Eating the majority of your calories at night

jbgolf52

Does anyone eat a lot of their cals at night? I find that I prefer going to bed feeling completely full/stuffed and don't have problems with hunger during the day if I don't eat a whole lot. I'm bulking and still getting in the cals I need, just wondering if anyone else does this on purpose (IF) or if it fits with their lifestyle (busy job/student, etc). I sometimes have 1.3-1.4K cals between dinner and dessert and I aim to hit 2,000-2,200 per day.

kimault1984

I do the same thing. I'm only allowed 1200 calories a day, and in order to not go over that I have to eat a light breakfast and lunch and a MAYBE a small snack. I prefer to save the majority of my calories to enjoy at dinner with my family. As long as you're not starving during the day, I don't think it makes a difference.

SueInAz

I'll do that a lot on the weekends but I find that at work I need to eat by around 11am. I'm not really sure what the difference is but I can often go until dinner on the weekends without eating even if I run. I'll then get my calories in between dinner and bedtime.

SMKing75

I do. I try to keep it around 500 all day and then dinner and pm snack make up the rest of my 1400. Sometimes its hard though.

ana3067

As a male, how are you bulking on 2200 calories? Are you like 120lbs? Otherwise your ticker says you're trying to lose weight. Which makes more sense.

jbgolf52

@Kim: no I'm not starving, so I'll keep it up then. Good plan with saving cals for dinner so you don't have to worry about it.

@Sue: The same thing happens with me, it's so weird. It doesn't matter what I'm doing on the weekends either, I could be really active or do absolutely nothing and either way I could wait until dinner to eat.

jbgolf52

@smk: I don't do this everyday, just some days. Is it hard for you because you get hungry?

@ana: I'm 25yrs old, 5'10, 130lbs. I work a desk job but have a standing desk, and am just getting back to working out due to injuries. Still can't do lower body so it's just upper body for now. I'm dealing with digestive issues and actually have been gaining despite averaging 2,150. Last month I dropped 12lbs due to my digestive issues so I'm trying to gain it all back and more. I was at 123lbs and that was scary and not good.

Jruzer

This is what I usually do. I tend to have a small breakfast and lunch and save my calories for my wife's delicious dinners and multiple snacks before bed.

arditarose

I do, just because it makes me happy to eat a lot at home. If I have less than 700 calories for dinner I get sad.

jbgolf52

@Jruzer: can't offend the wife and not eat her cooking!

@arditarose: I would get sad if I had to eat a small dinner as well.

Hornsby

I eat probably 500 calories while I'm at work. That leaves me over 3K to eat when I get home between 7pm and midnight.

jbgolf52

@hornsby: wow that's impressive, I don't know how you manage to do that. I'm assuming you don't eat solely "healthy/clean" food?

arditarose

jbgolf52 wrote: »

@hornsby: wow that's impressive, I don't know how you manage to do that. I'm assuming you don't eat solely "healthy/clean" food?

Interesting assumption.

obscuremusicreference

I like to eat about half my calories at night. I want a snack in the evening. Besides, I'm not really interested in eating more than oatmeal and a salad all day.

jbgolf52

@arditarose: I can't imagine someone eating all good whole foods with that many calories to hit but I'm not judging him or anything, just curious.

Raynne413

I eat most of my calories at night. I generally eat around 700-800 calories between 11am and 3pm, and then around 1500 calories between 7:30-10:30pm.

feisty_bucket

jbgolf52 wrote: »

just wondering if anyone else does this on purpose (IF) or if it fits with their lifestyle (busy job/student, etc)

Sure, yeah, I'll eat whenever. I don't believe there's some magic factor to eating at different times of the day. No worries.

ephiemarie

Yep. I eat lightly throughout the day and save a bunch of calories for my evening snacks. I enjoy the peace of eating things I love after the kids have gone to bed and the house is quiet. Also, I used to be a smoker, and my munchies coincide with my previous smoking times.

jbgolf52

It's good to see I'm not alone, good stuff everyone!

kinkajou60

Glad I'm not the only one I can get by without eating much at work. I'm busy so don't much notice the urge to eat. But when I'm home alone, then the munchies hit so I like to have a few extra calories to "spend". Besides, I exercise after work ('cause I'm NOT getting up any earlier than I do already at 5:15 am) so hopefully that off-sets the extra cals in the pm.

leggup

I save most of my calories for the evening because I find it most satisfying.

Breakfast: 0-250 calories
Lunch: 400-600 calories
Snack: 50-200 calories
Dinner: 800-1,200 calories.

Net total: 1710 calories. (Exercise gives me, on average, 50-600 extra calories. I add those extra calories to my dinner).

MaxPower0102

recommended to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper. im not a morning person so that it very hard for me.

LolBroScience

jbgolf52 wrote: »

Does anyone eat a lot of their cals at night? I find that I prefer going to bed feeling completely full/stuffed and don't have problems with hunger during the day if I don't eat a whole lot. I'm bulking and still getting in the cals I need, just wondering if anyone else does this on purpose (IF) or if it fits with their lifestyle (busy job/student, etc). I sometimes have 1.3-1.4K cals between dinner and dessert and I aim to hit 2,000-2,200 per day.

I do. Usually 2000 - 2600 cals post workout at night.

3700 cals on lift says, 3200 on off.

Hornsby

jbgolf52 wrote: »

@hornsby: wow that's impressive, I don't know how you manage to do that. I'm assuming you don't eat solely "healthy/clean" food?

Well, the stout I drink says it's organic?

SueInAz

mjtunney wrote: »

recommended to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper. im not a morning person so that it very hard for me.

I've heard this, too, but there's no proof that the time of day you eat your food makes any difference for weight loss. I like to snack at night after dinner while doing my homework or watching TV so I always save calories for that time.

earlnabby

I tend to eat about 40% of my calories between breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack and the other 60% between dinner and bedtime snack. The bedtime snack is essential for me because I don't sleep well if I am hungry.

newdaydawning79

I always eat most of my cals at night. Basically half of my cals go to breakfast/lunch/snacks and the other half go to dinner.

Steff46

I've been fasting overnight and eating between 11:30 am and 7:30 pm and love it! I can still have my coffee with a splash of milk in the mornings, eat light leftovers at lunch, and get to eat a good dinner at night at home after work! This works really well with my work schedule.

AskTracyAnnK28

I love dinner so I eat the majority of my calories between 6 and 8pm and so far I've lost over 40 pounds so I don't think it makes a big difference

martyqueen52

I do. I don't eat in the AM until about 12pm (lunch time) then not again until 4pm after my workout.... then I literally eat all night long until about 12am (bed time), and I wake up feeling great and never hungry.

jbgolf52

Hornsby wrote: »

Well, the stout I drink says it's organic?

That counts then! Hah.

Good to see other people doing this. I don't do it everyday, just depends on when I make myself eat as I have no appetite. I normally do 500-600 cals for breakfast, 250-300 as a snack in the mid-afternoon, and then feast around 8pm. I really enjoy doing this.