General Diet Plans and Questions General diet questions, support for various diet plans other than those listed below.

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Old 12-31-2012, 08:30 AM   #1  
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Question Question about 'meals'...

Not really a question about a diet plan. More along the lines of eating meals. Three meals a day and a snack or something. But I was wondering, how important is it to actually eat MEALS, like breakfast lunch and dinner. One of my biggest problems is I "snack" a lot. Compulsive overeating and the urge to keep my hands and mouth busy since I quit smoking a few years ago, (yes I still have that problem. Not sure I will ever get over it after smoking nearly half my life)

I guess the whole point I am making, or asking about, is can I instead of eating meals, just munch things throughout the day? Obviously nothing that actually counts as SNACK food. but maybe it might help me find a balance between the two, if I can manage to eat, "lunch" Over a course of hours rather then one meal and end up snacking until dinner. How important is it really to eat three square meals a day?

Did that even make any sense? LOL I'm not sure it did.
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Old 12-31-2012, 09:07 AM   #2  
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If I only ate 3 times a day, I would strangle someone in my house by about 3pm. I munch a little throughout the day, more so in the latter part of the day, as I'm not terribly hungry first thing in the morning. My only real "meal" is generally supper, as "lunch" might be a handful of peanuts.

It makes me feel better, too, both physically and psychologically. Physically, because I don't like the sluggish, icky feeling I get after eating a large meal, and psychologically because if I get hungry during the day, I know I'll be eating in an hour or so!

As long as you're eating the correct amount of calories, example of 1800, it doesn't matter if you eat 200 calories nine times over the course of the day, or 3 big meals of 600 calories each. As far as I know.
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Old 12-31-2012, 09:08 AM   #3  
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i think it's totally fine to graze instead of sit down to 3 squares a day. so long as you're getting appropriate nutrition, why not? you need to find what works for you, there is no one perfect plan for everyone
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Old 12-31-2012, 05:53 PM   #4  
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Ok cool thanks, I was thinking as much but just wanted another opinion on it I will give it a shot and hopefully it will help me to stop the overeating and binges.
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Old 12-31-2012, 06:17 PM   #5  
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I'm a grazer too. Most of my weight loss was accomplished on snacks and mini-meals.

That being said, if you're going to graze, I think it's extremely important to monitor calorie intake. I was able to stall weight loss even on Atkins induction by eating too many calories in a day.

Atkins relies on hunger cues, but mine are all whacky. On very low-carb like Atkins induction, I have no physical hunger whatsoever, so it's very hard for me to judge how often and how much I should eat. My hunger symptoms on very low-carb are more noticeable to hubby than to me (irritability to the point of irrational rage), and by the time I notice them I have a killer headache and feel like passing out.

My saitiety cues are all screwed up too. I watched an interesting documentary recently that found that a large percentage of obese people, especially very obese people are prone to experience less intense hunger cues than thinner folks, but are much less likely to experience the sensation of satisfaction/satiety. That's definitely me on low-carb. I don't get hungry, but I don't get full either or even satisfied. My brain doesn't send the "stop-eating" signal.

As a result, even on very low-carb I can stall weight loss if I'm not counting calories. Although I am much less hungry on a low-carb diet (too low and I have blood sugar problems).

If you're do not have diabetes, insulin resitance or other blood sugar issues, this may not be a problem for you, but for me I cannot lose well on any plan that doesn't have built-in calorie limits.
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Old 12-31-2012, 08:40 PM   #6  
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I'm a grazer too. I eat several meals and snacks because I HATE eating large meals.

It's really about what works for you when it comes to eating. I find that as long as I keep track of what I've eaten, I'm fine just grazing all day. My ideal day would have me grazing from breakfast until about 3:30, but I can't always do that

Some people prefer the standard 3 meals, others prefer one, etc. don't get trapped thinking in the box just because we've all been conditioned to believe we "must" eat three meals a day.
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Old 01-01-2013, 08:04 AM   #7  
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It's about what works for you and your life style. There is no "right" answer. Most of my day is made up of mini meals or snacks. However, in the evening time I do like to sit with my husband and toddler for a proper meal because it's about more than just eating, we like to spend that time together as a family and it's the only meal we get to share all together.
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Old 01-01-2013, 09:35 AM   #8  
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Whatever works for you, as long as you're eating less calories than you're burning! Myself, I like eating the 3 meals per day with two snacks pattern. I tried the whole 5 or 6 smaller meals a day thing, but that leaves me feeling not satisfied and hungry most of the time.

Last edited by DecemberSun; 01-01-2013 at 09:35 AM.
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Old 01-01-2013, 08:02 PM   #9  
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im a snacker. i couldnt keep to regular eating times. i wait as long as i can before i eat breakfast (usually 12pm) then i still have my 1660 calories to last me until i go to bed at 10pm which usually ends up meaning i can eat more food and more frequently right until bedtime. when i kept scheduled meal times i wouldnt have enough calories left to be able to snack at night so i would eat dinner at 5pm then have no calories left for snacks and be miserable because i like to snack at night. so i just switched my not eating to the morning instead of night..lol you can eat any times you want to, just have to stick to your calories amounts for the day. times dont matter
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