I used to try to eat five or six small meals a day because at one time there was a school of thought that eating more frequently boosted your metabolism more than larger meals. Since then I've read a lot of research to the contrary and thank goodness since trying to eat five meals a day was driving me crazy!
I think the hardest thing for me was to make sure each meal wasn't too big and to always have snacks on hand wherever I was. I personally prefer to have three meals a day and add snacks on a as needed basis. It helps me to keep my calories down and teaches me to really "listen" to my body and its needs.
I know that snacks or small meals works for some people and that is great! I know that when we are too hungry sometimes we can make the wrong decisions. We all have to find what works for us!
I thought small meals were perfect for me because I love to eat, and I want to eat all the time. Well, maybe my "snacks" were too small to be satisfying or either it just isn't the way it works *for me* this time around.
Robin, a typical day I would eat breakfast around 6:30, a couple eggs and some spinach or broccoli, maybe a strip or 2 of turkey bacon. Then around 8:30, a 100~ calorie yogurt cup, then around 10:30 a hard boiled egg or a string cheese, then lunch smaller than normal chicken/steamed veggies or mixed green salad with tuna, then around 2:30 and 4:30 more of the same snacky stuff. Dinner is usually whatever the family requests, more calories and more volume than my "small meals" at breakfast and lunch, but I'm eating a TON of calories daily.
Trying to stay away from bread/crackers/pita/tortillas and rice/pasta/potato. The only sweet things I was eating was my (artificially sweetened) yogurt, and it was spinning me into binge behavior, so I have GOT to find some good quality unsweetened greek yogurt to replace it with.
Thanks for your responses, everyone! I guess in my mind what was supposed to be a good thing as far as satiety and psychological bennies turned ugly and made me feel like I was grazing all day, checking the clock to see if it was "time" to eat again, instead of sticking to one of my goals this time, which is only eat when physically hungry (to avoid the mad/sad/happy/bored stuffing I am famous for).
For the record, this whole week the only "bad" day was Tuesday, 1st day back at work with no scheduled snacks. If I do get hungry and it's not lunchtime, I will of course dig into the sack, but so far I haven't had to. Afternoons I have a feeling I will need the 4/4:30 snack because dinner is too far away from lunch. . .
I'm diabetic. My nutritionist has me eating 6 small meals a day watching my carbs.
a normal day for me is~
1~~Yogurt
2~~Protein shake
3~sandwich with whole grain bread and lean meat
4~small apple and cheese
5~~Veggies of some sort, my fave right now is red peppers and carrots.
6~Dinner lean meat and veggies.
I thought small meals were perfect for me because I love to eat, and I want to eat all the time. Well, maybe my "snacks" were too small to be satisfying or either it just isn't the way it works *for me* this time around.
Robin, a typical day I would eat breakfast around 6:30, a couple eggs and some spinach or broccoli, maybe a strip or 2 of turkey bacon. Then around 8:30, a 100~ calorie yogurt cup, then around 10:30 a hard boiled egg or a string cheese, then lunch smaller than normal chicken/steamed veggies or mixed green salad with tuna, then around 2:30 and 4:30 more of the same snacky stuff. Dinner is usually whatever the family requests, more calories and more volume than my "small meals" at breakfast and lunch, but I'm eating a TON of calories daily.
are you eating 1 or 2 eggs? i use a cup of egg white and man i'm FULL after. For the first snack what i usually have is a protein shake made from one scoop whey isolate and a cup of orange juice (i use doles orange juice has less cal's/sugar/carbs) and 6 carrots (.5 cup). For snacks you want some sort protein mixed with a complex carb, the protein is what will make you feel full. So say for your snack if you had the yogurt AND the hard boiled egg.. that would leave you better off. Also spacing is key...most say every 3 hours.. i personally do it every 2.5 ish...it really helps me watch what i eat at supper because like you thats when the bigger meal comes into play, i used to just LOAD UP my plate but now i'm not really hungry! so its' helped with over eating and specially when eating out!
Really eating small meals a day CAN be done, I just pack up my lunch kit nothing not normal about that, it just looks like i've got a small grocery store in there but :P who cares!
Last edited by luciddepths; 05-14-2010 at 01:28 PM.
I'm another one who does small, frequent meals during the week and larger, less frequent meals during the weekend. It works best with my schedule. My workouts are pretty intense, and with my schedule, I find it hard to give enough time to digest when I eat enough in the morning to be able to fuel that workout AND get me through to lunch, so I need a mid-morning snack to carry me over from the smallish breakfast I can digest before my workout. We eat dinner pretty late, so I usually need something to carry me from lunch to dinner, especially if I do my weight lifting in between. And I do eat dessert, because it's a big mental thing for me. So that's 6 times a day during the week.
On weekends, my workout schedule shifts so that I have plenty of time to digest a larger breakfast, so that carries me into a late lunch, which then carries me to dinnertime with no problems.
I've been eating 3 meals with 2-3 snacks throughout the day (eating every 3 hours.)
At first I was feeling hungry and didn't have very much energy.
Then I added a little more protein in there and I feel satisfied and have more energy.
I think eating the right balance of carbs, fat, and protein make a huge difference, but you should do what works for you.
I think everyone has to figure out what works for them. I like snacks but really what I put in my lunch box is what I eat during the day so it doesn't matter to me when I eat it.
I agree with that. For me, I eat about 6 times a day and usually it is low calorie, healthy foods that I can have in large volumes.
Frequent eating, in general, doesn't work quite as well for me. I'm a former grazer who used to eat about every ten minutes all day-- little of this, little of that--
Eating three times a day and only at meal times was helpful to combat that.
I agree that everyone needs to figure out what works for them.
For me, eating a ltitle something between meals has been my saving grace. I never get too hungry. If I'm out and about and forget to pack a snack, I get really hungry and then I want to go Off Plan. But even if it's just some almonds or a string cheese, I feel in control.
For my husband however, it didn't work for him. He had to stop doing the snack thing and just eat when he got hungry.
Frequent eating, in general, doesn't work quite as well for me. I'm a former grazer who used to eat about every ten minutes all day-- little of this, little of that--
Eating three times a day and only at meal times was helpful to combat that.
Yes!! This is me (formerly) and I felt like I was going back in that direction.
I like eating four "mini-meals" a day. Grazing more often didn't work really well for me. I spent too much time figuring out what to eat next and dealing with it, even if individually not much prep was required. I was never really in a food-free frame of mind, and I was never *really* satisfied.
OTOH, if I try to each just 3 meals a day, I end up getting too hungry between meals and either eat dinner too early or risk binging if I eat late. So, it seems four meals is the right number for me!
nothing not normal about that, it just looks like i've got a small grocery store in there but :P who cares!
