February 01, 2011

Ask the Nutritionist: How often should I eat?

Reader Tammy had emailed me awhile ago about some nutrition questions.  One of them is how often should I eat? This is a common question asked by people trying to lose weight or be healthy and the answers can vary greatly.  The information that I will give you is what I personally do and will not necessarily work for everyone.  I eat 6 times a day: 3 meals and three snacks. Read more about it below.

Breakfast- I wake up in the morning and try to eat breakfast within an hour or hour and a half of waking up.  This has taken some getting used to for me because I used to skip breakfast for as long as I could.  I quickly learned that this was only causing my blood sugar to drop and then I would feel sick.  Also, when you don't eat for a certain period of time, your body will start to store fat and your metabolism will drop.

Typical Breakfasts-
-Flavored oatmeal with peanut butter
-A fried egg on whole wheat toast with a slice of Muenster cheese with ketchup
-A toasted English muffin with jelly and a banana on the side

Mid-Morning Snack- I almost always eat at least one mid-morning snack but usually two.  If I do wait until lunch to eat, my blood sugar has already dropped and I am starving.  I aim to have a couple 100-150 calorie snacks.

Typical Mid-Morning Snacks-
-Granny smith apple
-Chopped cantaloupe
-Celery sticks
-150 calorie or less granola bar

Lunch- I usually keep my lunch relatively small because I like to have a lot of snacks so I don't like to get too filled up.  It is important to get some protein, whole grains, and vegetables in this meal.  I also like to include a piece of fruit.

Typical Lunches-
-Turkey, hummus, and veggies rolled up in a tortilla
-Peanut butter and reduced sugar jam on whole wheat bread
-A salad with a bunch of chopped veggies, shredded Parmesan cheese, and chopped walnuts with balsamic vinegar dressing

Mid-Afternoon Snack- I like to use this snack to help get me through my work day.  This is usually between 1:30-2:30 PM. I try to make it fun and something that really appeals to me.  I keep these at around 150 calories each.

Typical Mid-Afternoon Snacks-
-A few cups of popped light popcorn
-Coffee with 3/4 cup skim milk, cinnamon, and a little whipped cream
-Emerald cocoa dusted almonds

Dinner- This tends to be my heartiest meal of the day.  I often eat with my husband and he mostly likes the same foods that I do so this makes cooking easy.  I like to include some form of protein, carbohydrate, and vegetable into this meal.

Typical Dinners-
-Bean, cheese, and corn enchiladas
-Chicken and vegetable stir-fry over brown rice
-Whole grain pasta with tomato sauce and added broccoli, onions, and green peppers.

Evening Snack- I tend to keep my evening snacks small probably because I am full from eating all day long. I usually add a cup of decaf tea along with whatever snack that I have. This is usually also my junk food snack of the day.

Typical Evening Snacks-
-1 cup frozen grapes
-1/2 cup light ice cream
-1 serving Goldfish
-1 slice toast with peanut butter
-Tortilla chips and salsa

I hope you enjoy this post as much as I loved writing it! Please comment or email me with any questions.

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Comments

  1. Really good tips. I always eat within 1 hour of getting up like you said so my blood sugar doesn't drop. I snack all day as well. My fav snacks are Luna Bars, apple with natural p.b, celery with natural p.b, and Greek Yogurt!

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  2. I found you at at TTT Tuesday Blog Hop and I just wanted to say Hello!

    Please follow back and feel free to enter my huge giveaway I have going on. We have 8 prizes with 8 winners and extremely low entries.

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  3. Interesting tips!!

    I am blog hopping today and thought I would stop by your blog.

    Please stop by either or both of my blogs and follow:

    Jessicas Lil Corner is where I blog about family and life at http://jessicaslilcorner.blogspot.com

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    Have a Happy and Blessed Tuesday! :0)

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  4. Love this post!

    I'm a new follower :). Check me out!

    www.freckleberryfinds.blogspot.com

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  5. This is my kind of blog. Oatmeal and peanut butter, that's a new one and I love it. New follower here. Hope you'll come visit and follow me too. Mine is a new blog, smile. Have a great Tuesday and keep up the great blogging.

    http://exjw-foodie.blogspot.com/

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  6. very similar to how I eat, nice to know :o)

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  7. Thanks for visiting my blog. Hmmm nutrionst hugh??? I need all the help I could get! I am in a rut & have no energy or desire to do anything...especally diet. I need to lose 75+ lbs. Looking forward to your posts

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  8. Thanks for all the great tips and info! I'm always looking for ways to "aspire" to eat healthy. New follower from Follow Me chickadee.

    littlebishopchronicles.blogspot.com

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  9. I am so grateful to have found you!

    Thanks so much for stopping by Carrigan's Joy; I'm now following you, and I hope to learn a great deal from you!

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  10. Following you via Momsreview4you Wednesday Blog Hop. Hope you will follow me too @ http://masalabowl.blogspot.com/

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  11. Hi - thanks for visiting Family Literacy today. I was looking over your menu thinking I'm so hungry! LOL - Not sure what I'm going to eat tonight. Thinking something with chicken breast. I don't usually eat until late at night and then it's fairly light. I'm a snacker like you are and it bothers me if I eat too heavily - been like that since I was a little kid. Unlike you, I just grab whatever grabs my attention - I just don't keep junk food in the house.

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  12. I absolutely need to be eating better. I have been terrible with this pregnancy! The lunch looks yummy! Visiting from AB's thirsty for comments!

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  13. Great tips! I'm newly on weight watchers and I've been worried b/c I'm eating so often, but like you, I'm having small low calorie snacks, so so far so good.

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  14. Great blog! New follower, follow me back at http://sew-chic-designs.blogspot.com/ :)

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  16. Thanks for the good tips. I always wonder these kind of things.

    Whitney

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  17. thanks for visiting my site!

    i love this post! i am always interested in how people are striving to eat healthy and live healthy lifestyles. i learn so much! thanks for sharing what you do. i may have to copy some of your snack/meal ideas! yum!

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  18. This is such a great post! I loved seeing your snack/meal ideas. Thanks for stopping by my blog! :)

    ~ Shay @ WonderfullyChaotic.com

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  19. really good tips.

    I tend to skip breakfast most of the time & it really does nothing for me! I know this is an awful habit and that I should break myself of it.

    I came by via the hop - congrats on being featured! I am now follwoing

    Bernadette
    http://momto2poshlildivas.blogspot.com

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  20. Hi following from wednesday bloghop! This is great advice!! I'm always looking for blogs having to do with nutrition and exercise!! Please follow me at :

    http://myp90xjourney55.blogspot.com/

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  21. Wow you eat 6 small meals a day. That's too much for me as I only eat once or twice daily. Intermittent fasting has worked the best to fight off my TMAU odors.

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