Are you a grazer or do you plan meals? Which is better?

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azazelrabbit
azazelrabbit Posts: 137
in Health and Weight Loss
So, two types of people - those who graze food or snack throught out the day, and those who stick to specific meal plans.

Which are you?

Personally, I am a grazer. I like to snack on small things, so my stomach is constantly happy. I have a meal at night but during the day I don't really set meals out. Today, I've had banana, apple, pear, breadsticks and half a tin of soup - one each hour or half-hour.

Do you think one is better than the other? Or if the total calories consumption is the same is there any difference. Are you more likely to not count small things if you graze? Or are you prone to binge at meals because you're so hungry if you plan?

Just want to know what people think :)
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Replies

  • rachealb1972
    rachealb1972 Posts: 55
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    im a bit of both some days i grave and some days i have a clear plan depending on what im doing like tuesday i run a brownies and guides group so after work i go straight there until 9.30pm so have to plan my meals for that day weekends definate grazer
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    Do you think one is better than the other? Or if the total calories consumption is the same is there any difference. Are you more likely to not count small things if you graze?

    It is entirely personal preference provided that with each method, the individual is able to meet his or her end of day totals for calories and macronutrients.

    I prefer to eat very large meals and I prefer to eat most of my calories at night so I go to bed full.
  • IveLanded
    IveLanded Posts: 797 Member
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    I think grazing without any plan is probably what leads a lot of folks to think they are eating fine but not realize just how many calories they are consuming.

    I have a specific meal plan, but it's set up so I'm eating 6 times a day, roughly every 3 hours, so I'm not hungry. You could say it's "planned grazing". But I think not really paying attention to food is a problem that leads a lot of us to get overweight in the first place.
  • azazelrabbit
    azazelrabbit Posts: 137
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    I think grazing without any plan is probably what leads a lot of folks to think they are eating fine but not realize just how many calories they are consuming.

    Yeah I know what you mean. But if you graze, say, fruit and you log every piece you eat you're not really going to go over. And if you eat things from tins/packets or measure how much you eat and log it, how is that different from meals? It's like, one really spread out meal :)
  • LilRedRooster
    LilRedRooster Posts: 1,421 Member
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    I'm a grazer myself. I just don't like eating a lot at one time, because I just feel better and more alert without a really full belly. I don't like planning anything, either, so I tend to just eat what I need throughout the day, and it makes me happy. I don't overeat or binge at meals, because I'm never hungry enough throughout the day to feel that need to binge.

    My boyfriend is completely the opposite, though, so when we do meals, we have some issues, haha. He LOVES a big dinner, and it drives me crazy, because I don't like to go to bed with a really full belly. Just doesn't sit well with me when I'm trying to sleep. He also likes to plan meals, because he's a planner. So he basically does all the cooking at night, and I just eat about half of it, haha.

    And one method isn't better than the other, because everyone is an individual, and some methods of eating just work better for some people than others. The individual ways that my SO and I eat work for us individually, but would not work if we tried to combine them.
  • mdeneese
    mdeneese Posts: 5
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    I think I am a combination of both. I eat thoughout the day but I eat at specific times and I try to eat only certain types of foods. Even doing this I usually consume less than 1200 calories a day.
  • katkins3
    katkins3 Posts: 1,360 Member
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    I'm a planner, but I'm that way about just about everything!
    I usually plan lunch when I enter my breakfast and often I'll enter what I plan for dinner too.
    If we are going out to dinner, I definitely put in breakfast and lunch early, so I can't think about what I'll have for dinner, (including my exercise calories).
    I think planners and list makers are a personality type, we can't help ourselves. I wish I was more carefree, but maybe that wouldn't be the best approach for my fitness goals.
    Good luck to you and I hope you find a system that furthers your personal goals.
  • azazelrabbit
    azazelrabbit Posts: 137
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    Thanks, guys for your opinions.
    It's really interesting to see how people work :D
  • annameier8706
    annameier8706 Posts: 572 Member
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    I am a grazer. I have even set up my food diary in time blocks cuz I don't usually eat regular meals, besides dinner with my family.
  • slo02ee
    slo02ee Posts: 29
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    I have always been a grazer, which I think contributed to my getting fat. Now I loosely plan, as in I have healthy options available at all times, with an idea in mind of what I will be eating, but nothing concrete.
  • hiker282
    hiker282 Posts: 983 Member
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    My stomach isn't happy on just grazing on little bits. It will keep my appetite down, but I need solid meals in order to get any sense of real satisfaction. I kind of plan out my meals for the week and since I have been at this for a while, I have a good idea of what caloric impact they will have and so don't really worry about going over. More often I might leave myself a little more of a deficit than I should.
  • jedibunny
    jedibunny Posts: 321
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    I definitely PREFER grazing - I'm happier if I munch here or there and/or eat small "regular meals." My schedule is making it harder to do that, though. People at my office like to do lunch, so around noon most days it's "where are we going?" or a big take-out order or an influx of people to the kitchen/microwave/conference area right around 12. My boyfriend sometimes needs me to bring him dinner on his long nights at work (which defaults in me ordering something, too) or, when we're both home, it's "so, what are we doing for dinner?" - and he's the type who eats big regular meals instead of snacks. This means burrito night or pasta night or pizza night or... etc., making it pretty tough to avoid or lessen the intake for that meal. Once a week my family does a dinner night, and recently there's been a lot of birthday parties/dinners to attend. It's actually bogging me down!

    I do eat sporadically when I can; this morning I had some peanut butter on bread with Olivio before the gym, then worked out, then had a yogurt. Then I got to work and had a coffee. Two hours later I had a pack of raisins. But I know that at 12 I'm going out with coworkers again.

    You know, any suggestions on how to better manage this would be great! lol I hadn't intended to ask for help in this thread, just to give my $0.02... but why not. :)
  • CheleLynn44
    CheleLynn44 Posts: 339 Member
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    I'm a planner and for me it has made all the difference. I grocery shop once a week and plan out my dinners. I will usually enter in my dinner when I enter in my breakfast (or I will do it the nite before), then I can figure out my lunch and shacks from there.

    If I didn't plan ahead there is no way I could stay on track!
  • mrsdizzyd84
    mrsdizzyd84 Posts: 422 Member
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    I'm a bit of both. I plan out 3 meals a day, but I also build in 500ish calories worth of snacking. Also, I'll sometimes spread my meal out over the course of a couple hours. For instance, if lunch is a half sandwich and a salad I might eat the sandwich first then come back in an hour and eat the salad.

    Regardless, I have to have most of my day planned otherwise I run the risk of overeating.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I do both/either depending on my mood. Sometimes I snack all day long, sometimes I eat one huge meal and little else. But I rarely plan ahead for either.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
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    I'm in between. I eat breakfast lunch and dinner, but in between those meals, I graze. I don't eat just one or two snacks. I eat 4 or 5 small things. Like a string cheese here, some almonds or an apple here, maybe a rice cake, etc. lol. As long as I'm in my calorie range I think I'm fine. The only time i plan out my snacks/meals ahead of time is when I'm going to be gone all day (school, I don't work right now) I get on MFP and log all my snacks for the day and pack them in my bag.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    I don't see how these are mutually exclusive.
  • Rosiered2
    Rosiered2 Posts: 87 Member
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    I think I am both---at the same time! I plan out my food for the day and then I eat it as I want it! Just because I listed a sandwich under lunch, I may eat it at 10:00 and the veggies that go with it at 12:00 and the fruit at 1:30.......I have to make a plan so that I don't overeat.......but I love to list everything I can eat that day.....and then "shop" from my list as I get hungry......seems to work very well for me!
  • anj911
    anj911 Posts: 56 Member
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    I think I am both---at the same time! I plan out my food for the day and then I eat it as I want it! Just because I listed a sandwich under lunch, I may eat it at 10:00 and the veggies that go with it at 12:00 and the fruit at 1:30.......I have to make a plan so that I don't overeat.......but I love to list everything I can eat that day.....and then "shop" from my list as I get hungry......seems to work very well for me!

    I pretty much do the same as this. I usually fill my diary the night before based on what I've got in the fridges/cupboards etc, then take all the bits for breakfast and lunch to work with me and eat them as and when I feel like eating them.

    I think planning is the key for me, it would be far too easy for me to go off the rails otherwise. Planning also takes away a lot of the stress over what I'm going to be eating and consequently stops me getting too obsessed with it!
  • azazelrabbit
    azazelrabbit Posts: 137
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    I think I am both---at the same time! I plan out my food for the day and then I eat it as I want it! Just because I listed a sandwich under lunch, I may eat it at 10:00 and the veggies that go with it at 12:00 and the fruit at 1:30.......I have to make a plan so that I don't overeat.......but I love to list everything I can eat that day.....and then "shop" from my list as I get hungry......seems to work very well for me!

    Oh, I like this idea.
    I might try it :D

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