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why not eat every 2-3 hours


angshaner

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I haven't done my whole30 yet, I start on Monday for the 1st time. But, through my personal training studying, fitness nutrition studying it always talks about eating every 2-3 hours to help your blood sugar not drop and also to keep your metabolism going. I understand that eating less sugar and processed junk will definitely help with the blood sugar. But, eating only 3 meals a days is going to be my biggest struggle. How is eating only 3 meals a day going to affect my metabolism?

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It's hard at first as your body adjusts, but adjust it does- and then you'll be amazed at how easy it is to eat three meals a day. I was amazed at how easy it got-I was never hungry between meals if I ate the right balance of protein, fat and veggies-NEVER!

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I come from an eat 6 times a day background too. I absolutely love this eating whole, nutritious foods 3 times a day. I can't remember the last time I wanted a snack. It's really rare. It may take you some time to adjust. If you find yourself hungry (and I mean hungry enough to eat steamed fish and broccoli) then you need to increase your portions or even add a meal for a short time until you adjust. The spacing between meals allows your hormones to adjust and reset. Eating constantly really is not helping your metabolism. There is a ton of information out there that disputes it. If you haven't already, you should read ISWF so you can really get into the "whys" of it all.

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Your sugar won't crash every couple of hours if you're fueling your body with other stuff. The transition from sugar-burner to fat-burner is the best. I never have random hunger pangs any more, or snack attacks or whatever you want to call them.

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Our bodies have a natural hormonal rhythm that is suited to eating about 3 times per day. There are chemical processes that take place when you eat that have a cycle to run through. The cycles run into each other when you eat more often than every 4 or 5 hours. That will not kill you, but it is not ideal. As Susan suggested, reading It Starts With Food will explain why grazing (eating frequently) is a problem.

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I am a type 1 diabetic and whole 30 and paleo has been the best thing for keeping my blood sugars level n steady in the 'normal' ranges better than when I was doing the '3 meals and 3 snacks' routine. AND I have gotten the OK from my endo to eat and live this way. I dropped my A1c 3 FULL points during my first Whole 30 and it is nearly in the non diabetic range and I feel better than i have in a long time.

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I've trained hard all my life .....high school sports,collage sports, lifting, kick boxing... And like so many never even thought to question the six meal a day thing...

I can honestly say that following the W30 templates and guidelines has allowed me to make the best gains of my life... I recover quicker, I don't gas out,my moods are great, and I all around just feel great.... I'm about 8 months in and I am so glad ....

FWIW.... I need to remind myself to eat the three meals....,especially if I've done a pre and post WO meal ( preWo-PostWO... explained in detail in ISWF)

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I am doing my second W30 and I am having a hard time with the three meals a day. I work out and walk 90 minutes every day and I eat late dinners. I really need a snack in between. So I do three meals and a snack a day, and I am OK with it. I usually end up eating 7.30 - 12.00 - 4.00 (snack) - 8.00.

I do think we are different. I have extremely low blood pressure and I easily go low on blood sugar. I cannot go eight hours without food, no matter what I eat. It makes me faint, literally.

But I must say it has been fantastic to turn to W30, because I never have the temptation to eat more than my one snack in the afternoon.

Good luck!

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Ohhhh.... And if you are like others and myself who work/workout/study long days.... By all means eat another meal.... As long as they are spaced 4-5 hours apart.... You are not supposed to starve yourself on w30, if say you eat at noon and can't possibly finish work,commute home and prep dinner til 8:30..... Pack yourself a meal or complete mini meal ( just don't snack on a fruit or some nuts...follow the template) to eat mid way.... Stay well fueled!

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I just started Whole30 on April 1st and am used to eating 5-6 meals per day, about every 3-4 hours. I decided to continue with my regular eating pattern and see if it naturally adjusts. I am on Day 4, and I have noticed that hunger isn't striking until about the 3.5 - 4 hour mark. So, I believe it's my body transitioning.

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  • 2 weeks later...

i too ate 6-7 meals a day, since starting Paleo i have switched to 2-3 big meals a day, i feel sustained and full of energy and those hunger pangs aren`t there every 2 hrs. I have read countless times that keeping your metabolism up by eating 2-3 hrs is a myth and just an old school way of thinking :) and your metabolism actually gets ``better``for lack of a better word as you adjust to the paleo or whole 30 way of eating.

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If there is any "magic" in this program, it's what happened to me when I committed to eating 3 meals/day. Even when I'm off-roading I don't snack. I was just in NYC for 4 days doing some serious off-roading, and I didn't gain a pound. Now THAT is some magic. :)

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My 2 cents: eating this way during pregnancy has been a lifesaver. I often don't need the 3rd meal, to boot. So satiated its scarey. And FTR, this is my biggest baby of 4(according to my midwife)... Due in 2weeks :).

I LOVE PALEO and W9/W30!!!

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I'm on day 17 of W30 and I'm still struggling with 3 meals per day. To keep my body from getting hungry between meals, I have to eat so much food that I feel stuffed (which I know isn't healthy either). I'm usually okay in the morning because I work out at 5am and have my post-meal about 6:30am, followed by breakfast about 8 or 8:30. Then I eat a large lunch at noon (for example: small spinach salad with pecans and olive oil/vinegar dressing, roasted chicken & peppers, pineapple) and I'm ravenous by 4pm. Should I go ahead and have a snack before dinner? Or try to stuff more food down at lunch :)?

Thoughts anyone?

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It's okay to eat 4 meals at first until you get used to it. I have to say that I eat 3 meals a day and I don't have to stuff myself. Try having a mini meal at your hungry time and then the rest of it at mealtime and see how that goes.

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  • 3 months later...

I was used to eating 5 small meals per a day at least 2.5-3 hours> first day was tough for me because I had habit eating snack the between lunch meals. A few days later, my body was slow changed to get used to it at 3-4 hours because I eat healthy fats and more protien that helped me stay full longer.

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