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 am totally a grazer when I’m home… when I’m at school and I’m way busier to think about eating all the time, I have to remind myself to eat more at meals to make sure I’m getting the nutrients I need. But you’re so right about focusing on your own needs, and it’s the same thing with body image in the media… people always wonder “why don’t I have legs like hers?” or “what does she eat to keep her stomach so flat?” The answer is 1. retouching and 2. everybody has a different body type, metabolism, genetic make-up, etc.!
TOTAL grazer! I work 12 hour shifts for the military and when I’m working I pack a 24-can camping cooler with food and eat something EVERY HOUR! ha, apple one hour, some yogurt the next, maybe a little meat and lettuce, ha. GRAZER!
The men I work with call me a rabbit and joke about how I am ” always stuffing my face”, but ive done the math before and they consume a Lot more calories in their two meals per watch than I do eating ‘healthy’ all day!
I try to tell my dad that! He thinks that if he skips breakfast, it’s good for his weightloss goals. But then he ends up eating three times the amount of dinner because he’s so hungry! 😕
I totally can’t get the husband to eat breakfast either! I have breakfast on the brain the MOMENT I wake up, while he won’t eat for hours, even if I offer to make food for him!!!
I typically eat 6 (or, if I’m awake for longer than usual, 7) meals a day… A HUGE breakfast, a similarly big mid-morning snack, a good-sized lunch, a smaller afternoon snack, a more modest dinner, and a small dessert… Works for me! My blood sugar stays most stable that way, and I get all shaky if I skip meals so I guess it’s pretty sensitive, actually. I do graze a bit in the afternoon and between meals, though, too!
Kind of embarrassing to admit, but since I am recovering from an ED, I do sometimes use the amount that others eat as a benchmark for how much I should be eating. I know I need more, so I always look at what my friends are eating… and then eat MORE. 🙂
Happy Monday!
Very interesting topic! I often compare my eats to others, and it can get depressing. my sister eats much less than me,but doesn’t exercise, although I find it tough sometimes, cos it makes me feel greedy for eating so much more. I like BIG volume-filled meals, with loads of veggies too – I don’t know anyone who could eat the portions I do! I’ve had plenty of people going ‘HOW can you eat that much??’ and it hurts – especially for a recovered ED person. But hey – we’re all different, and that style works for me.
Think of it as a good thing when they say that! Usually when people marvel at how much you can eat, it’s because they wish they could too, not because they mean anything rude by it… but really, people shouldn’t comment on others’ eating habits. Everyone eats differently, and that’s perfectly ok!
I definitely compare what/how much I eat to others, though I know that I should not. Everyone is different, right? I usually eat 3 small meals and snacks in between.
Terrific post, Katie! I am more like your sister, eating very little (and yet I am at a healthy weight). Sometimes when I read blogs, I worry that I should be eating more because everyone else seems to eat big snacks and I just don’t. Thanks for reminding me to stop comparing!
One of the reasons I most love your blog (well besides the desserts, because let’s face it, those are the BEST!) is that you have such an incredible ability to put into words what so many other people are thinking. I am constantly comparing my eating habits to those around me, both in the real world and the blogworld. And I am a slave to the clock as well, thinking I need to eat at certain times. If I’m hungry for lunch at 10am, I will NOT let myself have any, even if I got up really early. I need to do a better job of listening to my body, for sure.
I used to eat six times a day, but found that it just made me CONSTANTLY think about food! Now I eat more like four-ish times a day. Three meals plus a snack. And it works just fine. As long as I’m not eating when I’m not hungry, or not eating when I AM hungry, I think I’m doing fine.
For the second half of my last sentence I mean as long as I’m not, not eating when I am hungry I’m fine. Ugh, whatever I hope it makes sense!
THANK YOU! This was a wake up call.
I’m currently recovering from an ED and I have to eat a lot more than many other people I know. But my mom reminds me that it’s because for so long I ate so much LESS than they all did, and I need to make up for it now.
I’ve always been a grazer, even as a child. I definitely eat a lot too, often as much as my boyfriend does!