To snack in between meals or not to snack

[seaforest 562]

My meal plan includes the options for two Snacks a day. I am told not to go more than 5 hours without eating. I often do the morning snack because I find I get hungry after the gym and mid-morning is when I'm supposed to take my Vitamins. But today's was 1/2 cup of applesauce - it's one of my ways to get in fruits/veggies. Sometimes, it's a string cheese or tablespoon of Peanut Butter for the Protein. I don't believe there is one way as we are all unique. At any rate, I'm sticking with what my team tells me to do.

[MarkLewis 21]

Yes, when I say I "snack", it is a cup of yogurt or cottage cheese to get my Protein in for the day. I would consider, in my terminology, a Protein Shake in between meals a snack. I eat my Breakfast at 6:30, have a "snack" (<100 cals) at 9:30, eat lunch about 1:00, have another "snack" at 4:00 and eat dinner at 7-7:30 after the gym. This is the only way i could ever get in enough calories or protein. having said that, I agree with the point that we are all different. I also plan out every crumb of food that goes into my body the night before, so I know exactly how much I am eating, etc.

[Swanton_Bomb 522]

56 minutes ago, MarkLewis said:

Yes, when I say I "snack", it is a cup of yogurt or cottage cheese to get my Protein in for the day. I would consider, in my terminology, a Protein Shake in between meals a snack. I eat my Breakfast at 6:30, have a "snack" (<100 cals) at 9:30, eat lunch about 1:00, have another "snack" at 4:00 and eat dinner at 7-7:30 after the gym. This is the only way i could ever get in enough calories or Protein. having said that, I agree with the point that we are all different. I also plan out every crumb of food that goes into my body the night before, so I know exactly how much I am eating, etc.

I would never get in 60 grams of protein without a snack or even two because I just can't consume that much. I also consider a Protein Shake to be a snack because it is between meals. For me I think it is more important for my personal long-term success to keep the volume of my meals down to avoid stretching my sleeve because my biggest issue was large volume eating and binging. If someone's biggest issue was grazing, then it's probably best for them to stick to meals only. I think people just tend to associate snacking with not only junk food, but extra calories. If it is part of your overall calories, that's different.

[JessLess 1,163]

I snack because... I like Snacks. Light string cheese is one of my faves. I'm still only eating about 800 calories a day. If I stop losing weight, I'll reevaluate.

[AggiG 176]

I snack because I don't get enough calories a day. I'm still under 600 calories and my PA wants me to eat at least 600 calories. My tummy doesn't like it when it is too full. I get very nauseous.

[LasVegasMike 57]

I snack between meals all the time. I usually just have a slice or two of swiss cheese with some yellow mustard. Weight keeps coming off just fine.

[BigViffer 3,545]

I'll chime in, just because I haven't seen it mentioned yet. The effective use of snacking in a diet plan is going to also depend on what kind of a relationship you had with food pre-surgery.

Me personally; I was a bulk eater. I would eat once or twice a day, but in huge volume. Now 4 years post op, I snack all the time to meet my macros. My average caloric intake is 2,000. Someone else at my stage may get that in their 3 meals a day, but I prefer to control my hunger throughout the day so that I don't try and over eat.

If you were a grazer pre-op, snacking might not be a good idea.

[ABawdyMermaid 70]

Mine is to eat three small meals per day along with three Snacks for a total of eating 4 to 6 times a day. I am also supposed to be getting around 90 g of Protein per day, but I am barely able to achieve 40 to 50 on most days given how little I can eat at this juncture. I am pretty sure with my plan, they always want you to eat 4 to 6 times a day, but make sure that they are very small portions. At least that is what the information they provided tells me.

Sent from my H60-L04 using BariatricPal mobile app

[looly 361]

My meals are so small, they're what I used to consider to be snacks!

I have one, two or three Snacks a day, depending on whether I'm properly hungry or not.

I've never been told how many meals to eat, or how many calories to consume and no one has ever mentioned proportions of macros to me. I've just been told to eat healthy food slowly in small quantities, prioritising Protein first.

And lay off the booze! 😲🙂

I've lost 91 lbs so far doing that. If it stops working, I'll change it.

[gym&tonic 10]

Think about it like this... if two people eat 800 calories (or whatever their target range is) a day, and one divides that between 3 meals through the day and the other distributes it over 3 meals and 2 or 3 Snacks. Theoretically the person dividing it over three meals will be eating more per sitting which may have the risk of stretching out your stomach. Where if you’re disturbing your total allotment of calories over five or six small meals your stomach never gets in danger of expanding too much. With that being said, if you are someone who had previously struggled with grazing and mindless eating then yes the 5-6 meals a day can be like a trigger.

As we get to the maintenance daily calories range once we get to our goal the chances are you will be easy sitting at 1000 calories a day or more. So again, if you have that over 3 meals a day you are going to be consuming a larger portion then say 5-6 portions.

My doctor told me 3 small meals and 2-3 snacks a day which I really hated at first and still kind of do because I feel like I have to plan more and take the time to make meals that are itty bitty. But all it comes down to is what works for you and being mindful in the process.

[MeanSleevedMachine 277]

I eat 3 meals and 4 Snacks a day. There is no way I could get 190 Protein or 2000 calories otherwise. I think this question is heavily dependent on your gender, age, height and ideal weight. If your bmr is 2400 calories for your goal weight ( like mine) there is no way around snacking. If you only need 1000 calories then 3 meals might be doable.

[Naughty Glitter Goddess 646]

My team is pretty low-key with eating instructions. They want me to meet my Water and Protein goals and that's about it. I've been cautioned by psych to really consider what triggers bad eating habits for me and develop and eating schedule/plan that minimizes that.

I define "snacking" as unnecessary and unplanned eating between meals. If you are eating in between meals because you are focusing on trying to meet a protein requirement and aren't able to do it with meals alone - it counts as a mini-meal, not a snack to me.

The healthiest choice mentally for me is to stick to a plan that meets my nutritional needs and to minimize eating any foods that make me wish I could eat more of them. I can eat a lot of calories especially when I'm focusing on just Proteins and fats. I don't worry too much about it because it only happens on days when I'm too tired or unprepared to cook. Other days, I eat a lot fewer calories because I got my crap together and actually cooked a stir fry or made a beautiful salad to enjoy. I do log everything so I can be alerted to any problematic trends and I have had to make myself a hard cutoff for no eating after dinner. Period. If I haven't met my protein for the day, and I can't get it in with the dinner I have planned - I change the plan to a dinner that will meet my goals or I drink my protein instead. That works for me and it works for my team.