Division of calories into meal and snacks

kiwijo95

Ive got 1200 caloies per day as my allowance.

Im not following any formal kinda diet and am hoping somone can point me in the right direction as to how much I should 'spend' on each meal and allow for a snack (or two) to stop me feeling hungry.

Any (reasonable) suggestions welcome.
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Bianca42

I eat with my family in the evening, so I usually try to save a good chunk of my calories for dinner. Since I eat alone breakfast, lunch and most snacks, I eat less. For me, I try to keep breakfast, lunch and snacks between 200-300 calories each. That leaves me a nice dinner cushion.

But, it's really about what works for you.

kiwijo95

Thanks Bianca, I was kinda working around thoses figures, but find that Im ready for something nice after work so my 'snack' can get a bit caorific, then I have to do some excersize to have a decent amount for my main meal. I guess I shall have to play around a bit.
Thanks again.
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bcattoes

Ive got 1200 caloies per day as my allowance.

Im not following any formal kinda diet and am hoping somone can point me in the right direction as to how much I should 'spend' on each meal and allow for a snack (or two) to stop me feeling hungry.

Any (reasonable) suggestions welcome.
)

It really depends on how you prefer. I like to save calories for a big dinner so I eat light throughout the day. I rarely eat anything before 12 - 1:00, and then it's a small lunch and snack. I've always prefered to eat more at night. Just develop a schedule you can be happy with. That's all that matters.

And if you exercise you get more calories and still have the same deficit, so be sure to figure that in.

kiwijo95

Thanks bcattoes.
Im finding that I can eat resonably until the point where I get home from work, then I need something nice, then I have to do some excersize to 'earn' enouhg calories to have a decent main meal.
Im sure I will strike the right balance if I play about enough.
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TheBeerRunner

I log my calories into time of the day rather than by meal... For example Morning, Mid-Day, Evening, and Late Night. If there's a specific time of day you don't want to have a bunch of calories in, it's easier to track your food intake that way. My diary should be open to the public, take a look and you'll see what I mean.

kiwijo95

Cheers ganz, I might give that a try as well.
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shadus

I usually go for a light breakfest, light lunch, and large dinner. I feel better that way typically and generally my work out is either right before or right after dinner, and the large calorie influx then makes me feel better and recover quicker.

For breakfest, eggs are your friend. 70 cals/ea, filling. 2 eggs, scrambled, salt, pepper, garlic, onion. Yum. 140 cals, cheap breakfast.
Lunch is a mixed bag for me, greek yogurt is nice (0%) toss a couple straw berries and a touch of vanilla and it's great. Sometimes some chicken breast or sauteed veggies... try to keep it in the 200-300 range.

Rest comes from dinner and exercise calories.... I've had as low as 400 and high as 1400 and generally hit in the 700 range somewhere which is pretty comfortable as far as being filling goes.

Vailara

I find that 1200 is a struggle, whereas even a couple of hundred calories more is more do-able. I'm doing TDEE - 20% which gives me a decent amount from day to day, as I used to find non-exercise days difficult.

However, I still don't have a huge amount of calories, so I, personally, prefer to stick mainly to three meals. I divide these into a smallish breakfast, a slightly bigger lunch and a bigger evening meal. That's the family meal that I cook, so I prefer to be able to eat more at that time. I also have skimmed milk in my tea, and if I have anything left over after the evening meal, I'll have a snack late evening.

It's probably not worth me saying how many calories for each meal as I have a bigger allowance for you, but if I was doing 1200, I'd allow about 100 (actually 68) for my milk, and I'd want to keep back a good amount (500 at least) for my evening meal. I'd have about 500 or so divided between breakfast and lunch (200 breakfast, 300 lunch, or 250 each). That would leave a small amount for a nakd bar or a value packet of crisps if I had a craving in the evening! Obviously, if you exercise, you'd have more to play with. I found that I quickly got used to sticking to mealtimes to eat - it becomes habit.

I'm not saying mine is a good plan, just what's working for me! Good luck! Feel free to add me.

aquarabbit

First of all, there is NO WAY I could do 1200 if I wasn't working out. It's usually pretty easy since I'm working out twice a day, but when my broken toe was healing and I was sedentary, keeping under that line was almost impossible. The basic rules I follow are these:

- I follow the eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper. I also have the most carbs in those bigger meals. That way I have the energy when I need it and stay fuller longer. I don't snack in between breakfast lunch and dinner. I do a pre-workout snack in the morning (usually yogurt and a coffee), and a nightcap in the evening (usually hot chocolate!). I really does keep me full.

- If I'm hungry I eat. If I'm TRULY hungry, I eat. No matter if it means going over my calories or not. If you've got a growling stomach, feed it!

- If I'm not hungry, I stop eating. If it's a breakfast, lunch, or dinner, if I'm full I stop. If I'm hungry an hour later, I'll finish my sandwich or pasta or whatever I was eating. This might be good for you since it would mean smaller amounts throughout the day.

- Don't let that number make you hungry. Choose a range. I have a 1200-1400 range where I can end up at the end of each day. If you try to control the calories too much, I believe you risk putting too many restrictions on food and yourself. Like not eating something because you don't know exactly how many calories is in something. Food should still be enjoyed and it won't always add up to the same number.

- Remember there's a learning curve. Do what you can now and learn as you go. Maybe you'll find a 200 calorie breakfast isn't enough or a 400 calorie dinner is too much. It's all about what's right for you. Experiment a little.

kiwijo95

All great suggestions here, thanks very much to all of you.

Im lucky I dont have milk in my coffee and am finding that when Im hungry a large glass of water can usually take care of the hunger pangs.
I agree 1200 isnt much (especially when Ive got over 5 stone to loose!), but am trying to find low cal snacks that I can have throughout the day. At the moment my getting home pre dinner fave is oat cats, cottage cheese and red onion chutney (2 = 98 cals).

I shall certainly be playing about with a few of these ideas.

Thanks again.
Jo
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