Calorie Distribution

rowlantc

Hi all! So I have been doing the calorie counting game pretty consistently and effectively for a bit now, but I'm consumed with trying to learn more about nutrition and weight loss.

My question: As long as you're eating with a calorie deficit, does it matter when my calories are consumed? I weigh every thing that goes into my mouth by the gram...I don't even chew gum without tracking it. On the weekends, I usually prefer to have smaller meals early on and larger meals later in the day. Does it matter if I have 700-800 calories for dinner if I've only consumed 400-500 calories early in the day?

I am 5'4, female, about 195-200 pounds, and I consume 1300 calories a day. I work out 5-6 days a week. I'm not writing his because weight loss isn't happening--it definitely is. I'm just looking forward trying to avoid plateaus.

All information is very much appreciated!

Cynsonya

Food timing has no impact on weight loss. Eat when you like just stay in a deficit.

alyhuggan

I've not found any difference in weight loss due to meal timing.

One thing I'd like to point out is 1300 calories a day while working out 5-6 days a week is far too few calories for your stats.

rowlantc

So here's the thing with my 1300 calorie limit...I go to bed full every night. I'm currently in the middle of a month long sugar, fast food, and alcohol fast challenge with a friend...once I cut out IPAs and cookies, I haven't needed the extra calories. I'm fully aware of the fact that starving your body does more harm than good--I definitely won't do that. But when I'm hungry in between meals, I've been trying to have a healthy option like carrots or spinach which are low calorie but filling.

rowlantc

The reason why I ask the question about calorie timing is due to everything I hear about front loading calories in the first part of the day and not eating past 6pm...sometimes that's not realistic for me. I am just wondering if there's any validity to these directions...the calorie deficit matters the most, of course.

capaul42

Don't worry about timing. You can eat at 11pm and if you are in a deficit, you will still lose. Trust me, I do my workout in the evenings and eat back half those calories between 10pm and 12am. And I still lose.

The biggest reason people don't eat after a certain time is because some people have a tendency to over eat. I used to eat a half bag of chips at night watching my shows so I understand. Some people feel it's easier to avoid over eating if they have a cutoff time. But really it has nothing to do with your body storing those calories as fat.

Afura

Starving your body = Starvation mode? It's not really what people think it is.
It doesn't matter when you eat, find out what works best for you. There was a study done on eating late at night that put people into a furor about eating at night is bad for you, but what the study said was is that people were consuming more calories at night. Eat at a calorie deficit and the weight will come off.
You're probably not going to avoid hitting plateau's, it happens. Weight loss isn't linear, ups and downs and stopping happens to nearly everyone.

yarwell

rowlantc wrote: »

The reason why I ask the question about calorie timing is due to everything I hear about front loading calories in the first part of the day and not eating past 6pm...sometimes that's not realistic for me. I am just wondering if there's any validity to these directions...the calorie deficit matters the most, of course.

Studies have been done that show benefit of eating a larger meal at breakfast than the same meal at dinner. Possibly other studies failed to find a difference or maybe even found the opposite. Circadian rhythms are a thing. Loading up a load of food for overnight storage may have a different outcome to taking fuel on board as you start to ramp up the use of said food.

Only you can test and see what works for you.

Countryboy_83

I don't think it really matters as far as losing weight but i like to carb up before and after my workout cause it's helps with my performance

Maxematics

alyhuggan wrote: »

I've not found any difference in weight loss due to meal timing.

One thing I'd like to point out is 1300 calories a day while working out 5-6 days a week is far too few calories for your stats.

I would agree as well but, with her current weight, she's not really going to feel the effects of it just yet. However, a large deficit like that eventually catches up to people. If not through energy levels, their body composition suffers.

I'm 5'3" and when I started at 139 pounds, I was eating 1200-1400 calories per day but exercising once or twice per day. I thought my exercise calories were overestimated, so I only ate a maximum of 25% back. I was pulling losses of 2 to 2.5 pounds per week. After around two months of this, at 121 pounds, the lethargy set in. I read a bunch of info on MFP and increased my calories. The leaner you are, the more you will feel that extreme deficit.

I got down to 109 eating 1800 to 2200 calories per day and now I'm almost 115 at the end of a bulk. I cut again soon and there is no way I can imagine eating 1200 without eating back exercise calories; I'm far too active and I couldn't function that way.

Anyway OP, meal timing won't hinder your losses! I eat 50+% of my calories at night most of the time and eat everything in an 8 hour window since I don't like eating in the morning.

Cynsonya

rowlantc wrote: »

The reason why I ask the question about calorie timing is due to everything I hear about front loading calories in the first part of the day and not eating past 6pm...sometimes that's not realistic for me. I am just wondering if there's any validity to these directions...the calorie deficit matters the most, of course.

I eat 75-85% of my calories within 3-4 hours of bed. I've lost 39lbs in 3 months. Granted, I'm very obese so that weight loss is most definitely not typical for everyone. Just posting it to show food timing has played absolutely NO factor in my loss.

rowlantc

synacious wrote: »

I would agree as well but, with her current weight, she's not really going to feel the effects of it just yet. However, a large deficit like that eventually catches up to people. If not through energy levels, their body composition suffers.

I'm 5'3" and when I started at 139 pounds, I was eating 1200-1400 calories per day but exercising once or twice per day. I thought my exercise calories were overestimated, so I only ate a maximum of 25% back. I was pulling losses of 2 to 2.5 pounds per week. After around two months of this, at 121 pounds, the lethargy set in. I read a bunch of info on MFP and increased my calories. The leaner you are, the more you will feel that extreme deficit.

Yes! I certainly don't intend on remaining at 1300 calories forever. I also listen to my body and learn from mistakes. If I feel I haven't eaten enough for a workout, I back off and change up what I eat the next week before that workout. I'm big on scheduling, so I do the same workouts at the same time every week.

All of you have been so helpful! This is a lot of good information.