Does it matter how much food you eat?
 

It seems like Im eating every 30 min. I dont really like a couple big meals a day, I like to snack on things hear and there. My calories are in my calorie allotment for the day, but does it matter that im constantly eating something.

You mean quantity of food? In my opinion, total number of daily calories counts, not the amount/frequency of food eaten. Eating a large volume of low calorie foods is key for a lot of people (especially myself). There's actually a diet plan around this concept called Volumetrics.

I don't like being hungry because I tend to get dizzy, light-headed and make terrible food decisions. I also love to eat. So, I plan to eat around every 2-3 hours. Eating 6-7 meals a day helped me lose 70+ lbs and keep it off for 3 years.

It's very individual, some people would prefer to eat 3 bigger meals a day and avoid snacks. That's okay too - your plan should be individual for YOU and what works for YOU.

For example, here is my menu for day (maintaining, not losing):

B - 7:00 am 1/2 cup of Nature's path organic pumpkin flax cereal, fat free greek yogurt with honey, 2 spoons of wheat germ

S 10:00 am package of fresh blackberries

L 12:00 Went out for lunch, had 2 roasted veggie crepes (no cheese). It had a yummy roasted red pepper sauce which was probably way too yummy to be low fat/low cal. Side of salad with a great curry dressing (had the dressing on the side, used the dip tine method)

S: 1:00 tall skinny Starbucks mocha, Starbucks chocolate biscotti

S 3:00 tangelo

S 5:00 cut up veggies (baby carrots, grape tomatoes, sugar snap peas, red pepper strips

D 7:00 maple glazed salmon over 1 serving brown rice, tons of steamed broccoli

Spreading your calories may help, and certainly won't hurt. There's some research findings that suggest eating smaller, more frequent meal/snacks might increase your metabolism. I've not read anything that would suggest eating more frequently (but not more calories) was detrimental in any way. Do what is most natural to you.

Wow, Glory, you have a yummy maintain menu :) How many is it, 2000 +?

As for me, I wrote a recipe maybe an hour ago for a dish that is very low cal, yummy, and I had a pound of it :) It came up to 650 calories, which is a normal lunch for me.

I started eating more frequent this time around (the first time, when I lost 80 pounds I ate twice a day, and was not happy). I have fruit all the time, if it's in the house. I have sandwiches with cucumber and tomato slices, and alfalfa sprouts, I love them with a bit of mayo, just so I have the taste of it.

I love my organic muesli with nuts and raisins, with two tespoons of honey and a tub of green tea (unsweetened). It's a very slow food: first you chew the muesli oats and taste the honey and nuts and sweet sour raisins, then you dillute it with a sip of tea, and then you wash it down... it's very satisfying. Every bite takes much more time that with regular food :)

I also like soup cubes... i know they're not as healthy as real veggie broth, but they're time saving, low cal, and good to eat. I pust some fried dough balls in, which increases the caloric value quite a bit, so I keep an eye on almost every single one :)

I love cucumbers and tomatoes. With a bit of salt and pepper they're the tastiest veggies on earth, no oil needed. Sometimes I cut two tomatoes, put salt and pepper and a teaspoon of mayo in, have two slices of toasted bread, and it's just as yummy as the sandwiches.

I also like snacking on blown up rice or wheat cakes. Sometimes I put on some honey or just salt, and I'm fine :)

You can have a lot of fun inventing non-fattening food, when on a diet. And it can taste just as sweet and delicious as "regular" food :)

I eat all day long. I've been doing it for years. 3 meals per day just doesn't work for me at all.

Some say that you should leave 2-3 hours in between meals/snacks, but you should try not to go beyond 3 hours. Others say you're better off eating 3 larger meals, no snacks. But it's not clear whether anyone has done any actual scientific research on this.

I usually eat 3 meals and 2 or 3 snacks. The snacks are smaller--100-200 cals. I will skip a snack if I'm not hungry when time rolls around.

I'm not sure that grazing continuously is the best idea, just because it sets up a habit of eating all the time.

Jay

I eat 5 meals sometimes 6 a day. It is also very important what I eat.
I wouldn't dream of keeping my calories at only say 1400 and eating nothing but refined carb garbage. I like to make sure everything I eat with very few exceptions has great nutitional value.

Yeah, my maintenance goal is 1800-2000 per day. The lunch out is a bit of an aberration, I generally bring my lunch to work everyday. I have a hard time estimating today, since I have no idea of the calorie count of those crepes. That red pepper sauce was GOOD.