What are your daily meal times and how often do you eat?

[Cookie1989]

I’ve been wondering this for a while now as sometimes I get so hungry I get a headache and start shaking, especially my hands.. i will start by listing my daily food diary and it would be interesting to see other people’s routines 😊

5.30am wake up

7am get to work and have one coffee - sometimes have a toast or I wait until my 10am break

10am have a breakfast snack such as toast

1pm have some lunch

4pm get home - usually hungry and end up snacking so badly

6pm is meant to be dinner time but sometimes I don’t bother because I snacked so much at 4pm and am not hungry anymore

Is my routine off? Maybe I need to eat more lunch or something to fill me up until dinner time..

I think you probably need to eat a substantial breakfast. Being up 5 hrs and having a bit of toast? No wonder you’re starving.

In my experience you need to eat every 4/5 hrs but everyone’s a bit different. I’m up at 6.30, breakfast at 7 of porridge or boiled egg/scrambled eggs and toast. Lunch at 12(school lunchtime) of avocado or chicken or prawn salad plus rice cakes or rye bread or some pasta salad, apple, banana.
Dinner at 6 with family, cooked from scratch might be curry, stew, stir fry etc

Should add that there might be a small snack at 4pm of hummus and celery or rice crackers.

6.30 wake up
8.30 oats with pumpkin seeds and almond milk
10ish banana and apple
Midday lunch, usually leftovers from the night before
5.30 dinner, usually curry/stir fry/pasta dish/meat with veg

I don't like eating late and this routine works for me.

12:00 breakfast/lunch
Between 17 and 18 dinner
19:30 supper

I'll have a snack or two between 12 and 16

6.30 up
7am cup of tea and bread product of some sort
11 am cup of coffee
12noon lunch - so many different options from cuppa soup to left overs from last night or a sandwich
4.30 snack and cup of tea
6.30 dinner
9pm cup of tea may be snack
10pm bed

All my adult life i needed a substantial breakfast within 20 minutes of getting up or i was a bit shaky (and v grumpy...)
Now in my 50s, I don't need anything for a couple of hours 🤷‍♀️but i still can't get through more than 4 hours during the day without eating. But proper food- toast just doesn't cut it

It’s so interesting to see other people’s routines, I actually agree... waking at 5.30 and me not eating until 10 is awful. I will definitely make sure I have some toast at 7am when I get to work or a bowl of cereal.

Im thinking about doing the following

7am breakfast coffee and toast
10 am mid morning snack and a tea
1pm lunch
4pm snack/banana etc
5.30pm dinner on table
I go to bed quite early too so I do like to eat 6pm latest usually

Get up at 6. I have a cup of tea but no breakfast. I can’t fit it in.
Leave for work at 6.30.
Lunch at 12. Usually leftovers.
Sometimes have a choc bar mid afternoon.
Get home 6.30.
Evening meal at 7.

I think its also about what you eat at those meals. I find that I need a lot of protein, fruit and veg in my diet. If switched to decaf coffee and drink loads of water which helps. If I dont eat for hours or if I eat loads of bread and crap then I'll end up shaky, dizzy and sick.

6:30am get up do all the usual morning / school run stuff with a coffee.
9:15am get to work and another coffee
12pm sandwich for lunch usually with a bag of crisps
Do kids and husband dinner for around 5/5:30pm. I don't eat as can't face food
8pm after bedtime routine for kids I eat. Most often a sandwich again

I really don't know how I survive the days and really need to make the effort to sort it out!

During the week:

Up at 6.30, shower, hair, makeup etc, cup of tea
7.30 breakfast of Greek yoghurt with cinnamon, tea
Get a coffee from the Costa at work as soon as I get in
Mid-morning, cereal bar or similar, another coffee (made in office, only one cup of Costa!)
Lunch usually about 12.30, sandwich, crisps, Diet Coke
Mid-afternoon another coffee
Dinner 7pm

Tea throughout the evening, usually a glass of wine about 10pm, bed about 11.30pm

Weekends usually something like scrambled eggs on toast or a bacon roll about 11.30, then dinner. Often crisps/wine in the evening, bed about 12.30

The timings of my day are similar to yours.

Up at 530; make lunches and walk the dog
630 eat breakfast ( I've switched to a plant based diet so have something like beans on toast)
730 leave for work
11am snack of fruit if I'm hungry
Lunch 1pm lighter lunch ; usually fruit rice cakes or rye crackers and lots of water( unless I'm working late)
6pm home from work
630 eat home cooked meal ( I try to prep these in the morning whilst I'm doing the lunches or meal prep for the week if dc have lots on in addition to clubs.

I've found a huge difference in both my hunger and mood since I started to make time to eat a proper breakfast

6am Get up
6.45ish Porridge
11am Fruit
12.45 Lunch usually ryvita/ cheese/ salad/ yoghurt
6pm ish Dinner

Something like...

7am wake
9am tea with milk
10am coffee with milk
1pm hot lunch
3pm tea with milk
4pm fruit snack
8.30pm hot dinner

8am wake up
2pm lunch - typically a stir fry of prawns and loads of veg
5pm big-ish snack (oats, chia, yogurt, fruit, few nuts)
8.30 pm dinner

Does depend what I'm doing during the day but

Within 15mins of waking up, I'll have cereal + coffee
Hour later, more coffee
about 90 mins later, more coffee (is all instant, decaff, no sugar and skimmed milk, in my defence )
About 4 or 4.5 hours after breakfast I'll have lunch (a sandwich or egg on toast usually) about 3 hours after that I'll ether have a lunchbox type biscuit and a tea, or I'll have a latte or cappuccino
About 6 hours after my dinner I'll have my main meal, which varies a lot but could be something like spag bol or a fish pie or kiev and chips or a roast dinner or a stew.
6 hours or so later I'll go to bed, then start again.

I think you have two issues - the fact you are up so long without eating anything, and then the fact you aren't getting the right mix of food groups. Not seeing any protein for example (not sure what you 'snack' on)

I eat when I’m hungry-why do you need a routine?
Breakfast any time from 6-11am, lunch any time from 12-3ish, dinner usually after 7 but could be 5-9pm. Snacks as and when

Typical late shift (yes I have a tea issue!)

7.15am get up and have cup of tea
8.15am breakfast - porridge or toast
9.30am start work - cup of tea
11am break - banana, cup of tea
2pm lunch (usually v hungry!) sandwich, crisps, yoghurt usually, cup of tea
4.30pm break - cup of tea, protein shake or a protein bar
6pm finish work, home for 6.20
Tea at 6.45pm

7am wake and large milky coffee
9.15am tea and a croissant or pain au choc and some fruit
12.30 lunch which is soup and sandwich or a wrap and hummus
3pm tea and a biscuit
7.30pm dinner and a glass of wine
10pm bed
I am 165cm and 52kg. If I got up at 5 am and did not eat until 10, i would faint

I get up at 6:45.
Breakfast 7:30 (toast, tea)
Cup of tea 9:00
Cooked hot lunch 12:30
Cup of tea 14:00
Sandwich or toast (and another cup of tea anytime between 18:00 and 20:30

If I have a sandwich lunch, will have a cooked evening meal around 19:00.

I eat when I'm hungry-why do you need a routine?

Easy to do that at the weekend but not on a working day when you can only eat during designated breaks.

@Megan2018 at home I eat when I'm hungry but work breaks are set and strictly timed

I eat every 3 hours
7am - breakfast, yoghurt and granola and berries
10am - snack, cheese or cereal bar generally
1pm - lunch, generally a proper hot meal at work
4pm - another snack, protein cereal bar generally
7pm - dinner, another hot meal
9pm - snack
10pm- bed!

May have some.more snacks between.
I do a lot of exercise and am underweight, trying to gain some muscle. Eat around 2800 calories a day

Up at 5.30am
Cup of tea.

Full fat coffee around 8am at work.

Brunch around 11am- could be breakfast food like bagels and jam or lunch food like soup and roll- depends what I've brought in.

Dinner at 6pm.
Glass of wine after.

I have IBS and I find maintaining a routine helps manage symptoms as well as watching the types of food I eat. Tedious but it works for me.