I have a job where I sit on my ass all day and it's very mentally stressful so I'm usually too tired to exercise on weekdays. I've gone months with literally ZERO exercise. I reduced my meals to only 1 meal per day and a small string cheese in the morning for a snack. I still had some stubborn weight around my midsection that wouldn't go away. Took about 6 months to get down to a good weight eating once per day. That just tells me when you don't exercise, you don't need to be eating 3 meals a day. Maybe if you work a physical job 3 meals is normal, but not when you sit and sit and sit. It's no wonder fatties who don't exercise balloon up when they eat 4, 5 meals a day plus snacks and soda.