I've been struggling getting 5-6 "meals" in on daily basis.

Now, i've seen cases where people indicate eating a handful of almonds/yogurt as a meal, which doens't really add up to me.

At any rate, i need some help and advice on getting the right amount of foods in me to help boost metabolism and maintain energy.

Currently, this is what i try to accomplish on a daily.



9am --3 egg whites/whole wheat toast / orange or mixed fruit bowl


11am - oatmeal

1pm - turkey and provolone with lettuce/tomato and mustard on whole wheat
or chipotle chicken bowl sans sour cream,cheese and rice.
or any kind of soup with 6" subway turkey sandwich

3pm -- this "meal" is usually where i'm stuck with and need help with. sometimes i do peanut butter on whole wheat or just get a non-fat smoothie with some cashews


6pm - chicken torta(mexican grilled chicken sandwich) ( grilled chicken,guac,beans, lettuce tomato on toasted white bun) ( i hold the mayo and cheese)

9pm -cup of rice, mixed veggies and grilled/roasted chicken.

All meals are consumed with either water or some diet snapple flavor.

I need healthy alternatives to all/some meals. or a step in the right direction and it would be helpful to see what other people who work 9-5's and who are located in metro areas are doing.

I do cheat about 2 meals a week, which should probably stop.

could use everyone's expertise on this one.

I think you may be getting caught up

You may be getting caught up on the word "meal" here... 3 meals and 3 snacks is what I aim for...

My typical schedule is:

9-10AM: Breakfast (I'm a late riser)

12PM: Lunch 1/2 (typically half a sandwich or half of whatever I get)

2PM: Lunch 2/2 (or a protein bar or something fiber-icious to fill me up)

~4-5PM: A snack (fruit, handful of almonds, whatever!)

7-8PM: Dinner

10PM: Snack/Smoothie

Depending how you want to break up your day, that 3pm snack that you're having trouble with should probably be light given that it looks like you've got most of the day covered. A handful of almonds and a glass of water is surprisingly filling (water helps the fiber expand in your stomach) and that should easily tide you over until your 6pm Torta.

could you give me some more examples ?

Also, which brand of Whole Wheat loaf is the "cleanest" Specifically, I notice High Frustose Corn Syrup in almost all the different versions of whole wheat, should i be concerned ? is there an alternative ?

i do have a serious bread/rice/pizza weakness..

Ditto here. This is an ideal day.

Breakfast - 400 Cal - 6:30
Snack - 200 Cal - 9:00
Lunch - 400 Cal - 11:30
Snack - 100 Cal - 2:00 or 2:30
Snack - 200 Cal - 4:30ish
Post work out snack - usually 100 Cal of almonds
Dinner - 500 Cal - 7:30ish
Bed time snack (this is for night time recovery after a hard work out) - 100 Cal of almonds - 10ish

Keep in mind that I am doing some hard core training for triathlons though. On a day when I don't work out, I don't eat as much - maybe like 1700.

Breakfast foods - whole wheat bagel with PB, Kashi waffles with lite cool whip, Kashi or fiber cereal with no/low fat milk
Snack foods - cottage cheese, lean deli meat (watch the salt), cheese cubes or string cheese, yogurt, oatmeal, banana with PB, veggies
Lunch foods - sandwich on multigrain/whole wheat bread, uh... so many options, salad...

You know what.. I post everything I eat so check out this thread: Let's Eat!

Good luck!