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?
Excellent post, Katie! When I told my wise older brother about some restrictive eating concerns that I have struggled with in the past, he simply advised me to “do what feels good.” Not in a hedonistic, irresponsible sense, but in terms of perceiving eating as neither pain nor pleasure, but as a simple, deep necessity. The process of responsibly yielding to the needs of my own body and resisting comparing my dietary needs to those of others is enormously liberating and energizing.
wow,I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels this way/has problems…thank you katie!!!!!!!!!!!
Great post and I definitely agree! I eat 6 times a day, small meals and people look at me like I am crazy, but i’m relatively active and often get hungry (:
thank you for posting this katie. I am in the midst of overcoming my labeled ‘pre-eating disorder’, and I often find myself comparing how much I eat to others. I often find myself worried that others will think I am eating too much, even if they are eating more than me, or less healthy food. I know that what I am eating is healthy, and what my body needs to grow, but it is hard for me to remember this when eating next to somebody who is eating less at that particular moment. Thank you for reminding me that I shouldnt be doing this, and that I need to just pay attention to what my body needs to fight the negative thinking and learn to love me for me:)
I tend to eat 3 good size meals a day, along with another 3 snacks and more if I go running in the morning. This post was such an eye-opener! I wish the media/society thought the way you do Katie, there would be a lot less people who would have to struggle with eating disorders and body image.
Thank you so much for posting this!:) Lately I have been thinking that I eat too much. And I’ve been worrying about it. But then I thought about it, I bike/run and/or lift weights about 5 or 4 days a week. And I am running around doing arronds like a crazy woman most days!! I am very small and petite, I am actually trying to gain weight, but I think I also have a fast metabolism. I eat 3 good sized meals plus 2 good sized snacks (between lunch and dinner, and after dinner). Plus taste testing some days when I am experimenting with new recipes:P But I have learned to listen to my body and to not compare myself to others around me. Thanks again!! P.S.- I absolutely love your recipes:)
I’m a grazer. It always drove my parents nuts when I was growing up because they lived by the “clear your entire plate” rule and insisted on buying the all-you-can-eat salad bars when we went out to eat! When I tried to follow those rules, I would literally get sick! Thankfully, they finally realized this and stopped trying to make me eat so much. I do get enough to eat and while I probably don’t eat enough of them right now, I love fruits and veggies, so at least I’m not always eating junk food that I baked. 😀
I don’t know if I can even quantify my eating patterns since going back to school. Classes interfere with eating times. Having a 1.5 hr commute each way interferes with eating times. Working shift work interferes with eating times. It’s a struggle to figure out how much to pack with me on a daily basis, and then when I might be hungry or able to eat. Add in a messed up sleeping schedule, and sometimes my first meal is lunch simply because of when I got out of bed. Sometimes I’m a grazer, sometimes I have 3 square meals. Sometimes I’m famished all day, sometimes I just nibble. But it’s all good – I just go with the flow.
Hi Katie!
I loved your post. I recently found your blog but haven’t commented before. You are so inspiring; I wish I were as strong as you. I made your cookie dough baked oatmeal for one and it was yummy. I plan on trying the snickerdoodle dip soon. 🙂
Like many of the others, I am also a recovered anorexic and I do often compare how much I eat to others. When I used to eat in the dining halls with my friends, I would eat a large lunch and dinner because I was trying to get my money’s worth ($12.50 for a meal swipe! can you believe it?). It wasn’t a big deal then because everyone ate a lot, even though they were probably consuming a lot more calories than me. I actually lost a lot of weight in my first year of college because the only vegan food available was usually the salad bar. Now this summer I have a job which forces me to eat lunch with my coworkers. My boss always eats the same lunch: 1 large grapefruit and a tiny piece of fish. So now I have been eating smaller lunches because I am embarrassed to eat a lot in front of her and the others. She is super skinny too. One day she made a comment like “I can’t believe you ate all that!”. Mind you, my lunch that day had been about a cup or so of barley salad and several cups of lettuce topped with some roasted carrots. It kind of bothered me even though I know it was not that many calories and I am very active and I need the calories. It’s also hard for me because my mom is always dieting (or failing to) and my dad eats like a bird, always leaving a few bites on his plate. People never seem to take into account the fact that the healthy vegan foods I eat are usually pretty low in calories! I feel much better when I eat smaller meals (no blood sugar crash) but I can also go for a long time without getting hungry. Sometimes I eat even when I’m not hungry just because I know I need the calories. I usually have a small breakfast because a large breakfast makes me tired. When I come home from work, I am often hungry and snack a lot for the rest of the day, sometimes eating too much. It was a bad habit I picked up but the only way I could gain weight when I was recovering from my eating disorder. Do you ever find that you get physically bloated from eating a lot? And does your heart race if you eat a lot of sugar/carbs at once?
Sorry this is so long!
Hi Laura!
I’m sorry about your co-worker :(. It sounds like maybe she is going through her own issues and probably is a bit jealous that you can eat so much more than she can and still be trim… but obviously I am not a therapist, so that’s just a guess!
I don’t really know about the heart racing thing, but yes I do sometimes feel icky if I eat too much bulk. That’s why calorie-dense foods like nuts or oils are so important–because they give you calories without all the bulk. I sometimes have to watch myself and not eat too much of foods like cauliflower or cabbage… but sometimes they taste so good that I risk the tummy ache afterwards!
I’m totally a grazer. I graze so much that I can’t even eat dinner (sometimes, let alone lunch).
I’ll eat breakfast, lunch at 11-2 then snack. Snack until I’m full then dinner time rolls around and I’m not hungry!
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