Eating 6 "meals" a day

Its basically 3 meals and 2 snacks for me. I try and have a big breakfast then a snack around 10 or 11 which is only 200 calories or so and then lunch around 1 or 2 and then another snack at 4 and dinner at 7. Hope this helps, I have to leave otherwise I would post exactly what I eat... I'm sure someone else will!

~Leash

Well, its real easy. The main reason why I break up my daily consumption over 6 meals, instead of say 3 sittings.... because of my protein intake. I've read quite a bit about how much protein the body can digest from one meal. The more meals you eat, the more you can spread out your protein intake and therefor your body can digest it properly. Look it up.

Each meal usually I keep around 400 calories. If I go over or a little under, I don't cry about it. I just keep track with MFP. If your consuming 800-1000 calories in one-sitting....your wrong.

5:30am
High Fiber Cereal
hard-boiled egg
1 cup milk
banana (or some kinda fruit)

9:00am
protein bar
apple

11:00am
tuna sandwich
whole wheat bread

2:00pm
popcorn (no popcorn)
yogurt (low-fat)

5:00pm (varies depending on my workout)
whole wheat pasta with a meat (protein)
or salad with meat (protein)
some vegetables and fruit

7:00pm
protein shake (after a workout)
maybe popcorn for a late night snack if I'm feelin it


When I stick to this..... I don't get hungry or feel like I gotta go sneak off and eat some food.
This keeps me full. Also I drink about a galon of water a day. I use a milk jug, so I don't lose
count of how many cups or glasses or whatever.

i totally get what you mean, but you gotta understand that you wanna time these about 3 hours apart...and make that your top priority. the first day or two may be awkward, but once you get into it, you won't be starving, in between. (not to mention it takes a while for us to realize we are "full"... long after we actually are) you will be amazed by the fact that 250 calories every three hours IS ENOUGH!

what most people do is go too long without eating, and then dump in more food than the body can handle at one time. this is metabolically devastating! spreading everything out evenly gives your body what it needs and the ability to actually use it efficiently.

i wouldn't believe it if it didn't do wonders for me, and everyone i've gotten to try it and truly live by it swears by it now....

good luck to you! hope you give it a shot! :drinker:

Makes sense yes... But finding something filling is the problem... Low cal is easy.. fruits and veggies! hahaha But filling... no way!

But perhaps yes my body just needs to adjust, and mental DEFIANTLY! Thats a HUGE problem for me.. This wouldnt be so hard if it wasnt hahahaha

I think I will try it out. Where to begin though?

look at the foods and meals you currently eat.... if you keep your diary this should be fairly simple.... just plan it out so instead of 3 big meals, you pick out some combos that will be right around the 250 mark...

and, as sarge said.... don't worry if one meal i s275 and another is 225.... close is close...

i totally get what you mean, but you gotta understand that you wanna time these about 3 hours apart...and make that your top priority. the first day or two may be awkward, but once you get into it, you won't be starving, in between. (not to mention it takes a while for us to realize we are "full"... long after we actually are) you will be amazed by the fact that 250 calories every three hours IS ENOUGH!

what most people do is go too long without eating, and then dump in more food than the body can handle at one time. this is metabolically devastating! spreading everything out evenly gives your body what it needs and the ability to actually use it efficiently.

i wouldn't believe it if it didn't do wonders for me, and everyone i've gotten to try it and truly live by it swears by it now....

good luck to you! hope you give it a shot! :drinker:

Also to add to this....realize that your body is burning calories throughout the entire day; even while we sleep. Not just when we workout or do strenuous activity. Therefor, if you are going periods of your day without proper nutrients in your body..... your body needs fuel to burn and is like "WTF!?!?" So your not only starving your body, but you aren't burning calories at a efficient/proper rate. Your not only doing yourself a disservice, but your body as well. It'd be the equivilent of running your car for a long period of time without any oil. Devastating. Think about it.

Why should it decrease? Wouldnt your body be burning the same amount of cal in the morning as it will as you go to sleep? Maybe during sleep it will burn less... But if your not eating right before bed I dont see the problem... Though I dont know much about the way the body works haha

your body hasn't had any food for 8-12 hours when you wake up. needs food. plus your activity goes down as the day goes on and snacks before bed can disrupt sleep. i don't usually eat carbs at night, just in the AM and for lunch.

"The study compared sedentary, obese women eating a big breakfast containing carbs with sedentary, obese women eating a low-carbohydrate breakfast. Results showed that at the end of the eight-month trial, women eating the big breakfast lost an average of almost 40 pounds, while the low-carb breakfast group lost only nine pounds on average. Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University, led by Daniela Jakubowicz, M.D., of the Hospital de Clinicas, Caracas, Venzezuela, conducted the study, released in June 2008. "

"Cohen: When you wake up in the morning, your body and your brain are primed to look for food. Your metabolism is revved up, and levels of cortisol and adrenaline are at their highest. The brain needs energy quickly, so if you don't eat enough early on, the brain looks for a different fuel source. It goes into emergency mode, resorting to the energy stored in your muscles, destroying muscle tissue. When you finally do eat, the body stores the energy it gets from food as fat. The high protein-carb mix gives the body the jump-start it needs in the morning. Because the protein is digested slowly over the course of the day, you don't feel as hungry. Not feeling hungry is what makes this diet successful, according to the study author.

In the morning, your serotonin levels are also high, so that keeps food cravings at bay. But later in the day, your serotonin levels go down, so you get cravings for indulgent foods such as chocolate. The study author says that if you eat the chocolate in the afternoon, your body gets addicted to that sensation, and you look for chocolate the next day at that time, too. Bubt if you eat it in the morning, it doesn't feel as good as it does when you eat it later, and so your body decides, "Hey I don't need this chocolate at all!""

There is research to support both methods. Again my opinion and what works for me.