Who remembers when Taco Bell came out with fourth meal? It was back in 2007 and for those late night munchies they were hoping you’d show up to get some gut busting snackage in before calling it a night. I don’t recall it going over very well, or lasting very long. 🤷🏻♀️
One of the 2018 food trends is the fourth meal. So what is it? Naturally, we already have breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The way I understand it, the fourth meal is after dinner but before breakfast. According to certain cultures dinner is already considered the fourth meal. So long as you include tea, biscuits, and jam as the third meal after lunch. (See below)
I have no personal qualms with this notion, if that’s how you roll more power to you. After living in Brazil for a year and half I got used to eating dinner later in the evening as it was cooler and more comfortable to do so. Some nights we weren’t eating till 8pm sometimes as late as 9-10pm. But now, I struggle getting a second and sometimes a third meal in. As for my caloric intake, getting what MyFitnessPal deems what I ought to be getting is an absolute joke! Most days I can barely break 1200. How on earth am I suppose to fit in a fourth meal? 🤨🤔
I recall back in late 2003, I was roughly 5-6 months pregnant with G, both my OB/GYN and Nutritionist told me that I needed to start eating 5-6 small meals a day. I earnestly tried, I did EXACTLY what they said but I started to feel sick to my stomach. It was basically too much food, mixed the constant clock watching, writing it all down, monitoring what I was eating and when…I started to hate food. So, I went back to my three lower carb meals a day, fitting in one to two complex carbs a day with my meals, making sure to measure out the servings, and IF I felt like having a snack then I made sure it was something healthy. I was maintaining the 35 pounds I had gained during my pregnancy, didn’t have a single issue with bloat, Gestational Diabetes, and more or less felt normal. My blood pressure was near textbook which apparently is unheard of for someone of my size. 😒 In the end, I proved for myself, that 5-6 smaller meals wasn’t for me.
Perhaps the fourth meal is designed for the night owls/hawks. With insomnia on the rise it’s plausible, I guess. Would this also include 3rd shift workers? Or other people who work the graveyard shift? I can’t help but wonder though…
…who would have the room for it? With the shoddy metabolism I was blessed with I know I personally don’t. 🤢
Which begs the question, do you see the fourth meal taking off again?
Granted I don’t think it’s about being glutenous, rather it’s along the same lines as having 5-6 smaller healthier meals a day.
Do you think this trend will stick around a second time? If it does, then I think it will only benefit those who are up late at night and people with faster metabolisms. I could be wrong and often am.
Please feel free to comment below! Let me know what you think, who do you think might benefit from it, and what are some healthier fourth meal options?
Happy Eating(fourth meal included)!!! 😉
Night Owl Kitchen 