Grazing vs. Meals/Snacks

Does anyone know the definition of grazing in the wls world? As opposed to meals/snacks? Grazing is bad, but 3 meals and 2 snacks seems to be the normal protocol for post ops. Im curious what other programs define these as........... Carrie

HI Carnie, This is just my "humble opinion".... Grazing is just mindless, thoughtless, continuous eating. You know, the old reaching for something "cause its there".... has nothing to do with nutrition or necessity. My Drs protocol said meals should planned & take no more than 20 minutes; then stop eating, after that it is considered grazing. They also said NO snacks at all. For me that had to change, once I hit goal, because to stop loosing I had to add in snacks to up my calories. But, like meals Snacks are planned and no more than 150 calories each. To maintain I have to eat 3 meals & 4 snacks a day.... have to say, some days I feel like a Grazing Cow!!!!!!! Hope this helps. Pam rny 5/13/04 268/155 below goal & maintaining

Grazing: Constant hand to mouth.. no end in sight. Mindless eating/snacking. Eating 5-6 small meals a day: This means having a small snack, I.E. a piece of fruit, cheese & crackers, a yogurt, a protein shake.. something.. The purpose of reg, small meals throughout the day is to regulate blood sugar levels and your metabolism. Additionally, by eating smaller meals throughout the day, at meal times, you will be less hungry and therefore eat less. Erica

I find myself grazing sometimes. My MIND wants food, even though I'm not physically hungry. Meals/snacks are planned food intakes and grazing is just not thinking about it and reaching for food and eating it. I find sometimes at work I want to eat every hour instead of every 3 hours or so . Eating every HOUR is grazing. It's like your stomach doesn't get a break. Some people say that eating 5 times a day (meals/snacks) is grazing, but I personally don't think so. I define grazing as eating more often than we should and not planning it and just grabbing something and nibbling on it without thinking. I hope that makes sense. That's at least what my perception of grazing is vs. planned "nutrition breaks". Trisha