Better to eat every 2-3 hours, or something else?

Froggeh
Froggeh Posts: 148
in Food and Nutrition
How often do you eat? Do you eat something small every2-3 hours, or a big breakfast, big lunch, and a small dinner? Or something else entirely? Does only eating a few meals a day REALLY put your body into starvation mode, or is that just talk?

Replies

  • doornumber03
    doornumber03 Posts: 221 Member
    no it doesn't put you into starvation mode......I myself find during the week it works better to throw in a late morning snack and a late afternoon snack, but listen to your body....i know many people who eat 3 meals a day and do fantastic.
  • EmCarroll1990
    EmCarroll1990 Posts: 2,832 Member
    I eat at 8am, 12pm, 3:30 pm and whenever my fiancé gets home - usually around 6:30pm. It keeps me from being hungry throughout the day as I'm eating less calories since being on MFP than I was before.

    The reason it's said that only eating a few times a day is putting your body in starvation mode is because your body will hold onto whatever nutrients it's getting. If your body starts to learn that it will receive food a few hours later, it won't hold onto whatever food it is getting for as long, so it'll burn it quicker - at least that's what I've understood.
  • melrose09
    melrose09 Posts: 271
    I used to believe in starvation mode, but I'm second guessing it these days, because as long as your output is greater than your input, shouldnt you still lose weight...i don't know. HOWEVER, I (with no professional background, mind you) still fee that eating something small every 2-3 hours is best to maintain your metabolism. But putting all that aside, I think the most important thing to think about is what you are eating. I'll be following this thread! I'm hoping someone that actually knows something will respond. I'm trying to learn all about this stuff :)
  • starracer23
    starracer23 Posts: 1,011 Member
    I eat something when my body tells me it's hungry, I have no set schedule. I eat as clean as possible.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Timing and frequency do not matter. Getting your nutrition in is what matters. Whether you accomplish this in 3, 6, 12, or 1 meal per day is entirely up to your own preference.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    Timing and frequency do not matter. Getting your nutrition in is what matters. Whether you accomplish this in 3, 6, 12, or 1 meal per day is entirely up to your own preference.

    ^ That.

    /thread.
  • melrose09
    melrose09 Posts: 271
    Timing and frequency do not matter. Getting your nutrition in is what matters. Whether you accomplish this in 3, 6, 12, or 1 meal per day is entirely up to your own preference.

    definitely agree that it's more important to think about the what than the when. But doesn't spacing out your intake throughout the day help your body keep up metabolism rather than one big meal that needs to be digested? Or how does that work? All the different theories on this fascinate me! Our bodies are so amazing at doing what needs to be done!
  • granolagrl85
    granolagrl85 Posts: 135
    I usually eat 2 meals a day and then maybe a light snack before bed.
  • monty_williams
    monty_williams Posts: 76
    Studies have proven that it takes at least 30-40 hours of fasting before your metabolism begins to slow down. Actually, up until that point, you metabolism slightly increases (6-8%) due to the release catecholamines (epinephrine and noepinephrine).
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    How often do you eat? Do you eat something small every2-3 hours, or a big breakfast, big lunch, and a small dinner? Or something else entirely? Does only eating a few meals a day REALLY put your body into starvation mode, or is that just talk?

    I've never heard that eating a few meals a day will put you in starvation mode, only that eating too few calories per day for a fairly long period of time will. During the week I eat 4 - 6 times a day, or rather I should say I consume calories that often as sometimes it is liquid only. It breaks down like this:

    Breakfast 7:00 a.m. - chocolate soy milk (103 calories)
    Morning snack 10:00 a.m. - I skip this about half the time, but when I have one it is usually fruit or a low sodium V8 (< 100 calories)
    Lunch 12:30 p.m. - usually 250 - 350 calories
    Afternoon snack - 200 - 300 calories
    Dinner - 9:00 p.m. - 900 - 1200 calories
    Dessert - 80 - 150 calories (sometimes skip this too)

    I average around 1650 - 1950 calories per day. The weekends have no shedule. I may only eat one big meal, I may snack all day.

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