How often/much do you eat?

[Cricket]

I'm on day #1 of myfitnesspal. I have 1500 calories and I'm trying to plan mini- goals for the day so that I don't get hungry and quit.

my plan so far is:
breakfast 250
snack 100
lunch 400 
snack 200
dinner 400
snack 150

does that make sense? Too many snacks? Too many calories at meals?

How do you do it?

[wambam]

I eat 3, sometimes 4 times per day. 3 meals and sometimes an afternoon snack. I don't know how my calories break down per meal, but I know that I eat about 2200 calories per day. Breakfast is usually protein and fat only, as is my snack if I eat it. Most of my carbs (sweet potatoes, banana, etc) are eaten at dinner, post-workout.

[gt7301b]

Are you adding back in exercising? If so do you add back those calories? I usually workout for an hour or so a day and I end up eating around 2,000 total calories a day. If I eat any less I am unpleasant to be around.

[mainewifey]

I try eating a bunch of small meals a day and I can't do it. I feel like it triggers some sort of snacking urge and then I just can't stop eating. I end up eating way too many calories, and not healthy calories at all.

I eat 3 meals a day, breakfast is around 400 calories, lunch is about the same and then I eat a big dinner. I try to eat something before I go to the gym, usually a piece of fruit or a protein bar.

I average around 1,400 calories for a day, and I eat back what I burn with exercise. If I have a really hard day at the gym I eat a bigger dinner.

I also try to look at the week over all, rather than just day by day. I know that for me Saturdays are usually a calorie blow out, so Friday and Sunday I might cut back a little bit.

[jamalynn]

I don't count calories but I do try to eat every couple of hours. I found that works well for me. I think the breakdown seems fine. I usually eat 5 meals(?) a day. I try not to eat after dinner because usually if I do, it's nothing of nutritional value (think ice cream and cookies). If you are working out a lot, it won't be enough calories and you may find yourself very hungry. GL!

[emuni04]

3 meals and 2 snacks here. It depends on the day, but back when I was doing MFP, I think my avg. calories/day are around 1,800ish. I don't really count my calories unless I have had a long period of bingeing and I need to re-train myself to rein it in.

[Deleted]

I eat 5-6 times/day, but I'm not allowed to calorie count so these are just estimates:

Breakfast - 250-300
Snack - 125 (this is almost always string cheese and a small apple)
Lunch - 400-500
Snack - 150-200
Pre-workout - 100-400 (not every day, it depends on how many workouts I do in a day)
Dinner - 500

[labbie]

I eat 5-6 times a day, and net about 1300 calories (i.e. I eat back most of my exercise calories), so depending on workouts I could eat 1800-2000 total per day.
I've learned that on days I run longer, I may not want all the exercise calories, but the next day I am starving. So I try to not sweat it if I'm under/over day by day as long as overall  for the week I'm under.
Not sure if that's "right" but it's been working for me so far.

[sitnspin]

My RD recommends eating when you are hungry.  If that is the traditional 3x per day, great.  If it is 6x per day, great.

I don't count calories but my day usually looks like this:

8am - coffee
9:15am - breakfast, usually a banana or a homemade bar
11am - coffee and a nectarine or whatever
12pm - lunch, this is my biggest meal of the day.  I make huge salads, have leftovers, etc.
4pm - snack, lately, it has been a Kind bar and some dehydrated fruit
7-7:30ish - dinner, protein, veggies.
I sometimes snack around 9, usually not because I am not hungry.  Grapes have been the snack of choice.

[bostonmichelle]

That looks almost comparable to what I eat calorie and time wise and it works for me. If I work out I usually eat another 200+ calories for pre-workout fueling and sometimes something after it was a hard/long workout. Definitely listen to your body though and be flexible if your hungry at other times.

[sadlebred]

Because of my work schedule, I eat 3 meals a day and usually 2 snacks. I don't count calories

[emilyinchile]

I usually eat B, L, D and often an afternoon snack. I also go through phases where I am STARVING and eat what feels like all day long and other phases where I'm less hungry and don't snack at all. As PPs have said, I'd think of your calories and food content relative to when you're working out and make sure you're getting the right kind of nutrition before/after exercise beyond just making a rigid schedule like the one you posted. Personally I would rather not have an after-dinner snack and eat those calories during the day, but that may not be your preference.

I probably eat 1800-2000 calories per day total, but I eyeball everything and have higher/lower days, so that's a very loose range.