What's your calorie goal and how do you distribute them throughout the day?
Options
TimothyFish
Posts: 4,925 Member
Curious because one of my plans for maintenance allocates 750 calories for lunch, but I often see people eating two slices of pizza for lunch (close to 800 calories). That is doable, but pulling calories from somewhere else, but my preferred method of watching my intake is to know how much I have available for each meal and stick close to it or just a little under.
0
Replies
-
I’m a bit puzzled as to where you’re going with this. My calorie goal is 1450, and I eat those calories however. Usually two 500-calorie meals (lunch and dinner) and some Quest bars / ice cream. If your inquiry is in regard of whether people set a specific number of calories per each meal, I do not. However things line up works for me.
Edit: just saw you’re talking about maintenance. If I were maintaining, I’d care even less about calorie splitting, as I’d have more to play with.0 -
It's 1690 to maintain my current weight without exercise. Some days I run a deficit and some days I don't. When I don't, I generally do just coffee for breakfast, 300-400 calorie lunch after 2 pm (16:8 here), 500-700 for dinner, then I like to graze until about 10. I don't really assign specific calorie amounts--I plan dinner based on what's on sale, almost always eat a salad for lunch, and keep things like vegetables, fruit, cheese, deli meat, and peanut butter on hand to round out my macros for snacks.0
-
I’m a bit puzzled as to where you’re going with this. My calorie goal is 1450, and I eat those calories however. Usually two 500-calorie meals (lunch and dinner) and some Quest bars / ice cream. If your inquiry is in regard of whether people set a specific number of calories per each meal, I do not. However things line up works for me.
Edit: just saw you’re talking about maintenance. If I were maintaining, I’d care even less about calorie splitting, as I’d have more to play with.
Where I'd like to get to is a place where I don't have to log calories. Breakfast is pretty simple, because I eat pretty much the same thing every day anyway. Lunch is a little more complicated because the menu changes regularly. Pizza ends up being my go to when the other options don't look appetizing or have excessive amounts of calories. For weight loss, a single slice of pizza works okay, but for maintenance without logging, the problem I see is that either I'll be way under with one slice or I'll go over with two, unless I spread my calories differently.
0 -
I eat 2000 calories per day during the weight loss phase. If I'm super hungry at breakfast I will eat a big breakfast, small lunch, small snack and a decent sized dinner. If I'm having pizza with my kids I will have smaller meals until dinner where I will eat most of my calories. I don't divide my calories, I just eat more whenever I feel a bit extra hungry or have a nice big snack after dinner if I wasn't super hungry at some point during the day.
ETA: I don't log every day, but I do keep an approximate running total in my head.0 -
TimothyFish wrote: »I’m a bit puzzled as to where you’re going with this. My calorie goal is 1450, and I eat those calories however. Usually two 500-calorie meals (lunch and dinner) and some Quest bars / ice cream. If your inquiry is in regard of whether people set a specific number of calories per each meal, I do not. However things line up works for me.
Edit: just saw you’re talking about maintenance. If I were maintaining, I’d care even less about calorie splitting, as I’d have more to play with.
Where I'd like to get to is a place where I don't have to log calories. Breakfast is pretty simple, because I eat pretty much the same thing every day anyway. Lunch is a little more complicated because the menu changes regularly. Pizza ends up being my go to when the other options don't look appetizing or have excessive amounts of calories. For weight loss, a single slice of pizza works okay, but for maintenance without logging, the problem I see is that either I'll be way under with one slice or I'll go over with two, unless I spread my calories differently.
Or eat 1 1/2 pieces of pizza? I'm wondering how you calculate your calories because you don't weigh your food, right? I don't either. I don't even know how many calories I eat per day because I don't log or track. Just curious as to your current method.0 -
What kind of pizza has 400 calories a slice? I thought the norm for a plain pizza is 250-300ish? Or are you including toppings?0
-
I digress...I'm still losing, but close to goal. Depending on how much I exercise, I usually am working with about 1400 calories. 300 for breakfast, 300 for lunch, 200 snack, 300-400 dinner (though this meal is where it varies more), and 200ish for a dessert (or wine if I'm out). I think when I go into maintenance I will increase my lunch slightly, but probably still keep a small deficit a few days a week to allow more indulgences on the weekends.
As far as your pizza issue, I would either eat one and a half slice, or stick to your current one slice and add something small or add a snack later.0 -
I don't do breakfast and eat a super light lunch (200 calories) because I like to eat a big dinner and have whatever I want for a snack later. I make sure to leave plenty of calories on the table (pun intended) for wine, too. Calorie intake is 1700, up to 2300 on weekends.0
-
I prefer to allocate the majority of my calories between the hours of 10am to 2pm. On a daily basis, I eat around 2000. I usually have only about 300-350 for b'fast; dinner and a small dessert somewhere between 600-700. So that's about 1000 for an AM snack, lunch, PM snack. AM snack is usually about 150, lunch probably 500, PM snack about 250...leaves a little wiggle room for dinner/dessert.0
-
I have 1750 calories and like to split them like this: about 200-300 for breakfast, about 500 for lunch, and the remainder for dinner and snacks. I like a large dinner to keep me happy while I can live on small breakfast and lunches without feeling deprived. I think it just comes down to personal preference.0
-
-
2200 for a modest cut. 3 meals and a couple snacks during the day.0
-
I eat 2000 calories a day. How much I eat per meal varies, but these are the ranges I typically fall. Where I fall in the range depends on the day. I'm almost always on the high side for breakfast, so that one varies less than the others.
Breakfast: 500-650
Snack: 100-300
Lunch: 350-450
Dinner: 300-600
Dessert: 150-3000 -
TimothyFish wrote: »I’m a bit puzzled as to where you’re going with this. My calorie goal is 1450, and I eat those calories however. Usually two 500-calorie meals (lunch and dinner) and some Quest bars / ice cream. If your inquiry is in regard of whether people set a specific number of calories per each meal, I do not. However things line up works for me.
Edit: just saw you’re talking about maintenance. If I were maintaining, I’d care even less about calorie splitting, as I’d have more to play with.
Where I'd like to get to is a place where I don't have to log calories. Breakfast is pretty simple, because I eat pretty much the same thing every day anyway. Lunch is a little more complicated because the menu changes regularly. Pizza ends up being my go to when the other options don't look appetizing or have excessive amounts of calories. For weight loss, a single slice of pizza works okay, but for maintenance without logging, the problem I see is that either I'll be way under with one slice or I'll go over with two, unless I spread my calories differently.
I see what you’re saying. I don’t know, I’d have have the two slices of pizza and then have a smaller dinner or something. But then again, I like pre-logging my meals, so making decisions on the fly would probably freak me out a bit at this point.0 -
TimothyFish wrote: »
I vote for one piece plus a small snack or other addition of about 200 calories. a cookie or two
0 -
I'm new to maintenance but I'm just doing the same as I did during weight loss except with a few more calories. I eat a pretty light breakfast, lunch, and snacks throughout the day (usually around 1000) and then that leaves me with around1500 for dinner and snacks plus exercise calories. I don't typically set those numbers, that's just how it typically works out.0
-
i don't log. i keep a rough tally in my head with the understanding that my maintenance isn't some exact and specific number. I tend to consume anywhere from 2700 - 3000 calories and maintain. As per my rough tallies, I don't eat the same calories day in and day out...basically, my natural eating tendencies lean towards calorie cycling.
Beyond that, it's most important that I listen to my body and my hunger ques, particularly where snacking is concerned...I ask myself, hungry or bored? If it's the latter I go find something else to do or nibble on a few sunflower seeds.
I monitor my weight with regular weigh ins and track the trend...for the past 4 months or so I've fluctuated between 186 and 190 Lbs with my average being 188. When I notice that my average starts trending in a different direction I take a look at my diet and I can usually spot where I've started eating an extra snack or something or most often, I notice that I'm doing a bit less exercise than normal...I identify the problem and deal with it right there and then.0 -
TimothyFish wrote: »TimothyFish wrote: »
Thank G-D. I thought maybe my recent 300 calorie estimates were wrong!0 -
Maintenance for me is 2100-2300
Typically my cals are:
Breakfast 400
Mid morning snack 150
Lunch 400
Dinner 700
Evening snacking 250-300
Tea/coffee with milk cals per day (x5 cups) - 100
(I may be petite and getting on a bit but I'm very active
hence my huge appetite) 0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 389 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 918 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions