back to square one, and finally motivated again

about two summers ago I was so close to achieving my  personal ideal weight of 160. i managed to get down to 185 (from 270) and only had 15 pounds to go!

Then I moved to a new state for an internship and now, two years later, i don't know what happened. between culinary classes, a second internship and all of life's craziness, despite the fact that I was still pretty active with bike riding almost every day to get to school and work, i managed to put all my weight back on and I'm now sitting back at 270 pounds.

I'm disappointed that I managed to let all my hard work go to waste, but I'm looking forward to getting back to where I was.

and the bright side is that it took me 2 years to gain what I lost in 1, so it could have turned out much worse i suppose.

I've been wallowing about this for a month or so now, but I'm finally back in a mind set that I feel determined to get back to where I was, hopefully reach my goal this time, and stay there

(Something that blows my mind though, is that last time I was at 270, i was in a size 22 going on a size 24, I went down to a size 14, and now that I'm this weight again, I'm still in a size 18. weird.)

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What works for you? Small meals/Snacks or 3 square meals a day?

Lately I have learned something.

Multiple mini meals throughout the day-does not work for me.

Multiple small snacks trhoughout the day-does not work for me.

Eventually this just a chance for me to overeat. I tried for the longest time to eat like this, because so many other people do and said it was the best way.

The best way to do something for one person might not be the best way to do it for another.

I was reading Lyn blog post about it had they lost weight regain and my heart aches for her. I did that once before and the weight regain is awful. It hurts. It is so much harder than you think. I know that they can get back to a good place and I'm totally cheering for her. What really got me on this post was a lot of the comments that asked her to stop snacking, especially this one:

"then you please stop snacking? I know in the past few years, it is always touted as the "answer" never to feel hunger, blood sugar, blah blah blah, but I'm much older, and believe me, back in the day three square meals a day was enough. I think only snacking is the way to put on weight even if you're perfectly at each meal. I'm not perfect, but I can say that I was much better when I'm not chewing and sipping all day long. I'm not sure when it happened, but no one can go without a big drink and something to munch on. In the 1950s, 60s, 70s you never saw this and almost everyone was smart ... “

In my own situation I'm realizing that this is true. I do much better when I stick to three meals per day instead of trying to break it down in mini meals or have lots of snacks.

Definitely snacking is fun, but it's also a chance for me to constantly think about foods that I do not need anything in my life. I find that half the time I don't really feel I'm physically hungry I eat either "must" at certain times to keep my blood sugar or energy levels well. When I'm snacking or eating small meals I'm thinking about food more, spend more time on it, and in the end consume more of it.

I do that with three meals per day. It is easier to plan that and then just let it when needed. I spend less time and thought centered around food and I eat less. I'm much more satisfied after a meal, and that feeling lasts a long time. After counting calories do both ways I've learned that 3 meals per day works much better for me than the small calorie meals/snacks wisely route.

I am on the mini meals and meals with snacks ideas. They work just isn't for me as they do for other people. Snacking is not useful. Lately I've been sticking with 3 meals per day (and maybe a night time protein shake sometimes) and it is slowly working.

That's what works for me. What works for you? 3 large meals? Many small meals? Meals and snacks? How do you eat?

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