Curious - How much time between meals?

[HealingWithin]

Hello all,

 

I am wondering for those of you that are eating three meals per day, how much time is passing in between?

 

If you are awake for about 16 hours (given 8 hours of sleep), that is *almost* 5.5 hours between meals and it seems like no matter what I eat, I don't make it quite that long. I do eat until I feel comfortably full (not stuffed or uncomfortable but full) and wait until I feel hungry to eat.

 

I am trying to get back into meal template style eating (not an official W30). I am thinking that four meals may be more suitable for me, personally. I am truly just curious about those who are doing only three.

 

Thank you!

 

 

[rgbarron01]

M1: 4:00-4:30a.m.

M2: 12:00 noon

M3:  6:00ish p.m.

 

No snacks.

 

Before W30 this would have been impossible.  I think it is the combination of foods that is keeping the hunger hormones under control.  If I am busy, I rarely think about food.  About 1/2 hour before meal time my stomach rumbles--other than that it is freakishly quiet.  When doing grain reintro, I did notice hunger pangs a little earlier.  Full disclosure:  I am 52yo menopausal woman who has an active work environment but who rarely exercises otherwise.  When this changes, I am sure I will need to add in the pre-post workout mini-meals.

 

rhonda

 

rhonda

[Tom Denham]

I ate 4, 5, and even 6 meals per day when I first began Whole30-style eating. After about a year, it was more like 4 or 5, then I got down to 4, then by year two, three meals per day became common and four unusual. Lately, I eat breakfast at around 8 AM after waking at 7. I eat 3 extra large eggs scrambled with a big tablespoon of coconut oil/ghee blend and some fermented veggies like kimchi or sauerkraut. Sometimes I eat lunch as early as 1 if I am meeting someone. When at home, I tend to eat between 1 and 2 because I am not really hungry. Lunch yesterday (a decent example) was a pan fried turkey breast filet over a big heap of greens wilted with onions, mushrooms, red bell pepper, and dried currants. I tend to eat supper at around 7 PM. One of my standards is salmon salad with either fresh lettuce, arugula, or carrots or canned veggies like artichoke hearts or beets. 

 

There were probably several factors in the development of my getting down to three meals per day. One was eating more eggs, red meat, and salmon, and less chicken. Two was making breakfast a bigger meal with more fat. Three was eating bigger meals. I tend to eat at the upper end of the meal template because I am interested in not getting hungry again soon. 

[wheresanita]

This probably won't help you at all but on my work days I have breakfast shortly after waking...so usually around 5:15 and then everything else is haphazard..I have a busy, unpredictable work environment so I pack lots of compliant bite sized foods (meatballs, slices veggies, HB eggs and nuts) and do the best I can to eat a sample of each when the opportunity presents itself! On my off days I sleep until 7:30, have 2 cups of coffee and a *small* compliant mini meal before going to a 90 minute hot yoga class. I have a real meal after I get home - around 12noon. How I proceed from there depends on whether or not I'm working the next day. If working, I have my next meal around 6pm and then that's it - in bed by 9pm and up at 4:45. if I'm not working the next day then I have a 2nd meal around 4pm and a 3rd around 8pm and then in bed by 10:30pm. This has all been discovered after several years of trial and error and having learned what works for me. Try the three meals but have compliant, template based snacks available until you figure out what your body wants and needs..and enjoy the learning process!!

[JJB]

On days off, I usually have coffee and a HB egg before my workout around 7, then breakfast at 8:00. Lunch is around noon, and dinner at 6:00...bed is around 10:30 and I pretty much never feel the need to eat after dinner. Sometimes I'm getting a little peckish around 4:30-5:00 and I'll have tea or try to distract myself, although I do have a small snack occasionally. On work days, breakfast is at 6 AM and lunch is not until 12:30; I'm only able to wait this long because I'm very busy and nowhere near food. Dinner is not until 7:30, so I do have a snack (HB egg + cucumber) around 5:30. I know I am physically able to wait 6+ hours between meals without feeling bad...but how successful I am all depends on how occupied my brain is. When I'm just goofing off at home, it's much harder to not snack.

[bodlon]

Weekdays I usually eat around 6-7 AM, lunch around noon, dinner around 6 PM.  Some nights, dinner gets bumped as late as 8 PM, though this is pretty rare.  Weekend breakfasts usually happen an hour or two later than weekday ones, which sometimes means I'm not really interested in lunch until 1 or so.  

 

I haven't been snacking on my W30, though I do occasionally have some hot tea in the mornings if I'm feeling empty/peckish, or herbal tea in the evenings. Prior to W30 I was definitely a snacker, and that's going to be an interesting habit to confront post-W30.  I just like flavors and textures and stuff, and so I'm finding ways to get other sensory inputs instead of grabbing a handful of whatever's in reach. 

[HealingWithin]

Thank you all for your responses!

 

Also good to know that it isn't an instant thing that takes time. I will keep playing around with the fat ratios because I know volume wise, I can't eat more. 

 

Also interesting what you say about chicken, Tom. Something to think about for sure.

[Emily T]

I eat breakfast at 8AM, lunch at noon, and dinner at 7. If I have planned my meals properly (in terms of portions) I am not hungry until dinner. I take your word for it that you are eating enough, but are you getting enough fat? If I do not eat enough fat I end up wanting to snack!

 

Lastly, if you do need to add a fourth meal, I agree you should do it - just make sure its by the template (not like nuts and fruit!). 

[EatTrainClean]

I found in the beginning, when I was making the switch from running off of sugar, to running off of fat, I would be fairly hungry by the 4th-5th hour between meals. Once I made the adjustment, it's no problem to go long periods of time (7-8 hours) without food. If you are very low on carbohydrate (some days I would dip mildly into ketosis - sub 50g of carbs) sometimes you can feel your circulating glucose diminishing when you wait that long. Other than that, you feel much, much better.

 

I also have about 12 hours between my dinner and breakfast (mostly due to sleep) and some would argue that is a form of intermittent fasting. There is a reason why Dallas and Melissa recommend the '3 square meals, no snacking' though: it's better for your hormones.

 

"Regular meal frequency creates more appropriate insulin sensitivity and lipid profiles compared with irregular meal frequency in healthy lean women."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15220950

 

"Effects of increased meal frequency on fat oxidation and perceived hunger."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23404961

 

Hope this helps

[HealingWithin]

I eat breakfast at 8AM, lunch at noon, and dinner at 7. If I have planned my meals properly (in terms of portions) I am not hungry until dinner. I take your word for it that you are eating enough, but are you getting enough fat? If I do not eat enough fat I end up wanting to snack!

 

Lastly, if you do need to add a fourth meal, I agree you should do it - just make sure its by the template (not like nuts and fruit!). 

 

I think I am getting enough fat. I eat a minimum of a thumb but most of the time two. I have a journal in the post-30 logs if you are curious/have additional thoughts.

[EatTrainClean]

I think I am getting enough fat. I eat a minimum of a thumb but most of the time two. I have a journal in the post-30 logs if you are curious/have additional thoughts.

 

Hey Christie, great log! I admire your overcoming of EDs and drugs/alcohol! It did seem like you may be going slightly heavy on the carbs, and a little low on the fat. I find I tend to run much better with some MCTs (coconut oil seemed absent from your log?)

 

I'm sure you know about medium chain triglycerides, but you should check out this paper:

http://nutritionreview.org/2013/04/medium-chain-triglycerides-mcts/

 

 

 

MCTs have been shown to suppress appetite, an ability of obvious benefit for those attempting to lower their intake of total calories. In one 14-day study, six healthy male volunteers were allowed unlimited access to one of three diets: a low MCT diet, a medium MCT diet, and a high MCT diet. Caloric consumption was significantly lower on the high MCT diet. The researchers noted that substituting MCTs for other fats in a high-fat diet “can limit the excess energy intakes and weight gain produced by high-fat, energy-dense diets.†(10)

 

MCTs have A TON of other beneficial effects, and I found coconut oil worked best for me, especially in reducing carb cravings, and satiety (AKA 'feeling full').

 

Though normally supplements are not something to recommend, since you are not following a strict Whole30, you could try out alpha lipoic acid. It has been shown to have many beneficial effects, most notably controlling insulin sensitivity (a key to lowering carbs and getting off of grains).

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10468203

 

I have used 300mg/4x per day, and it definitely helped. Robb Wolf originally gave me the idea, and I think it could help you in your scenario.

 

Good luck, and stay with it!