Just curious about everyone's approach to maintenance. Do you have planned snacks every day? Or do you eat 3 meals without any snacks? Or something else (5-6 mini meals, for example)?

I'm finding that about 30% of my daily calories are coming from snacks! Meals are generally smaller, so my daily average isn't so bad, but especially in the afternoon, I see a lot of food being consumed between lunch & dinner, which is (and always has been) a tough time of day for me.

What are your thoughts about snacking?

The afternoon is my snackiest time too. I plan 3 healthy snacks (around 100 calories each) every afternoon.

I eat a snack every 2 hours. I normally have a non fat latte, a piece of fruit and a string cheese.

I'm a mini meals kind of person.

One of the problems I used to have with WW and other traditional diets was having to white knuckle it from meal to meal because I was starving! This time around, I eat every three hours or so (7 am, 10 am, 1 pm, 4 pm and 7 pm -- roughly) and make sure I have protein with each meal. They all tend to be about the same number of calories and are interchangeable, so breakfast could be lunch, dinner could be my afternoon snack, and yes, I've eaten chili for breakfast.

If I let myself get too hungry, I can never feel full and tend to keep on eating and eating. It's probably a blood sugar thing. So for me, I do much, much better with small, frequent meals (with protein).

My only gripe with "snacks" is what usually constitutes snack food -- processed and non-nutritious. That's why I prefer to call my style of eating "mini-meals" because they're always protein + fruit or protein + veggies or protein + good carb and not 100 calorie packs or empty carbs. Just a semantic thing!

But like almost everything else in the diet world, it varies from person to person. Some of our members do much better with the traditional three meals a day approach. So long as we're all flexible and willing to try new ideas to see what works for us, it's all good.

I do three meals and three snacks.

Mid-morning snack is a quarter cup of roasted soy nuts - 120 cals.

Mid-afternoon snack varies, but often toasted pita bread "chips" with hummus - maybe 200 cals.

Evening snack is a piece of fruit, maybe 100 cals.

My snacks are important so that, when I think "hungry", I know that it's not too long until my next snack or meal.

I usually aim for three meals, and eat most of my food at breakfast and midday, with supper much smaller. Once in a while I don't eat supper, especially in the summer when it is very hot. Sometimes, I have four smaller meals a day. I'm finding as I get older, as my body composition improves, as I weigh less, that as soon as I think, "Okay, this is the way it is now", then something changes and I need to adjust and do something different.

I make sure that what I eat is nutrient dense. I don't spend my calories foolishly. I enjoy what I eat. I don't think of any food as a snack. The word snack, to me, denotes something used as a filler. I either need to eat something really nourishing and satisfying, or the desire to eat isn't real hunger, but a need for something else.

Having a balance of nutrients, and a set standard of calories, protein, carbohydrates and fats, and knowing that I can eat them whenever I need to throughout the day is a restful foundation to me. I enjoy knowing that I can trust the food plan. I know that at the next meal I will be eating something very nourishing and substantial that I will enjoy, so there is not an uneasiness between meals.

It's an interesting question. Thank you very much for the topic.

I pretty much do the 3 square meals a day thing, which always include protein & a good fat, this normally satisfies me.
However, when I get a real hungry day- I will have a snack in between lunch and dinner. Either a piece of fruit with almond butter, a few pieces of dark chocolate dipped in peanut butter, a larabar, popcorn & almonds, pouch of salmon & some carrots (depends on what I have a hankering for)!

I tend to have a small breakfast and lunch, morning and afternoon snacks, slightly larger dinner, evening snack. My morning snack is usually small, often fruit. Afternoon is a little bigger because I often run after work and we eat dinner late, so sometimes a PB&J, yogurt, some other higher cal, high protein snack. Often larger than lunch. Dinner is variable and sets the evening snack, which is often these days yogurt w/ granola. I'm in a yogurt kick right now.

I also don't tend to eat traditional snacks too often - I find I have little self control with them. I often have kashi or lara bars, but don't have much control with those either... Fruit, yogurt, graham crackers, etc are safer.

I have the same "eating schedule" as Shannon but with different snacks. Morning is a banana, afternoon 1 boiled egg and baby carrots or tomatoes, and evening is something about 100 calories and I vary it a bit to not be bored.

Dagmar

I have three main meals and 1-2 snacks per day. I can't make it the whole 6+ hours from lunch until dinner without a snack. Breakfast to lunch is only about 4 hours so that's okay. If I have dinner early sometimes I have a snack after dinner, or if I have dinner late with a workout beforehand I often need a second afternoon snack to help give me energy for my workout. My snacks are pretty small though -- an apple, or a string cheese, something like that. Dinner is my largest meal.

I CANNOT do minimeals. Can't do snacks either. I need regular scheduled relatively big meals. I tried really hard to do the minimeal/snack approach because that's what most weight loss sources preach. So I planned healthy snacks to eat every few hours. I was very aware of the fiber/protein/fat ratios of my snacks. It screwed with my head so badly, that I nearly threw in the towel on the whole weight loss thing. I was emotional and irritable. I'm generally quite a stable mellow person, but trying to force myself into that 5-6 meals a day mold was just not happening. I thought about food all day everyday. Constantly watching the clock waiting for my next snack or minimeal. I couldn't get anything done, because I couldn't concentrate on anything other than being furiously hungry and desperate for the next snack time. And again, this wasn't a result of the types of snacks I was eating, they weren't empty calories. I'd eat an apple and some peanutbutter. Then a few hours later I would eat a bit of chicken and steamed broccoli. It was the mental aspect that killed me. I was always hungry, and that next snack was always juuust around the corner, but I was never fully satiated.

I finally said to **** with it, I'll eat when I want. I still eat the same healthy foods, mind you. It started out with breakfast at around 7am, lunch at noon, and dinner at 6ish. I was instantly happier. I was full and satisfied after the larger meals, and I had hours between where I didn't have to focus on eating.

Eventually, I phased out breakfast altogether. I'm simply not hungry in the mornings, and I'd rather have the calories for later on in the day. All I want in the morning is coffee with a splash of milk. I currently eat a very small snack-ish lunch at noon, a larger meal at about 2:30, dinner at 6pm, and then I always have calories leftover to have a pretty substantial snack when I'm winding down before bedtime.

Finally I'm happy, content, don't think about food constantly, I feel full and satiated. I had to do it my own way.

This is my schedule for same reasons plus I was raised with no snacks and I want my meals to look more like normal meals to blend in with others easier especially my family. I really like not worrying about food so many times during the day.

I'm a 3 meal a day eater. I do have snacks but they are small. My morning snack is usually 50-100 calories and may be a few (7 or 8) almonds, a small amount of cheese or 3 prunes. My afternoon snack is usually a piece of fruit or some veggies. I've been known to eat sliced zucchini or a bell pepper for my snack. I usually have smaller breakfasts and lunches so that I can have a bigger dinner. I feel more satisfied that way.

Like Losermom, I am also a 3 square a day eater. I rarely eat snacks because for me I like the fullness I get with bigger meals, snack for me are just a tease.

Though if I am unusually hungry I might eat a sliced cucumber or a handful of cherry tomatoes between lunch and supper. I might also have a yogurt or a bowl of baby carrots in the evening. A snack for me can never again be chips or a candy bar. (Empty calorie junk food) Those things are like heroin to me. Whatever keeps me from binging!