2-3 meals a day vs 5-6 meals
 

Just wondering, whatever your calorie level, how many times a day do you eat? Do you eat 5 or 6 "mini" meals spread out? Or just three?
Have you found eating more times a day makes you hungrier? or less hungry?
I'm wanting to try the Slimfast 3-2-1 where you eat five snacks, like every 2-3 hours, then a moderate dinner. I was wondering if this will keep me from getting hungry throughout the day and evening - or will eating this way trigger more hunger.
Any experiences?

I eat 3 meals and 3 snacks. I eat something about every 3 hours or so. Snacks are usually 100 calories or less . I find that snack keeps me from wanting to eat everything that isn't nailed down. Notice I am eating 6 times a day not having 6 meals a day.

It depends on the person and the day. Breakfast/lunch are made up of small things put together (either all at once, or throughout a couple hours)... Dinner is usually one big meal. I am a grazer so I eat throughout the day. I could not just eat 2-3 times per day. I am always munching away lol! Ofcourse, some days it works out that I just happened to eat only 3 times, but overall its all pretty spread out.

I eat 3 main meals a day.

I'd prefer to eat 3 smaller meals and have snacks in between but my work schedule just doesn't allow it. I'm a teacher and I just don't have enough time between classes to eat a snack. So larger breakfasts, lunches and dinners it is for me!

I eat 2 meals and skip dinner. Small breakfast. Large lunch. Sometimes I get a little peckish in the evenings. But I just live with it and wait 'til it passes. Beer helps too.

I eat two small to average size meals and one snack each day. I'm on IF and am never hungry, but I think everyone's eating preferences are a reflection of their body types. And by body types I mean how they metabolize food and use their available energy. As long as I had water, I imagine my body could feed off itself kind of like a hibernating bear!

Today is kind of typical:
I ate a Special K Flatbread Breakfast Sandwich at 8:30 am.
I ate a banana around 10 am.
I ate a can of clam chowder soup around 11:30 am.
I ate an apple around 1:30 pm
I ate bag of Steamfresh broccoli around 3:00 pm
I ate 6 ounces (I splurged) of pulled pork and a cup of mexican rice for dinner at 5:30 pm
I drank a cup of hot lemon ginger tea around 7 pm
I ate two squares of 86% dark chocolate around 8:30 pm.

All this equals 32 Weight Watchers points or 1552 calories according to My Fitness Pal.

I have found that I'm better off eating throughout the day. Otherwise, I get stupid-hungry and that triggers a binge. Of course, this all goes out the window when I travel for business...

I tend to do 2-3 main meals, 2-3 small snacks every few hours depending on the day and how many points/calories are in the main meals.

I don't count calories, but I used to. When I did I was generally a three-day a meal eater, even though I absolutely hated eating breakfast before 10:00 am. (still do) I found myself really skimping on meals to save calories for the evening, since I believed I needed to eat late in the evening to keep from being hungry before bedtime.

Now that I follow IE, my normal eating pattern is one really big meal each day, with one smaller meal and maybe a snack (or maybe not). I rarely eat before 11:00 am, and I've pretty much stopped eating after 6 or 7 pm. That is the pattern that works for me.

But I think everyone is different. Some people graze throughout the day, and it works fine for them. I think the key is to experiment and decide what your body likes the best and what keeps it satiated. I tried the 5-6 small meals a day route and I was constantly hungry. One big meal can actually keep me satisfied for as long as 24 hours. And the calorie count is probably about the same as the spread-out meals. Just the way my body reacts to food, I guess.

my teacher says that you need to eat 5 meals a day when you diet.... Me and my friend looked at each other and I said "There is no way I can fit 5 meals into my 1200 calorie diet." and she agreed. lol So I am a 3 mealer.

I eat 2-3 meals a day. I like large amounts of food at once, not small portions spread out. I've tried doing 5-6 "mini" meals and I just end up hungry all day.

I eat three meals a day. Personally I find it a hassle to prepare for multiple small meals and snacks. I'd rather sit down and eat a decent sized low calorie meal.

I do though keep healthy snacks handy just in case I'm super hungry in between. I've found if I get too hungry I might get thrown off track and make a bad decision. I also keep some low calorie dessert options (skinny cow ice cream sandwiches, fruit bars, dessert flavored yogurt with nonfat whipped cream) handy just in case I want a little something extra after dinner.

Some days I'm fine with no snacks and/or desserts and on those days my calorie counts are much lower. On the days I'm eating more if I'm made good choices my calorie count is still relatively low. It is a way for me to cycle my calories without planning specifically for it.

I do: breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner.
Sometimes a small snack before dinner but that doesn't happen very often unless i'm in class & i need something to hold me over till dinner.

I eat 3 meals, and I snack in between depending on my hunger and calories.

General two meals with snacks. I have "brunch" around 11 (coffee, yogurt, fruit, carbs) and then dinner around 5. This leaves me wiggle rooms with grazing/snacks.