Success with mini 4th "meal"

FarmerHal · Post by **FarmerHal** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 12:20 pm

I have been noSing for a year and a half now, and have been trying to stick with 3 meals (and I"m successful most of the week) but then I get to supper, and I wind up with this "last supper" mentality and my plate is piled HIGH and I mean, I'll squeak 2 or 3 dinner rolls around the rim of the plate and I know quite well this is a LOT of calories!

Anyway, this all stems because about 3:30pm, I get pretty hungry and I fret about it till supper. This is my biggest weakness and usually where my days wind up red instead of green.

All this last week I added a 4th mini meal mid afternoon. It's one small thing, like an apple with cheese slices, or handful of crackers, or carrots and a bit of dip.

This has helped me enormously and I can put reasonable amounts of food on my supper plate now! (and not have to internally fight myself)

So I think I'm going to go with 4 meals a day now, since it seems to work.
As a bonus, I went from 212 pounds down to 209.5 in a week! Whoa!
Could be coincidence, since weight fluctuates like that, but I've not seen that low of a number since the last time I passed it on the way "up" to 245 LOL.

That puts me at 35.5lbs lost without doing much thinking about "I'm on a diet."

Yay~ so you see, if I can do it, anyone can

Tiffani

JillyBean · Post by **JillyBean** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:57 pm

Thanks for sharing, Tiffani. I have just recently tweaked my plan too, as you may have read, and part of that involves the possibility of a fourth meal in there somewhere "if needed." I'm letting my appetite (physical, not emotional or taste "bud-al") be my guide about whether I have that fourth meal. Mostly for me I think it is about my thinking and obsession. Somehow if I know it's possible that I can eat if I'm hungry, I don't need to put so much on my plates at traditional mealtimes. I love that we are given such great guidelines but are also allowed to figure out for ourselves what works best for us.

gingercake · Post by **gingercake** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 4:14 pm

Thanks for posting this - I may try it. I have blood sugar issues, and if I don't eat a perfect lunch with a good balance of fat/protein/fiber/carbs, I crash in the mid-to-late afternoon and it is no fun and turns dinner into a bit of a bear. For me, it would have to be a really tight set of default mini-meals...like you say, a piece of fruit with cheese, or fruit and nuts, or veggies and dip. I'd have to really limit my choices so that I didn't take advantage.

Joelle · Post by **Joelle** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 5:30 pm

What a great job you're doing, Tiffani! Congrats! I know what you mean about that panic-y feeling when you get to dinner and know it's your last chance to eat for the day. I used to get it all the time when I was on WW. When I'd get to those last few points for the day, I would feel so freaked out.
I think you're wise to listen to yourself and not arrive at dinner with the "last supper" mentality. I think at least 1/2 the weight I want to lose comes from a "last hurrah" before starting yet another diet. So far, I've had luck with a cup of coffee or tea with steamed milk in the afternoon. Hope the 4th meal brings you continued success. Thanks for the inspiration.

blueskighs · Post by **blueskighs** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 8:45 pm

This has helped me enormously and I can put reasonable amounts of food on my supper plate now! (and not have to internally fight myself)

So I think I'm going to go with 4 meals a day now, since it seems to work.
As a bonus, I went from 212 pounds down to 209.5 in a week! Whoa!

shamrockmommy,

that is great news that you have figured out a way to make this work for you! i guesss reinhard has mentioned that 3 is not necessarily a magic number it is more the consistency,

way to go,

Blueskighs

CrazyCatLady · Post by **CrazyCatLady** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 2:08 am

I recently added a small fourth meal to my 12 hour days at work. I have evidently been No-S-ing long enough to train my body that dinner is at 6pm, and if I work til 7pm, all I think about that final hour, and the drive home, is FOOD! And I cannot eat a normal meal that night, I overdo it. And I feel bad physically, almost shaky even though I do not have low blood sugar problems otherwise.

I decided that it was silly to be focusing on food so much after months of No-S-ing, so I added a mini meal between 5 and 6 pm on Thursdays. Something like a drink of juice or milk plus a small portion of fruit or yogurt. I did try the liquid sustenance, and it just wasn't enough. I don't want to eat a full meal at work, because I prefer meals at home with the family.

I believe that I am overloading my plates still, so I will have to be very diligent about this, but when I tried it last week it was just so sensible! Glad to hear that I'm not the only one needing it!

funfuture · Post by **funfuture** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 12:44 am

Tiffany - 35.5 pounds - that's fantastic! well done.

FarmerHal · Post by **FarmerHal** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 2:43 am

Thanks Funfuture.

Can't believe it myself

I need to lose about that much more yet though

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:50 am

I think consistency is more important than the actual number of meals (unless, of course, you eat SO many... but you're not).

You've also addressed the trade-off of "more opportunities to eat" meaning "more opportunities to over-eat" by limiting the mini-meal's menu. Sounds like a plan!

And CONGRATS on your weight loss! That's awesome.

Nichole · Post by **Nichole** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 2:07 pm

Thanks for posting this. I too have been experimenting with different ideas. Between lunch and dinner is too long for me, sometimes we don't eat until 8 o'clock!!!!! And the starvation is just too much. I get grumpy, irritable, and it's just very unpleasant. I have been having a small snack between and I am no longer inclined to eat A LOT at dinner and I no longer get seconds. I HAD been having seconds because I was just so friggen hungry at that point. These are just my observations so far and so far so good. My weight has not gone up.

Post by **reinhard** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 3:19 pm

Congratulations! That's impressive -- and encouraging for no-essers who find 3 isn't cutting it for them.

Gotta add this to the testimonials page... (along with many others, sorry I'm taking so long to get around to updating it).

I wonder if starting with 3 meals was good training for handling 4...

Reinhard

vcanfield · Post by **vcanfield** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 12:29 am

shamrockmommy wrote:I have been noSing for a year and a half now, and have been trying to stick with 3 meals (and I"m successful most of the week) but then I get to supper, and I wind up with this "last supper" mentality and my plate is piled HIGH and I mean, I'll squeak 2 or 3 dinner rolls around the rim of the plate and I know quite well this is a LOT of calories!

Anyway, this all stems because about 3:30pm, I get pretty hungry and I fret about it till supper. This is my biggest weakness and usually where my days wind up red instead of green.

All this last week I added a 4th mini meal mid afternoon. It's one small thing, like an apple with cheese slices, or handful of crackers, or carrots and a bit of dip.

This has helped me enormously and I can put reasonable amounts of food on my supper plate now! (and not have to internally fight myself)

So I think I'm going to go with 4 meals a day now, since it seems to work.
As a bonus, I went from 212 pounds down to 209.5 in a week! Whoa!
Could be coincidence, since weight fluctuates like that, but I've not seen that low of a number since the last time I passed it on the way "up" to 245 LOL.

That puts me at 35.5lbs lost without doing much thinking about "I'm on a diet."

Yay~ so you see, if I can do it, anyone can
Tiffani

I am so glad I found your post! I don't usually eat much for lunch and by the time dinner rolls around I am ready to eat my own arm. This leads to "last meal on earth" eating. I pile it on high in response to deprivation. I think it is my hypoglycemia screaming for revenge. Today I added a small 4th meal- apple, cheese and milk and I had a normal sized dinner. I may have to keep up the 4th mini-meal for a while and work on eliminating it eventually; unless it actually becomes a helpful strategy.

Adagia · Post by **Adagia** » Sat Aug 23, 2008 2:29 pm

It sounds to me that this is just like having an afternoon tea. If your schedule has you eating a late dinner - 8 hours or so from lunch to dinner, then it makes perfect sense to me to have a tea time in between. That's still a traditional schedule of meals. It's just a British schedule, not American.

Prodigalsun · Post by **Prodigalsun** » Sun Aug 24, 2008 1:14 am

I have added a 4th meal as well. a 12 ounce smothie around 3pm, with berries, soy milk, protein powder and banana. this has helped me keep dinner small.

doing this plan I am down now 24 pounds in about 2 months.

Everyday Systems

Success with mini 4th "meal"

Success with mini 4th "meal"

Re: Success with mini 4th "meal"