Not to eat more than three times per day

[Saur]

Dear members please can you give your opinions why it is recommended that you shouldn’t eat snacks/supper in between meals. A lot of us find it hard to stick to three meals. Does drinking tea/coffee between meals ok and not food.

 

[bulkbiker]

For a T2 (which I presume you are) eating triggers an insulin response.
Most classic T2's produce way too much insulin which is less effective because of insulin resistance.
By eating lots of small meals and snacks during the day you are constantly triggering even more insulin production.
Eating once or twice a day without snacks allows the pancreas to rest and the insulin to do its job more effectively (lowering blood sugar).
If you are constantly introducing more glucose into your body by eating carbs then you are constantly triggering the pancreas to produce more and more insulin making the problem worse.
Hence its best to eat once or twice a day with minimal carbohydrate. This has multiple benefits
1. Not triggering insulin
2,. Allowing the body to burn up excess glucose for fuel
3. Over time turning the body on to burning fat for fuel (providing carb intake is low enough)
4. This leads to weight loss and more efficient functioning
5. This can assist in putting T2 into remission.

This is why I believe intermittent fasting along with ultra low carb is a major benefit for T2's.

If you eat enough fat and protein in your main meals then snacking per se should be come less attractive.. fat keeps you full and provides energy.

 

[Guzzler]

^^^ That pretty much sums it up.

The only people who should eat every three hours are new born babies, and that, not for very long.

 

[lovinglife]

I eat at 5 am, 12pm and 5pm no snacking but I drink lots of black coffee and tea in between, I do very occasionally have a few nuts or a babybel cheese just before bed if I'm feeling hungry as I can't sleep if I'm hungry and as I don't get to bed until 1 am I need to get to sleep quickly lol. A beef stock cube drink can take the edge off too

If you do take milk in your hot drinks consider changing to a splash of cream as milk has more carbs and if you're drinking a lot through the day they can add it quickly

 

[zand]

Yes I agree with all of the above. The fewer times I eat per day the less hungry I feel.

 

[Member496333]

Regular snacking is just about the most deleterious thing someone can do to their metabolic health. And for anyone who may already be insulin resistant, it’s like pouring a can of petrol onto a barbecue.

As Zoé Harcombe puts it - “unless you’re a cow or want to look like one, don’t graze.”

 

[Saur]

For a T2 (which I presume you are) eating triggers an insulin response.
Most classic T2's produce way too much insulin which is less effective because of insulin resistance.
By eating lots of small meals and snacks during the day you are constantly triggering even more insulin production.
Eating once or twice a day without snacks allows the pancreas to rest and the insulin to do its job more effectively (lowering blood sugar).
If you are constantly introducing more glucose into your body by eating carbs then you are constantly triggering the pancreas to produce more and more insulin making the problem worse.
Hence its best to eat once or twice a day with minimal carbohydrate. This has multiple benefits
1. Not triggering insulin
2,. Allowing the body to burn up excess glucose for fuel
3. Over time turning the body on to burning fat for fuel (providing carb intake is low enough)
4. This leads to weight loss and more efficient functioning
5. This can assist in putting T2 into remission.

This is why I believe intermittent fasting along with ultra low carb is a major benefit for T2's.

If you eat enough fat and protein in your main meals then snacking per se should be come less attractive.. fat keeps you full and provides energy.

I am a Prediabetic. Thankyou for your advise, very helpful. I am a nibbler and can’t stop munching all day but being cautious now and trying to snack on healthy snacks.

 

[Saur]

I eat at 5 am, 12pm and 5pm no snacking but I drink lots of black coffee and tea in between, I do very occasionally have a few nuts or a babybel cheese just before bed if I'm feeling hungry as I can't sleep if I'm hungry and as I don't get to bed until 1 am I need to get to sleep quickly lol. A beef stock cube drink can take the edge off too

If you do take milk in your hot drinks consider changing to a splash of cream as milk has more carbs and if you're drinking a lot through the day they can add it quickly

I never thought about taking cream, I thought of it as fattening and calorie laden. Some amounts won’t hurt I suppose.

 

[zand]

Fat doesn't make you fat. The carbs do that. If you reduce the amount of carbs you have then the fat will fill you so you don't need to snack.

 

[bobrobert]

If you have a bit of cheese that hasn't any carbs surely there won't be an insulin response?

 

[bulkbiker]

If you have a bit of cheese that hasn't any carbs surely there won't be an insulin response?

For some even the smell of food can cause an insulin response.

 

[bobrobert]

Is this an attempt at humour?

 

[Member496333]

If you have a bit of cheese that hasn't any carbs surely there won't be an insulin response?

Eating anything at all causes some level of insulin response. In order of descending magnitude: carbohydrate, protein, fat.

 

[bulkbiker]

Is this an attempt at humour?

Nope. I have read about it a number of times. Dr Fung I believe.

 

[bobrobert]

Nope. I have read about it a number of times. Dr Fung I believe.

Then we are all doomed?

 

[zand]

Then we are all doomed?

only if we keep stuffing our faces all day.

 

[Guzzler]

only if we keep stuffing our faces all day.

And you can't do that with healthy fats because it is so satiating that it is almost impossible to overeat on it.
I may have to experiment with grade A* protein though

 

[lucylocket61]

Then we are all doomed?

I get a response from smelling food, and also from when i used to eat foods made with sweetner. My body reacted as if it was real sugar.

If we dont go into the fridge, freezer, larder or whatever to smell the food, we wont trigger the response. Its like giving up smoking, in many ways. You dont stand outside with the smokers if you are trying not to smoke : )

 

[bambee3]

Dear members please can you give your opinions why it is recommended that you shouldn’t eat snacks/supper in between meals. A lot of us find it hard to stick to three meals. Does drinking tea/coffee between meals ok and not food.

Hi there, It used to be only suggested for type 1s to have three meals plus snacks to help avoid the risk of hypos. It apparently also varies between doctors and educators.

 

[Mbaker]

For someone "Fat" adapted, it would be difficult to eat more than twice a day. Last year I was on holiday with the family and even eating really low carb, I had to abandon 3MAD (even though I walked fasted and trained in a great gym late morning).

I sometimes struggle on 2MAD (these are not bite size meals granted). I never need snacks, which are a modern marketing construct in standard diet land, to sell usually something with over 50% carbs / sugar. On OMAD days I always walk fasted and weight train, I like to see 2000 Fitbit calories burned by 14:00 having consumed just drinks, with food around 16:00. I can highly recommend fat adaptation.