When to eat? It seems that’s not a question that is asked very often. At least in America, we seem to be raised on the idea of three meals a day–breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Is there a better way? I’m not sure. The Abs Diet recommends a six meal a day approach, which I try in a modified way–I don’t think six meals, but instead three meals and three snacks. That would be breakfast (say at about 7 am), a snack (about 10), lunch (noon), a snack (3 pm), dinner (6 pm), and a snack (about 8:30 pm).

This doesn’t always work out the way I want it to. For instance, due to my Tuesday and Wedesday night classes, I trade the 6 pm dinner for a 6 pm snack and have dinner at about 9. And a lot depends on people’s jobs–for me, I don’t have a problem taking a break to eat (or, in fact, carrying some food in my pockets–think dry cereal–and eating on the run). Others may not be nearly so lucky.

Is that necessarily a better way than the three meal a day tradition? I’m not sure yet. One of my issues with food is what’s called “portion control”: that means that I have a hard time turning down food. Even if I’m full, if someone offers me food, I’m likely to eat it, and for me to stop eating with food left on my plate–or sometimes food not on my plate, but just on a serving dish–is pretty unheard of. So if I give myself smaller amounts to eat more frequently, I may eat less.

In addition, because hypoglycemia is an issue for diabetics, eating more frequently–especially before working out–might be wise. For what it’s worth, I often leave on long (or short) morning rides without eating, but make sure I have money to stop and eat if necessary and/or take a bit of food with me.

In any case, please at least consider the frequency of your meals when thinking about food. I won’t say it’s as important as how much or what you eat, but I’m sure it also is important!