[quote foreverlobsters]@ufucoffee I wouldn't read too much into eat- someone pointed out to me that's there's a lot of competitive under eating on here- a lot of which in my eyes is quite disordered if true (I speak from experience).
I'm eating in a slight calorie deficit and I seem to eat a lot more than most people on this thread. [/quote]
This. Who weighs their nuts to know they're only having 32 grams or whatever? People on MN apparently.
I'm a healthy weight (BMI 22.5-23), and if you look at my posts on this thread, I don't think I eat particularly little. If anything, it will sound like not much when written down, but I do have big portions most of the time.
For me it's vital I have fresh (raw) fruit and veg every day, at least twice a day if I can. It really does keep me from snacking, which is a real problem because I only crave highly-processed crisps or sugary bars.
After-dinner snacking is fruit. I buy good quality because I want it to taste good, and it's not much more expensive than getting bags and bags of chocolate bars. One big nectarine/grapefruit/piece of melon, and I'm satisfied for the night.
I try to add salad to every lunch - which is also my main meal of the day. Raw veg and fruit fills you up, so you'll be less hungry by the time sugary snacks start tempting you.
I know the main meal of the day in the UK tends to be dinner/tea, but whenever I've tried doing that, it's only made me snack even more in between meals. Because I don't need a lot of energy right before going to bed, my body needs fuel in the morning and before the afternoon, because that's when I'm working and out of the house, moving. Obviously it's different if you work eg night shifts.
Where I grew up breakfast and lunch were the big meals, you would snack something light around 5pm and dinner was again pretty light (9pm children and adults alike). But our sleep pattern is also different, so for example children don't need a big meal at 6pm that will see them through the next 13 hours until breakfast is served.
It will also depend on people's activity levels, metabolism, and whether their job is very physical or mentally demanding, in which case your body and brain need more fuel. I sometimes feel like I'm eating too much but there's no way I could get through 16 hour work days at 100% mental concentration, without a good amount of energy in my body.