How you set up your daily primal eating page 2

[peril]

Eating increases insulin. It takes about three hours for it to subside and for leptin to dominate. If you are grazing or eating 5-6 times per day you will be in a constant state of elevated insulin. Insulin resistance is sure to follow

Eat at most three meals per day. No snacking. Lots of people comfortably eat one meal per day

[Cwick]

Eating increases insulin. It takes about three hours for it to subside and for leptin to dominate. If you are grazing or eating 5-6 times per day you will be in a constant state of elevated insulin. Insulin resistance is sure to follow

Eat at most three meals per day. No snacking. Lots of people comfortably eat one meal per day

Peril, do you think everyone's pancreas responds the same? When I eat 3 or fewer meals away my insulin levels are all over the place. I have to eat bigger meals so they are too high, then I get so hungry in between that they drop too low. I feel like I have to keep my insulin in check by eating 6 small meals, wouldn't really call it grazing because I always keep my macros in mind without counting cals. This allows me to have plenty of energy in the gym and stay very lean.

But I do agree that 3 meals work for some, my wife, for example, eats 3 times a day and stays very lean as well. I just think its worth listening to your body, or if you are really curious as I was use a glucometer to check blood sugar levels between meals.

[devan]

There are no special rules or timings to eat food you can take it when you feel that you require eat But over eating will leave bad effect on your health So dont eat too much Try to eat less but energetic food only when you feel hunger

[peril]

Peril, do you think everyone's pancreas responds the same? When I eat 3 or fewer meals away my insulin levels are all over the place. I have to eat bigger meals so they are too high, then I get so hungry in between that they drop too low. I feel like I have to keep my insulin in check by eating 6 small meals, wouldn't really call it grazing because I always keep my macros in mind without counting cals. This allows me to have plenty of energy in the gym and stay very lean.

But I do agree that 3 meals work for some, my wife, for example, eats 3 times a day and stays very lean as well. I just think its worth listening to your body, or if you are really curious as I was use a glucometer to check blood sugar levels between meals.

No need for me to use a glucometer. I eat 1-3 meals per day without snacks. I'm active. I don't get hungry between meals. My metabolism works

Seems like you're confusing insulin and blood glucose. You are managing blood glucose by keeping your insulin high. Your metabolism sounds well and truly broken. A better approach is to eat foods that don't raise blood glucose so much so you don't risk insulin resistance

[cayla29s]

Since going primal, I only usually eat 3 large meals a day. Sometimes I'll snack if I don't want an actual meal. Typically I can go about 6 hours without eating this is a huge difference, before that I felt like I had to eat every 3 hours. This just screwed up my blood sugar even more.

[zoebird]

You know, i've done a wide variety of things. Growing up, I ate three meals and two snacks on average (one snack after school, another snack after dinner around 8 pm).

Then, you know, in university, I would have two meals a day plus snacks (often skipped breakfast). Then, when I met my husband, i was back to 3 meals a day, but breakfast was often a smoothie or just couple of pieces of fruit (i know! LOL). He often ate 5-6 times a day due to weight training stuff.

Then, you know, years later we become primal. And we seem to naturally reduce to 3 meals plus one snack no big deal. And now that we started IF, we are really two meals and a snack, or just two meals, and DH is often three meals and a snack in his window, or just three meals. It's fascinating, really.

My husband would ahve said like you -- he HAD to eat 5-6 meals a day. He used to be very insistent on that. But now he's like "hmm. I only feel like two meals today. . ." and so on. Interesting.

[Crabbcakes]

I totally mix it up, and always have, just naturally. Some days it is Warrior-style (nothing all day until the pig-out in the evening), some days grazing, some days 2 squares and a snack, with the odd fasting day (for either religious reasons or sometimes an intentional day off of food just for my little own health reasons) thrown in. Nothing is premeditated, I just go with the flow of my day and my hunger, but that go-with-my-own-flow thing is a strong personality trait of mine anyway - it is like I am the original unschooler or something. I do worst on totally planned, 3x/daily meals at specific times.

The thing that has made THE difference for me are the Primal food choices themselves - finally, a food palette that feeds my body well; I didn't have that knowledge before.

I think everybody needs to work out for themselves at what times to pull into the gas station for some fuel and how much they are going to put into the tank at that stop - I know if you would have advised me, personally, to do the 3x thing, you would have lost me the first few days. People are just too individual, as are their lives, their current health status, and so on. Some blanket statements can be made that apply universally like "a steady diet of Twinkies, Red Bull and pink-slime hot dogs will kill your health" but not the mealtime one.

[Cwick]

You know, i've done a wide variety of things. Growing up, I ate three meals and two snacks on average (one snack after school, another snack after dinner around 8 pm).

Then, you know, in university, I would have two meals a day plus snacks (often skipped breakfast). Then, when I met my husband, i was back to 3 meals a day, but breakfast was often a smoothie or just couple of pieces of fruit (i know! LOL). He often ate 5-6 times a day due to weight training stuff.

Then, you know, years later we become primal. And we seem to naturally reduce to 3 meals plus one snack no big deal. And now that we started IF, we are really two meals and a snack, or just two meals, and DH is often three meals and a snack in his window, or just three meals. It's fascinating, really.

My husband would ahve said like you -- he HAD to eat 5-6 meals a day. He used to be very insistent on that. But now he's like "hmm. I only feel like two meals today. . ." and so on. Interesting.

This is very interesting. I'm a huge gym rat, I do an 8 day split of 3 days power/strength, 1 day off, 3 days hypertrophy, 1 day off. Repeat. I change exercises every 2 cycles (16 days).

I Think because of the volume of training I am doing is a HUGE contributing factor in why I have to eat so often. All of my meals are fairly small, meat and nuts for breakfast, eggs or other good protein PWO, big ass salad for lunch, handful of nuts for a snack, meat and veggies for dinner, a zero carb, high protein snack 2 hours before bed.

It would be nearly impossible for me to gain weight eating this way. Since going primal 4 months ago, I lost 10 pounds in the first month (was already pretty lean around 9-10% bf), now I am 5-10, 180lbs, 7-8% bf.

I didn't go primal just for body composition reasons but it makes it easier to stick to it with the physical results.

So I just think the amount and frequency you eat has a lot to do with your lifestyle. If I didn't eat as much as I do (which is not many calories) I would shrink. But on off days sometimes I have to force myself to eat 3 or 4 times a day because I am just not hungry.