Meal timing to manage hunger

Is there a particular time of day that you should be having your meals and snacks in order to minimise hunger? Here we discuss ways that you can plan out your week to allow for balanced nutrition in the right quantities that will help you to get through the day.

Smaller more frequent meals

There seem to be more or less two camps when it comes to meal timing. First there are those who do best on 5-6 smaller meals and snacks every 3 hours. So say breakfast is at 6am, morning tea would be at 9am, lunch at 12pm, afternoon tea at 3pm, and dinner at 6pm.

The issue with this style of eating is that many people overestimate how much they should be eating at a meal or snack. Main meals may need to be more portion controlled when mid meals are included. Snacks should be around 100 calories (which is really not a huge amount).

Larger less frequent meals

Many find that by swapping to the second option of three meals a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and having portions that are a little more substantial that they can manage their hunger just as well… but with only 3 opportunities to overeat instead of 5-6.

There isn’t a hard and fast correct answer- it comes down to how your body works best, what works for you in terms of portion control, and which option results in reduced feelings of hunger throughout the day.

Why not experiment with both and see which works best for you? We would love to her which option you find works better for you in the comments!