You've heard the pointy-heads say, "Correlation does not equal causation." You've associated two unrelated things and decided that one causes the other.
Saying:
I ate 3 meals a day in high school. I was fat in high school. Therefore 3 meals a day is fattening.
Is like saying:
I had unicorn wallpaper in high school. I was fat in high school. Therefore unicorn wallpaper is fattening.
See the disconnect? If you were heavier than you wanted to be, at any time in your life, with any meal pattern, it's because you ate more than you needed overall. It's not about the timing, or the schedule, or the macros, or the hunger scale, or the food quality. Those are all secondary, way secondary. The primary issue is total intake. If eating to satisfaction causes you to be less hungry and eat less overall, then weight will be steady or dropping. Just like it can climb with mini-meals and light snacks and never eating to satisfaction. Total intake over time is what matters. Meet your needs and you're good, however you split it up.