You eat how often?!
 

So, how many people out there actually stick to the whole "three square meals a day" routine? And (while I'm at it) what constitutes a "square meal" for you?

I eat 5 times. Seriously.

5 times of a smaller amount to keep the energy up and running.

One meal a day -- dinner. It's easier on the wallet, gives me loads of free time, and I'm used to it by now =3 Makes the day so much nicer.

It's a big meal, but nothing freakish. If you look at what an average person of my size consumes in a full day's meals versus my own, I don't eat nearly as much. Maybe slightly over a third of what they'd eat in one day.

On a typical day I eat lunch, dinner, and some kind of nighttime snack. If I happen to be running really short on time I'll just grab a Coke or something for lunch, but that's pretty rare. I rarely eat breakfast since that would require waking up early enough before class, so it's difficult to skip lunch too.

Three-a-day. Breakfast is a must, or i'll never survive my morning classes in school. Lunch isn't a big deal, maybe a cookie (they're big in our school) and some milk, and then a decent dinner. Maybe i'll have a snack in between lunch and dinner after school.

Two meals a day for me. I usually have an early lunch (around 11 or so) and dinner, maybe around 8PM. I know it's not the best times to eat, but with work and everything, those are usually the only times I have.

I, do, love breakfast when I can get it.

Pfff.. fuck 3 meals. I eat all the time, really. On a weekend like today, I'll wake up and have some breakfast, and then throughout the time between breakfast and lunch I'll have a few cookies here and there, maybe a handful of cereal.. I don't know why, but I never really seem full.

I always eat at least one "square meal" a day. By that I mean that I eat a properly cooked meal, even if it's made from frozen stuff, or stuff out of a packet, which contains good sources of protein and carbs, with some preferably fresh vegetables. In between times I eat such things as fresh fruit, yoghurts, soup and sometimes less healthy snacks. :(

I like to eat scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast when I have the time, even though it's not the healthiest of things. Other than at breakfast or in the evening, I'm not in the mood for a "square meal", though.

I eat when I have time, period. No such thing as a "square meal" unless I happen to be staying for a long period of time at my parents' house. Otherwise... breakfast, if I have it, is cold cereal. Lunch is a couple of sandwiches. Dinner is soup.

Lately my distinction between meals has become blurred since I've been waking up at around lunchtime, though, so... sometimes i only eat dinner.

Replace the word "dinner" with "breakfast", and I'm exactly the same way. I eat breakfast for the energy to get through my lectures. Otherwise, I arrive for breakfast because that's the only decent meal the catering service for my college makes.

Breakfast is my friend. Eating the morning allows me to get through the day. On a typical day, I eat only between 2 and 3. I would like to eat smaller meals more frequently but I'm so busy working during the day that it's not possible for me. Perhaps eating more often will be next year's resolution?

I have breakfast, lunch and dinner. But I'm not so good at finishing my plate, 'cause I have a tendency to snack alot during the day, whether it be grapes, biscuits etc...

I don't think I would feel quite right if I didn't at least attempt to eat my three main meals.

When do I eat? Whenever I happen to feel hungry, that's when. This is the best and more natural way to eat. Listen to your body and follow its hunger cues. It knows better than you do when it needs nutrition. When I do eat, I eat just enough to basic body maintenance, no more.

I'm like a starving disease, and the only cure is more cowbell food. I'm guess I have a ridiculous metabolism.

I eat about 2 cups of very fibrous cereal in the morning,
leftovers or 3 cups of oranges/peaches midday,
a hearty supper like pasta, meat and veggies (like 3 to 4 cups of food :D),
and 3 cups again of the same cereal with 1 cup of energy shake.

In addition, I'll graze in between those meals if it's something that doesn't have any carbs. I'm insulin dependant, so I would have to give myself my needle for anything I eat with carbs. And, although, it seems like I'm on a tight regiment with my mealtimes, it's actually right on schedule with my hunger. :)

I generally only have two meals plus a snack or two. Today it'll likely be breakfast and dinner. Most of the week, though, it's lunch and dinner. I'm not much of a breakfast guy.

I try my best to get a variety of foods in to have a balanced meal. But due to the cafeteria not cooking vegetables the way I like, I end up eating lots of salads.

Breakfast, dinner and maybe some snacks in between. I hardly ever eat lunch due to the fact that I usually wake up pretty late. I wish I could get a better routine, though, since I'd like to get in shape. Not that I'm in bad shape, but it wouldn't hurt if I lost a couple pounds...

I have a fast metabolism, so I have to eat a bunch during the day. I have a Carnation Instant Breakfast for breakfast, 'cuz it's easy. Lunch is usually leftovers from dinner the night before, or sandwiches if there are no leftovers. Dinner is usually a full-on meal. In between I typically have two granola bars during a class to keep me going, and if I'm at home I'm always snacking on nachos or something to keep me going. I don't stay full for long.

I usually get in all three meals, even back in school. At least two are pretty filling meals too. I also snack a lot any other time, and since I don't sleep much, that's a lot of snacking! I guess I have a fast metabolism as well since I typically surprise people with how much I can eat; but I'm pretty fit too. =p

I eat it all. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Snack(x2). Lots of fruit and veggie is gooood.

During the week I generally have two meals a day (lunch, dinner) with plenty of snacks in between. But at the weekend I only have 1 meal a day, this down to me getting up mid-afternoon every Saturday and Sunday. I still have plenty of snacks during the weekend so I never go hungry.

Up until recently, I never had time for breakfast, and skipped it entirely. Lunch is usually my biggest meal of the day (I eat out), then dinner consists of leftovers from whatever I cooked on the weekend. It's a habit I need to break, but I usually eat a snack before I go to bed. If I don't I'm starving when I wake up in the morning, and I don't have time to eat before I head off to work (1 1/2 hour commute).

Because I began eating lunch later, I've started drinking some orange juice and having a small snack in the morning when I get to work. It's not terribly healthy, but I couldn't make it to lunch without something on my stomach.

I have five full meals which are composed of a protein source accompanied by either complex carbs or healthy fats. Usually I'll throw in some fruit or greens. I also have a shake around my workout and a bedtime snack. At a lean 200 lbs and growing, I typically consume upwards of 4000 kcals a day.

Today will look something like this:

Breakfast: 1/2 cup (dry) of oatmeal, protein shake, berries
Brunch: can of tuna on two potato rolls, spinach
Workout: protein shake
Post-workout: 1/2 boboli with 1/2 lb lean beef and green peppers
Lunch: 1/2 lb beef with cheddar, fish oil, broccoli
Dinner: 4 scrambled eggs, fish oil
Bedtime: peanut butter and cottage cheese, protein shake, fish oil

My cholesterol is in the 130s, in case anyone was wondering.

For me it really comes and goes day by day. Some days I don't eat that much some days I just feel like I almost do nonstop eating. There's entire mornings where I've taken snacks from my friends through out class, grabed a donut between class, ate a decent sized lunch with a few guys and after all of that I still want to eat (although in my mind I think I'm overdoing it o_O).

Most of the time I tend to eat in smal amounts but frequently because my metabolism uses up the sugars rediculously quickly -_-

I usually have a light breakfast in the morning followed by a light lunch while I'm at school. I don't have many breaks during my busier days at class, so I'm not able to have a balanced meal during some days. Dinner is typically the healthiest meal for me.

I eat roughly 5 times a day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks somewhere in the middle. My normal "meals" are fairly small portioned, also.

My eating schedule is as follows:

7AM- Wake up, drink a cup of coffee with some kind of fruit. Head to work
1PM- Hour lunch break. Make a sandwich with chips or eat a bowl of cereal or two.
6:30PM - Dinner time. Will either cook something or eat out, depending on my mood.

I drink lots of liquids throughout the day since I'm always more thirsty than hungry. ;_;

I wish I had a fast metabolism... My metabolism is too fucking slow.

Usually just dinner, and sometimes a small lunch. Im so shit for time lately that dinner is just an excuse to wind down at the end of the day.

This doesn't mean that I don't snack every so often, but as far as big meals go I just get one.

Since my work schedule is completely random thanks to being employed in retail, I usually have two bigs meals before and after my shift, spending my lunch break ragging on management. On my off days I'll actually enjoy a full breakfast, then a light lunch and dinner to keep me going the rest of the day.

typically I'm eating one meal a day if I remember to even do that or my wife asks if I'm hungry. I've never been one who does a lot of eating on a regular basis, but on occasion I have been known to eat more than once a day (typically while on vacations).
And why the reason for not so many meals? I am a rather picky eater. There are many things that my wife likes to prepare that I cannot stand (and sometimes can't even stand being around when they are being prepared/cooked). So I'll duck outside for a bit until the aroma dissipates from the rooms and then go on doing whatever.
But in the interim I manage to have my beverages that keep me going day to day.

I usually have a drink of milk in the morning and then a light dinner. I think my metabolism is pretty fucked up because somehow that, combined with the fact that I walk everywhere and do some moderate exercise, seems to keep my weight just nicely maintained. Not only that but sometimes on days where I eat unhealthily and about three times as much as normal I actually lose weight, despite sitting around on my arse watching films or playing games.

As for fluids, I actually have a constant headache because I never feel thristy and so forget to drink something. I usually only drink when I'm feeling really parched.

I used to get really sick if I ate breakfast after sports practice, so I got into the habit of not eating any. Lunch if I have the time I'll grab something but I usually just graze on whatevers in the cupboard from when I get home till I get to sleep.

And water. Lots and lots of water. I only drink water unless I'm going out drinking with friends. Probably 7 or 8 litres a day. Never been a tea or coffee person.

As a musician, I'm lucky to get two meals a day. Especially this semester there have been many times when I might drink coffee and have some yogurt in the morning and then not eat anything until I get back to my apartment at 10 that night. It's terribly unhealthy, but oftentimes there's not much I can do about it.

I have Symphony rehearsal three days a week during "lunch time" (ie: 12 noon), so I pretty much don't eat lunch anymore. Usually I have to practice at the times when I would have an early dinner, but if there's somebody else around that hasn't eaten then I will get to eat out at about 7pm.

On the rare occasion that I have the luxury to cook myself something, I go all out. I'll make homemade mashed potatoes, chicken, spaghetti...you name it. That generally happens about 4 times a month :(.

I eat a decent meal once a day, maybe twice or none depending on how I'm feeling. I usually like to cook dinner, but since NOBODY ever does anything where ever I live I cook = I clean. It's fine with me, but sucks big time where "wheres dinner?" scenario kicks in. Thats when I don't eat, cause I just lose all motivation to do anything.

I vary anywhere from 1 meal a day to 7 tiny meals a day. Depends on what kind of day it is.
On a typical work day, it would be 2 small "snack" size meals and 2 big meals, lunch and dinner.

Usually i eat once a day + snacks at night. Don't have time in the morning for breakfast.

Also, i drink an energy drink and probably 2-3 diet cokes every day.

i DO eat three times, but i wouldn't say they're "square meals". it's more like: breakfast/lunch at 12-ish or 1, dinner at 9:15/9.30pm, then a snack/very small meal anywhere from 11pm-2/3am. yea i know, it's screwed up. :P

I have weird habits...sometimes I eat 3 meals a day...sometimes 2...sometimes 4 (the 4th one would occur at a really late time, like after midnight)...I know that the irregularity of my meals is not healthy...especially when I don't eat for 8 hours after having a poptart....

I eat when I'm hungry. I don't always eat breakfast, lunch, I grab whatever I can find. Somethin quick. Dinner, I eat a little bit of what we have. And ocassionaly i'll have like a handful of chips at night. If that even.

I usually eat lunch and supper. This is mainly because of the fact that I rarely get up early enough for breakfast. By the time I wake up its 11 to 11:30am...

Keeps me away from the Fruit Loops at least.

I currently have like three meals a day. But since I heard that it's better for your health and your body to have more meals (like three main meals and two or three smaller meals during the day), I will try to eat more regularly. I won't eat more, it's just that I will try to eat something every two or three hours. Not at night, of course, because that's when I sleep =D

I usually eat two meals a day. That mostly consists of Peas and a Biscuit or Butterbeans and a Biscuit. And Cheetos. Love some cheetos. ;p Lately though, I've barely been eating one meal. I haven't had much of an appetite after having my baby.

Generally when I have an income, I eat pretty regular. Breakfast, Middle of the day and a meal in the evening. I don't really have set times. If I'm gonna be up late, I have a later evening snack too. I find that once I get hungry I tend to be unable to function as well. However, when I have no income, I tend to only eat once a day to save on food. I get used to it once my stomach becomes accustomed. Luckily I might be getting a job today. So I'll be able to start eating properly.

Gechmir, I do the same, but mine probably approaches freakish, as I'm both tall and spend a lot of time with athletics. I'm also a slow eater. Between those 2 things and eating (dare I say) annoyingly healthy and well-prepared foods, it's nearly impossible to not remain trim while preserving lean muscle mass.

Four light meals a day.

Breakfast - Bagel and a Coffee

Brunch - Sandwich and a coffee

Lunch - I work at a korean restuarant so... Bogogi and water, seafood tofu soup and alot of water, bibim-bop and water. One or the other, I can't eat taht much in one sitting.

Dinner - instant ramen and what ever left overs my family leaves for me.

Guess the bogogi isn't that light, but i do need the energy to cope with having to bring meals all over the restuarant.

Stonebowls are heavy:(

I don't eat breakfast on Tuesdays and Thursdays because by the time I wake up and have to get to where I have to, I only have time for a cup of coffee and a muffin. Otherwise it's usually three square meals for me.

I don't really have any exact eating schedule---I just break it all the time. Usually I eat 3 times a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), but I often skipped lunch. Sometimes I sleep from 6 pm until morning; that's skipping dinner, of course. I take snacks if I watch TV or surfing Internet; that makes 4 times a day. Sometimes I ever take up to 7 times a day. That's when I have nothing to do. I don't eat really much for one time, yet I rarely feel hungry. That's why I often skip lunch. My mother usually yells at me about skipping lunch, but wtf.

I eat all the time actually. Mostly junk food. Though when I do eat a real meal I only eat around 4 times a day or so.

I don't even eat in the morning, I just have lunch at work and supper when I get home. Sometimes I might have a snack before bed.

That should tell you something! If you don't eat something every few hours, you are in fact screwing up your metabolism. You could eat five times what you eat for dinner spread over five meals and you'd look and feel a hell of a lot better.

One meal a day plus sports? You probably don't have much lean mass left to preserve.


I know I'm getting preachy, but some of the posts in this thread are horrifying.

Whenever I feel hungry.. XD. I'd say about 4-6 times a day.

I mostly stick to lunch and dinner, but sometimes I skip lunch as well, and just go for the dinner.

I don't understand the 'you need a breakfast, or otherwise it's unhealthy!11111' comment I sometimes get when I tell people I skip breakfast. I've been doing it since I was 12 and I'm rarely ill.

I don't really have a regular eating schedule - It's entirely situational. During the school term I tend to skip breakfast, and I usually have a massive lunch, some kind of unhealthy snack in the afternoon and possibly something for dinner. Outside of term I'll eat whenever anyone around me eats.

One notable exception to both of the above would have to be my week in Russia; I had some horrible stomach thing going on and I had absolutely no appetite. I actually went two days without eating a single thing, and by the end of the week I'd lost at least a stone in weight. :( The food was pretty horrifying, to be honest, so that might have contributed. HERE HAVE SOME UNLABELED MEAT AND AN EASTERN EUROPEAN ROOT VEGETABLE.

Nowadays I eat when I remember to eat, which is extremely unhealthy because it usually occurs in the early evening and by the time I get to eat, I ingest more than I would if I ate at the regular 3 times a day schedule.

it would depend if it was something i like around the house! But I'm bad about eating stuff up in a day so maybe somewhere between 5 to 10 a day

I am not a big eater at all. Depending on how I feel I might just go a day without eating. So how often I eat can vary from 1-2 times a day or once every couple of days.

I eat randomly through out the day. The only time I eat a meal is when I wake up, or during the night time for some reason.

I eat clean 5 times a day, 6 days a week to keep my metabolism going and my energy levels up. I never go hungry this way or get cravings. People that eat 1 or twice a day are usually your typical fat asses that over indulge come supper time. TRUTH. You're only fucking up your metabolism that way, and all those extra calories you take in in one sitting get stored as fat. Why lie.

Because of my work, I'll only get maybe just 1-2 meals a day, with some snacks in between when I can. Weekends I eat smaller meals like 4-5.

1-2 meals a day. Weekends sometimes I'll skip a meal, or skip all weekend and just have a very light snack or two. Being a CS major, I don't really expend very much energy =/. I just sit in an almost lightless environment trying to think up ways to get out of my coding homework.

Oddly enough I'm insanely thin. 5'10" & 135lbs last I knew.

I used to be able to eat just once a day, because I wanted to save money instead of waste it at school when I could just eat at home. Within the past month or so, I stopped doing that and now eat whenever I have the urge. I don't really eat three full large meals though. It's always a light and skimpy breakfast on school days, or a meal-sized one when there are no early morning lectures. I eat a bunch of snacks and get hungry again at dinner, so I think I eat 2 meals on average, then snack a lot again until I sleep.

I'm waifishly skinny and weigh about 90 lbs. last I checked.

I eat 3 main meals a day, though recently I've been missing breakfast a bit. Doesn't help when you have classes all morning.

I always have lunch and dinner, and maybe a few snacks in between. I try to keep the snacks as healthy as possible, lately I've been eating a lot of dried fruit, which is both sweet and fills me up.

Most days I will eat three times that resemble meals... but I have a small stomach and a fast metabolism. So three times is the minimum for me... usually I'll eat small amounts many times a day, and typically I go with 5 small meals a day.

I generally can't eat anything for about 2 hours after waking up -- my stomach just won't have it. I'll feel nauseous if I eat too soon. Sometimes I can eat some yogurt or cold cereal, but that's only if I wake up feeling hungry, which isn't typical.

From there, I usually have a mid-morning snack, then lunch (which is usually some terrible fast food because I'm usually at work), and then I'll have a cookie or something for a mid-afternoon snack. Dinner is generally a larger meal...but I usually can't eat huge helpings. I save space to have another snack later in the night before I go to bed.

whenever i'm hungry...which will depend XD
sometimes i'll eat buffets 3x a day, sometimes i won't eat for like 2-3 days (usually after i did that buffet thing)

Three square meals a day is a horrible standard that should get corrected but probably never will. =/

I eat 5-6 meals a day. Roughly 2.5-3 hours apart. That way I never eat more than my body can use at once and my metabolism burns steadily throughout the day; more prone to burning fat than lean tissue. I can eat roughly 1.5 times more this way (without gaining or losing weight) than I can with three square meals.

I eat once a day, anything goes, be it a double double and fries from In-n-Out or just something I slapped together. As long as it fills me up to full I'm fine.

While I agree with you that it is very unhealthy, some people honestly don't have the time or money to eat properly, nor the knowledge. While going through college, I simply had none, which did result in my body gaining weight due to my metabolism slowing down. It wasn't until I started working out and studying about nutrition that I realized what i was doing is bad. I honestly was never educated in that area, now i really wish they did teach more of it in school.

Now I eat 5-6 times a day, although one of those meals is typically just some whey protein and a boiled egg or something. Since I work 4 days a week, 12 hours a day, I typically bring small but healthy meals, ie* yogurt with some fruit will be one meal, an orange and a whole wheat bagel w/ peanut butter as another etc.. and then whey protein as the third meal while at work*. Breakfast is usually oatmeal *sticky food*, and some shredded wheats and bran, with egg whites mixed in the oatmeal. Right before bed is another time i'll eat something, usually a glass or two of milk, and maybe something small. Sugar is something to stay away from in the evening though if you are trying to lose weight, as sugar activates insulin, which will make your body store fat.


I try to hold down a good pattern for at least 5 days out of the week. If you don't eat properly while bodybuilding, not only will you gain little to no muscle, but chances are your body will start to break down muscles*

Typically i get a lot of people asking me at work about tips how to lose weight. Women especially seem to get the idea that the more meals they skip, the better. It usually floors them when i explain how doing so screws up their metabolism and works against them.

That's good shit Garret. I really wish the three meals a day route could get abolished. With proper education (and smart, convenient ways to work these meals into anyone's busy schedule) I bet something like this would make a world of difference in any country. At work I wince whenever someone tells me they eat there three meals a day... Worse yet: Skipping breakfast.

I eat three times a day during school, for obvious servery opening reasons (shakes fist), but when I'm at home, it's just brunch and dinner. Great for losing weight because I once calculated with my dad just how many calories I would eat during my stay at home and it would round out to 1000. =o

Once a day, one big meal in the evening. My Dad is like this as well, and just had a fitness test, and he was very proud to say that he had the highest score, and beat out all off the twenty somethings. Hope I continue to follow in his footsteps

I eat maybe 4 times a day. Breakfast, Lunch, After-school Supper and then Late-night Dinner. My Breakfast, Lunch and Suppers' tend to be really little compared to my Dinner. I don't know, I don't really feel a drain in energy until the end of the day, sorta like a suppression thing.

2 years ago, when I was super Health & Nutrition man, I ate a clean 6-8 meals daily. Last year I cut it down to 4-5 because of work commitments. This year it's a solid 4 most times, but on occasion 2-3 has had to be it due to late wakeups (freezing weather, you can understand).

Needless to say, my teeth thank me very much.

When my stomach starts rumbling then it would be eating for me . That makes 5 times a day

I eat three very large meals a day. I'd eat 5 - 8 times a day if I had the time, but I don't. I usually try to eat 3,000 - 3,500 calories per day, seriously a 2,000 calorie diet would kill me :(

no kidding i eat only once per day. at ~7-8pm. all day long nothing.