Calorie question

mtdb8

Do I figured out that I eat most of my calories at dinner. I already knew that but I didn't realize it was nearly double or triple what I eat the rest of the day. It's like a full days of calories in a seating

Obviously I'm going over the calorie goal like that, but dinner is always going to be the largest meal because it's the only one where I have time to cook.

The rest of the time I eat something like instant oatmeal or pasta or eggs; something easy to cook a gulp down since I have very little time for the rest of the day.

Dinner is always going to be the biggest meal for me. So the question is what do I do about it?

TavistockToad

Just eat slightly smaller portions so it's still your biggest meal but fits your calorie goal.

gallicinvasion

It’s the same for me. I just have 100 cal breakfasts with protein, a 300-500 calorie lunch, a 100 cal afternoon snack, and that leaves me with 700-1000 calories for a satisfying dinner (sometimes I even have room for some after dinner snacks!) if you make a plan and stick to it with regards to your calorie limit, you can still have a big dinner and meet your weight goals.

cmriverside

Lots of people eat that way.

I used to, but now I spread my calories out over the day and I have come up with many high-volume meals for dinner. Lots of vegetables and protein - not so much bread, pasta, rice etc. Smaller portions of bread pasta and rice helps keep the calories lower. I use about half the suggested serving sizes and bulk up my meals with more vegetables.

hippysprout

I think you already know the answer to your question.

mtdb8 wrote: »

Do I figured out that I eat most of my calories at dinner. I already knew that but I didn't realize it was nearly double or triple what I eat the rest of the day. It's like a full days of calories in a seating

Obviously I'm going over the calorie goal like that, but dinner is always going to be the largest meal because it's the only one where I have time to cook.

The rest of the time I eat something like instant oatmeal or pasta or eggs; something easy to cook a gulp down since I have very little time for the rest of the day.

Dinner is always going to be the biggest meal for me. So the question is what do I do about it?

If you're going to eat your full days worth of calories in one meal, then it's either got to be your only meal, or you have to find ways to lighten your recipes, portions, or both. One does not have to completely and radically change their world to lose weight, but neither will one lose weight by making no concessions at all. The real question is, what sustainable changes are you willing to make?

Chef_Barbell

I save 80% of my calories for dinner and my dinner drink. I eat light breakfast/lunch. Or sometimes I just have coffee.

mtdb8

Chef_Barbell wrote: »

I save 80% of my calories for dinner and my dinner drink. I eat light breakfast/lunch. Or sometimes I just have coffee.

That sounds like what I should do. But how do you stop being hungry all day?

Chef_Barbell

mtdb8 wrote: »

Chef_Barbell wrote: »

I save 80% of my calories for dinner and my dinner drink. I eat light breakfast/lunch. Or sometimes I just have coffee.

That sounds like what I should do. But how do you stop being hungry all day?

I'm just not hungry. I'm usually busy running after a precocious 2 year old. 🤷🏼‍♀️😂

manderson27

what is your daily calorie allowance? If you have too aggressive a deficit you might find that you are not allowing yourself enough calories.

I find intermittent fasting works for me. I am not a morning person so I usually just have coffee and I delay my first meal until around 12.30 that allows me to keep some more calories for my evening meal.

AnnPT77

mtdb8 wrote: »

Chef_Barbell wrote: »

I save 80% of my calories for dinner and my dinner drink. I eat light breakfast/lunch. Or sometimes I just have coffee.

That sounds like what I should do. But how do you stop being hungry all day?

It's a bit of a balancing act, so you have to experiment at first.

Different people find different things filling/satiating, and to best with different timing of eating. You've already self-identified that you prefer to have a bigger meal at night, so you have a start.

First, a few words about satiation: It's very individual. Of course, it's good to get basic balanced nutrition no matter who you are, but beyond that you can play with how you use discretionary calories after the major nutrition boxes are checked, and with your specific food choices as you get that nutrition. Some people find volume filling (usually lots of lower cal, high volume, high fiber kinds of foods). Some people find fats filling, or protein. Some people find carbs filling (especially complex carbs like potatoes, grains, etc.). Some find that eating carbs causes more cravings for them, so they reduce carbs.

Meal timing is similarly individual. As some have already said, they don't get hungry for quite some time early in the day until they start eating, and function fine that way. They're good candidates for schedules where they eat two bigger meals, or even just one. OTOH, some of us (like me) crash and burn without breakfast - energy tanks mid-morning. (I gotta eat breakfast!) There are endless variations: Multiple tiny meals/snacks through the day, 3 meals no snacks, bigger meals with tiny snacks, etc., etc.

So, start playing with what you're doing to see what works best for you. Take a look at your food diary on days where you felt a little bit better vs. those that were a little tougher. What was different? Experiment with a change to make your next couple of days more like that better day. Did it help? If so, keep that change. If not, keep monitoring, and try something else.

Note that hunger may not be true hunger: We can feel hungry for reasons having to do with inadequate sleep, a change in activity level or activity type (some people find exercise makes them hungry, some find it blunts hunger, some find the type of exercise matters), stress level, boredom, habit, social cues, and more. If your hunger has some other root cause, address the root cause: Earlier bedtime, different exercise, stress reduction techniques (exercise, bubblebath, meditation, etc.), new hobby (especially one that requires clean hands like sketching or needlework, or makes dirty hands like gardening or carpentry), new habits, etc.

Think about what cues hunger for you, and experiment to change it. It's about finding a good balance that works for you personally. Others can give you ideas to try, but you have to figure out what works.

A poster above wondered whether you'd set a too-aggressive weight loss rate. That's possible. But even if you haven't, it can help to ease your way into weight loss: Set yourself up for half a pound a week (which won't even be visible on the scale for many weeks, realistically), and use that for a while to find some new ways of eating and moving to meet that calorie goal. When that's going well, if you have enough weight to lose to justify it (25+ pounds or more), reset to 1 pound a week, and find ways to settle happily into that. Once that's doable, if you have 35-50 pounds to lose, go to 1.5 pounds a week, then (if you have at least 50 pounds to lose and preferably also are over 200 pounds), consider 2 pounds a week.

We didn't get fat in a few weeks, so we're not going to get thin in a few weeks. It's a process. Moreover, figuring out how to do it manageably is part of the formula for finding a way to organize your life that will not only let you lose the weight, but also stay at a healthy weight permanently.