to be 300 - 500 cals and snacks tend to be 100 - 200. I cannot eat junk food type snacks even if they are Skinny Cow or Special K. For me, junk triggers junk. I ask "The apple question." Am I hungery enough to eat an apple? If an apple does not sound appetizing I'm probably not really hungry.
  • nelnova
    nelnova Posts: 57 Member
    Options
    I am doing about
    300 for breakfastfast (oatmeal and 1scoop of protein 12g)
    200 for snack
    400-500 for lunch ( complex carb, veg and Lean protein)
    200 for snack
    300-400 for dinner ( green veggies, Lean Protein)
    * sometimes if I'm hungry 180 cal Protein Shake wih 1cup of skim 80cals

    9600010.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Weight Loss Tools
  • tidmutt
    tidmutt Posts: 317
    Options
    I often do 2 meals a day, I eat a big breakfast, loaded with protein that keeps me satisfied and craving free all day. I start to get hungry around 6pm when I eat dinner. I love this WOE, it saves me time, I'm not constantly thinking about the next snack and I find it a lot easier to control my calorie intake. I used to wake up just starving now I wake up and could not eat for hours if I chose to although I usually eat breakfast soon after waking.

    However, if I feel like lunch, I'll eat lunch, but most days I don't.
  • ratellcm
    ratellcm Posts: 170 Member
    Options
    I call it second breakfast too!

    And last night I was wandering around the kitchen, asking my roommate what I should eat for 2nd dinner and he was like, "excuse me, what?"

    I usually wind up with about six "meals" but on long school and work days, nothing looks like a real meal, I just pack enough things for the day and for my calorie goal. When I'm busy I only have a few minutes at a time to eat anyways, and I get full fast so I prefer to just eat all day :D

    So today, my 1480 calorie day looks like...

    1st breakfast: black coffee, a couple calories, and hot cereal (Sunny Boy) 130 calories

    2nd breakfast: plain greek yogurt 250 calories

    1st lunch: a tbsp of crunchy PB and 23 almonds on two slices of whole wheat bread (total 380 cals)

    2nd lunch: a cup of kashi go lean and 1/2 cup of skimplus milk (total: 255 cals)

    1st dinner: 2 slices turkey bacon (70 cals), cup of green/yellow beans (30 cal)

    2nd dinner: 2 poached eggs (140 cal), carrot sticks (25 cal), celery sticks

    And I haven't included my snacks and dessert yet... a 50 cal small apple, 90 cal small banana, and a square of dark choc if i feel like it (55 cal)



    Some of my other usual 'meals' are a can of tuna and crackers, or homemade hummus with carrots sliced flat to scoop, lentils and rice, cottage cheese..
  • MadeInDR022
    MadeInDR022 Posts: 260
    Options
    I try to keep my high calorie meals earlier in the day so I don't consume high calories before bed. So tend to do a high cal breakfast, fruit and a glass of water for snack, a high cal lunch, a high cal snack (crackers with cheese) and then a lean meat with veggies for dinner. If I want pasta I eat it during lunch, rather than for dinner just to avoid the carbs.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Options
    I try to keep my high calorie meals earlier in the day so I don't consume high calories before bed. So tend to do a high cal breakfast, fruit and a glass of water for snack, a high cal lunch, a high cal snack (crackers with cheese) and then a lean meat with veggies for dinner. If I want pasta I eat it during lunch, rather than for dinner just to avoid the carbs.

    It's the same amount of carbs, even at lunch time.
  • italianissima
    italianissima Posts: 140 Member
    Options
    hi there,

    if you are looking for great ideas i highly suggest checking out anything written by tosca reno.

    anyway, i also eat often during the day. the keys i stick by are:
    keep it small
    keep it natural
    keep it a mix of carbs and protein
    keep it tasty!

    glad to hear i'm not the only one that seems to be eating all day! hahahaha
  • katcena
    katcena Posts: 326 Member
    Options
    Love this topic! I literally eat all day. So glad I am not the only one.
    I have:
    Breakfast (200-500 cals depending on the day)
    Snack (100-300)
    Lunch (300-500)
    Snack (100-300)
    Pre-workout snack (100-200)
    Post-workout protein drink (200)
    Post workout snack (100-200)
    Dinner (300-500)
    and if I still have cals left over I eat a snack after dinner. Since I try to eat back all of my exercise calories I cannot possibly get everything in just 3 or even 5 meals most days. And even with all of this I sometimes can't eat enough! lol Well, I guess I could if I just went and got a double cheeseburger....but, that defeats the purpose of me working out. And really, doesn't even sound that good! lol
  • cantobean
    cantobean Posts: 287 Member
    Options
    I typically have 3 meals that are 300-500 calories and 2 snacks that are around 200-250 calories.
  • pandasand
    pandasand Posts: 133 Member
    Options
    I do 3 meals 3 snacks:
    Breakfast: 700 cal
    Snack: 450 cal
    Lunch: 700 cal
    Snack: 450 cal
    Dinner: 700 cal
    Snack: 450 cal

    TOTAL: 3450 cal
  • MadeInDR022
    MadeInDR022 Posts: 260
    Options
    You're right. I meant to say I keep high calories and carb meals earlier in the day.
  • MadeInDR022
    MadeInDR022 Posts: 260
    Options
    I try to keep my high calorie meals earlier in the day so I don't consume high calories before bed. So tend to do a high cal breakfast, fruit and a glass of water for snack, a high cal lunch, a high cal snack (crackers with cheese) and then a lean meat with veggies for dinner. If I want pasta I eat it during lunch, rather than for dinner just to avoid the carbs.

    It's the same amount of carbs, even at lunch time.





    You're right. I meant to say I keep high calories and carb meals earlier in the day. I posted this as a separate message...I trying to get used to this! I think I got it this time...lol

Categories