Poll: How many meals a day do you eat?

TheBraveryLover
TheBraveryLover Posts: 1,217 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I eat 2 meals a day. 1 before work (around 11:30am-12pm, since I work 2nd shift) and 1 during my "lunch" at work, which is usually between 7:30-8:30pm. I'll sometimes have a couple hundred cals worth of snacks during my break if I haven't hit my protein goal (100 grams on non-workout days), but I generally eat 500-600 calls for my 1st meal, and 800-900 cals worth of food for my 2nd meal. One my work out days, same schedule, just more cals and at least 50 more grams of protein. I'm never hungry by the time I get home from work at around 12:30 am.

How many meals do you eat and how do you usually ration the calories?
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Replies

  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    I eat 2 meals a day. 1 before work (around 11:30am-12pm, since I work 2nd shift) and 1 during my "lunch" at work, which is usually between 7:30-8:30pm. I'll sometimes have a couple hundred cals worth of snacks during my break if I haven't hit my protein goal (100 grams on non-workout days), but I generally eat 500-600 calls for my 1st meal, and 800-900 cals worth of food for my 2nd meal. I'm never hungry by the time I get home from work at around 12:30 am.

    How many meals do you eat and how do you usually ration the calories?

    I have no set schedule in terms of calorie partitioning but my tendencies are as follows:

    Coffee creamer in my coffee in the AM.
    Moderate calorie meal around 2-3pm (400-700 cals on average)
    Remainder of calories between 6pm and 10pm (~1800ish)
  • runnercheryl
    runnercheryl Posts: 1,314 Member
    Three meals a day, and an excessive amount of snacks (most of which are consumed in the morning). I'm getting into longer distance runs now, though, and may end up trading some of those snacks on days when I run for a fourth, light meal.

    Taking today (a normal day) as an example:

    8am - 300ish calorie breakfast
    8.30am-11am - 600ish calories of snacks
    12am - 250ish calorie lunch
    6pm - 500ish calorie evening meal
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    2-6. usually about 5
  • Nastasha915
    Nastasha915 Posts: 124 Member
    I've tried to eat more small meals throughout the day, but it's just not convenient to lug food around all the time. So I generally eat 3 meals a day. I don't snack much, but occasionally.
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
    WTFIW
  • SheehyCFC
    SheehyCFC Posts: 529 Member
    3 meals at 300-600 cals/meal
    1-2 snacks at 100-300 cals
  • vypeters
    vypeters Posts: 475 Member
    Was 5 smaller meals a day during loss, now 6. Not because I believe it has some mythical importance but because it works for me. I plan out my eating ahead of time - allocation of calories from meal to meal varies. Sometimes it's more calories earlier, some times it's more calories later.
  • LovelyLifter
    LovelyLifter Posts: 560 Member
    5
  • ladybug1620
    ladybug1620 Posts: 1,136 Member
    Usually 5. I try to have equal cals at each one, but sometimes it doesn't balance out perfectly.
  • CaroseH
    CaroseH Posts: 72
    Wow, this is really interesting. I split mine up generally like this:

    300-450- early AM usually around 6:00am
    250- mid morning, usually around 9:30am
    300-450 - afternoon 12:30pm
    450- late afternnon- 5:00pm

    Unless I'm working out, and then I eat my later meal after I'm done. Sometimes I'll snack in the afteroon too, if I'm going to be working out and eating my dinner meal later.

    As you can see, it's a really pretty evenly split throughout the day.
  • peggymenard
    peggymenard Posts: 246 Member
    B L D and 3 snacks..= 1200 I eat my most caloric meal at lunch.
  • jakidb
    jakidb Posts: 1,010 Member
    I normally eat three meals and if I do a "snack", most often it's once a day and consists of either coffee or tea. Breakfast is normally 300 (sometimes a lil' over) calories, lunch might be 300-500, snack is a couple hundred (if i eat an apple or some low cal snack), and dinner about 300-400. MOST times I'm under my suggested calorie range. I like doing my meals this way because I'm not overly hungry when I do eat.
  • doughnutwretch
    doughnutwretch Posts: 498 Member
    Typically 5-6 during the week days and 2-3 on weekends so I can be a fat kid at each meal :bigsmile:
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    3 meals - when i get up, around 12.30ish, and 6-7ish.
    2 snacks - 3ish and 9.30ish
  • kristen6022
    kristen6022 Posts: 1,923 Member
    Meals 3, Snacks 3. I eat every 2-3 hours. :smile:
  • nikki_0522
    nikki_0522 Posts: 41 Member
    Three meals and three snacks.
  • hiker282
    hiker282 Posts: 983 Member
    Three meals a day with two snacks nestled in the midst:

    Early - Meal
    Mid morning - snack
    Noon - Meal
    Mid afternoon - Snack
    Evening - Meal
    And occasionally when I need it a late evening/pre-bedtime snack.

    Total: 2,550 calories / day.
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    I'm an insomniac--so it's weird...

    12am-4am : 200-300 calories

    4am-10am: coffee creamer ~ 50 calories

    10am-12pm: 500-700 calories (this includes meal/snack)

    12-4pm: 500-600 calories (meal/snack)

    4-9pm: 600-700 calories (meal/snack)

    So 6-8 "meals/snacks" a day. and a grand TOTAL of 2200-2500 calories USUALLY.
  • OliveLucas
    OliveLucas Posts: 84
    3 meals + 1 afternoon snack
  • flyingwrite
    flyingwrite Posts: 264
    Five meals. 8 AM, 10 AM, 12:30 PM, 3 PM and 6:30 or 7 PM depending on my schedule. I plan and pack. Usually around 300 calories a piece...with Meal 3 and 5 more like 400 or 500.
  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,870 Member
    Three meals a day with two snacks nestled in the midst:

    Early - Meal
    Mid morning - snack
    Noon - Meal
    Mid afternoon - Snack
    Evening - Meal
    And occasionally when I need it a late evening/pre-bedtime snack.

    Total: 2,550 calories / day.
    This, except subtract 50 calories for me.
  • Mercenary1914
    Mercenary1914 Posts: 1,087 Member
    I'm an insomniac--so it's weird...

    12am-4am : 200-300 calories

    4am-10am: coffee creamer ~ 50 calories

    10am-12pm: 500-700 calories (this includes meal/snack)

    12-4pm: 500-600 calories (meal/snack)

    4-9pm: 600-700 calories (meal/snack)

    So 6-8 "meals/snacks" a day. and a grand TOTAL of 2200-2500 calories USUALLY.


    That's how I eat...except I am running close to 3000 calories.

    I start eating around 7 AM and stop eating an hour before bed.
  • krisloock
    krisloock Posts: 29 Member
    Minimum of 6 meals per day: - sometimes as many as 7-8. Largest meals are breakfast and pre- and post-workout meals...the rest are spread out about every 2-3 hours. I even eat right before I go to bed.

    I do Figure Competitions/bodybuilding so this is what works. Lugging food around with me can be inconvenient at times but it is WAY better than being caught out without healthy food options!
  • andreacord
    andreacord Posts: 928
    I eat between 4-6 small meals. I lived in residence on campus at college this year so it was pretty much eat when you can between classes so I've become a grazer.
  • athensguy
    athensguy Posts: 550
    I pretty much eat continuously from the time I get up around 4:15 (or after my run, if I don't eat before it) until I go to bed. There will usually be calorie bumps near where breakfast, lunch, and supper times are.
  • saragato
    saragato Posts: 1,154
    Depends on if you call yogurt or a granola bar by itself a meal. I only eat a small amount in the morning because I have medication that requires it to be taken with food. Besides that I have dinner which is usually a protein, a vegetable, and some sort of carb. On my off days when I don't go to the gym or anything I might have some soup in the afternoon. Basically I try to eat the most as far as calories and servings at dinner because I tend to sleep poorly and I don't want midnight snacking going on.
  • rbn_held
    rbn_held Posts: 690 Member
    8:30-9:00 am - Breakfast
    10:30 am - snack
    12:30-1:00 pm - Lunch
    2:30 - snack
    6:00-6:30 dinner
    7:30 - snack - If I am in the mood for one - alot of times I just make myself a cup of tea or coffee

    Not always the same time everyday but I try to keep close to it
  • Kwika
    Kwika Posts: 145 Member
    I usually try and have five to six small meals a day. On an off exercise day, I try to keep them to under 500 calories and on a run day, that number goes up a bit. For the entire day though, I try to keep it between 1400 and 1800 calories.
  • myak623
    myak623 Posts: 615 Member
    Depends on when I get hungry. Usually around 4-5 times. No real reason behind that many. I just bring several items of food to work with me.
  • sarah44254
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
    I don't eat meals at all. I feel hungry, I will pick up a piece of food. I mentally (or on a scrap of paper) track the calories and say it is 2pm.. I will try to eat 1000 or less by 2pm. That leaves me around 1000 to eat from 2 until bedtime.

    That is how I go about my day.

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