[gray eyed girl]

I am a snacker through and through. Anyone else? I have been contemplating posting my daily food diaries here for accountability but I feel embarassed because the only real "meal" I eat is dinner. I started thinking about this today while logging my "lunch" (yogurt with cinnamon) into fitday and realized I can't remember a time when I'd actually sit down and eat a MEAL three times a day. Even in high school, I'd have soda for breakfast (I know, I know), a bagel as a mid-morning snack, another snack during lunch break, another after school, and dinner. I'm not a meal person. I was going to blame that on my kids (one toddler, one preschooler) but this was going on when I was pregnant, when we were newlyweds, when we were engaged, and way before that too. I think that's part of the reason I got so heavy. Mindless eating, eternal snacking on fattening foods.

I'm trying to use that to my advantage though. I did our grocery shopping for the week today and stocked up on fruits and veggies, fat free yogurt, low-fat crackers, etc. Things I know I'll snack on, that are good for me, instead of chocolate or sweets.

Am I bizarre or is this more common than it seems, to eat only one real "meal" a day or none at all?

[LunaValkyrie]

im kinda stuck in that rut...for other reasons though... Its hard for me to cook a meal or have one if i have no food >_< (Hopefully that will all change soon). But ,like you said, I try to snack on healthy things. Yogurt....its....so nice at times I also like oatmeal as a snack. well, maybe i like snacks that are almost meals :P

Sounds like you have the problemy mother has. She used to be a real estate broker and never had time for a decent meal. She'd just snack all day and then claim she only eats one time a day (And wondering wwhy shes gaining instead of loosing).

I'd say, log your food jurnal into something like fitday...see if your getting your proper nutrients... maybe take a multivitamin.

[yume]

hello...I am exactly like you, i mean i feel like I eat all the time....i am curious actually to see what exactly you are eating (because i feel the same way with posting my food diary...) i think it fine to eat this way, in fact a new sort of fad idea about nutrition is to eat about every 3 hours (to keep blood sugar stabalized and to keep metabolism pumping...i will look around for a better description for you if you like...)

just to make you feel better here is my food diary for yesterday (i am also a control freak,once manifesting as anorexia...now more healthy turned to keeping meticulous food entries and eating at the same time every day...healthier? i have no idea)

7:30-oatmeal, soy milk, protien powder

10:00 1/2 yogurt

12:30 raw veg and hummus

2:00 raw spinach with 1/2 can of tuna and vinagar

4:00 apple with slice of laughing cow cheese

6:00 slice of tofu with spinach, mushrooms, and broc. and olive oil

7:30 kiwi with 1/2 yogurt


thats a pretty typical day..not really any meal, i just kind of eat allllll day

[gray eyed girl]

Thanks Luna I really don't even have the time to sit down for a meal most days anyway, but even if I did I have to admit that it doesn't really appeal to me all that much. I do use fitday and take a multivitamin every day already, and it has helped a lot to log every little bit during the day. I was eating so much food! Not any more though, I'm so happy to see the scale moving down.

Yume:

Well, here's what I've had so far today:

6 oz fat free yogurt with 1/2 tsp cinnamon around 9

2 carrots and a cup of skim milk around 11.

1 cup of grapes, an ounce of cheddar cheese, and a serving of whole-grain crackers around 1:30

I went to the gym at 3 and got home at 4:30. Now I'm about to go and have a piece of toast with peanut butter and some applesauce. I'll have dinner (grilled salmon) around 8, most likely, and probably some tea or juice before bed.

[Ilene]

I see nothing wrong in eating 5-6 mini meals/day, it's actually recommended, especially if you eat healthy mini meals. Eating often keeps my metabolism running evenly and I never have any sugar lows or highs. Today I had an atrocious eating day but my day is usually like this:

M1 - oatmeal with eggwhite omelette
M2 - 1/3c cottage cheese with strawberries and Splenda
M3 - 4 oz tuna or chicken with either salad or veggies sometimes a slice of bread
M4 - protein powder made with soy milk and strawberries
M5 - 4 oz steak, salmon, shrimp or whatever protein with a salad or veggies sometimes some rice...
M6 - If I'm hungry I may have oatmeal, I could live on oatmeal I love it...

This day of food will average about 1500 to 1700 cals when I put it on Fitday.com ...