How often should I be eating?
I see in lots of places you should be having 6 meals a day (small) to keep your metabolism which works out about every 3 hours...this is supposed to keep your metabolism going. However i have also read that this isn't good for you as your body is then constantly in a state of digestion, and going longer periods of time is infact good as it gives your body a chance to burn of fat cells....This has left me really confused, can anyone answer this?
Don't you have an eating disorder?
If so, and you are trying to recover with the right amount of calories, I think you'll find the only way to fit them all in is to eat very regularly -- breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack...
Hey there,
Ive had a rough time with recovery but in the last few months have really got myself on the right path, i have no idea how many calories i am eating everyday as i don't count but im having
breakfast- alpen porriage
Lunchs- a sandwhich of some kind on thick granry bread with an apple or a yogurt
dinners - stirfrys/ chicken rice and veg/ homemade pizza ect ect
snacks- NON diet hot chocolate made with milk/ several small chocolate bars (througout the day)/ hot cross bun with butter/ apples/ greek yogurt with granola ( i usually have 3 or 4 snacks a day)
thats just a small range of things of the top of my head that i may consume depending on the day
So thinking about it i must be having around about 1800/2000 ish i should imagine, but like i say i don't count and i don't stop myself from having anything. I would say I am verryy close to recovered! my self image is a million times better and as is my confidence.
I guess what i'm trying to say is eating enough is no longer a problem, i just wondered what my balance of eating through the day is like. would i be better to have bigger more calorie dense meals or is it okay to have my meals and snack alot?
maryjayne91: First and foremost, you need to fuel you body, so your goal must be to give your body a healthy amount of calories.
Now, there have been quite a bit of discussion/argument on CC about if 6 meals/snacks a day is good, if one should or should not eat a big breakfast to start the day out, if one should eat a meal close to bed time, etc, etc, etc. A lot of cyber spit can be exchanged with each poster finding support from this expert or that expert.
I personally agree with everything that coach_k stated about "right amount of calories" and "to eat regularly."
I generally follow the 5-7 meal/snack plan, and have been following it for a long time. I have done enough research to believe that it is a good plan to follow.
Whatever plan you choose, ALWAYS EAT ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good luck!
Thank you for you response :) I will continue as i am in that case :) My weight is staying the same and I always feel lively and energetic so i must be doing something right :)
Thank you :)
I think this is great.To be able to eat 6 times and come that far is great.I keep hearing 2500 plus to gain but we are all different and will get there in time.Instead of others saying don't you have and ed eat more,they should say great for your accomplishments-small or large.
Thank you iwikiba. as soon as anyone realised you have a history of disordered eating their response is always eat more. :( and like you said you never get the postive side across that 2 years ago i was living of a cup of tea and a biscuit a day. ( i really can't figure out how i survived now if i miss a meal or is an hour or two late i feel queasy)
I actually never ate 2500 or more to gain i gained on 1800ish and have done just great. I was never hungry for more calories and actually eating over a physically comfortable amount made me want to not eat the next day due to the ever so slow digestion and horrid bloating. However thats just my experience others may be different.
I eat 5-6 times a day easily. I just get hungry every 2-3 hours because I'm ALWAYS on the run, run a good 40 miles a week, and have a fast metabolism to start with. I have breakfast(like two packets of oatmeal), a yogurt/fruit between breakfast and lunch, a small lunch(a sandwich, salad etc) a snack around 3(usually dessert/t reat from starbucks/sometimes hummus and crackers etc) dinner around 6:30 or 7 (whatever) and then if I'm up late, something again around 10:30 or so.(often a bowl of cereal) But everyone is different-as long as you're eating nutritious food, I can't see why it would be a problem!
