I've tried so many ways of breaking up my meals, and I'm just not a snack person. I've got no time at work to snack. I'm not hungry after dinner. If I eat before working out I get sick. Snacks just don't really fit into my life, unless it's a small bit of almonds or an apple, but it's still hard to fit it in. I have read so much about the benefits of 5 smaller meals, but that just doesn't fit into my life or schedule (or how my body wants to eat). When I was heavier, I just kind of ate constantly, with big meals and lots of snacks. The only way I seem to lose weight is eating like this:
Breakfast - relatively large. I'm starving when I wake up, so I vary what I eat. Ezekiel bread with pb and banana, oatmeal with cinnamon and a side of egg whites, big bowl of organic cereal and almond milk with fruit, plain greek yogurt with granola, etc. About 300-500 calories usually.
Lunch - smallest meal of my day, if I even eat. I will have some carrots and hummus or a small salad. Maybe some almonds and cheese in the salad if I feel like it, otherwise just veggies. I get lethargic at work if I eat too big of a lunch, especially heavy protein. Sometimes I'm really not even all that hungry. If I'm really hungry that day I will eat tuna or black beans on my salad.
Dinner - Moderate meal. Protein plus lots of steamed veggies (or salad a lot, especially in summer). Chicken, salmon/fish, ground turkey, tofu, etc. Every once in awhile I'll have whole wheat pasta with veggies or bake some eggplant with cheese, but I try to have lean protein most days. If I want it, I'll have a small dessert of yogurt with fruit (or a bit of pb mixed for apple dip) or a few pieces of dark chocolate.
I usually get in my 3-5 servings of fruits and veggies, but I wonder if I lack protein, but I honestly don't like it that much. I work out 6 days a week doing plyo, running, lifting, etc.
I know EVERYWHERE says do not skip meals, but if I'm legitimately not hungry at lunch I don't want to force down food. I probably have been eating around 1300 calories doing this, where before I was in the 1800 range trying to eat many small meals. Obviously I'm losing a lot faster, and I'm legitimately hungry at dinner, so when I eat the healthy food I get full and don't need to snack later. I'm not hungry or miserable during the day. This is how I used to eat in high school when I was a bit smaller than my current goal.
Is this going to slow my metabolism? Or make me lose muscle tissue? Or any of those other horrific things I read about on the internet? I don't seem to want to binge this way either, unless I really let myself get too hungry by eating a small breakfast and skipping lunch. My body seems to like this way of eating, so if it's not doing something harmful, I'm just going to continue to goal.
Edited to add: On the weekends I eat slightly more, about 1500-1800 calories. I am more active then so I do get hungrier midday, and I don't have to worry about feeling sluggish because I'm not at work.