Miss a meal?

[Fern84]

I'm doing the Dutch Modifast, which is 3 meal replacements a day at about 160 calories each. I upped that to 4 meal replacements, I feel better about it. I eat about every three to four hours.

On the weekdays, this is fine. I get up, I eat and I get out the door - it's a good rhythm. On the weekends, I have a habit of curling up in bed with a book and sometimes not being up until 11:00 or 12:00. That's nearly time for my second meal of the day, usually!

Which do you think is better?
1. Get up at 8:00, eat and then go back to bed if I still want to.
2. Eat two meal replacements at noon (so breakfast and lunch, basically).
3. Just eat the normal noon meal but be down to just under 500 calories for the day.

I'm really not quite sure how to handle this, so input would be nice!

 

[BordersGirl]

I haven't heard of the Dutch Modifast but if the plan is intended to be 3 packs per day and is completely balanced in that way then personally I'd miss out the extra pack at weekends if I didn't need it. Many VLCD plans are based on 500 calories or less, and you're hardly expending energy by lying in bed reading. If you don't feel right about only having 3 packs then have 2 at once. Definitely don't think I'd get up just to eat

 

[Starlight]

If your plan says have 3 packs a day you need to have 3 packs!! I dont know why so many people want to skip packs on a VLCD. Were intaking such a low amount of calories as it is!!! What benefit is there to skipping one??? You need them to get the nutrients etc your body needs. Dont start getting into the habit of skipping them. If youre meant to have 3 - PLEASE have them!!!

VLCDs range from 400 - 600 kcals a day but its not just the cals you need to work on. The ones which are 425 cals have the nutrients etc all worked into those cals... same as the ones with 600 kcals. You cant follow a 600 kcal one (like Exante) and work on the logic that Cambridge is only 425, so Ill just skip one of my packs cos the calorie intake will be the same. Yes it will but nothing else will.

 

[BordersGirl]

Starlight I think the OP implies the diet is based on 3 packs per day but she has decided to add a 4th pack. Certainly if you Google Modifast it says that it is based on 3 packs. So if she doesn't have the 4th pack at weekends she's just removing the extra one that she herself has added, not missing out an essential pack or skipping something essential.

 

[Fern84]

Thanks for the information, guys!

I'm coming to the following conclusions:
- never go under the recommended amount to make sure I get the right nutrients (for Modifast: minimum of 3 meals per day)
- If I'm eating four in general, missing one shouldn't matter, since I'm still getting the minimum