I need advice.

morramber

Hello, everyone. I'm new here and have been tracking all of my calories daily. I'm staying in my calorie range but I'm drinking chicken and beef broth, special k 100 calorie snack bars, jello, and then eating a regular meal at night. But not exceeding my calorie goal. So I'm staying within my range. However, my question is, is eating light all throughout the day and then eating a more "heavier" meal, I.e. ( I had grilled ham and cheese and ramen noodles) a bad balance? Even if I am staying within my calorie goal?

I know my calorie goal is best for me because it's 1,570 compared to 2700 or more that I had been consuming in junk food and soda pop all day long.

malibu927

Nope. Meal timing/breakup is irrelevant when it comes to weight loss. Now, if eating heavier at night causes you to have problems sleeping, then it's best to add a few more calories to your daytime meals.

StaciMarie1974

That will vary person to person. There is no 'right' answer as to how much to consume and when. The theories that say 'no food after 8pm' or 'no carbs after 4pm' are not grounded in science.

Personally I snack throughout the day with small meals. My husband has coffee & vitamins for 'breakfast', a small lunch, maybe a snack, and a big dinner. I could never eat that way, I'd be starving and have low blood sugar issues. But we're not all the same.

Need2Exerc1se

There are many people that eat this way, myself included. It's never been a problem for me (30 lbs down and perfectly healthy). If you are comfortable eating this way, then stick with it.

The only time it might be problematic is if you have diabetes and need to keep your blood glucose levels stable throughout the day.

qpmomma1

Nope, I do this sometimes. If I am too busy at work to eat lunch I'll eat a large dinner. Sometimes I eat a large lunch and a small dinner. It really depends on my day.

Verdenal

What you're doing sounds fine. But add some green vegetables and maybe take a multivitamin.

Verdenal

Verdenal wrote: »

What you're doing sounds fine. But add some green vegetables and maybe take a multivitamin.

There are some people who healthily lose weight through Intermittent Fasting. They often eat only one real meal day. I'm not recommending that, just noting that people have different needs.

DonaldBlinks

If it's working for you, then it's fine. There's no 'one size fits all' diet. You need to figure out the best way for you personally to maintain a deficit and you will lose weight.

Sabine_Stroehm

morramber wrote: »

Hello, everyone. I'm new here and have been tracking all of my calories daily. I'm staying in my calorie range but I'm drinking chicken and beef broth, special k 100 calorie snack bars, jello, and then eating a regular meal at night. But not exceeding my calorie goal. So I'm staying within my range. However, my question is, is eating light all throughout the day and then eating a more "heavier" meal, I.e. ( I had grilled ham and cheese and ramen noodles) a bad balance? Even if I am staying within my calorie goal?

I know my calorie goal is best for me because it's 1,570 compared to 2700 or more that I had been consuming in junk food and soda pop all day long.

Your calorie goal is fine. Eating light throughout the day is fine.

That said:
I worry a bit about the amount of sodium you're getting. Why are you drinking broth?
And, if it were me, I'd dump the ramen noodles. They are devoid of nutrients, and again a sodium bomb.
And, if it were me, I'd eat some nutrient dense foods. It seems to me that you aren't properly fueling your body based on what you've told us.

Out of curiosity how much sodium did you get with the broth broth and ramen?

morramber

I'm not sure. It was a diet I bummed from my brother. He's been big his whole life and recently got his stomachs band done. So he has very specific instructions to eat to lose weight and I thought it would do me good to try it. But the sodium I didn't really pay much attention to.

Yi5hedr3

OK - also keep Carbs under 100 grams/day. All be fine!

blues4miles

The calorie balance sounds fine. I do the same because I like a big dinner and have an easier time restricting during the day. Generally I do about 500 during the day leaving 1,000 for when I get home for dinner/sometimes dessert.

Maybe long term the sodium could be an issue, but I also believe that whatever helps you maintain your calorie balance might not be a bad way to start. I did meal replacement shakes for about 80% of my weekly meals for a couple weeks (still 1500 calorie days) because it helped me stay in check. A lot of people probably would have complained why didn't I just eat 'real' food but it worked for me. And I saw some losses that kept me going. Now I'm eating 'real' food for dinners again, but I may go back whenever I feel like it. It did make things easy for me which kept me on plan. So I think so long as you don't plan to eat broth/ramen forever you're probably fine. But maybe start thinking about what the next phase for you will be, and how it will fit in your plan.

TabethaMarie87

As long as you're staying within your calorie range it doesn't really matter how/when you take your meals.
Just a quick side note, I'd watch your sodium intake. What you described sounds awfully high in sodium and sodium will cause you to hold on to excess water which is counterproductive to weight loss.

erinc5

morramber wrote: »

But not exceeding my calorie goal. So I'm staying within my range. However, my question is, is eating light all throughout the day and then eating a more "heavier" meal, I.e. ( I had grilled ham and cheese and ramen noodles) a bad balance? Even if I am staying within my calorie goal?

The bold is all that matters. All you need to do is stay within your goal. I actually switch off between what I do. Some days I barely eat in the morning/afternoon and then have a huge dinner. Some days I snack all day and then have a tiny dinner.

Also, I don't really watch my carbs/fat/protein/sugar/sodium. I try to get a decent amount of protein, but other than that I don't really worry too much. Right now, my goal is seriously just focusing on getting into "normal" BMI. I am about 10 lbs away from the top of the range. Once I get into normal range, I may start having some other goals where I will have to watch ratios, but until then, all I worry about is calories. I feel like the same would be applicable to you. If you're just trying to drop weight, then the macros matter a bit less than if you have some other goals you're trying to meet.