Or maybe you don’t eat at the “right” times?
Just like the idea that different people don’t need to like the same food, different people also don’t need to eat the same amount of food. Looking to others as a way of determining how much to eat is a very, very dangerous idea. No two people have the exact same body and lifestyle, and therefore no two people should be eating the exact same amount.
This was my breakfast today: Sugar Cookie Oatmeal.
I ate it, post-run, along with strawberry slices and peanut butter. Pre-run breakfast consisted of fresh watermelon and a bunch of pistachios. After breakfast, I talked with my little sister on the phone. She’d just woken up and was eating her own breakfast: a single container of yogurt.
Whose eating style is correct?
Both of ours! I probably eat about twice as much as my sister, and yet we’re both perfectly healthy. She’s shorter than me, has a slower metabolism, and doesn’t go running; therefore she needs less. If she were to eat like me, she’d probably end up with the world’s worst stomachache. And if I were to eat like her, I’d be so hungry I could eat an elephant. (Don’t worry, fellow vegans. I said I could, not I would.)
The mainstream media tells us there is also a “right” number of times to eat: five or six small meals, divided throughout the day. But once again, I have to argue that no one should take this advice as something set in stone. Do not trust society to tell you what or when to eat; experiment and find out what works best for you. I think eating every 3-4 hours works best for many people because it keeps energy levels up. But if you find that your energy doesn’t drag even if you go six hours without food, why should you feel like you have to eat anyway?
As an example, let’s use my friend Sarah.
She normally eats a small breakfast, followed by a big lunch and dinner, and she rarely ever snacks during the day.
Unless I make Lemon Poppyseed Muffins.
Those, she can’t resist.
On the other hand, I usually eat six meals a day and will almost always taste-test recipes in between meals as well. You’d be hard pressed to find a time my mouth is not stuffed with food. Does this mean one of us is eating incorrectly? No, not at all! It just means we’re different people with different needs.
Do you eat three meals per day? Or six smaller meals? Or maybe you’re a grazer?
And do you ever compare the amount you eat to what others eat?
I definitely agree with you, diets aren’t one-size-fits-all! I prefer to eat a small breakfast of fruit, a light lunch (like tofu lettuce wraps, or soup and salad for ex), and a big, yummy dinner of pasta or curry, etc. With snacks of nuts and dried fruit in between. This doesn’t include my frequent slip ups in the sweets category, I can put away some chocolate.
I’m a runner/yogini/weightlifter and there are days where I’m so hungry I could eat my entire fridge, and there are other days where I don’t need as much fuel. It all depends on my activity, hormones, and other factors (big meal the night before, working out, blah blah blah). For me, I love sitting down to a giant meal so what works for me is 3 big meals a day plus 1 afternoon snack. I eat a lot of protein and fat and make sure the carbs are only high on my running days, and I try to avoid gluten and all dairy besides yogurt because of my IBS. I never used to sit down to a meal, and would just grab sugary snacks to eat, which led to me being nearly 70 pounds overweight. Now, by sitting down and actually having a meal, I watch my weight and have energy as well. 🙂
BTW: I made your blondies a few weeks ago and my sister, who is emphatically NOT vegan, couldn’t stop eating them! Even after I told her they were made with chickpeas! 🙂
That makes me sooooo happy! I haven’t tried them on my sister yet. Next time she visits, I will have to!
This post is just what I needed today.
I eat a lot compared to my sister, but she doesn’t move much, and I am recovering from disordered eating and go on runs/bike rides few times a week.
It’s really important not to compare our metabolisms and our bodies, because we are all unique in our needs. We just have to listen to what our bodies are telling us.
i know this is sort of not connected to anything, seeing as you wrote this like a year ago, but i thought i’d like to reply – i totally get what you mean! everyone in my family (we’re a big crowd) eats differently and no one comments about anyone else’s eating, which is nice. we all know “eat when hungry, stop when full” and we all trust our own selves. good luck with your health!! 🙂
Wow, it was weird getting an email about reply to this comment 😀
Thanks for the well wishes 🙂 Thankfully, I am recovered, no longer working out regularly and definitely not comparing my eats to somebody else’s. Life is good. Food is good 🙂
I know this is way way later, but I’m just now finding this. Thank you for this comment. I eat so much more compared to my two roommates (1 never works out and 1 works out 3 days a week). I workout 5 days a week with weightlifting, circuit/HIIT and running. I am also recovering from disordered eating (still in the long process) but your comment made me feel better about how much I eat and not comparing my eating habits to anyone else’s and not feeling bad at the amount of fuel I’m giving my body. I eat very healthy foods too. Thanks again!
I’m a total grazer….. I eat EXTREMELY healthy when I graze though…. I took it really hard when one of my coworkers said “Gawd, you eat aalllll the time. I can’t believe how you stay small. It’s not fair.”
Sure, they skipped breakfast (bad idea in the first place) but ate a huge fatty lunch, Snickers, and a pop by mid day. And they don’t exercise at all…. I on the other hand had ran before work, had oatmeal, a spinach salad (dry), an apple with cinnamon, and eaten carrots all day. Sure I always had something in my mouth but seriously?!?!?! It hurt my feelings. I work so hard.
You are inspiring me to be more ME! 🙂
Same here! I graze all the time, but I absolutely watch what I eat and I eat healthy and work out. People are like, “you eat all the time” or “are you eating again? If I did that I’d be huge!!”. And it’s kind of annoying. I’ve maintained my weight for years because I know what works for me. Besides, it’s about calories in and calories out. It takes effort to stay in shape!
I completely agree with this! I hate when people comment on what I eat, because they don’t realize how ridiculously healthy it is! I eat incredibly mindfully; if food is going in my mouth it’s always something vegan/non processed/healthy and I’m eating it because I’m hungry or about to have a big work out.
In other news, I have overweight extended family members who tease me for being vegan all the time, and then try and tell me that I’m too small. I’m just doing what works for me. I like to be in shape, and not overweight so I can feel good about myself! And clearly, there are a lot of different foods that we “health nuts” (I hate that term because it implies there’s something wrong with wanting to treat your body well) can eat and still maintain a balanced diet–hellooo deep dish cookie pie!!
Long story short, I agree with you Julie!
I usually eat 3 meals a day, with an afternoon snack. Sometimes I add a nighttime snack if my dinner wasn’t good enough. When I first started running, I was eating six meals a day, but it was really because I was so hungry all the time, not because some Oprah-sanctioned doctor told me to. I think my body was adjusting to the increased calorie burn. I would sit around craving bread.
I usually don’t eat breakfast until 10 or 11, lunch at 3 and dinner late. It’s what works for me, and I usually snack once or twice but I prefer hefty meals! Since I tend to eat high fat and low sugar my blood sugar seems to stay pretty stable so I don’t need to eat as often. Great post katie!!
Oh, I compare aaall the time! Im really trying to figure out how I should eat to feel my very best! What i do know is that I dont like big meals, I rather eat often. I often (ey, make that always) bring a dark chocolate bar in my bag so I can have a piece when my blood sugar is going down.
I also know I have a hard time eating enough, which only leads me to have mini-binges later on. And that is not good at all. So I try as hard as I can to find balance, and eat right for ME!
Thanks for sharing this wonderful post Katie!
This is such a great post, all too often bloggers, including myself are criticised for not eating enough and it frustrates me that we can’t see that every one is different! As you say we all have different needs. Thanks for highlighting a really important area 🙂
i’ve recently started to eat 3 meals a day with small snacks in between. i used to be a grazer but now that i eat so much protein, i’m just not as hungry as often!
I think comparison in blogging and life when it comes to food really upsets me in whichever context I view it. Either someone is skinnier than me, moving less and eating more, which just makes me hate my body for not being as efficient as theirs in terms of metabolism, or when I’m injured and basically sedentary there are loads of bloggers eating less than me (I could seriously eat ALL the time, huge quantities, whether I’m running 100 miles a week or none, and I hate that…but a lot of my hunger is emotional) and doing more, which makes me equate food with exercise and think I don’t deserve to eat unless I run. Then I just end up bingeing because I can’t face not ‘deserving’ any food.
I don’t know how anyone, inactive or not, survives on just a yoghurt or an apple or whatever for breakfast. I wish I could!
xxx