Author Topic: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?  (Read 11703 times)

EconDiva

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I'm so used to eating three 'meals' a day that I get surprised in seeing how little some other people eat that I know.  My mom only eats one meal a day.  Same thing with my brother.

It recently dawned on me that I could save even more money by simply just eating less.  Well, I make that sound simple but it might not be as I'm so very used to how I currently do things.  I spend a lot of time coming back to my 'food' category in my budget as it's historically and to date always my biggest pain in trying to manage.  I do love food and lately have been trying to focus on planning meals once a week...that are also healthy.

Here's a typical day of meals for me:

Breakfast: Acai bowl
(1 tbs acai powder, 1/4 c no sugar almond milk or water, 1 c frozer berry mix, dash of cinnamon, half a banana topped with 10 blueberries, 3 strawberries, a small handful of walnuts, rest of half of banana, 1 tbs almond butter, 1 tbs chia seeds)

Alternative breakfast:  Veggie omelet (veggies and 1/4 c shredded cheese) or some overnight oatmeal (bulk rolled oats, cinnamon, almond milk, coconut sugar, chia seeds, some type of fruit and/or nuts on topic)

Lunch: BLT
Trader Joe's sprouted multigrain bread, tomato, lettuce, 2 pieces Oscar Meyer turkey bacon, a little olive oil/vinegar drizzled on it, half an avocado

Alternative lunch: Something that's leftover from cooking like chili, soup...or rarely something small and prepackaged like a Cliff bar, or a 'canned tuna + crackers' snackbox.  It's been BLTs for like 2 weeks straight though.

Dinner:  Varies too much but dinner for the past 2 weeks has been either chili (kidney beans, tomatoes, onion, green peppers) or spaghetti squash casserole (spaghetti squash 'pasta', home made 'lasagna sauce that includes ground turkey and sausage meats).  I bulk cooked both 2 weeks ago. 

Anyone actually start eating less meals since joining MMM? I'm guessing most people don't and just find ways to spend less money on what they do buy to eat...

I'm also curious to know if there any that don't care much about what they eat and basically have the same meals every single day? I once knew somone kinda like this...

NeonPegasus

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #1 on: August 11, 2017, 07:26:17 AM »
Are you more interested in saving money or in taking care of your body? I can't fathom dropping to 1 meal a day, especially for sole goal of saving money. I can't fathom how that'd be good for anyone's blood sugar and as much as I exercise, that type of eating would be detrimental for my fitness goals.

To answer your questions, I eat 4 meals a day. I am reverse dieting right now and am at 1550 calories/day, up from 1350/day. I hope to get up to over 2k/day by the end. Current macros are 136 grams of protein, 34 grams of fat and 174 grams of carbs.

Breakfast is 4 scrambled egg whites and a victory protein bar + 2 mugs of coffee with a little sugar and milk.

Lunch is 1 cup of homemade nonfat greek yogurt + 1/2 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder + a banana.

Snack and dinner are variable and include at 30-40 grams of protein each. They usually include steamed chicken, black beans, green veggies and fruit. With the recent increase in calories and carbs, I've been able to add a little rice and crackers.

I eat a lot of the same things every day, mainly to make it easier to hit my macros and record everything. I often do not eat what I cook for my family because it's either too fattening (e.g. quesadilla casserole) or too challenging to figure out the calories. I have a very high tolerance for repeating foods. I typically go for at least a year or two before changing anything about breakfast or lunch.

MudDuck

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2017, 07:42:10 AM »
I eat 3 meals per day and like 5 snacks, typically.

Breakfast: usually a whole wheat bagel with hummus or avocado spread on it and hopefully covered with tomato slices.
Lunch: whatever was for dinner last night microwaved at work, or sometimes I will make a week's worth of bowls up on the weekend- so today that is whole wheat pasta with zucchini, summer squash, and assorted veg that needed rescuing from the fridge.
Dinner: A sandwich (like a pre-made frozen bean burger or roasted veg, usually) and a large salad. The salad is constant; the sandwich switches to soup when it's cold/chilly outside.
Snacks: a small bowl of mixed fruit crisp, a Kind bar, a handful of pretzels with peanut butter, an apple, a couple more handful of pretzels with hummus.
Drinks: 8-10 cups of strong black coffee, a few glasses of water, a couple cans of generic La Croix (don't judge), a bottle of beer at bedtime.

On the days I work at the hospital, though, I will have maybe 2 granola bars in a 12-hour day because they don't cover breaks. I usually feel ill from that.
« Last Edit: August 11, 2017, 07:44:04 AM by MudDuck »

EconDiva

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #3 on: August 11, 2017, 07:45:15 AM »
Are you more interested in saving money or in taking care of your body? I can't fathom dropping to 1 meal a day, especially for sole goal of saving money. I can't fathom how that'd be good for anyone's blood sugar and as much as I exercise, that type of eating would be detrimental for my fitness goals.

To answer your questions, I eat 4 meals a day. I am reverse dieting right now and am at 1550 calories/day, up from 1350/day. I hope to get up to over 2k/day by the end. Current macros are 136 grams of protein, 34 grams of fat and 174 grams of carbs.

Breakfast is 4 scrambled egg whites and a victory protein bar + 2 mugs of coffee with a little sugar and milk.

Lunch is 1 cup of homemade nonfat greek yogurt + 1/2 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder + a banana.

Snack and dinner are variable and include at 30-40 grams of protein each. They usually include steamed chicken, black beans, green veggies and fruit. With the recent increase in calories and carbs, I've been able to add a little rice and crackers.

I eat a lot of the same things every day, mainly to make it easier to hit my macros and record everything. I often do not eat what I cook for my family because it's either too fattening (e.g. quesadilla casserole) or too challenging to figure out the calories. I have a very high tolerance for repeating foods. I typically go for at least a year or two before changing anything about breakfast or lunch.

I'm interested in both saving money and being healthy. 

On an average week I'm in the gym 5 times a week but to be honest the exercise is more about 'feeling' good and stress relief as I've always gotten the best results with tweaking my diet and learning not to overconsume calories. 

With that said, I'm no competitor and I also just really have a difficult time sticking to calorie counting.  So for now I am focusing on very slowwwwly substituting out certain foods/ingredients (i.e., spaghetti squash instead of pasta, cauliflower rice instead of white rice...it's going to be hard to stop eating my BLT sandwiches though...I'm not a huge bread fanatic but I like the texture of the Trader Joe's bread I mentioned).

I'm not sure why mom and brother don't eat more...they've been doing it so long I think they're used to it and be honest I know they don't have the appetite that I do nor are they picky about food like I am.

So the day of meals you listed above...that is 1550 worth of calories?

NeonPegasus

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #4 on: August 11, 2017, 07:58:42 AM »
Are you more interested in saving money or in taking care of your body? I can't fathom dropping to 1 meal a day, especially for sole goal of saving money. I can't fathom how that'd be good for anyone's blood sugar and as much as I exercise, that type of eating would be detrimental for my fitness goals.

To answer your questions, I eat 4 meals a day. I am reverse dieting right now and am at 1550 calories/day, up from 1350/day. I hope to get up to over 2k/day by the end. Current macros are 136 grams of protein, 34 grams of fat and 174 grams of carbs.

Breakfast is 4 scrambled egg whites and a victory protein bar + 2 mugs of coffee with a little sugar and milk.

Lunch is 1 cup of homemade nonfat greek yogurt + 1/2 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder + a banana.

Snack and dinner are variable and include at 30-40 grams of protein each. They usually include steamed chicken, black beans, green veggies and fruit. With the recent increase in calories and carbs, I've been able to add a little rice and crackers.

I eat a lot of the same things every day, mainly to make it easier to hit my macros and record everything. I often do not eat what I cook for my family because it's either too fattening (e.g. quesadilla casserole) or too challenging to figure out the calories. I have a very high tolerance for repeating foods. I typically go for at least a year or two before changing anything about breakfast or lunch.

I'm interested in both saving money and being healthy. 

On an average week I'm in the gym 5 times a week but to be honest the exercise is more about 'feeling' good and stress relief as I've always gotten the best results with tweaking my diet and learning not to overconsume calories. 

With that said, I'm no competitor and I also just really have a difficult time sticking to calorie counting.  So for now I am focusing on very slowwwwly substituting out certain foods/ingredients (i.e., spaghetti squash instead of pasta, cauliflower rice instead of white rice...it's going to be hard to stop eating my BLT sandwiches though...I'm not a huge bread fanatic but I like the texture of the Trader Joe's bread I mentioned).

I'm not sure why mom and brother don't eat more...they've been doing it so long I think they're used to it and be honest I know they don't have the appetite that I do nor are they picky about food like I am.

So the day of meals you listed above...that is 1550 worth of calories?

The breakfast is 300 calories. Lunch is 325 calories. Snack is typically around 300 calories and dinner is whatever I have left. So yes, I make it hit 1550.

Counting calories isn't for everyone and is a pain in the ass but it certainly has taught me a lot about what I'm eating. I was really eating too little protein to build much muscle before. I started eating more protein and dropped my calories and lost about 8 lbs. After 3 months of that, I started lifting heavy weights and didn't count calories for awhile. In the 12 months of lifting, I have put back on those 8 lbs. Considering I'd expect to gain about 1 lb of muscle a month, it looks like I added muscle and dropped fat. I want to drop some more fat but my metabolism seems to be a bit fried after dieting for the last few months and I really really really want to eat more. So that's my goal for now - eat more and make my metabolism as inefficient as possible. :)

FLBiker

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #5 on: August 11, 2017, 08:17:55 AM »
I eat 3.  For context, I'm a vegetarian man, 6' 1", ~180lbs.

Breakfast
Weekdays: a bowl of oatmeal w/ a scoop of peanut butter, a bit of turmeric, a bit of black pepper, and a banana.  And a cup of coffee w/ a little cream / sugar.
Weekends: veggie frittata (2 eggs) w/ toast or fried egg sandwiches (w/ veggies)

Lunch
Leftovers.  I have a 4 cup glass bowl w/ lid that I fill most of the way up with whatever leftovers we have.  I also bring carrots and a piece of fruit.

Dinner
Something vegetarian.

Snack
Trailmix, mostly.  I probably eat too much of it, but owell, that's a pretty modest vice. :)  My current blend is raw almonds, generic cheerios, and edamame, but I really just use whatever is available.  I probably have several large handfuls a day (while at work).

I rarely have dessert, but I'll eat it if it's there.  And I'm one of those people who could happily eat the same thing everyday.  When my wife is out of town, I'll typically do just that.  I'll do a big veggie pasta bake, or a big stirfry, and just eat for lunch and dinner until I'm out.

Oh, and one wrinkle -- I do intermittent fasting.  So one day a week, I won't eat until dinner (so a roughly 23 hour fast from the previous dinner).  I suppose that saves a little money, but that isn't my motivation.

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #6 on: August 11, 2017, 08:30:01 AM »
My eating habits have changed over the years, but money has never been the primary motivator for that.  Money-wise, I just optimize whatever I'm doing.

Breakfast ranges from nothing to coffee-with-cream to leftovers to a fake omelette or just bacon and eggs.  Usually nothing or coffee on weekdays, and a real breakfast on the weekends.

Lunch is usually either leftovers or baked chicken (in the convection oven at work!) with lazy microwave steamed vegetables, sometimes a salad instead.  Sometimes no real lunch, if I'm not hungry.

Dinner is when I'll "actually" cook.  That's stuff like meatloaf, chili, big-ass-salad, fish, steak, curry, stir-fry, soup, lettuce wraps, etc. with sides of steamed or roasted vegetables.  Sometimes just a bunch of scrambled eggs if I'm feeling lazy.

I average probably about 2.2 meals a day.  Two real meals most days, three if I'm particularly hungry or active.  Girlfriend (works from home) does two pretty much every day, usually leftovers at some point during the day and then dinner with me.  I don't tend to snack, but if I do it's usually either Brazil nuts, 100% baker's chocolate, or microwaved vegetables.  If traveling, snacks will be things like macadamia nuts or beef sticks or Kirkland protein bars or whatever.

Raenia

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #7 on: August 11, 2017, 08:59:37 AM »
I eat three meals and a snack on a typical (work) day.

Breakfast: Cereal and milk or yoghurt
Lunch: Leftovers from yesterday's dinner
Snack: Carrots and hummus, chips and salsa/guac, crackers and cheese, etc.  Usually just a small plate to tide me over until dinner, since my SO gets home much later than me.
Dinner: Typical Starch+Protein+Veggie type meals.  Generally chicken 2ish times/week, fish 1/week, maybe ground turkey or eggs 1 night, vegetarian the other nights.

Weekends we'll usually have a bigger and later breakfast, pancakes or eggs and toast, then snack for lunch, and same type of dinner as weekdays.

I actually used to eat less, I would frequently skip breakfast and occasionally skip lunch.  I found it was not healthy for me, and now I try to remember to eat at least three meals a day to make sure I'm getting enough calories to avoid losing more weight.

DarkandStormy

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #8 on: August 11, 2017, 09:53:12 AM »

To answer your questions, I eat 4 meals a day. I am reverse dieting right now and am at 1550 calories/day, up from 1350/day. I hope to get up to over 2k/day by the end. Current macros are 136 grams of protein, 34 grams of fat and 174 grams of carbs.

...

The breakfast is 300 calories. Lunch is 325 calories. Snack is typically around 300 calories and dinner is whatever I have left. So yes, I make it hit 1550.

Counting calories isn't for everyone and is a pain in the ass but it certainly has taught me a lot about what I'm eating. I was really eating too little protein to build much muscle before. I started eating more protein and dropped my calories and lost about 8 lbs. After 3 months of that, I started lifting heavy weights and didn't count calories for awhile. In the 12 months of lifting, I have put back on those 8 lbs. Considering I'd expect to gain about 1 lb of muscle a month, it looks like I added muscle and dropped fat. I want to drop some more fat but my metabolism seems to be a bit fried after dieting for the last few months and I really really really want to eat more. So that's my goal for now - eat more and make my metabolism as inefficient as possible. :)

You really don't need that much protein on a ~1,500 calorie diet.

NeonPegasus

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #9 on: August 11, 2017, 10:23:06 AM »

To answer your questions, I eat 4 meals a day. I am reverse dieting right now and am at 1550 calories/day, up from 1350/day. I hope to get up to over 2k/day by the end. Current macros are 136 grams of protein, 34 grams of fat and 174 grams of carbs.

...

The breakfast is 300 calories. Lunch is 325 calories. Snack is typically around 300 calories and dinner is whatever I have left. So yes, I make it hit 1550.

Counting calories isn't for everyone and is a pain in the ass but it certainly has taught me a lot about what I'm eating. I was really eating too little protein to build much muscle before. I started eating more protein and dropped my calories and lost about 8 lbs. After 3 months of that, I started lifting heavy weights and didn't count calories for awhile. In the 12 months of lifting, I have put back on those 8 lbs. Considering I'd expect to gain about 1 lb of muscle a month, it looks like I added muscle and dropped fat. I want to drop some more fat but my metabolism seems to be a bit fried after dieting for the last few months and I really really really want to eat more. So that's my goal for now - eat more and make my metabolism as inefficient as possible. :)

You really don't need that much protein on a ~1,500 calorie diet.

Really? And you're a nutritionist who knows my goals, activity level, body size, exercise habits, etc?

For building muscle, a general rule of thumb is to eat 1 gm of protein per pound of weight at your ideal body weight. When you're in a calorie deficit, that can skew even higher. Why? Because the goal is to maximize satiety and minimize muscle loss.

A sedentary desk jockey does not need that much protein. And it's probably too high for someone training for endurance events like a marathon. But I'm not doing that. I'm lifting heavy weights 4 times a week and doing 3-5 HIIT sessions a week so I can build muscle and reduce fat. I have specific goals and am eating to achieve them. If I were training for a marathon again, my macros would be way different.

And yes, my prior protein intake was pretty darn low. I was probably at around 15% protein, 20% fat and 65% carbs, which made it difficult to control my blood sugar.
« Last Edit: August 11, 2017, 10:29:09 AM by NeonPegasus »

BrandNewPapa

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #10 on: August 11, 2017, 10:26:08 AM »
You really don't need that much protein on a ~1,500 calorie diet.

If you are trying to build/maintain muscle while losing fat you should plan to eat at least 1.25 and 1.5 grams of protein a day per pound of body weight.

https://www.muscleforlife.com/how-much-protein-build-muscle/

mm1970

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #11 on: August 11, 2017, 10:34:37 AM »
I recently spoke with a neighbor who eats one meal a day.  Lunch.  And she doesn't often eat after 3.  (I mean, she CAN, she just doesn't.)  I'm guessing that she's probably around 60 years old.  Hard to tell, people age well here (am I really 47???)

I generally eat 3 meals and 1-2 snacks.  I exercise regularly, and am right now training for an uphill 1/2 marathon, so I'm not scrimping on any calories.

Breakast, usually 1 of these
- smoothie with banana
- oatmeal with peanut butter and banana
- scrambled eggs (2) with cheese and corn tortillas

(on training days, I am often hungry enough to eat both the smoothie and the scrambled eggs)

Lunch
- Almost always a big salad (4-5 cups) with homemade vinaigrette.  Usually, but not always vegetarian.  A little cheese, nuts, seeds, olives.

Dinner
- a carb (1/2-2/3 cup), a protein, and a cup of steamed or sauteed veggies.


Snacks:
- homemade gluten-free muffins, fruit, nuts, cheese, veggies & hummus, chocolate.  One snack per day, sometimes two, depends on the day.  Depends on what is in the fridge.  Fruit and nuts is a popular one.

wenchsenior

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #12 on: August 11, 2017, 10:37:12 AM »
Eating is weird for me. From youth to college I got hungry every few hours and ate the typical three meals plus snacks.  But in my 20s I became ill with blood-sugar management problems and became hungry constantly.  By age 30 I changed my diet to much lower glycemic, stabilized my blood sugar, etc.  I still was hungry a lot but was eating healthier and usually stuck to about 2 full meals and a small mini meal midday.

Then at 40, my whole system changed.  I no longer got hungry ever, and even when forcing myself to eat a lot of calories (which was difficult to do), I had trouble keeping weight on while eating enough healthy calories.

Currently, as a middle aged adult I have settled into 2 meals per day with occasionally a couple of snacks.  I rarely am actively hungry, but I eat anyway and I check my weight daily because I am prone to drop so suddenly.  If I drop, I force myself to eat more calories until I can get back up to comfortable weight.   

Breakfast is around 11 a.m., and is usually either a one egg veggie omelet (or occasionally a bit of meat) with some rice or sweet potato chips crumbled to add bulk; or sauteed rice, beans, veggies; or some sort of cereal grain with nuts (usually oatmeal) cooked with hemp or almond milk. 

I eat dinner between 8:30-10:00 pm.  Can't eat earlier because the ONLY time I get hungry is once I actually start eating.  So in addition to not having any appetite until late evening, if I eat earlier it will often prematurely kick me into 'hunger mode'.  I can't fathom eating at 6-7 pm, because I would then stay kind of hungry all night!  I have to eat a decent sized meal and then pretty quickly go to sleep or I end up staying wake at night feeling hungry.  It's SO weird and tiresome.

Usually dinner is chicken or fish with misc. veggie combo (often a salad) with a bit of carb as a side dish.

Incidentally, both of my parents (who are divorced) are "1 very small midmorning snack + 1 substantial late dinner' eaters, so presumably that's where I get that genetic tendency.

Recently, I've begun working out more, and I am getting a bit hungrier sometimes mid afternoon (which is exciting).  I usually eat a half of a Cliff bar or similar before I work out.

I don't eat much fruit and am trying to get better at that. Eat a few bites for a mid-afternoon snack, etc.

dividendman

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #13 on: August 11, 2017, 10:43:38 AM »
I've reduced my eating to 1 meal a day and/or not eating for 36-48 hours and then eating a "normal" 3 meal day. The reason is I was (and still am) overweight and it's a good way to lose weight. So far I've lost over 30 lbs in doing this for over 2 months. I also do resistance training (a 5x5 program) two or three times a week, in the fasted state. This way of eating is also easy for me to comply with (which is why most "diets" fail).

There are a lot of myths around needing to constantly eat to be healthy, but for most adults that's just not true, and is in fact just advertising propaganda from the food industry to sell more crap.

Fasting has so many health benefits, losing weight just being one (but you can fast and still eat enough to not lose weight if that's not a goal).

Check out this youtube video of Dr. Jason Fung explaining how we've all been duped: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIuj-oMN-Fk&t=391s

Just like nutritionists were wrong about cholesterol coming from dietary cholesterol and thinking high carb low fat diets are good, they're wrong about constantly eating too.

Eating only one meal a day or fewer does not result in: slower metabolism (in fact your metabolism increases), increased muscle loss or loss of mental acquity  (in fact it may increase).

Going back to our evolutionary history, it's simple to see that back in the cave man days we didn't have food all the time. We ate a lot, then looked for food, then at a lot once we got it. So fasting is built into how we as humans work.

Finally, it also saves you money and stress because you need to plan and make fewer meals - good luck!

jeninco

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #14 on: August 11, 2017, 10:49:33 AM »
When I hit 40-ish my appetite definitely diminished (which, I guess is a good thing? I'm still at about the same weight, so it's all balancing?) and I stopped eating breakfast several days per week, because I'm not hungry for breakfast. Except on days when I exercise first thing in the morning -- then I get hungry about 45 to 60 minutes after I finish.

So most days,

Coffee, sometimes nibbles of whatever I'm making the kids for school lunches.
More coffee, start drinking water if I remember, sometimes cocoa (not very sweet -- I make it with milk, sugar, and cocoa powder)

Lunch around 11 (except earlier if there was early morning exercise, as mentioned above). Usually leftovers. Sometimes I make a giant chopped salad with nuts and cheese and eat that for several days, with or without toast (pb or stinky blue cheese on the toast, typically)

Afternoon snack: coffee, water, fruit, sometimes a bowl of cereal if we're out of everything else I feel like. We always have homemade granola and yogurt.

Dinner is the big meal: some protein source, some carbs, lots of veg. Meat a couple times per week. This varies all over -- looking at the menu for the last week I see: (1)black bean, corn, and avocado salad with chipotle and lime dressing with chips, (2)pork chops with potato salad, cabbage and homemade sauerkraut, (3)turkey'n'summer squash "burgers" (from the Jerusalem cookbook,I believe) with various leftover veg and avocado toast, (4) green bean & tortellini salad with tomato pesto, (5)corn tortilla casserole with eggs, black beans and green chilis and slaw.

I have an active family that includes two teenagers, so the # of meals thing is more so that I'm sated (but not overfilled). Food is our second-largest budget item, after the mortgage.

I like what I read about IF, and the recommended protocol for women is 16 hours or so off, so I figure I'm doing that a couple of days per week (7:30 pm - 11 am is 15.5 hours). It seems to work for me, but ymmv.

Abe

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #15 on: August 11, 2017, 11:47:16 PM »
Don't eat much, especially for my height/weight (6 foot, ~170lb).

Breakfast: oatmeal with raisins, or a big cup of fruit. Maybe both if it's a long operation that day and won't have lunch. It's free at work, woo!

Lunch: eat intermittently, usually a banana or two. Sometimes fish and vegetables (also free)

Dinner: vegetables and some combination of fish and beans. If we eat out it's usually salmon and vegetables.

I think my actual calorie intake is <1500 since my portion sizes are about half to 2/3 average. I rarely eat chocolate or any processed food anymore.

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #16 on: August 12, 2017, 02:58:17 AM »
I eat the three standard meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) . . . and graze between meals on fruit and vegetables pretty much constantly.  It's surprising that so many people are eating under 2000 calories a day.  To maintain my current weight I've needed to average about 3500 calories a day for the past five years.

anotherAlias

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #17 on: August 12, 2017, 06:13:16 AM »
I'm in the middle of experimenting with intermittent fasting.  After 40yo, I've found myself gaining weight which increased even more when I moved in with SO.  I find that as soon as I eat breakfast, I have a hard time stopping myself from eating/snacking the rest of the day.  So I've been shifting my breakfast from 5am when I wake up to 8 or 9am.  That effectively eliminates a snack or two in the morning.  This works most days.  I've had a couple days where I got busy and forgot to eat until 11 which is my normal lunch time.  It's too soon to tell how this will work health wise.

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #18 on: August 12, 2017, 07:26:01 AM »
5-6 meals a day.   6-8 eggs, 1.5-2 pounds of meat (usually chicken to save costs), lots of green, leafy veggies or fibrous veggies (broccoli, asparagus, etc.) and enough oats, potatoes, and rice to fuel workouts and no more so as not to gain fat (or to lose it, depending on what I am going at the time). Some nuts, olive oil, and of course the egg yolks to get good fats.

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #19 on: August 13, 2017, 01:00:17 AM »
I have observed older people (60+) basically eating 1 (with a snack in the morning), sometimes 2 meals a day and being fine, and I actually think this is the normal way to grow old. The metabolism slows down, so the intake naturally slows down (when body chemistry works appropriately). This is actually the way to live long and disability-free. All the studies show that calorie restriction prolongs life, with more healthy years in that life. Also, studies of people who live exceptionally long show that they don't exercise (high intensity/high output/high input) but simply have a lot of motion built into their lives (low intensity/low output/low input). I guess there are fewer free radicals for the body to clear out when you burn fewer calories. Intermittent fasting is also great for reducing insulin resistance, which is at the root of many modern diseases.

As for me, when things are going well, I have my first meal at noon or 1p, then I eat again at 4p, and one more time at ~8p. That's intermittent fasting. When things are going really well, I eat after noon the first time, and only eat one more time in the evening, then maybe have a really small snack before bed. The latter is the only way to not gain, and maybe lose some weight. 3 meals a day put on weight on me over time, and when I start the day with a breakfast, then it's eating all day and I gain weight really fast. So, rationally, I have no problem with eating 2 meals a day, and I sometimes go a long time functioning that way, and actually have more energy. Unfortunately, I go longer times when I can't not eat because I can't focus at work without adding some calories, and then I gain weight.

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #20 on: August 13, 2017, 06:27:43 AM »
I'm not typical as I don't do what would be considered full meals.  I'm more of a grazer and I usually don't have something to eat until around 10 am (I'm just not hungry until around then).  I find snacking through the day and small meals make me feel my best.  I am also small and very lightweight (I am 50, 5 ft and weigh 102 lbs).

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #21 on: August 13, 2017, 07:37:04 AM »
I eat three meals and one snack per day. My breakfast and lunch are both usually small and I have my snack in midafternoon. My dinner is the largest meal of the day and usually the only one that has meat in it (4-5 times a week). I have lost significant weight since taking up this sort of meal planning.

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #22 on: August 14, 2017, 05:25:02 AM »
Wow, interesting thread.  I am very surprised how varied people's diets are.  I eat 4 meals a day -- early breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, and dinner plus snacks in between.  This schedule maintains my weight.  (I''m very active).  I haven't ever counted calories, but I think I must take in more than 2500 per day.  I'm not young (turned 50 this year) but so far I have not seen a change in my metabolism or appetite like some folks here are mentioning.

WhiteTrashCash

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #23 on: August 14, 2017, 07:05:59 AM »
I'm not young (turned 50 this year) but so far I have not seen a change in my metabolism or appetite like some folks here are mentioning.

I have read that metabolism doesn't actually change that drastically as we age, but what we perceive as a change in metabolism is actually a large reduction in physical activity. That makes sense. When we're younger, we have more time for sports or other forms of physical recreation as well as having stuff like gym classes when we're kids. As adults, our jobs mentally exhaust us and we're less likely to do physical exercise.

I found a way around that problem by making my side hustle involve physical activity.

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #24 on: August 14, 2017, 08:38:23 AM »
I eat 3 meals a day and snack throughout the day.

Breakfast: Usually cereal, oatmeal, or a bagel. Weekends usually grits, eggs, bacon/sausage, hashbrowns and/or pancakes.

Mid morning snack: fruit, yogurt, chips, protein bar, or nuts.

Lunch: Leftovers or microwavable meals (may go out to eat 1-2 times a week)

I've found that if I'm still hungry after lunch or craving sweets, chewing gum helps that craving.

Dinner Chicken or beef, veggies, beans or rice.

After dinner snack: Ice cream! I love my ice cream!

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #25 on: August 14, 2017, 08:56:51 AM »
I eat the three standard meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) . . . and graze between meals on fruit and vegetables pretty much constantly.  It's surprising that so many people are eating under 2000 calories a day.  To maintain my current weight I've needed to average about 3500 calories a day for the past five years.

What always baffles me is how people can possibly eat enough healthy food, in terms of bulk, to actually get more than 2000 calories.  I really struggle with that.  Smoothies help, but my gut would burst out like something in Aliens if I ate 3+ meals most days, unless they were super low fiber, quick digestible simple carbs.

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #26 on: August 14, 2017, 09:24:42 AM »
I eat the three standard meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) . . . and graze between meals on fruit and vegetables pretty much constantly.  It's surprising that so many people are eating under 2000 calories a day.  To maintain my current weight I've needed to average about 3500 calories a day for the past five years.

What always baffles me is how people can possibly eat enough healthy food, in terms of bulk, to actually get more than 2000 calories.  I really struggle with that.  Smoothies help, but my gut would burst out like something in Aliens if I ate 3+ meals most days, unless they were super low fiber, quick digestible simple carbs.

A mix of high fat and simple carbs helps.  (I notice that many in the smoothie crowd seem to overly restrict fats). Cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, avocado, mangoes, dates, dark chocolate, peanut butter, sweet potatoes, pasta, bananas, and whole milk are all great snack foods.

If you're hoping to get enough calories from carrots, kale, radishes, and apples . . . Yeah, you're not going to.

farmecologist

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #27 on: August 14, 2017, 09:31:08 AM »
We tend to eat smaller amounts when we are hungry ( i.e. - 'graze' ).  Personally, I don't buy the 'three meals a day' conventional wisdom.  In my experience, people often tend to overeat when they follow that schedule.  Not all though...so don't get mad at me :-).

Our daughter turned vegan and had been doing it for a couple years now.  The biggest benefit for her is that it has forced her to eat MUCH healthier.  Bravo for her for sticking with it.


« Last Edit: August 14, 2017, 09:32:56 AM by farmecologist »

wenchsenior

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #28 on: August 14, 2017, 09:44:16 AM »
I eat the three standard meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) . . . and graze between meals on fruit and vegetables pretty much constantly.  It's surprising that so many people are eating under 2000 calories a day.  To maintain my current weight I've needed to average about 3500 calories a day for the past five years.

What always baffles me is how people can possibly eat enough healthy food, in terms of bulk, to actually get more than 2000 calories.  I really struggle with that.  Smoothies help, but my gut would burst out like something in Aliens if I ate 3+ meals most days, unless they were super low fiber, quick digestible simple carbs.

A mix of high fat and simple carbs helps.  (I notice that many in the smoothie crowd seem to overly restrict fats). Cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, avocado, mangoes, dates, dark chocolate, peanut butter, sweet potatoes, pasta, bananas, and whole milk are all great snack foods.

If you're hoping to get enough calories from carrots, kale, radishes, and apples . . . Yeah, you're not going to.

I can't do dairy, but yeah...I eat a ton of nut milks and nut oils, olive oil, and avocado.  But even that is problematic, because the fat slows down my digestion. Hence, my incredibly rare times of actually being hungry enough to want to eat.   Really, the only thing that causes me to feel hungry is eating a high glycemic diet, which I can't/should not do.  Ugh, eating.  So enjoyable, yet so tiresome.

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #29 on: August 15, 2017, 10:53:41 AM »
3-4 meals a day depending on how you count

Breakfast: 2-3 eggs over easy, 1/2 black beans, 2 tbsp sauerkraut, 2 tbsp salsa over a bed of lettuce or broccoli sprouts; sometimes I have 1/2 cup oatmeal + 1 tbsp peanut butter + 1 scoop chocolate protein + 3/4 blue berries
Snack: Protein shake + orange (gym days) or just an orange (non-gym days)
Lunch: 5-6 oz roasted chicken, 1 medium sweet potato, 150-200 grams broccoli or green beans
Snack: 1/4 cup nuts + 1 banana
Dinner: Varies widely, but always protein+veggie and usually some carbs
Snack: Salad with a pouch of tuna or 1/2 cup cottage cheese

EconDiva

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #30 on: August 15, 2017, 11:27:31 AM »
Lots of healthy eaters in here!!


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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #31 on: August 15, 2017, 01:24:27 PM »
I eat the three standard meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) . . . and graze between meals on fruit and vegetables pretty much constantly.  It's surprising that so many people are eating under 2000 calories a day.  To maintain my current weight I've needed to average about 3500 calories a day for the past five years.

Yeah, it's interesting.  I think people are just different.  Also, someone mentioned metabolism slowing down or not.

I think some of it is age, some of it is activity, and some of it is what you eat.  In my own experiences:
- Losing weight after 40 was no joke.  I had a baby at 42.  It was brutal.  Cutting calories was PAINFUL.  1600 a day.  Ugh.
- What eventually worked was cutting down to 2 carbs a day.  For me, turns out WHAT I eat matters a lot.  Too many carbs just sent me on a cycle of needing more carbs.  And in my early to mid 40s, not getting enough sleep, baby/toddler, full time job, recipe for disaster.
- I don't even count calories anymore.  I have been eating more carbs because I'm running a lot.  But still not a lot of carbs (not close to the 6 servings a day that the USDA recommends).  More fat works better for me.
- My body has setpoints.  The reason it was so hard to lose that baby weight was that I was at a setpoint (168).  I managed to get down to 153 - 3 times! but gained it all back.  Once I got below that (now between 136-141), I maintain my weight relatively effortlessly, on what is likely  more calories than before.  I don't count anymore, but it's probably 1800-2100. That has been true now for 3 years, since I lost the weight - even before I started running again.

I think people discount the effects of stress, hormones, carbohydrates/ insulin response, amount of lean body mass - on weight.  Some people really do need to eat less.  And everyone is different.  I've been reading about and talking to friends about the whole keto thing.  The idea fascinates me - people who run long distances or do really long hikes on keto - and they simply don't need to eat much.  What fascinates me mostly is the ability for the body to switch to fat-burning for energy.  I am in no way there (I've been downing the Gu on my half marathon training).  But one of my running group members is keto, so it's interesting to see how she fuels for distance.

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #32 on: August 15, 2017, 01:56:53 PM »
MM1970 - That is super interesting about the "setpoints" in your weight.  I have experienced the same thing but never put real thought behind it - giving it a name like that is helpful.  I'm happy I'm at my lower "setpoint" right now, about 135 lbs.  And I got there by - Keto!

My husband got into it after hearing about it on Joe Rogan Podcast, so once we did an "eat all the pantry/fridge items" clearout, we got started.

Breakfast - I have "keto coffee" - about a 5 cup pot of 1/2 caff coffee with coconut oil, kerrygold butter, liquid stevia, and heavy whipping cream blended with my hand blender.  I drink this all morning from 5:30 am to about 10 am.

Lunch - almost always leftovers from dinner.  I but those flavored tuna packets (sweet and spicy!) for emergency-was-too-lazy-to-fix-dinner-or-lunch days.  I'll add some avocado oil to up the fat.

Dinner - Meat + veggie + fatty sauce, pretty much.  I do try to alternate beef, chicken, fish, pork, but I haven't figured out many meatless meals on Keto (besides salads with tons of oil, yum).  Cauliflower is delicious in a foil packet on the grill (although, isn't most any veggie?)

I try to keep some almonds at my desk for a snack, but as mentioned, I can do a fast so much easier on Keto than I did when I ate all the carbs.  I used to pass out or get lightheaded so often - turns out that was just a carb crash!

Anyway, we started in early may, and I lost 30 lbs in 2ish months, and now I'm hovering right where I like to be.

wenchsenior

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #33 on: August 16, 2017, 09:34:13 AM »
My body most definitely has weight 'set points'  occurring approximately 10 lbs apart: 99-101, 109-111, 117-119, not sure about higher because I didn't track as closely. My highest weight was around 129 for a few years, and I suspect that was another set point.

gggggg

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #34 on: August 16, 2017, 09:47:29 AM »
I'm mostly vegetarian, eating meat occasionally (used to be full vegan). I had my gallbladder removed, so I don't eat tons of fat. Male/42yo/5'8" 188 lbs. I'm an LEO, so I don't want to be too small/light.

B: Large coffee w/cream & sugar, bowl of healthy cereal with almond milk

L: Pasta/Potatoes/Rice with Veg

D: Pasta/Potatoes/Rice with Veg

*I usually don't snack much. Occasionally I do eat pizza and other typically bad American diet items.*

ATR

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #35 on: August 16, 2017, 12:53:30 PM »
a typical day of eating is 3 meals, 1 snack, 1 something sweet (id like to pretend this isnt every day but it is)

breakfast: almonds and a piece of fruit (usually an apple or a banana); green or chai tea

lunch: today it was honey sriracha meatballs over quinoa and roasted veggies; last week it was chicken fajitas with rice and stir fried veggies. i batch cook so its the same thing for at least 4 days a week. pinterest has great ideas for every kind of diet/budget/cuisine/food restriction. a quick search will give you more ideas than you could have ever wanted

snack: apple with peanut butter or greek yogurt with whatever fruit is in season (shout out to my mom for the mangoes...falling off the trees as we speak!); more tea

dinner: lately its a smoothie with chia, hemp, flax, fruit of some sort, whole milk, and oats; if ive worked out and i am especially hungry, its tuna fish and crackers, hummus and pita chips, avocado on ezekiel bread
 
something sweet: right now im very into dark chocolate covered cherries. i try to take five out of the bag and walk away, otherwise i blink and ive eaten 15. today it was someone's birthday at work so it was chocolate cake :-)

to drink: at work its several cups of tea. green, chai, chamomile, ginger. usually a cortadito (espresso with a bit of milk for those who dont live in miami). other than that lots of water.

overall i am probably eating way too much fruit and not enough veggies but this is what a normal day of eating looks like for me.

BrandNewPapa

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #36 on: August 17, 2017, 10:54:29 AM »
I'm mostly vegetarian, eating meat occasionally (used to be full vegan). I had my gallbladder removed, so I don't eat tons of fat.

Interested to hear this. I was a vegetarian for 6 years, and toward the end I started having problems with my gallbladder. They wanted to remove it, but I changed my diet to remove most processed foods and started eating meat again and haven't really had problems since.

I've always wondered if vegetarianism/veganism is correlated with gallbladder problems.

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #37 on: August 17, 2017, 11:10:32 AM »
With the exception of occasional treats, I typically eat the following

Breakfast:  coffee with cream, sugar and a tablespoon chia seeds
Lunch: around 3 cups of various fruits
Dinner: around 2 cups of grains and beans (brown rice, red rice and 7 types of beans all cooked together) with a couple of side dishes, usually a vegetable and a meat/fish dish.  I'm currently trying a month of vegetarian, so it's 2 vegetarian side dishes instead.

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #38 on: August 17, 2017, 11:11:56 AM »
Breakfast - Protein shake or a toasted bagel w/ cream cheese

Snack - fruit/yogurt

Lunch - 8oz lean protein with some kind of veggie and a starch

Snack - Coffee with a cookie or two.

Dinner - Varies a lot, we cook 6 nights a week.

gggggg

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #39 on: August 19, 2017, 02:56:14 PM »
I'm mostly vegetarian, eating meat occasionally (used to be full vegan). I had my gallbladder removed, so I don't eat tons of fat.

Interested to hear this. I was a vegetarian for 6 years, and toward the end I started having problems with my gallbladder. They wanted to remove it, but I changed my diet to remove most processed foods and started eating meat again and haven't really had problems since.

I've always wondered if vegetarianism/veganism is correlated with gallbladder problems.

I've racked my brain trying to figure out what caused my gallbladder problems. I kind of thought it was because of the punishment I've given my body through being an athlete my whole life (weight drastically varying up to 70 lbs up and down, several times), supplements I took when olympic lifting and cycling, and the generally bad diet I had in childhood (fast food nearly every day, washed down with large soda). I never was a huge drinker, or did drugs, so that's not it either. My sister also had hers removed, and she wasn't athletic or vegetarian at all, who knows.

farmecologist

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #40 on: August 21, 2017, 08:32:59 AM »
I'm mostly vegetarian, eating meat occasionally (used to be full vegan). I had my gallbladder removed, so I don't eat tons of fat.

Interested to hear this. I was a vegetarian for 6 years, and toward the end I started having problems with my gallbladder. They wanted to remove it, but I changed my diet to remove most processed foods and started eating meat again and haven't really had problems since.

I've always wondered if vegetarianism/veganism is correlated with gallbladder problems.

I've racked my brain trying to figure out what caused my gallbladder problems. I kind of thought it was because of the punishment I've given my body through being an athlete my whole life (weight drastically varying up to 70 lbs up and down, several times), supplements I took when olympic lifting and cycling, and the generally bad diet I had in childhood (fast food nearly every day, washed down with large soda). I never was a huge drinker, or did drugs, so that's not it either. My sister also had hers removed, and she wasn't athletic or vegetarian at all, who knows.

Maybe just write it off to 'genetics'.   Not quite the same...but many people have cholesterol problems no matter how hard they try to rectify it via diet.  In cases like these it often comes down to family history ( i.e. -  'genetics' ).



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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #41 on: August 21, 2017, 10:20:02 AM »
I did the Whole 30 diet in November and found out that I am allergic to dairy! This was a big surprise to me, because I was a vegetarian for 20 years and dairy was a big part of my diet. I also lost 5 pounds overnight (literally!) by giving up dairy.

Now I am dairy free but an enthusiastic red meat eater. A typical day of meals for me is:

bacon and scrambled eggs (breakfast)
chicken fajitas (lunch)
green smoothie - full of fruits and green veg (snack)
nuts and raisins (snack)
steak with pinto beans and salsa (dinner)

On days when I go in to the office early, I have a Soylent for breakfast instead of bacon and eggs.

Schaefer Light

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #42 on: August 21, 2017, 01:34:16 PM »
I eat the three standard meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) . . . and graze between meals on fruit and vegetables pretty much constantly.  It's surprising that so many people are eating under 2000 calories a day.  To maintain my current weight I've needed to average about 3500 calories a day for the past five years.

What always baffles me is how people can possibly eat enough healthy food, in terms of bulk, to actually get more than 2000 calories.

When I cut back on my beer consumption, I lost 8 pounds in about a month and a half.  I didn't understand why I was losing so much weight until I started tracking my calorie consumption.  It has been somewhat difficult to eat enough healthy foods to take in the 2500 calories per day that I require to maintain my weight.  It was easier to get the calories I needed from beer ;).  Eating enough healthy food definitely takes more planning and work.

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #43 on: August 21, 2017, 02:23:05 PM »
breakfast - groundturkey and egg casserole pre made to be 30g of protein for 10 servings.  cost per serving - <1$
Lunch - chili - ground beef or turkey and beans and all the other chili parts that are non dairy cost per serving <1$ make a vat of it and freeze it lasts 3 weeks for my wife and I
dinner - some chunk of meet and a veggie. - tonight its sauerkraut and brats. 

shop at aldi and buy loss leaders at grocery stores.  meals can be cheap and good. 

farmecologist

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #44 on: August 21, 2017, 02:25:35 PM »
I eat the three standard meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) . . . and graze between meals on fruit and vegetables pretty much constantly.  It's surprising that so many people are eating under 2000 calories a day.  To maintain my current weight I've needed to average about 3500 calories a day for the past five years.

What always baffles me is how people can possibly eat enough healthy food, in terms of bulk, to actually get more than 2000 calories.

When I cut back on my beer consumption, I lost 8 pounds in about a month and a half.  I didn't understand why I was losing so much weight until I started tracking my calorie consumption.  It has been somewhat difficult to eat enough healthy foods to take in the 2500 calories per day that I require to maintain my weight.  It was easier to get the calories I needed from beer ;).  Eating enough healthy food definitely takes more planning and work.

As a friend likes to say..."beer is liquid bread". 


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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #45 on: August 22, 2017, 09:08:17 AM »
I eat the three standard meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) . . . and graze between meals on fruit and vegetables pretty much constantly.  It's surprising that so many people are eating under 2000 calories a day.  To maintain my current weight I've needed to average about 3500 calories a day for the past five years.

What always baffles me is how people can possibly eat enough healthy food, in terms of bulk, to actually get more than 2000 calories.  I really struggle with that.  Smoothies help, but my gut would burst out like something in Aliens if I ate 3+ meals most days, unless they were super low fiber, quick digestible simple carbs.

When I get into fitness mode, and exercise about 4-5 days a week, I can easily eat 4k+ calories/day. At my height and weight (6'6" + 220lbs) my daily caloric intake maintenance level is around 3000-3200. When I was still growing in high school, and running 30-40mi a week, I was eating 8k calories a day.


 

wenchsenior

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #46 on: August 22, 2017, 09:47:32 AM »
I eat the three standard meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) . . . and graze between meals on fruit and vegetables pretty much constantly.  It's surprising that so many people are eating under 2000 calories a day.  To maintain my current weight I've needed to average about 3500 calories a day for the past five years.

What always baffles me is how people can possibly eat enough healthy food, in terms of bulk, to actually get more than 2000 calories.  I really struggle with that.  Smoothies help, but my gut would burst out like something in Aliens if I ate 3+ meals most days, unless they were super low fiber, quick digestible simple carbs.

When I get into fitness mode, and exercise about 4-5 days a week, I can easily eat 4k+ calories/day. At my height and weight (6'6" + 220lbs) my daily caloric intake maintenance level is around 3000-3200. When I was still growing in high school, and running 30-40mi a week, I was eating 8k calories a day.

Good point.  I sometimes forget how small I am.  Lots of people posting about 3 meals plus snacks are likely average size or bigger.  Or are really into working out.  The 100+ lbs you have on me probably WOULD makes eating more easier.  LOL.

BrandNewPapa

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #47 on: August 22, 2017, 10:48:08 AM »
breakfast - groundturkey and egg casserole pre made to be 30g of protein for 10 servings.  cost per serving - <1$
Lunch - chili - ground beef or turkey and beans and all the other chili parts that are non dairy cost per serving <1$ make a vat of it and freeze it lasts 3 weeks for my wife and I
dinner - some chunk of meet and a veggie. - tonight its sauerkraut and brats. 

shop at aldi and buy loss leaders at grocery stores.  meals can be cheap and good.

Can you share the breakfast recipe?

GuitarStv

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #48 on: September 23, 2017, 02:20:46 PM »
I eat the three standard meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) . . . and graze between meals on fruit and vegetables pretty much constantly.  It's surprising that so many people are eating under 2000 calories a day.  To maintain my current weight I've needed to average about 3500 calories a day for the past five years.

What always baffles me is how people can possibly eat enough healthy food, in terms of bulk, to actually get more than 2000 calories.  I really struggle with that.  Smoothies help, but my gut would burst out like something in Aliens if I ate 3+ meals most days, unless they were super low fiber, quick digestible simple carbs.

When I get into fitness mode, and exercise about 4-5 days a week, I can easily eat 4k+ calories/day. At my height and weight (6'6" + 220lbs) my daily caloric intake maintenance level is around 3000-3200. When I was still growing in high school, and running 30-40mi a week, I was eating 8k calories a day.

Good point.  I sometimes forget how small I am.  Lots of people posting about 3 meals plus snacks are likely average size or bigger.  Or are really into working out.  The 100+ lbs you have on me probably WOULD makes eating more easier.  LOL.

Big people burn a lot of calories, we're just not as efficient as smaller people.  Today I did a five and a half hour bike ride with a fast group over hilly terrain.  I'm aiming for mid 6000 calories by the end of the day.

Breakfast: 4 eggs, two large pancakes with nuts, blueberries and syrup, coffee and milk
During ride: 750 ml Gatorade, four large bananas, three 750 ml bottles of water
Post ride: 500 ml chocolate milk
Late lunch: a large beet, about a half pound of grapes, two tomato/kielbasa/cheese sandwiches on whole wheat, two naval oranges, a couple large carrots
Late snack: Two peaches
Dinner: Probably a medium pizza.


:P

Hula Hoop

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Re: How many meals a day do you eat? What's a typical day of meals for you?
« Reply #49 on: September 23, 2017, 02:44:41 PM »
I'm a tall woman and I've always noticed that I eat more than most other women, who are generally shorter than me.  I've never been overweight which I think is partly because I can just eat more as I'm bigger.  Typical workday meals for me are:

breakfast - bowl of cereal and milk, OJ and coffee with milk

morning snack - usually flavored yoghurt plus almonds

lunch- usually leftovers from the night before (chicken and rice or similar) or a big salad containing protein plus bread or crackers, fruit for dessert.

Afternoon snack - cookies, crackers or nuts, maybe some fruit

Dinner - pasta plus salad or protein plus rice or potatoes, with steamed veggies on the side. Usually either fruit or yoghurt for dessert.  Sometimes chocolate for dessert.

After kids are in bed - glass of wine or beer