Grazing or meals?

[daystar]

Which do you tend to believe is better? To graze through the day or to have meals with snacks in between?

I find I am more of a grazer and by the time a meal is suppose to happen I'm not that hungry so I find myself trying to not graze so close to meals so that I'm able to eat a meal.......did any of that makes sense? lol

I also ask this because of my kids. They too tend to graze through the day and are not interested in eating "meals" where there are several things on a plate which of course goes totally against the expected "social norm". If it were totally up to me I'd just let them eat when they wanted to, hopefully listening to their bodies, and forget the whole "meal" idea. But I run into resistance with DH and the grandparents etc.

So I was just wondering what you all thought on the subject. :)

[adiebabe]

Personally, I believe 'grazing' is the more natural, body-wise way to eat. The whole three-meal-a-day thing over-rides your body's own wisdom as to when it requires nourishment and how much it requires. The biggest eating issues I had to deal with came as a result of that conditioning. I'd over eat because of some weird rational in the back of my head that if something happened and I didn't get that next meal, I'd go hungry! It was the weirdest thing when I recognized that was why I was doing it... Now the hardest thing is dealing with being at my part-time job and having to eat around my scheduled breaks, hungry or not.

[contessa20]

I tend to agree more with the grazing philosophy as well because it allows one to listen to their own body and eat only when hungry rather than at prescribed times of the day. I personally find that I eat a lot less when I graze as opposed to sitting down to a regular meal. Some days I'm ready to eat something within an hour of getting up and other days I'm not hungry until after noon. Then there are days where I seem to be eating just about every hour and others where one meal in the late afternoon is all I need.

[Colorawdo girl]

Grazing,like cows...hahaha.I DO like grazing on wild foods in the field the best.
Anyway yes grazing is good for me.I eat when I want if I am hungry.I know when I am and eat only when I am most of the time.I dont overeat but maybe undereat. On days I eat alot,its still not a problem.
However you choose,your body will tell you,its fine.

[pixie_333]

eat when hungry.
me however, i have to be careful because if i just snack here and there maybe a bite or two i may not be hungry for awhile (hours sometimes 24 hours) and i am opposite of obesity. i can lose 1-4 pounds in a day if i don't eat depending if i just sit or am active and it is a tota bitch for me to gain weight. i have to work out. and sometimes i'm not hungry and after a day or two i remember i haven't eaten.
anyways... we're all differnt and with different bodies and metabolism.

they say or at least use to say it's bad to leave food out all the time for cats and dogs. i disagree. i always have food out for my pets and when hungry they can eat. and i give my cat meals twce a day and snacks when she asks for it and she's very healthy.

[RawKnitster]

I prefer meals, but not at predetermined times. I might change my mind if I had a more rigid schedule (like a job). Then I would not have so much flexibility on meal times. Grazing is fine as long as I allow a minimum of 3 hours in between. More frequently than that and my stomach is not happy. As long as I don't put food in my stomach on top of other food that has not moved on yet, grazing is okay.

[rawintexas]

I find grazing preferable when I can manage it. I work from home so most of the time it works. When traveling, I tend to do more meals because I'm on a schedule and/or entertaining and that includes more standard mealtimes. But left to my own devices, grazing definitely.

By the way, my two cats AND my dog have been taught from babyhood to graze. There is dry food available for them to munch on when hungry. My friends marvel at my dog, who walks past the food all day; sometimes eats some; other times not. The bowl pretty much has food in it from 8 a.m. to around 6 p.m. when she finishes up. My friends dogs gorge when food is put out. But my doggie has been raised with food available to eat until full since she was a puppy so I guess she is simply used to it.

[pixie_333]

.

By the way, my two cats AND my dog have been taught from babyhood to graze. There is dry food available for them to munch on when hungry. My friends marvel at my dog, who walks past the food all day; sometimes eats some; other times not. The bowl pretty much has food in it from 8 a.m. to around 6 p.m. when she finishes up. My friends dogs gorge when food is put out. But my doggie has been raised with food available to eat until full since she was a puppy so I guess she is simply used to it.

yeah. why starve them and make them wait! especialy what IF something happened to you like an accident and they'd have to wait longer to eat.

i always keep dry food out..a full bowl full at all times or mostly filled. then when i wake up and at night time i give my cat meat..plus snacks when she asked for it. *edit.. and when i'm sleeping, out of house or too busy at the moment to immediately feed her meat..she eats the dry food.

[RawKnitster]

My animals, currently a dog and rat, but in the past there were cats; they always grazed on the dry food. The wet food however....there is no grazing on it. It disappears in a flash, every time.

[Jenifae]

My dogs and cat have food available all the time and eat when hungry. I did put out boxes of hay for the horses once and 2 horses got too fat. So, I had to stop that but, I feed them 4-5 times a day.

Myself, I'm confused on what is best right now. When I graze I feel like I've eaten or I am eating too much. When I ate just meals I feel more in control but, I can't seem to get there. I've been on a grazing trend lately. But, I do know when I've only eaten fruit in the morning and a Big Salad in the later Afternoon and then maybe an apple in the evening I've felt best!

[paulieGB]

All the healthy people i know or have read about eat meals with NO snacking in between.
Usually 2 meals a day.

[klomasius]

Definitely grazing. It's how we've evolved to eat as frugivores. Animals don't tend to have meals at regular times, and animals such as gorillas and chimps (our closest living relatives) are constantly eating for most of the day.

When we eat large amounts all at once we may be taxing our digestive systems unnecessarily. I think the kids have got it right (mine included) when they simply want to graze and eat when hungry.

I take the tack that our body knows best (as do many with WHAT to eat) and if it wants food throughout the day then so be it.

Having said that, I still like my meals. I graze and then eat meals as well, but I'm pretty much eating all day, sneaking food at work in between phone calls and on my breaks. I just REALLY love eating!

[Anastazia]

The natural inclination of kids seems to be grazing, but I've always heard that for ALL of us, the only concern with this is having food on your teeth all day, as this can lead to cavities (especially for kids, who don't brush as frequently, & often not as well without an adults help)...

...I've countered this with teaching my grazing daughter to at least rinse & swish with water after eating, & the next time she goes the bathroom after snacking, to run the toothbrush lightly over her teeth, whether with toothpaste or not I don't care, but just so her teeth aren't constantly exposed to food...

I think eating according to appetite is the most natural route....unless your appestat is outa whack!
When I eat cooked, I'm sometimes NEVER hungry, sometimes ALWAYS hungry!
Strange, huh?

~Anastazia~

[adiebabe]

All the healthy people i know or have read about eat meals with NO snacking in between.
Usually 2 meals a day.

LOL! Well then you've finally 'met' the exceptions! Because I'm most definitely fit and healthy...and I graze :D

It's a well documented phenomenon that if you don't eat as often as your body demands, your metabolism in effect, shuts down and goes into starvation mode...hanging onto and storing every calorie! Grazing doesn't mean hoarking down food every chance you get, it means small meals or 'snacks' throughout the day, perhaps to compliment a couple larger meals. It can be as simple as a handful of nuts and dates to salads, smoothies, etc.

[klomasius]

Grazing doesn't mean hoarking down food every chance you get...


Haha, unless you're me!

But I'm VERY healthy too. :D

[RawKnitster]

adiebabe, perhaps you are the exception. :)

I've heard the argument that eating small meals 5-6 times a day is better for metabolism and controlling hunger. I've also heard the argument that allowing our stomachs to empty and rest between eating is best. It seems there is not one best that fits all.

If your stomach is empty, eat. If your stomach is not empty you need to wait until it is. We do not have the same type of digestive systems as animals that graze. Cows have 4 compartments in their stomachs. We have one.

[adiebabe]

adiebabe, perhaps you are the exception. :)

Nah..not really...there's others here too (I did say 'exceptions') :D



I've heard the argument that eating small meals 5-6 times a day is better for metabolism and controlling hunger. I've also heard the argument that allowing our stomachs to empty and rest between eating is best. It seems there is not one best that fits all.

If your stomach is empty, eat. If your stomach is not empty you need to wait until it is.

Well...that is more or less what I was getting at when I said it doesn't mean filling your face every chance you get....(and I mentioned, it can be as simple as a handfull of dates and nuts). As far as 'hoarking' down food constantly, it's Klomasius who apparently likes to do that! LOL!!!

Point is, I don't believe there has been proven benefits to having three (or two as mentioned) meals a day at some pre-determined time, simply because it's 'time' (which I assume is what the original post was getting at). So you eat whether you're hungry or not? That's a great way to mess up your body signals...whereas grazing, you eat if you're hungry. If you're not, you don't eat. This is how I understand 'grazing'...people version...one gut. No salt licks.:p Ah geez....I'm going to bed now! LOL!

[klomasius]

Yeah, I'm not really sure what 'hoarking' is, but I imagine it'd be something along the lines of shoving food into one's face. And yes, I am adept at this! ;)

The three meals a day situation is a relatively recent thing in terms of evolution. We tended to graze as seasonal nomads and before that as jungle dwelling sub humans. It's only been with the advent of a working schedule that we have altered our eating patterns to set meals to fit around work in the fields, or other jobs. We could speculate that this happened as far back as Mesopotamia (the so called cradle of civilisation) about ten thousand years ago at the onset of agriculture. Or perhaps a lot more recently.

If you think about it, three meals fits exactly into the work schedule. Up in the morning, breakfast before work. Middle of day, break from work and eat lunch. End of day, get home from work and eat dinner.

I'm just not convinced that resting the digestive system on a daily basis is better than doing what came naturally to us in the past and what comes naturally to so many of our near and distant animal relatives.

[daystar]

Point is, I don't believe there has been proven benefits to having three (or two as mentioned) meals a day at some pre-determined time, simply because it's 'time' (which I assume is what the original post was getting at). So you eat whether you're hungry or not? That's a great way to mess up your body signals...whereas grazing, you eat if you're hungry. If you're not, you don't eat. This is how I understand 'grazing'...people version...one gut. No salt licks.:p Ah geez....I'm going to bed now! LOL!

Yeah, that's what I was getting at.......the predetermined-it's-time-to-eat-'cause-the-clock-says-so approach. My parents are the worse about it concerning the kids. They could have had a good "snack" around 11:00am and by 12:00 my dad's like, "What are you fixing them for lunch?" And if I'm not there they'll fix them something anyway and then get on their case because they're not eating it all! Argh!

Admittedly, I've gotten frustrated with them before. When I've gone to the trouble to fix dinner and nobody sits longer than 30 secs at the table I'm like "why bother?!" but then I try to think about their day and remember what they HAVE eaten and most of the time I feel better (unless it's been a total junk day for them - we're working on that. :o)

Great responses and thoughts on the matter!