Is it bad to eat most of your calories at the end of the day?

yogsothoth

I have a budget of 1550 calories. I usually don't eat anything in the morning, and for lunch at work I will normally have just a couple hundred calories between carrots, nuts, and nonfat yogurt.

I usually get home for dinner with the vast majority of my 1550 calories still remaining... So, I have a big dinner! Am I causing myself problems with this eating pattern?

My losses have been reasonable so far, by the way, but it has only been a couple of weeks.

Thanks for the input.

macphile

I'm the same way. I eat a low-calorie frozen dinner for lunch at work (4 days a week). Then I usually have something healthy and homemade for dinner and eat snacks the rest of the evening. I'm actually having trouble, though, as I've found myself still needing to eat as many as 1000 calories after dinner (although I guess I could count some of that snacking as part of dinner). I find it easier to eat less at work, where I don't have a fridge full of food, and I'd rather eat snacks later than eat earlier and have to go to bed feeling hungry because I've eaten all my calories for the day.

In terms of weight loss, it shouldn't matter. Whether you eat 100-calorie nibbles from the moment you get up until the moment you go to bed, 1550 calories all at once, or 3 meals and a few snacks over the course of the day, the total number of calories consumed is what will determine whether you lose, maintain, or gain. However, I guess going without food for long periods could affect one's energy levels and mood. Also, hunger and late-night eating can drive people to eat calorie-dense foods that might not be the healthiest choices in other respects, so you'd have to be careful of that.

Kalikel

If it's working for you and you're happy with it, it's not bad.

We all set our own goals and do our own thing in our own way.

The question isn't whether we are happy with it. The question is: Are you?

ThePhoenixIsRising

If it dosnt cause you to binge or negatiy impact your day, mood, productivity.... It is fine.

BinaryPulsar

It's not bad, as long as you are not suffering from it in some other way during the day (as others said). It's sort of like intermittent fasting, that some people prefer.

PeterSedesse

As far as weight loss, there is no difference. But your lack of calories when you should be most active can make you feel tired and unmotivated.

silentKayak

I do the same. I generally like to have no more than 450 calories for breakfast/lunch. Then 700-800 for dinner, and snacks in the evening if I can still afford it.

Works well for me.

SteveMFP123

More than half of my daily calories are eaten at dinner, I have a small breakfast, small lunch and most of my snacks at night and it has done me no harm.

meganjcallaghan

I do this every day. I'll have around 600 - 800 during the day and another 2000 or so between about 8pm and midnight because i generally get home late from work and stay up later. I've lost somewhere around 175 pounds so far doing this.

970Mikaela1

I eat 700 at lunch and 1500 before. Bed most days.

yogsothoth

Thanks, everyone! I'll just keep counting and not worry about the timing.

gothchiq

It hasn't done me any harm. I'm only 2 pounds away from goal, and I am NOT hungry in the AM and eating breakfast only makes me ravenous for the rest of the day, so I go with my natural evening ways while counting calories and exercising. Do what's natural for you while staying within your calories and getting some exercise, and you should be fine.

ThePhoenixIsRising

PeteSede wrote: »

As far as weight loss, there is no difference. But your lack of calories when you should be most active can make you feel tired and unmotivated.

I feel the word "can" and "may" are ones you should refrain from using when giving someone an absolute answer. If you want to advise the op on the possible consequences that's fine, but don't say "you should do X,Y,Z because if you don't A,B,C "can/may" happen."

If you do you are advising an absolute action hinged on a possible, not absolute, consequence. It just makes you look less objective and because of that less reliable.

ThePhoenixIsRising

ThePhoenixIsRising wrote: »

PeteSede wrote: »

As far as weight loss, there is no difference. But your lack of calories when you should be most active can make you feel tired and unmotivated.

I feel the word "can" and "may" are ones you should refrain from using when giving someone an absolute answer. If you want to advise the op on the possible consequences that's fine, but don't say "you should do X,Y,Z because if you don't A,B,C "can/may" happen."

If you do you are advising an absolute action hinged on a possible, not absolute, consequence. It just makes you look less objective and because of that less reliable.

This was supposed to go in the other thread you responded to.

katherine_startrek_fan

I find that I tend the most calories in the meal before I work out. Having a sedentary job, I tend to eat the most at dinner on weeknights and work out after. Similarly, on the weekends, I eat and exercise earlier in the day.

I try not to skip meals, but if I am not hungry, I will only have a small snack or glass of milk and save the calories for when I actually need them.

PeterSedesse

ThePhoenixIsRising wrote: »

PeteSede wrote: »

As far as weight loss, there is no difference. But your lack of calories when you should be most active can make you feel tired and unmotivated.

I feel the word "can" and "may" are ones you should refrain from using when giving someone an absolute answer. If you want to advise the op on the possible consequences that's fine, but don't say "you should do X,Y,Z because if you don't A,B,C "can/may" happen."

If you do you are advising an absolute action hinged on a possible, not absolute, consequence. It just makes you look less objective and because of that less reliable.

Sorry, you lost me. Almost the entirety of medicine and physiology is based around probabilities of something happening. If you smoke 2 packs of cigarettes per day, it does not mean you will get lung cancer and not everyone who gets lung cancer was a smoker.

If you do not consume calories early in the day, it may lead to cellular energy issues. While we all think of this as muscle weakness, the majority of the early symptoms involve the brain and include difficulty concentrating, problems with memory, confusion and irritability. If you don´t eat breakfast, does that mean that these symptoms will occur? No, but it increases the likelihood. Does it mean it will happen every day? No, but it will happen more frequently than if you ate breakfast.

Telling people to eat breakfast to avoid some symptoms is the same as telling someone to quit smoking. There are no absolutes when it comes to physiology, but you are changing the odds of something bad happening. And with skipping breakfast, the symptoms are minor quality of life issues that most people would not even attribute to calories. A co-worker annoys you? You can´t remember where you left your car keys? You dont´feel like going for a walk at lunch? You have trouble concentrating during a business meeting? My belief is a lot of what people contribute to ´having a bad day´ can come back to nutrition.

GaleHawkins

yogsothoth wrote: »

I have a budget of 1550 calories. I usually don't eat anything in the morning, and for lunch at work I will normally have just a couple hundred calories between carrots, nuts, and nonfat yogurt.

I usually get home for dinner with the vast majority of my 1550 calories still remaining... So, I have a big dinner! Am I causing myself problems with this eating pattern?

My losses have been reasonable so far, by the way, but it has only been a couple of weeks.

Thanks for the input.

It seems to be working for you. Many do what you do. You have been given some good thoughts on your questions. No two people are alike for sure when it comes to dieting in all aspects. If you find you are having an health issues or lack of weight loss you mind look to see if your fat/protein levels are high enough.

countscalories

Count me in (pardon the pun)! I was never a breakfast eater, and I rarely eat lunch-- I have some vegetables around 3 pm every day. I've been doing this for the past 11 months, and have lost 96 lbs. so far (30 more to go). It works for me; I've never felt better. I enjoy my dinner, and am able to make smarter food choices by concentrating on only one meal per day. If it works for you, great. If it doesn't, that's great, too. Each to his/her own!

tennisdude2004

It makes not difference. So unless you need to calorie load (well carb load) for a tough workout it doesn't matter.

Depending on how reliant on carbs you are in your diet, will depend on whether you feel fatigued during the day or not.

If you are not feeling fatigued then keep doing what you're doing if it's working for you!

Liftng4Lis

It makes no difference when you eat the calories, so long as you're in a deficit.

tennisdude2004

PeteSede wrote: »

ThePhoenixIsRising wrote: »

PeteSede wrote: »

As far as weight loss, there is no difference. But your lack of calories when you should be most active can make you feel tired and unmotivated.

I feel the word "can" and "may" are ones you should refrain from using when giving someone an absolute answer. If you want to advise the op on the possible consequences that's fine, but don't say "you should do X,Y,Z because if you don't A,B,C "can/may" happen."

If you do you are advising an absolute action hinged on a possible, not absolute, consequence. It just makes you look less objective and because of that less reliable.

Sorry, you lost me. Almost the entirety of medicine and physiology is based around probabilities of something happening. If you smoke 2 packs of cigarettes per day, it does not mean you will get lung cancer and not everyone who gets lung cancer was a smoker.

If you do not consume calories early in the day, it may lead to cellular energy issues. While we all think of this as muscle weakness, the majority of the early symptoms involve the brain and include difficulty concentrating, problems with memory, confusion and irritability. If you don´t eat breakfast, does that mean that these symptoms will occur? No, but it increases the likelihood. Does it mean it will happen every day? No, but it will happen more frequently than if you ate breakfast.

Telling people to eat breakfast to avoid some symptoms is the same as telling someone to quit smoking. There are no absolutes when it comes to physiology, but you are changing the odds of something bad happening. And with skipping breakfast, the symptoms are minor quality of life issues that most people would not even attribute to calories. A co-worker annoys you? You can´t remember where you left your car keys? You dont´feel like going for a walk at lunch? You have trouble concentrating during a business meeting? My belief is a lot of what people contribute to ´having a bad day´ can come back to nutrition.

?

Isn't this why we produce ketones for energy?

If you are on a diet of medium to high carbs and you are reliant on the glucose to fuel your brain then the glucose drop will cause this (over a short term period).

If you regularly do not eat breakfast or your diet is low in carbs your body will be efficient in converting adipose tissue into ketones for energy and will 'part' fuel your brain along with glucose and lactate!

I think the best advise is if your body needs glucose in the morning and you are hungry then eat breakfast. If your body doesn't need glucose and your fueling primarily on ketones and you are not hungry - then skip breakfast, it makes no difference to your ability to function.