Skipping Meals to Stay Within Calorie Goal

bokaba

What should you do if you've already reached your daily calorie intake by the afternoon? Is it advisable to go significantly over your goal or to skip eating dinner even if you are hungry? If I were already hungry by around 6pm, I would find it hard to go 16 or more hours without eating until breakfast the next day, but I suppose I could tough it out if I had to.

nessab70

I would eat dinner tomorrow is a new day

wldrose75

^This. If I was hungry but didn't eat dinner, I'd be in the cabinets at midnight scrounging for anything I could lay hands on and end up doing way more damage than dinner would do.

maidentl

I'd eat dinner. I usually have a 750 calorie deficit. So if I were at my goal at dinner, as long as it wasn't over 750, I'd still be in a deficit, just a smaller one. YMMV

Sabine_Stroehm

I would eat dinner. But I would also then look at my log and see what I can do to do a better job tomorrow to better nourish my body on this journey.

Be sure you're eating ENOUGH. Be sure you're eating as many calories as MFP tells you if not MORE if you exercise strenuously.

shadow2soul

I'd eat at maintenance for the day and just get back to my deficit the next day. If it happens to often, then you might want to take a look at your log and see how you can improve the distrabution of your calories.

edit: I should add that this only applies if I was really hungry. There are times lunch is the last meal of my day and I'm good until breakfast the next day.

indianwin2001

i would look at my diary and figure out why I went over my calories so early in the day and make adjustments so that doesn't happen again. Then I would eat dinner

millerll

Well, looking at your food diary, you're under-eating by over 1000 calories every day, so I'd say you can afford to eat dinner. I'd also recommend you try to eat more protein - your intake is pretty low for a young man. Hit your macros if you can. Good luck!

LazyFoodie

I would skip dinner if I wasn't hungry but if I was, I'd eat something light. Also, if it is difficult for you to skip dinner then pre-plan your food so you don't end up eating all your calories early on during the day.

Kalikel

I wouldn't get to dinner and have used all my calories, but if I did AND I was hungry, I'd have something low-cal.

ht1211

Eat a light dinner, and do a workout after so you don't feel too guilty. Unlike some people I actually like to work out in the evening. So I would put on a workout from fitness blender, or any 30 min cardio workout on youtube. If you're up for it, you could also hit the GYM. Many Gym open 24 hrs now.

Lounmoun

Eat dinner if you are hungry.
If this happens often start logging your food for the whole day in advance so you know you have enough. It requires some planning but better than skipping meals or eating too much.

fluffyasacat

Skip dinner. What's the incentive for planning better tomorrow if you're going to give yourself a pass when you hit your TDEE min-afternoon? Unless you're skipping every meal skipping meals isn't going to kill you.

shadow2soul

fluffyasacat wrote: »

Skip dinner. What's the incentive for planning better tomorrow if you're going to give yourself a pass when you hit your TDEE min-afternoon? Unless you're skipping every meal skipping meals isn't going to kill you.

I think he is talking about his goal to lose weight, which would be less than his TDEE. For some people skipping dinner, just so they can stick to a calorie deficit, would cause them to binge later. A binge later vs a small dinner that may put you at maintenance, which do you think would be worse? Personally, I think the binge would.

For me, it's very easy to go over one day and get back on track the next. I'm currently roughly 2lbs away from 90lbs lost. I probably would have given up long ago, if I skipped meals due to poor planning/family event/holiday/ect. Not saying I don't skip meals from time to time, I do. If I'm really hungry however, I'm going to eat something (even if it puts me at maintenance or slightly over).

xsmilexforxmex

I'd eat something low calorie - like a spinach salad with cherry tomatoes tossed in lemon juice and 2 oz chicken for protein. Some low calorie fruit, such as watermelon, would be a good dessert and additional filler.

maidentl

fluffyasacat wrote: »

Skip dinner. What's the incentive for planning better tomorrow if you're going to give yourself a pass when you hit your TDEE min-afternoon? Unless you're skipping every meal skipping meals isn't going to kill you.

This is just silly. We don't need to be punished for screwing up. And he didn't say he hit his TDEE, he said he hit his calorie goal.

fluffyasacat

maidentl wrote: »

fluffyasacat wrote: »

Skip dinner. What's the incentive for planning better tomorrow if you're going to give yourself a pass when you hit your TDEE min-afternoon? Unless you're skipping every meal skipping meals isn't going to kill you.

This is just silly. We don't need to be punished for screwing up. And he didn't say he hit his TDEE, he said he hit his calorie goal.

Sorry, not TDEE then... calorie goal. You think skipping meals is punishment? How bout dieting in general? Is that punishment? You need to think about caloric restriction a little more objectively. No one is being punished - reducing caloric intake is a thing you do when you want to lose weight.

fluffyasacat

shadow2soul wrote: »

fluffyasacat wrote: »

Skip dinner. What's the incentive for planning better tomorrow if you're going to give yourself a pass when you hit your TDEE min-afternoon? Unless you're skipping every meal skipping meals isn't going to kill you.

I think he is talking about his goal to lose weight, which would be less than his TDEE. For some people skipping dinner, just so they can stick to a calorie deficit, would cause them to binge later. A binge later vs a small dinner that may put you at maintenance, which do you think would be worse? Personally, I think the binge would.

For me, it's very easy to go over one day and get back on track the next. I'm currently roughly 2lbs away from 90lbs lost. I probably would have given up long ago, if I skipped meals due to poor planning/family event/holiday/ect. Not saying I don't skip meals from time to time, I do. If I'm really hungry however, I'm going to eat something (even if it puts me at maintenance or slightly over).

I think many could stand to reevaluate their definition of "really hungry".

bokaba

Yes, I agree that skipping meals outright is a good idea, but on the other hand, consistently eating above calorie goals is not either. More careful planning is probably the best solution for anyone. I also agree that some people's idea of hunger is different that others. There also seems to be an obsession on this site with never being in any, even momentary, discomfort.

Skipping meals, especially dinner or to a lesser extent, lunch, and not eating anything again for more than 12 hours probably results in real hunger--not merely a craving for some specific, but the physiological symptom of needing nourishment.

I generally do not have problems with binges, but I know many people do because after several hours, my hunger cues start to diminish.

ana3067

bokaba wrote: »

Yes, I agree that skipping meals outright is a good idea, but on the other hand, consistently eating above calorie goals is not either. More careful planning is probably the best solution for anyone. I also agree that some people's idea of hunger is different that others. There also seems to be an obsession on this site with never being in any, even momentary, discomfort.

Skipping meals, especially dinner or to a lesser extent, lunch, and not eating anything again for more than 12 hours probably results in real hunger--not merely a craving for some specific, but the physiological symptom of needing nourishment.

I generally do not have problems with binges, but I know many people do because after several hours, my hunger cues start to diminish.

You're constantly like 1000+ below calorie goal. For a male you are undereating by a butt-ton. In fact, I'm eating more than you most days, if not every day.

You're also still not weighing your food - you had posted about your plateau. Is this still a problem? Combo of being so inconsistent, regularly below goals, and not weighing, you might do well do re-evalulate your goals and recalculate your TDEE (or your net intake since you seem to be logging exercise... but not eating it back. So if you are NOT doing TDEE, then I suggest you either start doing TDEE or start eating back 50%+ of the exercise calories.), which will possibly help you figure out how to divvy up your daily calories.

fluffyasacat

bokaba wrote: »

Yes, I agree that skipping meals outright is a good idea, but on the other hand, consistently eating above calorie goals is not either. More careful planning is probably the best solution for anyone. I also agree that some people's idea of hunger is different that others. There also seems to be an obsession on this site with never being in any, even momentary, discomfort.

Skipping meals, especially dinner or to a lesser extent, lunch, and not eating anything again for more than 12 hours probably results in real hunger--not merely a craving for some specific, but the physiological symptom of needing nourishment.

I generally do not have problems with binges, but I know many people do because after several hours, my hunger cues start to diminish.

I absolutely agree that people are scared of hunger. Hunger comes in waves, and it often goes away completely with a drink of water. I am absolutely not advocating habitual hunger-inducing periods of complete abstinence, but if you've hit your calorie goals before dinner then how hungry can you really be with 2000 or so calories in your system?

Liftng4Lis

Eat, log it and move on. Additionally, try pre-logging your day so you avoid situations like this.

harlequin0318

You're consistently under your calorie limit....I'm confused

Unknown

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PwrLftr82

MrM27 wrote: »

As people have already said stop going consistently 1000 calories under.

As far as your question goes, I would prefer plan better next time, not having that happen again. As far as today would go, I would eat something. You said "go significantly over" why does it have to be significantly? It's pretty obvious from your post and previous thread that's it's all or nothing with you. You need to address your mental approach towards this whole game. You might be able to adjust to the physical constraints of it but in the long run (I'd even say short run with you) you will find it almost impossible to overcome the psychological aspects of it all.

So again, I would eat something but it doesn't have to be a large amount of calories.

Yeah, I'm missing the day he supposedly hit his calorie goal...looking at the diary, I don't see it...

malibu927

Wow, eat something! You have plenty of room for a nice 600-700 calorie dinner and still be under your goal. Otherwise you'll probably burn out soon.

47Jacqueline

I have some mfp friends who skip dinner. I don't know how they do it. If I was ever in that situation, which I wouldn't be, I would either eat dinner and not worry about it, or if I was trying to lose weight, I'd take a walk or a class and then have dinner.

50sFit

bokaba wrote: »

What should you do if you've already reached your daily calorie intake by the afternoon? Is it advisable to go significantly over your goal or to skip eating dinner even if you are hungry? If I were already hungry by around 6pm, I would find it hard to go 16 or more hours without eating until breakfast the next day, but I suppose I could tough it out if I had to.

For years I force fed myself breakfast, because after all...it's "the most important meal of the day" - right?
Well, maybe...or maybe not...
Today, I just skip it. The egg-heads even have a cool term for this called "Intermittent Fasting". Whatever.
Skipping that meal helps me keep my daily calories in check, and the egg-heads even debate some other benefits of intermittent fasting. In fact I have made progress in other areas just as some have claimed. Who knows?
I fast 16 hours every other day, then eat well in that 8 hour window.
Good Luck!

wkwebby

First off, we aren't seeing the whole picture. The 1,000 calorie deficit is based on adding a boatload of exercise calories. My first question is how are you getting 600-800 calorie workouts? Secondly, once you've determined that you've got the right number of exercise calories, then yes, you might want to eat a light dinner if you're still hungry.

Although you might not be at a true 1000 calorie deficit for the day, it appears that you still are in some sort of deficit. If you're too hungry at night, you might want to try and see if you also need water.

Bottom line, drink a couple of glasses of water and eat a light dinner if you are hungry.

terar21

Eat. I know plenty of people fast and it's ok and works for them but that is their intended weight loss program, not a fail-safe "crap, I just need to skip tonight and wait for food tomorrow." I think there's a difference between waking up and saying "I really want to have a hearty meal for lunch so I'll skip breakfast today" and "I'm so hungry but I don't have enough calories for dinner so I'll wait until tomorrow to eat."The latter could lead to binge behavior. If your body is truly hungry, you should just eat, especially when it isn't going to put you over maintenance.

lmr0528

If you're hungry, then eat! Simple as that. Try and go heavier on the vegetables with your dinner though, that will help you to not go over your calories as much. Never deprive yourself if you're body is hungry.