Do any of you just stick to eating three square meals a day or graze between meals with a couple of snacks? I'm always curious to see what works for others.
I used to abide by the 'three meal a day and no snacking rule' for a long time but I found that I had a tendency to overeat particularly at dinner because I was famished beyond belief. Then when I started weight training hardcore like six months ago, I started reading a ton of stuff on the internet that said I should be eating two snacks or essentially five small meals a day to keep my blood sugar level, etc. It's really helped even me out and I'm still on track with my diet.
I just eat when I'm hungry. On normal days, that is 3 meals. On weekends it can be 2 meals (brunch and dinner) and if I am really hungry it can be 3 meals and a snack. I don't snack the majority of the time though, once I start I just can't stop so it is best not to start.
I also used to happily eat 3 meals a day, both when I was overweight, and for the first couple of months I was losing. Then my body started getting the hungries more often (and "hungry" for me is a major migraine trigger), so now I do 5-6 small meals a day. I find it a bit of a pain to eat that often, but my body is much happier this way.
I graze! I tend to get really hungry between meals, and eating snacks in between helps me feel full. I've always been a snacker, so eating throughout the day really helps my cravings.
I've tried and tried to eat less often, because of the health benefits of IFing. But I like eating often, especially when I'm eating lower-calorie to lose weight. I'm one of the rare people who wakes up hungry every morning (no matter how much or how little I eat the night before). I've finally given in to what makes me happy, and I eat 4-5 times a day right now.
Three squares or graze?
I prolly eat about 7-9 times a day. I eat when I'm hungry...it could be a piece of fruit, a salad, or a slice of pie!
