Everyday Systems

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.

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

Jx

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

I had to look up invisilign. Got it now.
I think it's kind of a cool tool to break away from the snacking!