three square meals per day vs. multiple smaller meals throughout the day

Does it make a difference weather or not u eat your daily cals in 3 meals or in 5 smaller meals?

because im currently at 950cals and just finished my lunch of a grilled lean chicken breast, 2 peices of whole wheat bread, lettuce, 1 mini baked potato, green snap beans, and 1/2 a cup of french vinilla fat free yogurt w/ some cut up pineapple.

I AM STUFFED...but i feel like i ate too much (even though it was all healthy). so will this make a diffrence if i just eat the rest of my day's calories at dinner? or should i still have a snack sometime in the afternoon? or dose it matter?

Depends on who you ask.. my opinion is that you should break it up into at least 3 meals.. but breaking it up even further into say, 5 meals is a personal choice.. I usually do 3 meals.. a fairly large supper with a small breakfast and small to medium lunch and maybe a small snack at night. But if your comfortable with 3 meals Id say stick to that.

I have heard that it is better to eat more smaller meals throughout the day, although I cannot remember the reasoning behind the theory.  I agree that it is more of a personal choice than anything.  For me, I don't think I would be able to only eat 250 cals per meal.  I spend about that on breakfast, about 400 for lunch, then save the rest for dinner, because this is the meal that needs to keep me full throughout the night.  I am losing weight and feel full the majority of the time.  My best advice: stick with what works best for you!

I prefer to eat two or three meals a day. I know I should eat three but sometimes that just work out for me and my schedule. I find when I eat 5 times a day, I tend to eat more. I prefer the 'full' feeling as opposed to the 'not hungry for now' feeling. Either way, it's about calories, what you consume and what you spend.

5  or 6 has various advantages.

1) It keeps your body always on the go. You're never too high or too low.

2) The constant eating means you are less likely to cheat.

 3) If you're eating healthy bulky foods that aren't calorie dense it can be the only way to get all the calories you need. If I ate only three meals I'd be averaging more then 800 calories each meal. I can't imagine that without much more calorie dense foods thrown in.

If you're stuffed after 950 calories your metabolism is extremely low.  Or else you're just a very small person.   Being *stuffed* after 950 calories is actually a cause for concern, in my opinion.  Do you excersize enough?

I prefer to eat 3 meals per day! i may have a small snack between breakfast and lunch that is btwn 50-100 calories but that is about it.

I like to have a large meal at dinner, other than that I prefer to have small things throughout the day rather than 3 bigger meals.

Trouble is, you can't always fit this in around your day. When I am working, it is a rariety to get a lunchbreak, so when i start work at 8, the earliest I can usually eat again is 5pm, on the drive home. This is not what we are told is good for us, but sometimes that is just how it goes!

Supposedly, dividing your food into 5-6 meals per day keeps your metabolism humming, and it also keeps your blood sugar level, which can help you to not be hungry. 

for me eating a little bit several times a day helps me regulate my bloodsugar and keeps my metabolism higher.  I thrived when I started doing this as opposed to eating only a few larger meals a day, but your body may be different. 

I'd suggest trying it each way for a couple of weeks and see how your body feels better.

I think this all depends on your workout schedule.  I workout after work (around 6:30), and if I don't have an afternoon meal of about 250 calories at around 3pm, I won't make it through my workout.  So, on days I workout, I break my 1500 calories into small meals so I can stay pumped.

On non-workout days, I tend to stick with 3 meals.  Its a personal choice, but from experience, don't ever try to workout when your hungry, it is terrible!!

For me, I eat 3 meals, plus 2 snacks during the day.  This keeps me from feeling hungry, and I have energy.  Really, I think it depends upon your own preferences- are you hungry eating 3 meals, or not?  If so, maybe break it up more.  Can you get all of the calories you need in a day with 3 meals?  If not, maybe eat 5-6 meals with about 250 calories each, and then you'll have plenty.