Seriously need help please

I have gone to dozens of places, gotten hundreds of answers, I do not know what is right. I am 17, I am 5'4 and I am 125lbs. I finally got my weight where I want it. I am in school and can and will only eat 3 meals a day, no 5-6 small meals no garbage, just straight 3 meals a day, and the occasional treat is what i want. What is proper meal size, and calorie intake per meal. Can i have some examples on a proper breakfast lunch and dinner, because I really don't know. I have been told everything between I shouldnt eat more than 300 calories per meal, to eat 600 calories per meal. I have also been told ABSOLUTELY NO SNACKS to snack every 2 hours after a meal. What is proper? What should my nutrition be, please help.

3 meals and 3 snacks seems like a good idea...at your age you can could probably do 500 calories a meal and 200 calories a snack.  You are only 17 so you still need those extra calories to grow and develop.  Typically, when you see something that says "ABSOLUTELY NO SNACKS" they are referring to unhealthy junk food snacks.  You also don't need to stress about how many calories are in a particular "meal" If you focus on your calories overall then you will be able to make better choices...like perhaps one day you wake up and have a hearty breakfast and then at lunch you decide to go lighter...but you don't have to be tied to that routine everyday.  There are plenty of web resources that will give you an idea of how many calories you should eat a day.  It's up to you to decide how you would like to spread them out!  Good luck on your nutritional journey~

My one standard answer is for you to eat a really healthy, high-protein breakfast.  If you look at the nutrition labels on the packages and cans and containers of foods you buy and/or if you check Calorie Count food data base, you can find out how much protein in things like peanut butter, cheese, fish, lean meats, whole wheat, breads, cereals, etc., etc.  So here are my suggestions:

• Eat 40-60% of your daily protein in your first meal of the day
• Eat 2-3 snacks a day such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, juices, whole wheat toast, peanut butter, yogurt, etc, etc.
• Eat a total of 5-6 meals/snacks a day--keeping aware of what your total number of calories per day should be
• Unless, you are obsessive-compulsive and recovering from an ED, etc., I strongly recommend that for a couple of weeks or so you record your daily meals and the total calories.  This has worked wonders for me.  A lot of the CC posters don't agree with this view--but, then, a lot of them do, too.

There is no reason that you have to limit a particular meal to 300 calories.  Your larger two or three meals might run as many as 600-800 meals or more on some occasions.   Sometimes for snacks I have 200 calories of shredded cabbage or 140 calories of apples or 210 calories of whole wheat toast and laughing cow wedges. 

Original Post by em2241992:

 I  will only eat 3 meals a day, no 5-6 small meals no garbage, just straight 5 meals a day, and the occasional treat is what i want.

I can't tell for sure if you mean you will only eat 3 larger meals a day and 2 snacks or not.  So I apologize if I misunderstood your question.  My answer is suppose to be that you could eat 3 larger meals a day and 2 or 3 snacks a day.

I'd recommend you have a look at this link which is a healthy eating website aimed at teens.  It does not go in for calorie-counting (which is not necessary) but instead outlines how to get a good balance of different foods.  There is even a 7 day 'menu' that should answer your questions on what normal healthy teens typically eat.  http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/agesandstages/teens /weeklymenu/

Rather than getting too worried about calorie-intake try to think about a good balance of different foods on your plate at mealtimes - plenty of vegetables and so forth.  And eat until you're pleasantly full rather than totally stuffed.... that's a good way to make sure you don't overeat.   Leave the table feeling satisfied but as though you could eat a few more mouthfuls.

Finally... be active and aim for half an hour to one hour a day.   People who are active tend to be a healthier weight than people who aren't.