How often do you eat, and how much?

Comments

• flybaby

  It is said that the ideal time between meals is at least 4 hours, exceapt fruit which is digested faster. But as I know this is for those of on a cooked diet. I dunno, if it is the same for us. Well, another thing I can say is don’t eat until you feel something is in your stomach. The meals should be as big as you feel pleasantly full, but not as full as that you cannot move or want to sleep after eating.
• Vienna

  I find I need something every couple of hours, so I eat at breakfast, mid-morning, lunch, mid-afternoon and dinner. I’d like to eat less frequently but I just don’t seem to be able to at the moment. Doesn’t help that I use insulin so if I misjudge my dose I HAVE to eat!

  I generally have fruit for breakfast, quite a lot eg a whole melon or half a larger melon and fruit for snacks. Then big salads with a couple of pieces of fruit for lunch and dinner
• teade Raw Newbie

  I have struggled alot with overeating… your body becomes so used to feeling starved that when you sit to eat, you overindulge because you fear being starved again (at least this idea has helped me, I can’t really speak for you.) Now, I get by on a little something about every 4 hours.. and usually I’m satisfied with something small (unless its around lunch time cause I guess I burn more energy so I eat a bit more than breakfast. They say your stomach is as big as your fist… but I tend to eat more than that at lunch.

  But I also have been doing these positive affirmations everyday that help. I repeat to myself ‘I listen to my body’ and I’m beginning to hear it now and go by that. haha. I hope I don’t sound too crazy.
• Luna blu Raw Newbie

  I try to eat every 2 to 3 hours. 3 main meals, and the rest just smaller snackes. Something I learned when i was body building. That keeps your metabolism running! I just go with the flow. I find if I don’t fuel up every few hours, I will get too hungry and pig out when i do eventually get to eating. Also, that can lead me to eating the wrong things!

  It doesn’t always work out that way though!
• redflag

  I come from a background of disordered eating, so I have set myself up with an eating schedule. I’m trying to learn how to listen to my body, but for now, I eat at set times, 5 times throughout the day. That helps prevent me from both over and undereating. Also, as Luna blu said, eating frequently is good for the metabolism.
• pianissima Raw Newbie

  wow. there are just so many THEORIES of appropriate times to eat. do you think our bodies were designed to eat on a schedule? i actually don’t. i belive we should eat when we are hungry. stop when we are full. in time i’ve gotten into a better rhythm, but it’s come from experience and mindfulness, not opinion.
• Oliveroblong

  I agree with Luna Blu, Moth. Not only do I feel better when I eat every two to three hours, I get downright pissy if I don’t! :) I usually start the morning with a heavy duty green smoothie and add hemp seed for extra protein. Then have maybe a salad, collard wrap or veggie nori roll and then a small salad and green smoothie for dinner. And then fruit in between if I feel like it! I run and do yoga and weight lifting so sometimes I eat more than that!! But mostly, I listen to my body and if I’m hungry, I eat. Also, if you are new to raw it takes time for your body to find a “rhythm”. I remember that I ate ALOT and often when I first went raw. So don’t feel to out of whack if that’s the case, it will level out. :)
• MOTH Raw Newbie

  Yep guys, that’s what I’m looking for; a steady rhythm :-) Thanks for the feedback! I like reading about how other people “do it.”
• germin8 Raw Master

  I agree with flybaby. To answer the question about cooked vs. raw… well, if you start off with raw, you begin digestion. If it’s all cooked, I think digestion is delayed 30 minutes. (Sorry, I don’t remember where I learned that.)

  But, it’s good to wait 5 hours between meals. Gives your digestive system a rest. We eat 2 meals a day. And I try not to snack… but we don’t try too hard.

  We eat huge meals! Someone mentioned to us, “you two are thin, but yet you have a healthy appetite”. On the otherhand, my coworkers probably wonder if I eat (because I don’t eat at work often, given the 2 meals a day). hehe

  And eat before 6PM… which is when your digestive system is not running at its peak.

  Yes, I think our bodies are designed to eat at regular times. I guess you can set that on your own… just be regular.
• kminty3 Raw Newbie

  after my master cleanse I was able to re-evaluate my eating times and set them more with my natural rhythm. For me, I keep it liquid till noon or 1, then usually have a piece of fruit, another around 3 oclock.. maybe a raw cookie or two around 4:30, then a nice substantial dinner (raw weekdays, vegan cooked weekends) at about 6:30. I try not to eat after that.
• Winona Raw Newbie

  I’ve been raw 1 month. I eat every 3 hours usually, and it’s often fruit or veg and dip or salad. Smoothie for breakfast, 1 piece fruit to snack, fruit or veg for lunch, fruit for snack, salad and nut or avocado for dinner, fruit for snack.
• mallorymoore707

  Moth, how long have you been raw? I’m really new but I seem to be having the same questions and problems as you, I noticed in another post and this one. I sometimes feel like I’m eating too much so when I try to cut back I think it might be too much cause then I eat something bad.
• Winona Raw Newbie

  Hi mallory, i reccommend checking a calorie counter website to get an idea of how many cups of food you’d need to eat each day to meet your caloric requirement. for example, you could eat 3-6 heads of lettuce, 13 cups of fruit (any other than avocado), 5 cups alfalfa sprouts, 5 cups asparagus, and 5 cups broccoli – all of that food is only 1660 calories!! I did the math and added the calories for each category just now. (Assuming fruit was 83 calories per cup – some are lower or higher, depending on the fruit). That’s 23 cups of fruit/veg, and 14 cups of lettuce/alfalfa. in one day. You need to take into account any fat (oil/nuts), but by eating this much fruit/veg you might not crave as much fat.
• mallorymoore707

  Thank you Winona. Since I’ve started raw I havent been paying as much attention to exactly how many calories I’m actually eating, I will for sure start!
• MOTH Raw Newbie

  Hey Mallory! I’ve been 100% raw for 4 months now. I’m pretty physically active and lately I’ve been feeling dizzy/lightheaded during the day, and hearing some of what other people eat I’m realizing that I might not be eating enough to sustain a feeling of grounding. Yet it’s hard for me to eat more then I am currently and not feel “bad” about it.

  Here is what I’ve been eating:

  breakfast: 2 bananas, OR an apple and banana, OR some pineapple or other fruit.

  lunch: Moderately sized salad with olive oil and other veg

  snack: banana or some other fruit

  dinner: Huge salad with olive oil, other veg, and sometimes an avocado thrown in there.

  Snack: more fruit

  Today I was at work and I totally felt myself lifting off my feet, very lightheaded in general, rather dizzy.

  I am also on a tight budget and am anal about my “size,” so I tend to watch what I eat very carefully. I stopped doing green smoothies because I felt like I was using up too much food for one meal… I like to chew, too.

  I know it’s a journey…
• mallorymoore707

  I know how you feel with the weight and size situation. I feel like I would always be totally satisfied if only lost five pounds… but of course five pounds lighter and I wish the same thing again. If you’ve been more active latley that than maybe you need to eat more food, but its hard. I would like to be more active and just eat less… if only it was that easy. good luck!!