Has anyone found it a really important step to eat scheduled meals, instead of snacking whenever you feel like it? I think this has been a VERY important step for me, because i used to have the habit of just eating something whenever i felt bored...and then once i started eating i just wouldn't stop, and it would turn into a binge. I basically wound up eating ALL DAY. I wouldn't even call it snacking, because "snacking" implies you're eating a small quantity of something...but i literally would just eat continuously, not a snack, but large amounts. I'd come to work with a bunch of preportioned snacks and eat them ALL by 10:00 a.m. just to procrastinate from working.

As you can see from my signature, i'm trying to write down everything i eat, eat scheduled meals, and not binge. I haven't been doing well at all with the third item But one really positive thing is that i haven't eaten off schedule AT ALL (talking only about weekdays here). This is important for me because i can't just say "i'm feeling sad/lonely/angry/bored so i'm going to eat something now"...instead i have to wait until the next meal. Now, the next meal occasionally turns into a binge...but at least i have broken the habit of just eating whenever i feel like it for no reason. THis is huge for me...and i'm going to try to make it a habit forever.

Defintly .. I eat brekkie snacks lunch and more snacks at the exact same
Time every day.. I plan out what to eat that day when I wake up or even the day before... An when I do that I rarely go
Off plan! Even if it's an event for example
Tonight we are having a BBQ at home and
I have already planned 4 vodkas chicken and salad, and
I will look forward to that and that
Only!

I tend to do that when I'm watching a movie... you're eating a bag of chips and suddenly - it's gone. Everything. And then you look at the bag of chips, at your stomach and just feels sick...

I tend to avoid scheduled meals because that makes me feel like I should eat whether I'm hungry or not, which to me re-inforces binge or boredom eating.

I have found it important to only eat 3 scheduled meals per day. I tried the 5-6 small meals and it really didn't work for me. I felt like I was always thinking about food and I consistently went over my calorie allotment b/c I never felt fully satisfied.

I stumbled along this post and am glad I did. It's like a lightbulb went off. I always eat breakfast, lunch , dinner, snacks but never actually scheduled them for a set time. I think this would help me, especially between lunch and dinner. This is usually when I have the most trouble. If I schedule a snack and plan out what I'm having I'm thinking this will help me to have just that. Also, it will help me not to think that I've blown it because I ate this or that because it will be planned and scheduled before hand. Wow! It seems so simple and I've heard it before but for some reason reading it now seems workable. Thanks to all for posting and continuing the conversation!

Planning and eating scheduled meals and snacks has helped me to change my relationship with food. I was never a bing person but I just ate poorly and in very large quantities. I used to eat very little during the day and then eat large amounts of fast food at night.

Now, I eat scheduled breakfast, lunch, supper and an evening snack. I keep snack items for mid morning and mid afternoon with me at all times but I rarely eat them anymore. I have actually started considering food as fuel, and it really works.

For me, the opposite has been true. Part of success has been giving up the idea that I had to eat a platefull of food, two to three times a day.

Initially, for me, it was about shrinking my stomach. I'd read an article in Readers Digest or Prevention, that switching to 6 or more snacks instead of meals could shrink your stomach (the article recommended never eating more than 1 cup of food at any time).

In terms of shrinking my stomach capacity, it worked tremendously. I also learned that what I considered "satisfied" was probably actually too-full.


I do have to be cautious not to turn snack-meals into all-day grazing, but for me I've found that writing and counting (for me exchanges) has far more power and impact than how often I'm eating or the portion-size at any given time.


During TOM I have the most problem with "grazing." It's also when I'm least likely to document meticulously (even though it's probably the most important time to do so).

When I eat, I always try to stick with "one-cup or less" and "one hour or more" (before eating again)

I've found though that how much I eat (for the day) has a lot more to do with my success than when and in what portions I eat it. Writing and counting (I use an exchange plan) BEFORE eating has had far more impact (and for some reason it's a habit I'm finding hard to acquire)

As with many weight loss strategies, I think that different people do best with different strategies.

I also think that it's possible that at some point I'll have to change my strategies. I've found that what works doesn't always work forever. At some point I may find it useful to switch back to means/no snacks as opposed to my current most common pattern of snacks/no meals.

Yep exactly! When i didn't have a "plan," i felt a tiny bit guilty about every single bite of food i ever ate, because it was leading me farther from my goal of losing weight. But when i'm on a plan, i know i just have to stick to the plan and i will lose weight.

And although it hasn't stopped my binging, i think it has helped a little bit. Because before, i'd start eating and just not want to stop. Now, i know my next scheduled meal is only 3 hours away...so i can tell myself "i'm craving x right now but i just have to hold off for 3 hours and then i can have it." it's not like ending the meal is ending eating forever...haha...that's how i used to eat, as if it was my last meal ever!

I do much better with meals than snacks too. In most cases I never feel satisfied with a snack and the act of eating just makes me crave a full meal. I've been saying this since I was a kid but it's easier for me to eat nothing than to just have a little and then stop!

I've always eaten scheduled meals, but I used to eat the rest of the time too. I do sometimes snack, but I also keep track of my calories so I know how a snack is going to affect my totals for the day. And I did have to put a stop to the all day long eating.

My meals are so planned that if I were to go to prison tomorrow, I'd be all set! :-) But I wonder if they would give me whole grain bread instead of white?

I think that for you and I, planning meals is so very important. It's important to feel a sense of control over food after being so out of control for so long. We've posted about your occasional binges on another thread so I'll leave it alone here but I just wanted to add my two cents regarding your scheduled meals plan.

i totally plan my meals. i eat my oatmeal breakfast at work at 830 and then by 10-1030 i eat a fruit or yogurt and then i eat lunch at 12.. eat a snack at 230-3 and this is usually an apple and then depending on whether i am hungry or not i may have another yogurt before i go home from work (my commute is over 1 hour so if i go home hungry, i usually feel sick) and then i eat dinner at 7ish.

i find that this works for me becuase i never feel starved. when im starved, i cant keep my portions under control and thats just bad news

I'm a meal planner. I try to listen to my hunger as I am calculating what to eat, but larger quantities less frequently do, unfortunately, help me out.

I do schedule my meals. It's actually been pretty huge for me. I do eat 4-6 smaller meals. I feel satisfied with less, and I'm never hungry. I used to feel hungry all the time unless I was stuffed to the brim. I feel pretty satisfied all day, without feeling stuffed, and since I eat every 3 hours, I definitely feel like I am always eating. It's like I am tricking myself and it works for me.