During my research about fasting for weight loss I came across this article about eating 2 meals a day. It is entitled "How a Two Meal a Day Diet Can Trump Our Cultures Eating" (Yahoo Voices)
(I am new so I can't post a direct link. The author is C. Shephard)

It seemed simple and straight forward. I toyed around with it last week and this week. I had some successful days and some hard days. But overall I must say that it is very liberating to eat two meals and not worry about counting or tracking grams or calories. I think with eating 2 normal balanced meals and limiting the sugars it will be very hard to not see results.

So, I'm going to get serious and follow through with it.

So, what do you think of this? Do you currently eat 2 meals a day?

Not quite, but I have a light breakfast, and lunch - which I eat closer to 2 - 2:30 - is my main meal. I still watch out with the fat, etc, because a lot of health damage can still be done on 2 meals a day if I eat fries, etc. etc.

Dinner is a little something - cottage cheese on 1/2 English muffin, or yogurt with hemp seeds... I feel much better in the morning when I've had a light dinner, and it keeps me happier with the scale.

I think if it works for you, it's fine. I do believe in listening to the body, so if I have a 'hungry' evening, I'll have a larger nutritious meal.

Before I quit smoking I ate only once a day, dinner. I never ate breakfast, lunch or snacks. I weighed 115lbs, didn't count calories and never exercised because I didn't have to and certainly wouldn't do it for fun. I am not sure if only eating once a day is what did it or the smoking but when I quit smoking I started eating all of the time.

I are breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack, snack snack and I ate whatever I wanted. All I could do while I was eating was think of what I could eat next. I think in reality I traded my cigg addiction for food addiction to be honest but I gained 30lbs from it.

I eat 5 small meals a day. I don't know about the whole 2 meal a day thing, it's making me think the body will hold on to the fat reserves more that way. Everyone I read says you should eat every 3 hours or so to keep the metabolism going. Hm

This is such a coincidence: Just this week, I've switched to two meals a day, and I know the article you're referring to (although I still calorie count). I've decided to eat a big breakfast and a big dinner because that fits better into my social life (my husband likes going out for breakfast, and dinner is our main meal), and I would miss breakfast foods if I skipped breakfast but any lunch-type foods can be eaten for dinner. I decided to do two meals a day because I wanted to sit down and actually eat something substantial. I usually have breakfast between 9:30-10:30, and I don't really get hungry until around 4, and even then, I can manage to wait an hour or so to eat. I like have that feeling of hunger; it helps me to better identify what I really want to eat, and when I finally do it, the food tastes REALLY good (hunger is the best condiment!).

The notion that eating 5-6 meals a day is somehow better for the metabolism has been debunked many times. It may be better for some people because for some, it's a comfort to always know they'll be eating within a couple of hours. However, many people (including me) would prefer to have substantial meals and do not feel satisfied with just the small amount of food on a 5-6 meal-a-day plan. Also, I don't know that it's a good idea never to feel hunger; I want to feel hunger for the reasons I stated above.

LIN43, I feel the same way. I like to eat substantial meals. And food does taste better when you really are hungry. I don't believe in the whole starvation mode either.

I'll let you know how this week goes for me. Today went well.

"The notion that eating 5-6 meals a day is somehow better for the metabolism has been debunked many times. It may be better for some people because for some, it's a comfort to always know they'll be eating within a couple of hours. However, many people (including me) would prefer to have substantial meals and do not feel satisfied with just the small amount of food on a 5-6 meal-a-day plan. Also, I don't know that it's a good idea never to feel hunger"
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so true,i agree 100%

It doesn't really matter if you eat two or five meals a day if you watch your calorie/energy count.

The pro about eating five (or six.. in other words - more meals) meals a day is, that your body can process it more effectively but the con is, that you hardly experience that feeling of being really full.

I'd be interested in seeing a source for this claim; just out of curiosity, no angry disagreement intended!

I will say I agree that everyone's bodies and perceptions of fullness are different, but eating 5-6 meals (or as I like to call it, "grazing") has served both me (as a bean pole/ectomorph) and my wife (as someone who is more prone to gaining pounds around the waist) well.

To the OP, I'll say I'm not too certain about the two meals a day plan. One of the more level-headed and peer-reviewed doctors on the subject, William E.M. Lands, cautions against larger-calorie meals for the postprandial oxidant stress they cause in your blood vessels and, in particular, single-meal days as the many carbons and electrons that "surprise" the metabolic pathways, especially in higher-calorie meals, would foster a lot of free radicals from the liver.

To your concern of people not feeling satisfied, lin43, I'd just say to not only eat SMALLER calorie meals throughout the day (that's the "duh" part) but to make sure there is a good portion of full-on, complete protein (I recommend fish or seafood for the omega 3:6 balance) in most of those meals. My aforementioned wife has quite an appetite, and I had read some research somewhere (will find if asked) that said appetite is more suppressed with protein at every meal. It worked for her, and works for me (though I guess I don't have much of an appetite anyway)! I'll also add that walnuts are a great quick snack/meal since they're easy to take with you, and just a small handful satisfies calorie needs as well as, surprisingly, hunger.

Anyway, that's just my three cents/experience on the matter. Hope it helps, Mrs. Sam!