Extra Calories At The End Of The Day -- What To Do?

abetterluke

So here's my situation -- I have my calories set at 1800 per day. A lot of the time I end up only eating 1200-1400 and 8pm or so rolls around and I have 400-600 left.

Late night snacking is a problem I've always struggled with so I'm very hesitant to eat 600 calories in one sitting 2 hours after I've eaten dinner.

Is it ok to have that large of a deficit several days per week? The impatient person in me wants to do that every single day and drop a lot of weight quickly but the logical person in me wants me to do whatever is going to equal out to a permanent lifestyle change and not a "diet"

shrinkingletters

Make your meals bigger.

abetterluke

shrinkingletters wrote: »

Make your meals bigger.

The thing is...most of the time I feel like my meals are already too big. I generally eat a good sized dinner but its also usually healthy (less than 400 calories) and lunch is just leftovers so its the same.

I don't eat breakfast. I guess I could start.

jemhh

Listen to Logical Luke, not Impatient Luke

I don't see a problem with it once in a while but I wouldn't do it regularly. The minimum that a man should be eating is 1500 calories per day. If you eat 1800 for five days and 1200 for two days that averages 1628. That's not too far above 1500, which is just enough to ensure that you have enough calories to meet your base nutritional needs. It is far better to fuel your body properly to ensure that you are maximizing your fat loss while minimizing the loss of lean mass (i.e., muscle.) Yes, it does mean slower loss but you'll end up looking and feeling better doing it that way.

barbecuesauce

There is no reason why you cannot eat 600 calories 2 hours after dinner and still lose weight. Are you making up for your daily deficit on the weekend? You should not go below 1500 calories per day, but you can look at your calories as a weekly vs. a daily thing.

abetterluke

jemhh wrote: »

Listen to Logical Luke, not Impatient Luke

I don't see a problem with it once in a while but I wouldn't do it regularly. The minimum that a man should be eating is 1500 calories per day. If you eat 1800 for five days and 1200 for two days that averages 1628. That's not too far above 1500, which is just enough to ensure that you have enough calories to meet your base nutritional needs. It is far better to fuel your body properly to ensure that you are maximizing your fat loss while minimizing the loss of lean mass (i.e., muscle.) Yes, it does mean slower loss but you'll end up looking and feeling better doing it that way.

That's a good way to look at it. Thank you!

spat095

I second the idea of breakfast, for sure.

I_Will_End_You

Pay more attention to your weekly average than daily. Add up your calories for the week, divide by 7, and you have your average daily intake. If it's a reasonable amount, don't worry about it. If it's low, try to add some calorie dense foods into your diet like peanut butter or cheese.

bryerangel

I have the same problem. 500-800 calories left after dinner. I am eating heathy, feel full, plenty of energy. If I snack on fruit, which i love, it puts me way over my sugar limit. I dont get it either.

ruggedshutter

You might be surprised in how you feel when you workout if you increased your calories closer to your goal. You can always add some cheese or snack crackers in each meal. 100-200 calories worth for both lunch and dinner and you would make up most of those missing calories and probably add a little extra fat that your body needs.

kdz526

I'll second the weekly not daily. I like to save up my calories for the weekend when I tend to be outside my week routine with the kids and man home. Then if I splurge with them on the weekend and go over for the day, my weekly still comes out good.

abetterluke

ruggedshutter wrote: »

You might be surprised in how you feel when you workout if you increased your calories closer to your goal. You can always add some cheese or snack crackers in each meal. 100-200 calories worth for both lunch and dinner and you would make up most of those missing calories and probably add a little extra fat that your body needs.

That's actually the other thing that worries me...I haven't really started working out yet but when I do I'll end up with an even bigger deficit than I usually have now...

Daveysgirl2014

As long as you're getting, at the very, very least 1000 per day you should be fine.

abetterluke

Daveysgirl2014 wrote: »

As long as you're getting, at the very, very least 1000 per day you should be fine.

That does not sound like enough to be healthy....

jemhh

abetterluke wrote: »

Daveysgirl2014 wrote: »

As long as you're getting, at the very, very least 1000 per day you should be fine.

That does not sound like enough to be healthy....

It's not.

Rebecca28186

Eat if your hungry...if not then don't eat

StaciMarie1974

When you're working out, you'll probably feel the need to eat more. Especially protein. Listen to your body.

Holly_Roman_Empire

Daveysgirl2014 wrote: »

As long as you're getting, at the very, very least 1000 per day you should be fine.

Erm...no.

rileysowner

That

Daveysgirl2014 wrote: »

As long as you're getting, at the very, very least 1000 per day you should be fine.

That is not enough for a female much less a male.

lemonsnowdrop

Did you cut out all calorie dense foods? Cook with a little oil, butter and mayo. Eat some peanut butter.

SuggaD

eat bigger meals

abetterluke

lemonsnowdrop wrote: »

Did you cut out all calorie dense foods? Cook with a little oil, butter and mayo. Eat some peanut butter.

Not all. I eat peanut butter a couple of times a week for lunch. I also cook with oil and use butter and mayo from time to time. Not a daily occurrence though. Even when I do use those things I don't use very much....except butter...i might as well be paula deen.

Daveysgirl2014

lol I'm sure you guys are correct. I'm pretty new to all this myself. That's just the note I got the other day when I didn't eat enough, that I should get at least between 1000-1200 per day.

tyismc

Daveysgirl2014 wrote: »

As long as you're getting, at the very, very least 1000 per day you should be fine.

That is not a healthy amount. That is almost to the point of starvation. Only eating that may calories also lowers your metabolism

abetterluke

Daveysgirl2014 wrote: »

lol I'm sure you guys are correct. I'm pretty new to all this myself. That's just the note I got the other day when I didn't eat enough, that I should get at least between 1000-1200 per day.

That's entirely dependent on height and weight. I know for a fact that 1000 calories is way too low for a 5'8'', 237lb, man.

Daveysgirl2014

Oh, sorry. I obviously have a lot to learn. I am 5ft and 147 lbs.

tyismc

abetterluke wrote: »

So here's my situation -- I have my calories set at 1800 per day. A lot of the time I end up only eating 1200-1400 and 8pm or so rolls around and I have 400-600 left.

Late night snacking is a problem I've always struggled with so I'm very hesitant to eat 600 calories in one sitting 2 hours after I've eaten dinner.

Is it ok to have that large of a deficit several days per week? The impatient person in me wants to do that every single day and drop a lot of weight quickly but the logical person in me wants me to do whatever is going to equal out to a permanent lifestyle change and not a "diet"

Try to incorporate more snacks in there. You don't necessarily have to have fruit all the time due to it being high in sugar levels. You can use nuts which it does say high in fat but depending on which type of nut you choose; it can be healthy fats. All natural peanut butter is good too.

kshama2001

I have calories left over most of the time. I'm shooting to not go over my fat grams. (I set my macros at 40 g carbs, 35 g fat, 35 g protein.) I do get a lot of extra calories from exercise.

tyismc

abetterluke wrote: »

So here's my situation -- I have my calories set at 1800 per day. A lot of the time I end up only eating 1200-1400 and 8pm or so rolls around and I have 400-600 left.

Late night snacking is a problem I've always struggled with so I'm very hesitant to eat 600 calories in one sitting 2 hours after I've eaten dinner.

Is it ok to have that large of a deficit several days per week? The impatient person in me wants to do that every single day and drop a lot of weight quickly but the logical person in me wants me to do whatever is going to equal out to a permanent lifestyle change and not a "diet"

You definitely don't want to eat 600 calories in one sitting late at night because your metabolism rate actually slows down later at night because your less active. It is also can be hard to digest properly that amount of food if your going to bed right after.

maidentl

tyismc wrote: »

abetterluke wrote: »

So here's my situation -- I have my calories set at 1800 per day. A lot of the time I end up only eating 1200-1400 and 8pm or so rolls around and I have 400-600 left.

Late night snacking is a problem I've always struggled with so I'm very hesitant to eat 600 calories in one sitting 2 hours after I've eaten dinner.

Is it ok to have that large of a deficit several days per week? The impatient person in me wants to do that every single day and drop a lot of weight quickly but the logical person in me wants me to do whatever is going to equal out to a permanent lifestyle change and not a "diet"

You definitely don't want to eat 600 calories in one sitting late at night because your metabolism rate actually slows down later at night because your less active. It is also can be hard to digest properly that amount of food if your going to bed right after.

No, it doesn't matter when you eat your calories. The only reason not to eat close to bedtime is if it makes it difficult for you to sleep.

Jennloella

this is crazy to me. Your meals already seem big? I'm a chick, in maintenance, and I eat around 2400 a day, I cannot imagine feeling full or satisfied on half of that....>I agree with PP that said make you meals bigger, or maybe choose more calorie dense foods. Eating too low of calories won't do you any favors.