Big meals or small meals?

  • Hi all! Here is a questions for you: What do you tend to eat, three larger calorie meals, or four or five smaller calorie meals? I have been tending to have four smaller meals that are between 200 and 350 cals a day, with a few 50-100 calorie snacks, eating around 1300 calories a day (it varies).

    What works for you all? And at what times do you eat?

    Let me know! (I love sharing this stuff, it always gives me some perspective!)
  • I eat only when I am hungry. I make healthier choices than I used to and am mindful to stop when Im satisfied. somedays I might only eat once or twice.
  • I eat three meals a day and usually two snacks.
  • 3 meals 1 or 2 snacks during the work week.
    Weekends are harder -- generally lunch and dinner and 1 snack if I'm still hungry.
  • I usually eat three meals and no snacks, but that varies according to my schedule and how hungry I am. Sometimes, I only have two meals a day, choosing to eat breakfast anywhere between 10:30 - 11:30. Then, I'm not hungry for lunch but may have a piece of fruit later on during the day. On weekends, I tend to snack more because I'm home more.
  • Usually on the weekdays I carry around 2-3 snacks and have 3-4 small meals. Now that's just a generalization because things change from day to day just like my schedule. So I try not to let my self get that "omg I'm starving" feeling and still stay within my calorie range.
  • I am a creature of habit, so my routine is pretty nailed down and predictable, lol. Makes it easy to plan everyday because I eat at the same times, roughly the same amount of calories at each eating time, and I rotate through the same few foods.

    Morning: 1 cup of coffee with a splash of milk and a packet of Splenda...Maybe 50cal tops.
    Noon: Small but substantial lunch, usually 300cal or so. A lean protein with lots of voluminous vegetables. I can make a HUGE salad for 300cal.
    Afternoon: Tiny snack, about 25-50cals. Diet hot chocolate, handful of baby carrots, grapes, just something to munch on.
    Dinner: Huge dinner. My dinner determines what my calorie count is for the day. Anywhere from 400-700cal. I generally eat healthy food for dinner, but it's definitely not "diet size."
    Evening snack: Large evening snack, about 300cal. This might be spread out over a few different things. Popcorn, a piece of fruit, whatever. Sometimes I even plan a candy bar in there

    It's kind of an odd schedule, but it works well for me. I 1) need LARGE meals fewer times a day to feel satisfied, small frequent meals just keep my mind on food all day, and 2) hate eating in the morning and love eating in the evening. When I try to force myself to eat breakfast, I get cranky. When I have no calories left in the evening, I get cranky. So it's really just best for everyone involved that I don't eat early in the day and save the calories for later.