Does it matter what you eat and when you eat...

imlindaheart

... as long as you stay within your calorie limits?

I am used to mostly eating in the evening, sometimes very late at night, just before bedtime. I'm a single mom with 3 kids and a full time (work at home) job. I also don't like to eat in a hurry or be interrupted while eating only to arrive to a plate of food that has gone cold. That's why I love eating at night when kids are asleep.

I have no problem with staying within my calorie limit, but if I do it how I like it, I will get 50-60 percent of my calories late at night. Is it going to be a problem for weight loss?

Also, if I want to eat something very high in calories, go to a party, travel or have some other occasions, where I would like to eat a lot more calories than allowed, can I just save some up for the occasion? Let's say, save 100-300 calories per day for a few weeks to eat 3000-4000 calories on a special occasion.

Also, lets say I eat a 2 large servings of mac and cheese, which is enough for my daily calories, will it give the same result for weight loss as eating 4-5 smaller meals with lots of veggies and lean meat?

snickerscharlie

imlindaheart wrote: »

... as long as you stay within your calorie limits?

I am used to mostly eating in the evening, sometimes very late at night, just before bedtime. I'm a single mom with 3 kids and a full time (work at home) job. I also don't like to eat in a hurry or be interrupted while eating only to arrive to a plate of food that has gone cold. That's why I love eating at night when kids are asleep.

I have no problem with staying within my calorie limit, but if I do it how I like it, I will get 50-60 percent of my calories late at night. Is it going to be a problem for weight loss?

Also, if I want to eat something very high in calories, go to a party, travel or have some other occasions, where I would like to eat a lot more calories than allowed, can I just save some up for the occasion? Let's say, save 100-300 calories per day for a few weeks to eat 3000-4000 calories on a special occasion.

When you eat has no impact on weight management. It's the *total* you eat, and not the timing of it.

You lose weight by eating less every day than what your body burns. This is how you would keep track of it on a daily basis. However, averaging out your caloric intake over a week is just as effective. So if you go over your goals on certain days because life happens, provided you scale back an equal amount across the other days to compensate, your weight loss rate will be unaffected.

Also, lets say I eat a 2 large servings of mac and cheese, which is enough for my daily calories, will it give the same result for weight loss as eating 4-5 smaller meals with lots of veggies and lean meat?

What you eat is also irrelevant strictly from a weight loss viewpoint. You *can* eat 2 large bowls of mac and cheese every day - provided that keeps you under your calorie target - and still lose weight.

Having said that, nutrition is also very important to your body. Although a diet consisting of mainly mac and cheese would provide some of your nutritional needs, you would definitely want to make certain your diet also includes everything your body needs in the correct proportions to insure proper nutrition across all of the macros.