2 meals a day?

No Snacks, no sweets, no seconds. Except on Days that start with S. Too simple for you? Simple is why it works. Look here for questions, introductions, support, success stories.

Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating

Post Reply
April
Posts: 163
Joined: Sat Apr 06, 2019 8:50 pm

2 meals a day?

Post by April » Fri Aug 30, 2019 2:15 pm

Has anyone had success with two meals a day? I am finding I just over load my plate for 3 meals a day, but am also concerned if two meals a day (thinking about having brunch and supper) may backfire and I will be too hungry between meals and/or eat TOO much during the 2 meals? Penny for your thoughts.
April

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Soprano
Posts: 1184
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2018 8:56 pm
Location: UK

Re: 2 meals a day?

Post by Soprano » Fri Aug 30, 2019 5:13 pm

I have had the odd day with 2 meals but as a general rule prefer 3

Jx
Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.

gingerpie
Posts: 1031
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 8:16 pm
Location: Pennsylvania, US

Re: 2 meals a day?

Post by gingerpie » Sun Sep 01, 2019 11:04 am

I think the only way to know is to try it for a few days and then evaluate. I often only eat two meals but that's because I've discovered that as I age I just need to eat less. I don't do it as a way to reduce calories, I'm just not hungry. Honestly, it doesn't sound like your issue is too many meals. It sounds like you need to address portion size. What size plate are you using? At some point I switched to using a luncheon plate and it worked wonders for me. I still might overload but its small size limits the damage. My other trick is to serve the vegetables first. It's another optical trick. When the plate is empty you take a bigger portion because there is a lot of space to fill but once it's filled with vegetables there is less room for pasta! 😋

Best of luck to you on your journey and warm regards.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: 2 meals a day?

Post by automatedeating » Tue Sep 03, 2019 2:55 pm

Hi April -
I also wonder if maybe you could just tinker with what is on the plate nutrient-wise. I do best if there is lots of fat, decent protein, and enough carb for sweetness (for example, I have 2 cups of high-fat yogurt w/berries for lunch almost every day). This hits all the notes for me, filling me up, giving me lots of nutrients, and keeping me full for a few hours. So try to find what "hits all the notes" for you. Pinkhippie has been working this issue lately too, and I think she was saying she's found a pretty good rhythm to her meals that works for her.

As to the 2 meals a day thing - whatever works for you but I would be concerned you'll feel deprived. I actually don't eat formal breakfast daily - usually 2-3 cups of coffee w/half&half or milk or something. But it's decent calories. Recently I've been experimenting with having a handful of walnuts and a little bit of my yogurt for breakfast, but that was for blood sugar experiments, not really for dealing with hunger.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

April
Posts: 163
Joined: Sat Apr 06, 2019 8:50 pm

Re: 2 meals a day?

Post by April » Wed Sep 04, 2019 12:20 pm

Great suggestions thank you! I am going back to 3 meals and adding in more filling veggies (broccoli and cabbage mostly, and I LOVE them) which keeps me full longer. I was way too famished with only 2 meals. I will consider smaller plates when I have more calorie dense meals, I like that idea. And it looks like more food on the smaller plate and my brain thinks it was actually more!
April

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

ladybird30
Posts: 1118
Joined: Sun May 07, 2017 10:41 pm

Re: 2 meals a day?

Post by ladybird30 » Sat Sep 07, 2019 3:20 am

Hi April - it's early days for you yet, yes 6 months is early when you are trying to change life long habits.
In the first year or so of No S I often overloaded my plates to the point of feeling uncomfortable after meals. I rationalised this by telling myself that overloaded plates were better than grazing between meals. But this year I have found that rarely happens and I have become much better at dishing out the right amount of food on my plate. No particular effort of willpower on my part except lots and lots of practice of eyeballing my meal as I am dishing it out & paying attention to that inner feeling of that is enough or not enough or too much. Doesn't always work of course.
Three meals a day - not too little not too much, but just right

oolala53
Posts: 10059
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Re: 2 meals a day?

Post by oolala53 » Sun Sep 15, 2019 4:02 pm

Are you still pondering this? I would advise being willing to start first with tapering off on the plate loads unless you really believe that you could accommodate a two-meal structure in your work and social life and can’t stand the idea of less food at a meal.

Let us know how it’s going even if it’s a bumpy ride.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

User avatar
BackToThin
Posts: 72
Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2019 4:29 am

Re: 2 meals a day?

Post by BackToThin » Fri Nov 15, 2019 3:47 am

I usually eat two meals a day, but that's only because of Invisilign which is kind of a pain in the butt. Occasionally, I eat one meal a day. On the one hand, I can't wait to be done with Invisilign. On the other hand, I like it because it's sort of like training wheels to break away from "perma-snacking" and build the better habit of eating only at regular meal times. There have definitely been many times where I wanted to eat something but I didn't because it just wasn't worth it to take the trays out and brush and floss again.

I'm thinking of sticking with this two meals a day thing even after I'm done with Invisilign.
No-S Lifestyle (~Don't Eat Like An Idiot Diet) and re-learning how to eat like a normal person after failing post calorie counting. More than half a year of that sent me diving face first into a giant slice of cheese cake and ultimately fat again.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: 2 meals a day?

Post by automatedeating » Fri Nov 15, 2019 1:54 pm

I had to look up invisilign. :-) Got it now.
I think it's kind of a cool tool to break away from the snacking! :-)
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Post Reply