Is it normal to need more than 3 meals a day?

October 20, 2021 9:29 AM

I'm just annoyed that I can't seem to get by with 3 meals a day and I need to "waste" time by organising healthy snacks for work and then figuring out when my energy is flagging because I need a snack (rather than the million potential other reasons I'm not being productive). I just want to know if this is normal or if I'm doing something wrong?

Breakfast: 6:30 am
Lunch: any time between 11.30 and 1 pm
Dinner: 6:30 pm
Bedtime: 10:30 pm

When I eat lunch early, I get hungry before dinner. When I eat lunch late, I get hungry during the morning.
Lunch = dinner leftovers, usually.

I eat until I'm full, but not super full. Oh, and I'm female in my mid-40s.

Do I just need to reconcile myself to needing snacks and figuring out the logistics? Can I train myself to eat 3 meals and no more?

posted by Omnomnom to Food & Drink (44 answers total)

I'm the same and it's perfectly normal. In fact I saw a nutritionist some time ago who recommended that I eat snacks in between meals, so I have a steady supply of energy. There are some foods that keep me from getting hungry too quickly (oily, fatty, or protein) but I feel like it's better for me to have those in between snacks in any case.
posted by Zumbador at 9:40 AM on October 20, 2021 [9 favorites]

38F here. My work with a dietician has taught me I need to eat every 4-5 hours. I am not diabetic but experience low blood sugar. Felt like a pain at first, but it grew into a habit. Having consistent energy and not feeling constantly exhausted/unwell wins out.

I prioritize protein and include it in every snack/meal and this has been a game changer.
posted by Juniper Toast at 9:42 AM on October 20, 2021 [8 favorites]

Eponysterical.

I don’t know if it’s “normal”, but it’s something I do often. It’s common for me to eat two lunches a day, especially since I started WFH. I have to eat the first lunch by like 11:30 because even if I’ve eaten a large breakfast, I’m so hungry by then that I can’t concentrate. The options at that point are to eat so much that I’m in a food coma for a couple of hours, or eat a normal portion and be hungry again around 3.

In my case I think there might be a circadian rhythms thing. My natural inclination is to wake up around 10-11 and go to bed at like 1-2am. So I think that overwhelming hunger at 11 is actually supposed to be my breakfast, and the less intense hunger around 3 is lunch. Then I could eat dinner around 8 and be “normal”.

Anyway, I’m a 41M, a little overweight but still athletic, and eating more doesn’t seem to cause me to gain any real weight. So I guess that’s “normal”, for this one particular data point.
posted by kevinbelt at 9:42 AM on October 20, 2021 [4 favorites]

3 meals is a bizarre modern construct that doesn’t have much to do with what humans need beyond fitting into the capitalist and societal work schedule. And for some that schedule is actively harmful (like for me, a person with severe stomach issues.) Eat when you need to eat in whatever portions.
posted by Crystalinne at 9:44 AM on October 20, 2021 [37 favorites]

Yes you can train yourself to eat less. I would look into intermittent fasting. Essentially your body learns when to expect food and gets you feeling hungry by sending out signals (like ghrelin, for instance) to tell you to eat. But most of us (in the USA) just eat too much, and training your body to eat less will also make you feel less hungry, thus making you *want* to eat less. It takes some time and some faith but I think it's worth it.
posted by erattacorrige at 9:44 AM on October 20, 2021 [6 favorites]

It's normal to need snacks.

If you feel like you're eating and eating and it's just never enough, you may have a food allergy. For a lot of people with food allergies, your body is like, "hey this isn't food, give me FOOD, I'm still hungry" when you eat whatever you're not able to tolerate. So - maybe consider a month each off the big ones, like gluten, soy, and corn, and see how you feel. If it's just that you need to eat snacks, awesome, but this might be worth checking out.
posted by bile and syntax at 9:51 AM on October 20, 2021 [6 favorites]

Yes, it is totally normal to need to eat more than three times in a day.
posted by ewok_academy at 10:13 AM on October 20, 2021 [4 favorites]

Also just wondering... You don't mention weight loss to be a concern. It seems it's more the hassle of having to arrange snacks that's the issue, and possibly whether getting hungry between meals could be an indication that you're not eating right?
If you're not primarily concerned about eating less so you can lose weight, that might change people's answers.
posted by Zumbador at 10:16 AM on October 20, 2021

I need two meals a day, regardless of size of meal, otherwise I feel way over-stuffed and lethargic.

My best friend needs 6 meals a day, regardless of size of meal, otherwise she feels like she is starving and lethargic.

There is no "normal", you do you.
posted by magnetsphere at 10:21 AM on October 20, 2021 [24 favorites]

Your experience is pretty similar to mine. Intuitive eating has been great for helping me figure out satisfying meals and be more aware of my hunger, but I still need snacks. Those Panino salami-wrapped mozzarella sticks are my go-to snack when I need something substantial quick.
posted by theotherdurassister at 10:32 AM on October 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

Definitely look at *what* you are eating, in addition to how often. If you're snacking on crackers, those are all carbs, which is sugar, which is quick energy and you'll need to refuel more often.

Eating fat (cheese, nuts, olives) or protein (meat) takes longer to metabolize and you won't need to refuel as often. Protein (and fat, to a degree) also make you feel full faster & longer, so you don't get hungry as often.

The challenge is that fat is very calorie dense, so it's easy to overeat - a serving of nuts is smaller than you think. And if you're not a meat-eater then it's hard to find other dense protein sources (where the majority of calories are from protein).
posted by jpeacock at 10:47 AM on October 20, 2021 [6 favorites]

I keep some bars at my desk that are nothing but ground up nuts and dates, they are great for this problem. That’s been my general solution for this - just to find a couple things I can stand to eat over and over and keep a whole bunch of them around. Then I don’t have to actively think about it.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:49 AM on October 20, 2021

I find that if I eat breakfast first thing in the morning (between 6 and 7a) that I'm ravenous by mid-morning. So, sometimes if I'm hungry on waking, I have a very small snack - handful of almonds and cranberries, wheat cracker with some hummus, maybe a slice of cheese - and then I time my actual breakfast for later in the morning (between 9 and 10). So, yeah, eating at my desk is common. I always have an afternoon snack and I try to make it relatively healthy and pair it with tea or decaf as a real nice thing. If I can get ten minutes of eyes closed then I get up refreshed and can make it through to dinner.
posted by amanda at 10:57 AM on October 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

I don't know nuthin' about normal, but diabetics are sometimes advised to eat as many as six small meals a day, to even out the day's blood glucose levels and avoid the spikes that can come after big meals. They also say that what's healthy for a diabetic is healthy for anybody.
posted by Flexagon at 10:59 AM on October 20, 2021

What I have learned after a lifetime of dieting and finally getting my shit together in my 50s with the help of food-oriented therapy: the more you listen to your body's hunger signals, the happier and healthier you will be. Your body is telling you it needs more food. Whether you want to make those 3 meals bigger or spread out your eating over the course of the day via snacks is up to you. But listen to what your body is telling you.
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:00 AM on October 20, 2021 [3 favorites]

Can you give up variety in snacks once you find something adequate? My grandparents had exactly the same breakfast, elevenses, afternoon cheese for decades. Saved decisions from shopping onwards.
posted by clew at 11:06 AM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: If you're not primarily concerned about eating less so you can lose weight, that might change people's answers.

Oh! No, weight is not an issue.
I just get cranky at figuring out when I need to eat, heh.
posted by Omnomnom at 11:08 AM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

I'm the opposite. I only eat two meals a day (and no snacks ever). I eat dinner around 7:00 PM, and then a smaller meal right before going to bed. I know the authorities tell you that you're not supposed to eat at bedtime, but it works for me.

I say, whatever works for you is normal for you.
posted by JD Sockinger at 11:15 AM on October 20, 2021

You might be habituated to 3 meals + snacks, might be able to reduce meals sizes and move some meal components to snack. In Americaland, snack = Doritos, cheezits or similar, but you could have Oatmeal for breakfast, and the banana for snack, leftover beef & broccoli & rice for lunch, coleslaw for snack, etc. I always cook to create leftovers because I live alone and if it was tasty for a meal once, I'm going to enjoy it as leftovers.

Banana, apple + peanut butter, handful of peanuts, 1 slice wholegrain toast w/ pesto or other not-sugary topping, are my go-to's when there are no leftovers. I try to have some sort of easy salad or veg. handy, but fresh vegetables don't keep, but I almost always have good apples.
posted by theora55 at 11:23 AM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

What are you actually eating?

Non-fibre carbs are less satisfying than fibre carbs are less satisfying than proteins are less satisfying than fats. So if you're eating a lot of carb-heavy meals and not getting a lot of protein and fat, you're likely to get hungry a lot sooner.

But also, some people just need to eat more often.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:32 AM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

Protein bars, trail mix, fruit, mini cheese things and jerky should be their own food group. Yes, totally normal.
posted by sid at 11:35 AM on October 20, 2021

If you have a good idea of how many overall calories you’re consuming (ie: you are not under-eating for your main meals) then it’s totally normal to need snacks. Some people do and some people don’t, it’s just a function of metabolism.
posted by lydhre at 11:42 AM on October 20, 2021

Yeah, snacking is totally normal. I tend to get hungry between breakfast and lunch, so I have some nuts or a granola bar or something.

If you don't like snacking or find it difficult to schedule, you may also want to consider switching up what size of meal you eat when. I came from a family where dinner was always the largest meal of the day, kept eating like that habitually for many years as an adult, and realized pretty recently that that schedule really doesn't work for me. So now I eat my largest meal of the day at lunch, don't feel hungry till dinner, and don't go to bed feeling too full, which works well for me. Maybe what would work for you is a larger breakfast?
posted by darchildre at 11:43 AM on October 20, 2021

As I understand it, in the Middle Ages people served only TWO meals a day instead of three - a big breakfast and a big dinner. That "dinner" used to be about mid-afternoon, but over time it got moved later and later, to the point where people were getting hungry mid-day and so they started having a light lunch mid-day to tide them over.

But even so, at one point some British Duchess still started feeling hungry between lunch and dinner, and started sneakily asking the cook to send her up some tea and some snacks at about 4 pm each day. Then word of what she was doing started to sneak out to other ladies in the aristocracy - and instead of thinking she was gluttonous, several other noblewomen were like "oh thank god it's not just me" and started doing the same thing, and then that Duchess found out they all knew and were copying her and was all "well, hell, let's make this official" and started making it A Thing by inviting friends to join her, and that is how the great English Tea Time became a Thing.

My point being: the whole idea that there are only "supposed to be" three meals a day is something that's shifted over time anyway, and people often feel like it's not enough - because each one of us has different nutritional needs and different metabolisms. I say that as long as you are eating a balanced diet overall, instead of something like eating an entire bag of Ho-Ho's at each meal and that's it, you're doing fine.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:11 PM on October 20, 2021 [3 favorites]

Normal. I just had my late afternoon snack. Eating large meals makes me sleepy, so light meals and snacking is the only way I can function.

That said, I have found it helpful to reduce sweets to keep my snacking to 2-3 times a day instead of 5-10. Sugar and my body don't mix. I still eat plenty of carbs, just not a daily dessert or anything with too much added sugar. Of course, YMMV.
posted by redlines at 12:37 PM on October 20, 2021

If it was abnormal to need snacks then we wouldn't probably have an entire word for it and also an enormous category encompassing so very many foods! I think the way our (U.S./western) culture talks about food and diet tends to give people the idea that truly, most eating is, like, optional and that if we were just GOOD we could live on three rice cakes and a piece of salmon every day, eaten at precise hours, or some fucking utter goddamned nonsense, so if someone is snacking it's for pure indulgence reasons.

Your body needs food; feed it.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 12:39 PM on October 20, 2021 [14 favorites]

I agree that this is totally normal, and it sounds like it may be what you body needs. BUT, if it bothers you, then it's worth doing some investigating to find some foods that will keep you sated for longer. As mentioned above, fat and protein will keep you feeling full longer. As will fiber. Try swapping in whole grains and roughage and don't be afraid to add a bit of butter to that whole grain muffin.
posted by hydra77 at 12:42 PM on October 20, 2021

Culturally humans have eaten and still eat everything from 1 meal a day up numerous meals and snacks a day and all sorts of combos in between. You are fine.
posted by wwax at 12:50 PM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

+1 for "this is a common variation on normal." Personally, for me to not get hungry for a snack, my breakfast and lunch have to be so large. 1, it's not practical, and 2, I probably end up overeating when I do that because I feel like I've got to pack so many hours of food in at once. I've tried getting by without snacking, and I can do it, but I get so hangry that it's honestly detrimental to my social functioning. It's not worth it (to me). I've been this way since I was a child; it's just how my body works.

Granted, yes, there are ways to make meals "stick" better, as mentioned by other commenters. But if your meals are well-balanced and yet you still need snacks, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ that's just how it goes for some of us.
posted by mandanza at 1:08 PM on October 20, 2021

This completely depends on what you are eating, I think, and if you have a sort of healthy relationship with food and eating. Sometimes when we are hungry, we are actually bored, or thirsty, or we need to take a quick walk. Sometimes the problem (for me) is that I'm not getting enough sleep, so that's what I need in the big picture. But it sounds like you are saying you are getting the right amount of calories but your energy is waning between meals. Is there a healthy-ish snack you could keep at work by default? Or to keep this easy?

I tend to keep nuts at work -- nothing too salty or spiced, so I only eat them when I'm hungry -- and also bring in an apple for a late afternoon snack. A banana works too. Also carrots. So that might work for you. Certainly worth a try!
posted by bluedaisy at 1:16 PM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

Years ago I was in a lecture on new findings in gut microbes and mathematical complexity. One of the things they said iirc was that our gut flora are happier* if they are both hungry and well -fed on a regular basis - like, daily for humans, given how fast microbes live. So I try to make sure I am both pretty darn hungry and definitely full at least once a day. But how many meals and snacks that is has varied a lot in the decade since then!

*not the term chosen. Better able to respond to different inputs and return to baseline, which meant diversity and variability, I think.
posted by clew at 1:24 PM on October 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

If the hassle of figuring things out is the only issue, then perhaps this can be solved by meal/snack-planning and meal/snack-prepping in advance for like a week at a time, so all you have to do every weekday morning is pull that day's stack of boxes into your lunch bag and go. When you're feeling bleh between meals, you pull out and eat whatever is in your snack box without having to think it up on the spot.

But I'll tell you this: if you're not totally sure it is hunger you're feeling, and if you think you're eating "enough" in your meals and you are happy in general with the amount you're eating, then it may not even be a snack you need, it may just be a hankering for a cup of tea/other hot beverage. A hot beverage really perks me up even if it has no caffeine, idk why, it feels so much more substantial than a snack even though it is obviously *less* substantial. Maybe try setting a mid-morning and mid-afternoon alarm/reminder to get yourself a cup of tea?
posted by MiraK at 1:46 PM on October 20, 2021

Do you find your habits are the same on non-work days? When I am at work, I find I snack much more often probably as a function of (1) smaller lunches / meals and (2) boredom / desire to stop working for a break.

Anyway, I have a high metabolism and actually need to eat a lot to maintain weight so what I have found works best is buying various foods from the bulk food bins at the store and making trail mixes. This depends on your work environment, but I would actually just bring the various bags of foods and keep them in my desk drawer, and when it's snack time mix them then-and-there. So, the only work required in advance is maybe once every 2 weeks buying lots of bulk food, and then during the day basically throwing whichever ones sound appealing into a cup. I generally buy 4-5 types of nuts, something sweet (dried fruits, chocolate chips) and then some other salty things (e.g., rice crackers).
posted by unid41 at 1:46 PM on October 20, 2021

Some of this can also be hormonal if you are a person who menstruates. I find that during the couple of weeks before my period, I usually need to snack between lunch and dinner. But in the first half of my period, I don't need to.

I used to try to fight the snack feeling because, like, if I didn't need it before, why do I need it now? But more recently I'm trying not to fight my bodies hunger signals so much.

I do find that switching over to more whole grains and vegetables and just generally increasing fiber has decreased the sort of "blood sugar crash" feeling, but I still get hungry. Just not that hangry sort of sick must eat all the sugar feeling I got before I shifted my diet around.

For snacking, I like to just make up a big batch of trail mix, and keep that around for snacking. It's portable, shelf stable, filling, and tasty.
posted by litera scripta manet at 4:44 PM on October 20, 2021

You might like the book What I Eat, which is photos of people around the world and what they eat in a day. There's a huge variety, it's really cool to see. Snacking is definitely normal and fine if it's working for you. Some of the photos are here.
posted by blnkfrnk at 5:06 PM on October 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

My 2c is that if I ate breakfast at 6:30 I'd be starving at noon too. If you want to think about it less, well, you could either move that first meal later or you could have a bigger lunch (probably not a good solution - I know I eat more than I need in part because I "don't want to get hungry later", and it would be better to just snack then rather than hedge. Also if you're having tiredness / low energy as opposed to feelings of hunger it's probably something like a blood sugar drop which would be time- and food-type-related rather than quantity-related anyway.)
posted by Lady Li at 7:23 PM on October 20, 2021

Totally normal!

Building on other advice above, would it help to remove some of the bother by (for now, at least) finding 2-5 Adequate And Highly Convenient Snacks and setting a fixed schedule for eating them? It sounds like stress arises from trying to brainstorm as well as prepare things, and then again in trying to know whether The Time Has Come to snack in a given day. If you remove some of those uncertainties, it might be easier to listen to the hunger/satiety signals between meals and Scheduled Snacks, and could open up brain space for Potentially Excellent And Even Possibly More Preparation-Intensive Snacks. As in, a few weeks of eating a date-and-nut bar at 9:30am and a mozzarella stick and an apple at 3pm (with calendar reminders or smartphone alarms) might help give you the smoother daytime blood sugar to decide if you want to go buy and chop up celery and make and wash a little container of hummus, or to keep going with what you’ve got.

(I started drinking a protein shake for breakfast a few years ago to save having to make morning decisions, and it is one of the best things I’ve done for my daily function. I chose to make something different at least once a week, but I no longer feel like I have to figure it out in advance - I only opt for variety if we happen to have something else I want more and am willing to work to make for myself.)
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 11:07 PM on October 20, 2021

I think the clue is in your username. I'm going to say, it's clearly normal for you! I also need to snack a lot, so I bulk buy reasonably healthy snack bars. I get the boxes that shops buy and put out on the counter for people to grab one. Usually I have two different boxes on the go so I don't get completely bored.

Also I get a fruit and veg box delivered every week, so often there are carrots or apples lying around and I eat those.
posted by quacks like a duck at 11:33 PM on October 20, 2021

50M, definitely closer to underweight than overweight, and I’m the same, especially when on your schedule. I eat reasonably healthily (well, if I cut out the cheese), including the late morning and late afternoon snacks (a handful of nuts, peanut butter on toast). To me, 6 hours is just too long to go without any food. Of course I’d get hungry!
posted by fabius at 5:28 AM on October 21, 2021

I would say it's not normal to not be able to adapt to a given eating schedule, whether that be 1 meal a day, 3 evenly spaced, or 1 meal every 4 hours with you waking up in the middle of the night to not break your schedule. The human body is pretty adaptable and anyone should be able to train themselves to any schedule.
posted by ToddBurson at 7:42 AM on October 21, 2021

I've never worked anywhere that people didn't snack at some point in the day. At my current office I'm in charge of The Snack Drawer. I've been keeping it stocked with single-serve packets from nuts.com. Trail mix, dried fruit, nuts, the dark chocolate covered almonds and the yogurt raisins are big hits. Reasonably healthy. But, yeah. Snacking is completely normal. I usually don't do "lunch" I do two heavy snacks at 11 and 2.
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 7:43 AM on October 21, 2021

My norm on work days is Early Breakfast, 10 am snack ( my fave right now: pumpkin seeds) and if it's up to me, 2pm lunch. If I have to have an early lunch, snack moves to afternoon. No matter how large the lunch I will not make it to five without a snack.

Dinner is probably 7:30 or 8, unless I have my kid, in which case I cook for her and eat mine later.

The closer to bedtime I eat the better honestly in terms of sleep
posted by emjaybee at 7:49 AM on October 21, 2021

My experience is that I have always needed to eat several times a day. I remember always being hungry when I was a kid too, never having enough access to food during school, and during afterschool activities, etc. It was so stressful and it’s never changed. Only when I’m on strict Keto does it stop. I’m sure it’s due to the stability of blood sugar on Keto— all that stabilizing fat and protein, it’s heaven for me— the sense of total relief and a break from wasting all that money, time, stress organizing food for myself. But I cant always arrange my life to keep the keto thing going. Then Im right back to organizing my whole life around snacks and meals. I hate it because it’s expensive and a hassle. Solidarity.
posted by asimplemouse at 8:21 AM on October 21, 2021

I came in to say what rrrrrrrrrt said - if "I just get cranky at figuring out when I need to eat" is the problem, then maybe accepting (even embracing!) your body's desire for eating between meals, and planning for it, would reduce the stress.

There are studies showing that making decisions takes energy, and the simple act of making the decisions beforehand can really reduce that energy drain - so if you decide on Saturday, "I will eat three good snacks every day, at 9:30 am, 3:30 pm, and 9 pm, and those snacks will be: a hard boiled egg; an apple and 7 almonds; a banana and 5 pecans", then you get to go a whole week with your body knowing it will be taken care of with regular feedings and your brain knowing you're not going to be pestering it with decisions every five minutes.

Good luck! I hope that helps!
posted by kristi at 1:52 PM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]