How often do you eat?

[Vitallyli]

That really, I find I need to eat at least 4 times a day. Breakfast, lunch, 4 o'clock and dinner sometimes a little snack here and there like a fruit. I want to lose weight after childbirth... does everyone eat that often?

3 meals. I always used to be starving by about 4. Now I have my evening meal around 4 or 5. Perhaps you need to eat a little more protein?

I eat 3 meals plus fruit, yogurt, nuts and seeds as snacks. Sometimes breakfast is just a yogurt and fruit.

It is quite common to eat more often than three fixed meals, the issue is what you're eating in total.

2 meals not at fixed times. I eat a high protein diet so I don’t feel hungry. My first meal is usually before 2pm and can be as early as 9am but that’s unusual for me. Second meal is around 6pm and I’m not hungry at all in between.

When I need to. There are no set times and no set contents. And it varies from day to day.

At the risk of being flamed because this will read like a "fat shaming" question (I promise its not), why do you "need" to eat that often?

I used to eat little and often but definitely ended up eating more. Now my meals are meal-sized and balanced with protein and fat to keep me full.

We don't need to fear being a little hungry. I'm in no way suggesting starving yourself but the world won't end if you have 3 meals and wait in between.

I eat 5 or 6 times a day. Breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, sometimes a later afternoon snack if I'm going to the gym straight after work, and dinner. That said, the majority of those snacks are fruit and veg and yogurt and I only eat a "main meal" at lunch and dinner. My mum comments about it all the time but then she'd eat lunch followed by fruit and yogurt and doesn't seem to realise I just eat the fruit and yogurt a couple of hours later! I get lightheaded and wobbly if I don't eat often.

NB I have wildly erratic blood sugar levels because of CFS/ME. Lost count of the number of times I was tested for diabetes before the diagnosis and there is this in my family

I can feel it dipping so I need to eat then. Some days more than others. Food is medicine.. and a pleasure.

@Sparklfairy I used to be able to wait but recently get that overwhelming hunger at around 4, I'm breastfeeding but also trying to lose baby weight.

I usually eat porridge or yogurt with fruit in the morning.
Salad at lunch.
Used to be 2 toasts at 4
And a dinner chicken and veg or Charlie Burgas for dinner.

I now replaced toasts with fruit or yogurt and it seems to work. I'd be happy to have a full dinner at 4-5 but then my DH comes home and I can't be bothered cooking for him or will eat with him anyway.

I eat breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, snack. My mother and grandparents ate the same. BMI of 21.

I have breakfast (toast x 2) at about 7.30am, fruit at about 10am, lunch (toast x 2 poached egg x 2) at about 12. 30 to 1pm. Usually a natural yogurt and fruit some time in between lunch and dinner. Dinner at about 6pm which is my Main meal. At about 8pm I'll have a, glass of wine and a handful of sweets.

I have hypoglycaemia and all the advice was to eat every few hours.
But I find that eating a good filling breakfast at about 9am, and then a filling dinner at about 6pm makes me feel best.

Anything between 1 and 3 meals, depending on hunger. I don't eat at set times, and dont snack between

@Vitallyli, if you're breastfeeding you'd be better off with a decent lunch. Instead of just salad you could have chicken or eggs/omelette with that and some vegetables.

Looks like everyone's mealtimes and amounts varies hugely

I eat twice a day 😱 hate breakfast
Eat brunch lunch and dinner at 6/7pm
And that's it, but I'm not a snacker

Although when breastfeeding I ate quite a lot more than twice a day! Also did a lot of exercise (walking) and wasn't drinking

When I was breast feeding (pumping, son in NICU) I lived off of yogurt covered flap Jack's from the charity run hospital shop. I was obsessed with the banana ones.

Just because you eat often, does not mean it is a bad thing. It depends what you are eating. For example, I eat often, but healthy whole foods and large portions. I also have snacks whenever I want. I have had 3 kids and weight the same as I did as a teen. My BMI is 18.7. I did not always eat this way...and have always lost the baby weight...but changed my diet for health reasons and find I have to eat a lot and often to keep from losing too much weight. An example of what I eat below:

Breakfast - one cup of oatmeal cooked with mashed banana, two table spoons of flax meal on top, handful of walnuts, blue berries and strawberries. Sometimes I eat half and the other half after my work out as it is quite big.

Lunch is usually brown rice, sweet potatos, beans cooked with veggies, avocado.

Snack is a smoothie with some more flax

Second snack is fruit with nuts, veggies with humous

Dinner is pasta with veggie sauce or veggie curry with bread. If I am hungry later...fruit and nuts or crackers a humus etc.

Forgot to mention, that I breastfed all my kids a year and felt that slowed down losing weight...every pregnancy I gained 23-25 kgs and then it would take a year to slowly come off....but I never dieted and ate until satisfied...the food I eat now is to be healthy and I do not feel restricted. I just replaced what I used to eat with healthier things. Sometimes I do have the odd vegan chocolate or cookie etc.

Twice a day

Brunch then an evening meal

Very rarely snack because I eat pretty big meals with lots of protein and good fats

3 meals a day. No snacks.

Constant grazer here.