[lucky8]

I have accidently this week fallen in to eating smaller meals on a more regular basis. Just kinda happened and ive been eating smaller portions but found im hungry sooner and eating just a few hours after each meal.

Im doing weightwatchers , and although it feels im eating alot, im not going over my daily allowance. I dont feel uncomfortably full after my meals which is great, but i feel hunger pains about 2hours later.

I have lost 3.5lbs this week , so maybe it really does work when it comes to speeding metabolism. But i didnt set out to eat like this its just been the way my meals have came about but i may continue.

R you a little and often? or a 3meals a day person?

[RJ 1980]

Nope, I eat large meals a few times a day (2-3). Maybe a snack or two thrown in. I love the FULL feeling, plus I'm not a big snack fan in general. But, whatever works for you is the best way!!

[twinieten]

I do so much better by eating fewer, larger meals, something that fills me up, gives me that full feeling, and then lasts a little while. My breakfast is usually pretty small, lunch is decent, I have a small afternoon snack and a good dinner. I don't tend to snack after dinner..... So I guess I really only have 2 good meals a day. I tried eating more frequent and smaller meals, but I would just end up famished and I'd risk losing control.

[lucky8]

For example i have had today

for breakfast: a ultra slim shake % banana
meal1: weightwatchers lasgane
meal 2 small portion of pasta with pepercorn sauce and small portion of weight watchers choips
meal3 weightwatchers hot pot

sound a lot but they are small portions to my norm, and im still within my points allowance, it seems to have speeded up my motabalism

[kaplods]

Smaller, more frequent meals has helped me tremendously. I thought I needed the "full" feeling, so giving that up was a big adjustment. And initially I only expected it to be a temporary change (until my stomach "shrunk").


I've liked eating this way though, so I've stuck with it, and I don't like the "full" feeling so much anymore. In fact, it's made even buffet and restaurant eating while dieting, a lot easier. I used to eat three very full plates of food at a buffet, and not even think about it. Now, if I try to heap even one plate "full" by my old standards, I fell so sick afterward that I have to lie down.

I used to "eat myself sick" a lot. That doesn't happen much anymore. Once in a while I'll eat enough to be a little uncomfortable, but the eat-until-bursting doesn't even appeal to me anymore (and I used to do it almost every day).

I knew the trick was working, when frozen dinners started being "the perfect size" instead of "ridiculously small," and when I started getting three "extra" meals out of restaurant leftovers (where before I'd either eat everything, or I'd have just enough leftovers for lunch the next day. Now I get at least three to four full meals out of the average restaurant dinner).

My "record" so far is six meals (from a mexican restaurant fajita plate, and I used my own tortillas when the ones that came with the dinner ran out).

[sontaikle]

Hey if it works for you, that's great! It's wonderful that you've found a way to eat that keeps you on plan!

Personally it doesn't quite work for me; I stick with three meals. Depending on my day I might eat parts of my lunch over a period of a couple hours...but that's not usually by choice I'm a teacher and sometimes I don't get the time to sit down and eat lunch

[JohnP]

Originally Posted by lucky8

I have lost 3.5lbs this week , so maybe it really does work when it comes to speeding metabolism. But i didnt set out to eat like this its just been the way my meals have came about but i may continue.

It is a common error to associate what we see on the scale with our short term actions.

For example - someone who is stalled at 180lbs on 1200 calories a day and then eats at 1500 for a day, drops three lbs, and decided their body was in "starvation mode".

Reality? Whether one should eat 2 times a day or 12 times really depends on what an individual dieter prefers and helps keep them on track because scientific data demonstrates that our metabolisms do not speed up if we eat more often and do not slow down if we eat fewer meals.

Meal frequency doesn't matter to your body when it comes to metabolism. Calories matter.

Since you asked - I used to eat 6-7 times a day. Now I eat twice. I'm the opposite of Kaplods. Eating a small meal just makes me want to eat more, and more, and more. Eating a big meal satisfies me and I'm good for a long time.

Typically I eat around 1pm and then around 8 or 9 pm.

[indiblue]

I go back and forth. I Intermittent Fast so I start eating at 1 or 2 PM. I go through periods where I love eating a massive lunch and then a small dinner.

These days, I love to eat constantly. I'll start eating at 1 PM with a huge salad of diced veggies and eat it over the course of the hour as i work. Then I'll eat a bowl of soup at 2 slowly, reheating it a few times as it gets cold!

Right now I like the feeling of having "a lot" to eat, so I'll dice an apple and snack on that for the next thirty minutes... it makes it last a whole lot longer than biting straight into one. Then almonds. "Pieces" of food are working really well for me.

As I'm typing this it sounds pretty bizarre. I work from home so it's easy for me to take a reaaaaalllyyy long time to finish my soup as I work! I think if I was in an office again I'd be back on my huge-lunch-small-dinner plan.

[Unna]

If you have figured out how to control your cravings and overall calorie intake, then it sounds like you are in a really good place.

To be honest, I try to eat as few times as possible because I'm too lazy to write down tons of little snacks throughout the day. I was snacking frequently, but didn't like it because I was always writing! That was fine when my schedule was more relaxed, but now that I'm super busy again, I just don't have the time to keep track of the calories or points in 5 -6 meals.

[kaplods]

Originally Posted by Unna

If you have figured out how to control your cravings and overall calorie intake, then it sounds like you are in a really good place.

To be honest, I try to eat as few times as possible because I'm too lazy to write down tons of little snacks throughout the day. I was snacking frequently, but didn't like it because I was always writing! That was fine when my schedule was more relaxed, but now that I'm super busy again, I just don't have the time to keep track of the calories or points in 5 -6 meals.

That's one of the reasons I like to use an exchange plan to count my calories. On days when it's going to be inconvenient to write down every thing (or if I just don't want to), I can just use a food chart (which I either draw quickly myself in a tiny notebook, or print off - either a chart of my own design, or one of the many available online) and can then just check off boxes. I took the time one day to create a chart about the size of a business card, and printed off a whole sheet of them, and then cut them with my scrapbook cutter, and cut and stapled them into small business-card sized notebooks, I could carry in my pocket.


I think it's kind of crazy that so much of the weight loss research is still focused on finding "the most effective weight loss method," rather than delving into why some methods work great for some people and backfire on others, and on identifying the best method for an individual.

In so many ways, weight loss is a science still in it's infancy.

[Esofia]

Originally Posted by JohnP

It is a common error to associate what we see on the scale with our short term actions.

Indeed, correlation does not equal causation. You would not believe the persistency of the myth that taking a pregnancy test will cause your period to turn up.

[d130]

I'm one of the folks who eats 2-3 meals/day.

I don't have enough time in my day to eat more often, and I like to feel full after a meal, so I tend to have a reasonable size lunch and a larger dinner. I occasionally have breakfast or a snack after dinner, but I've found that because I don't buy as many snack-y things, I don't find an excuse to snack as often as I used to. It also helps that my meals are more filling then they used to be so I don't feel like I have to snack or wind up raiding the candy drawer because I'm hungry.

I know loads of people on here have found success with a variety of eating patterns though, so definitely go with whatever works for you.