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Calories by meal

teecee60
teecee60 Posts: 47 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Has anyone tried eating more in the morning and tapering off toward dinner / evening? I thought about giving this a try to maximize my weight loss. Or is just a myth?

Right now I am averaging almost 50% of my daily calories on dinner and evening snacks. (Although I am not really snacking that much after dinner lately). But I think it should be reverse.

Thoughts?

Replies

  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    Meal timing has no effect on weight loss. I eat the majority of my calories at night.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    It's a myth.

    Some people like most of their calories in the morning, some people at lunch, some at dinner, and some prefer to graze all day. Choose the way that will most help you hit your calorie target.

    For me, that's saving the majority of my calories for dinner and dessert. I feel the most satisfied and stay on track.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    It really doesn't matter.

    I don't eat breakfast because it just makes me hungry all day long. I have my first meal after 11 a.m. and then supper and an evening snack. It's helped me stick to my calories when losing and now maintaining.

    If you prefer eating the way you are and don't feel hungry or tired during the day then stick with it. The breakfast is the most important meal of the day is a marketing tool that has gone on way too long. And eating at night does not affect weight unless you are mindlessly snacking. If you're calorie aware, it's irrelevant.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited January 2019
    Meal timing and when you take in your calories doesn't matter. I need around 2800-3000 calories on average to maintain...I need to eat 2300-2500 calories on average to lose one Lb per week...doesn't matter when I eat them.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    It is a myth. You lose weight by eating less food than your body burns. There are no tricks to make this process more efficient.

    It is far more important to focus on sustainability not speed. Finding a way to eat that you can be mostly happy with for the rest of your life is one of the biggest hurdles in weight loss success.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    There's nothing wrong with eating heavier later in the day. Meal timing is only important for elite athletes who are trying to make gains in performance. For regular dieting, it doesn't matter.
  • Fatty_Nuff
    Fatty_Nuff Posts: 273 Member
    It is an effective plan for nighttime acid reflux.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    Fatty_Nuff wrote: »
    It is an effective plan for nighttime acid reflux.

    If that is an issue for you. I, personally, don't have that problem. I eat right up until the time I go to sleep.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    Fatty_Nuff wrote: »
    It is an effective plan for nighttime acid reflux.

    If that is an issue for you. I, personally, don't have that problem. I eat right up until the time I go to sleep.

    Your wife doesn't kick you out of bed for eating crackers?
  • COGypsy
    COGypsy Posts: 1,421 Member
    My natural preference is to eat more early in the day. I wake up hungry most days and currently eat 900 - 1100 calories before 10:30 or 11 am. I don't really eat lunch, might have a small snack mid afternoon if my stomach is burning and then eat another 700 calories or so in the evening, usually around 7:30 or 8 and am usually in bed right after dinner. I've lost, gained and maintained eating with this general pattern. My weight changes according to how much I eat, not when I eat it.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    Fatty_Nuff wrote: »
    It is an effective plan for nighttime acid reflux.

    If that is an issue for you. I, personally, don't have that problem. I eat right up until the time I go to sleep.

    Your wife doesn't kick you out of bed for eating crackers?

    I'm not sure how to take this, @NovusDies. :/

    I don't have a wife. But, no, my hubby doesn't kick me out of bed for eating in bed. Which I do, every night.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    It was a joke which I shouldn't have to explain after the many times I have made it now.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    edited January 2019
    NovusDies wrote: »
    It was a joke which I shouldn't have to explain after the many times I have made it now.

    I thought it was. Or maybe you were calling me a dude, like @tacklewasher finds so funny.

    I've got my cranky pants on today. Pay me no mind.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    It was a joke which I shouldn't have to explain after the many times I have made it now.

    I thought it was. Or maybe you were calling me a dude, like @tacklewasher finds so funny.

    I've got my cranky pants on today. Pay me no mind.

    But it is funny as hell :)
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    your body does not care when you eat.

    do what works best for you.

    sometimes i have breakfast, sometimes i dont. dinner is usually my largest meal, but not always.

    i eat lunch or i start getting really..... not nice.
This discussion has been closed.