Does anyone else "save calories" for dinner (or another meal)?

jeffryturnbow · July 2015

Most of the time I try to spread my calories out evenly through out the day. I have 6 meals a day. I try to have a little larger breakfast, and a little larger dinner but try to keep the rest pretty much even. My thoughts is that my body will burn them more evenly if I intake them evenly.

petitehealth · July 2015

HappyCampr1 wrote: »

Definitely. I pre-log my dinner, a glass of wine and some sort of dessert before I figure out what to eat the rest of the day, just for that reason. It's much easier for me to cut back on food during lunch than at dinner time.

I also pre-log my dinner the day before (or a couple days before) and then plan out the rest of my day based on the calories and macros I have remaining after a yummy dinner.

dogcatac · July 2015

kind of. I always log dinner first, and if it's a larger meal, just eat less for breakfast/lunch to make up for it. works out pretty well.

pmm3437 · July 2015

I back load my plan so I usually eat a majority of my calories after work. Typically works out about 25% each for breakfast and lunch, 10% or so for snacks and drinks throughout the day, and 40% or so for dinner. This lets me grab lunch or dinner out once in a while, without blowing up my whole plan. I just flip the calorie budget for the day, and eat small after the large/out lunch.

ktsjourney · July 2015

Yes!

mbaker566 · July 2015

I wish. I'm starving right now. so so very hungry

paris458 · July 2015

No, I get tired at night and if I have too many calories left over I just wont eat enough and go to bed

jensquish1 · July 2015

I save calories for dinner sometimes. In general I save for evenings just because I know I like to snack lol

ElJefeChief · July 2015

paris458 wrote: »

No, I get tired at night and if I have too many calories left over I just wont eat enough and go to bed

I've found as a side benefit of "saving up" my calories that if I end up with too large a surplus, I just go "meh" and leave a few hundred (occasionally over a 1000) on the table and just go to bed. So, either a large surplus goes unused, or I have an extra-hearty dinner plus maybe a late-night snack to boot. I win either way!!

bclarke1990 · July 2015

I always try, but I end up just eating fruit or other foods around lunch and convince myself the glucose will fuel my day. Really, I just like to eat, lol

melissakunimitsu9232 · July 2015

A long time ago when I lost weight with weight watchers I used to do that save points or calculate my dinner in advance. These days due to work my dinner is on the late side so I feel better when it's smaller so I'm not saving calories for it or I get tempted to overeat. While I crave a cooked dish, a salad with lean protein and maybe some carbs depending on how late is what actually suits my body and lifestyle. My motivation: less heart burn.

gothchiq · July 2015

"breakfast" is coffee, my prescriptions, and an Ovaltine. Around ten I get a boiled egg. Lunch is moderate, dinner is moderate, I have small snacks like veggies or another boiled egg here and there to keep my blood sugar stable (I'm prediabetic). and that uses up every last calorie I'm allowed. If I wanted what I consider a "real" dinner I would have to do without food all day... which would crash my blood sugar. I wish things could be more flexible but I have to put blood sugar values first.

Blargh. I'm mostly used to it but I get annoyed from time to time by how restrictive the whole medical maintenance thing is.

lilawolf · July 2015

Yep. Same here. I also save enough calories Monday-Thursday, especially from my big workout days to have extra on the weekend, usually spent on alcohol and or pizza. YUM! I only look at weekly average.

IILikeToMoveItMoveIt · July 2015

yep. I keep breakfast and lunch as super low calorie or no calorie as I can. Sometimes I save some extra if I know I have a dessert/beer I want to indulge in. You are right OP, it's amazing how little our bodies run on. I find that it's the nutrition that counts more than calories for health.

IronBatMaiden · July 2015

Yes. I save my calories for dinner. That tends to be my most caloric meal of the day and I want to be able to enjoy it. I won't starve myself until dinner. I just eat fewer calories at breakfast and lunch.

kristinegift · July 2015

Definitely. I use half (or fewer) of my calories on breakfast and lunch, then treat myself with dinner and dessert.

SwindonJogger · July 2015

Yeah. Have around 300 cals for breakfast, the same for lunch and save 1000-1400 or so for dinner. Can't handle being hungry in the evening but actually like being hungry during the day, it makes me feel more alive!

Drewlssix · July 2015

DrEnalg wrote: »

I've found out I actually don't really need much to get through the day. Usually a bowl of high-protein cereal with skim milk and berries for breakfast plus black coffee. Then lunch is salad and maybe some cheesesticks. Once my exercise is factored in, I typically have 1500-2000 calories to play with by dinnertime.

A couple days ago I took advantage of this and had KFC for dinner (my absolute favorite). I may actually indulge in one of those calorie-dense "chicken bakes" from Costco tonight, and have calories left over for a snack / dessert later.

It's nice to be able to have the room to indulge. Just takes a little planning ahead.

I learned to do the opposite too, a while ago my work bought lunch for everyone and the agreed upon source was one of those texmex places where portion control is a foreign concept.

I indulged to the point of being uncomfortable and had only a rough estimate of the calories but I decided I didn't need diner... Then I skipped breakfast the next morning without missing it at all and only had a tiny bit of something to snack on for lunch. It wasn't until diner the day after the work linch I was actually hungry for a real meal and my weight loss for the week was perfectly on track. Within reason it really dosent matter when you get your calories, breaking it down into meals is really just a social convention.

JustBreathe418 · July 2015

I do this at least a few times a week!

noelbugley · July 2015

I eat 5-6 times a day. I had gastric bypass so that has an effect on why I eat so often. Small meals and snacks throughout the day. I am hungry every few hours unfortunately!

CatMom8 · July 2015

I do. I plan for little treats and snacks to help keep me sane and if I know we are going out for dinner, say, on Saturday night, I check the menu and try to make some choices ahead of time, so I get an idea of calories, protein fat, etc. MFP has a lot of good info in its database to make that planning feasible.

ScreeField · July 2015

I don't "save calories". However, I'll time my longer workouts to occur late morning on days I know I'm going to eat more in the afternoon--but I rarely eat large meals at night, even on hard workout days.