As anyone ever tried eating every 2-3 hours?

[lorihart]

Hi everyone,
I was wondering if anyone as ever tried this? I have read in so many mags that you should eat every 3 hours or so and take in x number of calories and that you will lose weight because your eating all the time and you are speeding up the metabolism.
If anyone has tried this have they had success with it? I have tried to do it but it seems so hard planning all your meals.I know that you guys have heard me numerous times saying what my goal weight is.And of course I am wondering if this route would get me there.It is only what you get use to.
Any response on this issue would be great,
thanks
Lori

 

[Stacy]

I do a modified version. I think most of the books and magazines make things harder than they have to be. The basic gist is not to let yourself get hungry. I do 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. By having a mid-morning snack and a mid-afternoon snack, my "meals" tend to be smaller b/c I'm not as hungry. My snacks are usually as simple as a protein shake, a piece of fruit and some days I'll have half a protein bar for one snack and the other half later in the afternoon. You may already be doing these "numerous mini meals" already and not even realize it.

Stacy

 

[saralh]

Hey! Well, I think that the main thing is to not let youself got too hungry, and always have handy stuff on hand to grab and take with you when you're on the run. I usually eat 3 meals and two snacks each day. Come mid-afternoon, I'm not usually too hungry but I almost always have a light snack like fruit and string cheese, or trail mix in fat free yogurt, or peanut butter on a banana to boost my energy and it helps keep me from being ravenous come dinner time. If you can spare an hour, say on Sunday night, to stock up on fresh cut up veggies and bag individual bags of things like nuts and trail mix, and keep yougurt cups on hand and veggie bugers and frozen meals, it makes it a lot easier during the week. An hour of planning set aside one day will benefit you throughout the week so you can eat and run without much thought. Try it! If you need any meal ideas, let me know cause I have a bunch! I try to eat often and regularly b/c that's just how I feel my best.
Healthy Regards,
Sara Herzig

 

[tryin2bfit]

Hi Sara,
I would be very interested to hear some of your meal ideas - especially dinners. My 3 kids and I like beans and healthy meals, but my DH is more of a meat and potatoes guy. I need some inspiration and ideas
Thanks in advance!
Sandi

 

[prfitness]

Hey Lori - what is your goal weight by the way? Through all your posts it sounds as if you are in great shape already. Don't let those scale numbers dictate your goals too much. I have pretty much been through all the obsessing about mini-meals vs. three meals and I've come to the conclusion that unless you are having huge 3 course gourmet meals for lunch and dinner, it really makes no difference in terms of weight loss. I used to do 3 meals but found that I was really feeling terrible mid-morning. So I've added in a snack there. Sometimes I will have another snack mid-afternoon as well if I feel low on energy. I stick to the same old boring snacks - a glass of soy milk, high fiber cereal with milk, fruit with cottage cheese or yogurt, bread with a slice of cheese and some tomatoes etc. I've heard that some people do great by eating small amounts throughout the day. Most of the people I know eat 3 meals with a couple of snacks. Two of my friends who are really slim actually follow the 3 meal approach and never snack. I guess you just need to find what works for you and keeps you on track. I am sure you will reach your goal in time -I have my fingers crossed for you coz I know you work really hard towards it.

 

[lorihart]

Well, I am only 5'3" and right now I am probably any where between 126-130.I use to be 123 and before I got pregnate I was 118.I would love to see that again.But it seems layelt as if the scale as been going up,up,up but I know I have also been hitting the weights alot more.I don't obssess about it to much,it just you know, you have those days......

 

[kweller]

I do it.
I'm also a major meal planner (i.e. I keep carrots peeled in water in tupperware and ready to go in the fridge, I keep healthy quick snacks around, etc) I also bring my lunch and snacks to work every day. I just don't think the eating every 2-3 hours thing works successfully unless you diligently plan your meals. Otherwise you'll be eating 'whatever's around' or whatever you can find/get your hands on every 2-3 hours, and that defeats the purpose of eating healthfully to begin with. I also don't know if eating every 2-3 hours 'speeds up' the metabolism per se as much as eating 3 larger meals a day 'slows down' the metabolism...Does this make sense? I guess it's all in your perception! The idea is, you eat as much as you are going to be using as fuel in the next 2-3 hours, therefore the remainder (of calories) doesn't get stored as fat.
Makes sense. Works for me.
Hope this helps a little!

Kathy

 

[eema]

Hi,

It took me a long time to learn to eat this way. I kept saying, "But I'm not hungry enough to eat 6 times a day." Well, yeah, if you're eating 3 big meals, you aren't hungry enough. Once I did start eating 6 meals a day it completely changed my life for the better. First of all, I don't plan all that much. I can't eat dairy food and don't like to eat a lot of meat so my snacks are either some kind of powerbar with at least 20 g. of protein or a protein shake with soy milk and a banana inside. I keep a powerbar with me at all times - in the car, in my bag - so if I start feeling the least bit hungry and I see it's been a couple of hours since I last ate, I eat one right away. I don't let myself get to that stage where I feel like, "I have to eat NOW!" Does anyone else feel that way when they start to get hungry? Why has this helped me so much? Because I feel more in control when making decisions about my main meals. I'm not so ravenous that I'm eating 3 pieces of chicken or pigging out on carbs. I also have much more energy for workouts and don't feel so completely drained or shaky afterwards. I didn't have weight to lose when I started eating like this but my stomach never bloats when I eat now and it used to all the time because I was just eating too much at one sitting. From what I've read, your body can use as fuel only between 300-400 calories at a time. Consuming more than that at one meal will increase the chances of the extra calories being stored as fat in your body since it will just be "sitting" there. I find that eating this way prevents that lethargic feeling after meals, also. It's worth giving it a shot. You have to play around with what works as a snack for you - if it needs to be something portable, etc. Just try to keep all meals and snacks under 400 calories and include protein and carbohydrates together. Let us know how it works for you! Linda

 

[Debra]

Yes. And I agree w/ Kathy that it's more a technique to maintain the metabolic rate rather than to increase it.

Reasons I eat so often:
1) Obviously exercising on an empty tank makes for a poor workout;
2) It's critical to refuel after a hard workout to speed recovery (especially endurance workouts);
3) I'm in that perimenopause stage so the mini (or is it many?) meal approach helps battle the body's tendency to hold onto fat;
4) Husband is an evening exerciser (pre-dinner) so the late afternoon snack is my best defense against grazing before dinner;
5) I've found that if I undereat during the day, I end up blowing it in the evening.

While my 3 main meals are pretty typical, the mini-meals vary depending on where I'm going to be, time restraints, & what's leftover in the fridge. I do try to combine complex carbs w/ a little protein but sometimes an apple or melon does just fine. I often have vegie soup in the fridge that I just keep working on. Then the usual: energy bar; almonds & dried fruit; yogurt or cottage cheese w/ fresh fruit; peanut butter on whole wheat cracker bread; cereal; etc. Those instant cups of oatmeal & soup are great too.

Debra