if you worry why all diets say have lots of small meals

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trytrytry
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Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 6:46 am

if you worry why all diets say have lots of small meals

Post by trytrytry » Sun May 04, 2008 12:57 pm

I found an interesting link:
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/ ... ekey=56254

quote:
The truth is, the more times a day you sit down to eat a meal or snack, the more opportunities you have to overeat; this can be a serious problem for some people. If you are someone who has a difficult time eating a small amount at a meal or snack (you have a hard time stopping once you get started), then it's quite possible that, for you, eating five or six times a day isn't the best way to go.

wosnes
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Post by wosnes » Sun May 04, 2008 1:43 pm

In some of the reading I've done about the Mediterranean diet, it's been observed that the Italians are somewhat heavier than others in the Mediterranean. Some have said it's because they eat large amounts of bread and pasta.

But, at least in some areas of Italy, they have traditionally had 5 meals daily. They eat a very light meal first thing in the morning (literally something to "break the fast"), a more substantial meal later in the morning, a big midday meal, a light meal late in the afternoon or early evening, and a light dinner later in the evening. No matter how light the lighter meals are, they're probably consuming more calories just because they eat more meals.

I like what the author said about breakfast. I've NEVER found that I eat more the rest of the day if I miss breakfast; in fact, I've found just the opposite to be true!
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

flipturn
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Post by flipturn » Sun May 04, 2008 2:29 pm

Hi, try . . . thanks for the link.

wosnes, I enjoyed your input about the Italian diet. I think that some of those meal habits are because of the siesta tradition and eating a late dinner. Much of this has disappeared over the past generation except during the summer and in the south. It is interesting to think that the cultures with a forth meal -- English tea, etc. -- are some place on the weight continuum between the US obesity and what we perceive to be European slenderness.

about breakfast: Not only do I get hungry if I skip it, I overeat all afternoon because I tell myself that I have "so many" calories not consumed that I deserve a treat.

wosnes
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Post by wosnes » Sun May 04, 2008 2:34 pm

flipturn wrote:wosnes, I enjoyed your input about the Italian diet. I think that some of those meal habits are because of the siesta tradition and eating a late dinner. Much of this has disappeared over the past generation except during the summer and in the south. It is interesting to think that the cultures with a forth meal -- English tea, etc. -- are some place on the weight continuum between the US obesity and what we perceive to be European slenderness.

about breakfast: Not only do I get hungry if I skip it, I overeat all afternoon because I tell myself that I have "so many" calories not consumed that I deserve a treat.
They're still slimmer than we are, though. As our habits are becoming more common throughout the world, they're catching up to us.

I've never been much of a "dieter", don't have the dieter's mentality, and rarely think about having a calorie deficit that would enable me to deserve a treat.
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

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Mavilu
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Post by Mavilu » Sun May 04, 2008 10:41 pm

In my country, a large percentage of the population doesn't ever have breakfast, only a cup of tea or coffee and off they go, without eating anything until lunch at 1-2 in the afternoon.
And I never heard of anyone complaining of having to eat more later, probably because they don't really think about it, it's just how most were raised to eat and that's how they eat their entire lives: just two meals a day.
I myself didn't use to have breakfast until I came to the U.S. and, first had to get used to go out to have my husband's favorite meal of the day with him and then I started reading everywhere that having breakfast was the absolute best thing I could do for my health.
What a twat!, I didn't need to be any healthier than I was and so many years later I'm still as healthy as I was, except now I'm fat!.
I've been trying to lesser my breakfasts, because I really do want to go back to my old eating habits, but so many years after having breakfast every day, I find that I do have to break the fast at some point before lunch or I feel a bit sick.

wosnes
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Post by wosnes » Mon May 05, 2008 12:05 am

Mavilu wrote:In my country, a large percentage of the population doesn't ever have breakfast, only a cup of tea or coffee and off they go, without eating anything until lunch at 1-2 in the afternoon.
And I never heard of anyone complaining of having to eat more later, probably because they don't really think about it, it's just how most were raised to eat and that's how they eat their entire lives: just two meals a day.
I myself didn't use to have breakfast until I came to the U.S. and, first had to get used to go out to have my husband's favorite meal of the day with him and then I started reading everywhere that having breakfast was the absolute best thing I could do for my health.
What a twat!, I didn't need to be any healthier than I was and so many years later I'm still as healthy as I was, except now I'm fat!.
I've been trying to lesser my breakfasts, because I really do want to go back to my old eating habits, but so many years after having breakfast every day, I find that I do have to break the fast at some point before lunch or I feel a bit sick.
It's pretty amazing how we're force-fed this "truth"! When I post what I eat for breakfast, I really should post a disclaimer that it's what I eat on the days I do eat breakfast. I probably don't eat it 75% of the time.
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

lola628
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Post by lola628 » Mon May 05, 2008 4:21 am

When I skip breakfast I feel great until about 4pm, then I always seem to get ravenous, my blood sugar gets wonky and I overeat at dinner. The old adage "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen and dinner like a prince" seems to work for me the best.

I can totally see how US culture has been creeping into Europe with all of our lard-o fast food joints. There are Burger Kings and McDonald's all over the place -- it makes me cringe. I just noticed an ad on the front of the McDonald's here in the Netherlands that is advertising Whole Grain bread for their chicken sandwich. I've also noticed that the Europeans don't seem to Super Size like the Americans do too. My BF gets grossed out if I drink a large Iced Tea (no sugar) from Wendy's, he thinks that portion size is disgusting. Whenever he sees a Big Gulp, that grosses him out too. He prefers to buy very small bottles of water....and I always buy the huge 1.5 litre waters and sip from it all day.

When we go to cafes here they serve the smallest bottle of Lipton iced tea on the planet w/ ICK -- SUGAR -- then everyone takes pee-pee sips. I miss my American fresh brewed unsweetened Iced Tea!!

blueskighs
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Post by blueskighs » Thu May 08, 2008 12:03 am

some of this stuff may just be individual variances ... I have known for years I do best on just three meals a day ... although for about 10 I have tried to do mini-meals multiple meals and gained weight .... three works really well for me ... it seems the best way to optimize my hunger ...
on the other hand my husband seems to thrive equally well on two ... he is just NOT a breakfast eater,

Blueskighs
www.nosdiet.blogspot.com Where I blog daily about my No S journey

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