So my surgeon wants me eating 3 meals a day, no snacking. I've been doing pretty well with this. Today though I woke up really early and ate Breakfast (they also want me to eat w/ in 2 hours of waking to kick my metabolism into gear). My band is keeping me full for 3-4 hours. So, it's most likely I'll be wake for long enough today to really need 4 meals if i go based on true hunger. Do you all think that's ok to do on occasion?

It's been 4 hrs 15 min since breakfast and my stomach is realllly growling...but I'm going to try to wait 45 min anyway to eat an early lunch. Or would it be healthier to go ahead and eat when the hunger starts and end up with 4 reasonable meals?

I eat 6 times a day. The amount of meals you eat really plays little to no role in weightloss. I say eat when you're hungry, more so eat before you get hungry, this way you aren't scarfing down your food. I eat every 2-3 hours and plan to eat 6 times a day. Only day I don't is on Saturdays and Sundays when I usually only eat 4-5 times a day.

I say do what's best for you. Meal timing/amount is truly irrelevant.

My surgeon also said 3 meals no snacking. I do have little snacks in between. Like WW string cheese and other healthy stuff. I believe in multiple small meals. Also the fact I can't get enough calories in 3 meals

I eat a few ounces of Protein every 3 to 4 hours throughout the day. So that's about five or six times a day, depending on how often I feel hungry. At posted "official" main-meal times (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) I'll also eat some vegetables and a few starchy carbs. I don't "snack" in the terms of grazing on junk foods. My meals are planned, in that I expect them, and know I'll be eating at that time. That includes the between main-meal "Snacks." My surgeon knows about this, and has no issue with it. I was advised to eat this way to avoid sugar crashes, and to keep my blood sugars stabilized. I'm not diabetic, but it sure helps keep hunger cravings away.

BTW, as for breakfast: After I have my one cup of morning coffee while waking up and getting ready for work, I have a ready-to-drink Protein shake in the car on my way to work. This is usually within an hour of waking up, and kick starts my metabolism with 30g of protein to work on, rather than chewing away at my muscles. About an hour later is when I eat solid food for the first time in the day, as my morning "snack." (I usually have a fried egg, slice of breakfast sausage, with a slice of cheese on top. Picture an Egg McMuffin type breakfast sandwich without the English muffin. I call it a "naked sandwich." ) I haven't had issues with being unable to eat due to my band being too tight in the morning, and I feel satsified till lunch.

Eating is only a trick till you sort out how your body responds to what you're giving it.

Dave

Dave, great idea on breakfast! Mornings are hectic for me. With getting my kids ready & off to school eating within an hour of waking is TOUGH for me. I usually have 2-3 servings of eggs ina carton (30 cals a serving) with chopped onion and 1 serving of sliced deli ham (60 cals) with 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese, but I may do a Protein shake first thing them have my eggs (alternate is greek yogurt & granola) mid morning from now on.

i do eat 4-6 meals a day on nights i work and am awake for >24 hours, and my surgeon knows about that...but I mke those meals much smaller than usual (the 10, 2am, and 6am meals)

i ended up starting my exercise routine around 11am, so stretched my morning 6 hours....and overate at lunch. So I can see now how bot doing that would be wise.

What's right is whatever works for you. When I was first banded in Nov. 2009, I had to eat about every 3 hours just to keep my blood sugar stable. Then by fall of 2010 I was able to happily cut back to 3 meals, eating every 4-5 hours. Most of the time I'm still able to do that but occasionally, like today, I just seem to be 'hungrier' and I just go with it. For example, around 2 this afternoon, even though I had eaten lunch at noon, I was hungry so I just took 2 hardboiled eggs and turned them into deviled eggs. The fat and Protein eliminated my hunger and I'll have no problem waiting until 6 p.m. to eat dinner.

I don't stress about the extra calories because I think it's better than trying to white knuckle through it and then falling into the refrigerator and eating anything I can get my hands on when it gets to be too much.