How do you split your calories through the day?
 

Kinda self explanatory, but how do you decide how to split up - ie, breakfast/snack/lunch/dinner etc.

I know one of my HUGE failing is that I'm a big time grazer. I want food every couple of hours, not a lot, but something. I'm not usually one for a big meal at anything, but I could eat nonstop.

Today, I've been trying to "limit" myself to ~200 calories every 2 hours or so, give or take, but make sure they are something that is filling to me. For example:

8am I had a bowl of Kashi Vive cereal with thawed frozen blueberries
10am I had a 100 cal English muffin with an egg fried (no butter)
1pm Salad of greens/herbs, raw veggies, feta and vinaigrette
3:30pm Fage 0% Greek yogurt with chopped up frozen fruit

Everything was weighed and measured. My aim is 1500-1600 calories a day, and so far (once I finish my yogurt - COLD!!!), I'll still have quite a bit in reserve. I don't plan on having a big dinner, just soup that I made. My grazing does go into the evening, so I have a bag of 100 cal popcorn ready and waiting :)

Is there any rhyme or reason, or just however one likes to eat (meals vs grazing). Just curious :)

A lot of people listed how they spread out their calories in this thread.

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/calo...-counting.html

I think the way you have your calories spread out is awesome! You know you are a grazer and have taken precautions so you don't just eat extra calories all day (and night) and I think thats really great. I have heard that is one of the best ways to lose weight, to eat a bunch of small "meals" throughout the day.

Unfortunately, I am the complete opposite. I do not know if it's in my head or what but I have to have 3 regular meals a day. If I have room for a snack or two, great. But if not, oh well. Usually my day looks something like this:
Breakfast- 300 cal
Lunch- 500 cal
Dinner 700 cal
I try to stay between 1500 and 1600 a day, so if I have enough calories I'll usually add about 100 cal in about midafternoon.

I am trying to get used to listening to my body, and eating when I am truly hungry, and stopping as soon as I feel satisfied. This usually ends up as "grazing" on something every few hours, just like you. I am also trying to keep to a 1500-1600 calorie window. My day might start with a Clif bar and coffee, and a few hours later I'll have a banana, then a tossed salad topped with a serving of water-packed tuna for lunch, 1/2c. cottage cheese for a snack, maybe with a few high fiber crackers, later I'll have an apple, maybe a hardboiled egg as a "pre-dinner appetizer", then a serving of chicken and some kind of vegetable for dinnner, and if I have calories left over maybe I'll have a small piece of cheese and more high-fiber crackers as an evening snack. When I look at all the food I eat in a day, it looks like a lot, but it's just a small bit at a time. If I had to wait only for set mealtimes to eat, I'd get ravenous and eat too much at those times. Everyone is "wired" differently, and this setup works out great for me. It sounds like we share this tendency.

I also do 3 regular meals, and sometimes, but not always, some snacks.

I think that whatever works for you - that you can stick to and that you feel good doing, makes the most sense. I enjoy the way I eat now and am happy to follow my plan. I'm not sure I'd feel the same way if I were stressing about making meals smaller and fitting in snacks. The one thing I do that is a bit different is have my largest meal for the day at lunch - a really big salad with chicken, egg and/or avocado and a grain in it. I love it and it keeps me satisfied until supper. Lunch is usually 600-700 calories and supper is 300-450.

But one of the great thing about calorie counting is that there are no rules. If I'm going out for supper, I just make sure to cut some calories from my lunch (reduce portions of the most caloric items) and then I have extra calories to enjoy that night.

Grazing is good! It keeps the metabolism revved.

I do exactly what you're doing....200 calories six times per day about 2.5 hours apart. My next meal is never far away. ;)