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Djhfjy
Djhfjy Posts: 10 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My goal is 1700 and a lot of times my dinner itself is 1400+, So should I eat light dinners?

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  • ElReyDelMundo365
    ElReyDelMundo365 Posts: 14 Member
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    You should definitely be eating lighter dinners. That is alot. What are you eating that's over 1400 calories?
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,984 Member
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    I maintain at around 1700 calories on non-exercise days, and use about 1200 of them for dinner.
    Usually a meat-based meal (chicken, pork, beef, fish), plus rice or potatoes, roasted vegetables, salad, glass of wine, and a small dessert. It adds up quickly, especially cooking with olive oil or butter.

    I eat a small breakfast and lunch. It works for me and my lifestyle, but wouldn't work for everyone. If you're staying within your calorie goals for the day, it doesn't matter how you space out those calories.
  • ElReyDelMundo365
    ElReyDelMundo365 Posts: 14 Member
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    Calories are a unit of energy. Your body gets energy from the food you eat. We tend to go to sleep a few hours after dinner, so you don't need 1500 calories worth of energy for 3 hours of leisure and then going to sleep. They recommend eating 500 calories before a heavy workout, so unless you're training for worlds strongest man and are 370lbs of muscle and require 10,000 calories a day, spending 1,500 calories on 1 meal is alot.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited October 2019
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    ElReyDelMundo365 wrote: »
    Calories are a unit of energy. Your body gets energy from the food you eat. We tend to go to sleep a few hours after dinner, so you don't need 1500 calories worth of energy for 3 hours of leisure and then going to sleep. They recommend eating 500 calories before a heavy workout, so unless you're training for worlds strongest man and are 370lbs of muscle and require 10,000 calories a day, spending 1,500 calories on 1 meal is alot.

    3 hours of leisure, sleeping, and then the entire next day until he eats again (or while he's eating his tiny meals).

    It's not a pattern I would like either, but meal timing doesn't matter other than for optimising some training schedules or on an individual basis (many do feel better with breakfast in the morning, for example).

    The training most do doesn't require specific meal timing. People who do IF gain muscle just fine. I suspect it could interfere with 2 a day training or advanced sports-related training in many cases, but most don't have a need to do that.
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
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    ElReyDelMundo365 wrote: »
    Calories are a unit of energy. Your body gets energy from the food you eat. We tend to go to sleep a few hours after dinner, so you don't need 1500 calories worth of energy for 3 hours of leisure and then going to sleep. They recommend eating 500 calories before a heavy workout, so unless you're training for worlds strongest man and are 370lbs of muscle and require 10,000 calories a day, spending 1,500 calories on 1 meal is alot.

    There is no benefit to smaller meals over bigger meals besides satiety for certain people. There are people who eat OMAD (one meal a day) where they get their entire calorie intake from one meal. That's a perfectly fine way to do it if an individual finds it filling and gets enough nutrition from that one meal. Your body doesn't need you to break up your calorie intake into smaller meals.
  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,416 Member
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    If it's working for you and you're not having problems with hunger the rest of the day, run with it.

    Honestly, I have to eat *two* meals a day to get in my 1450 calorie daily total. I've *tried* but without fast food and a lot of sugar, I really get uncomfortably full if I try to put down more than 800-1000 calories at a go.

    But there are some days when I'm really distracted or busy that I do wish I could get everything handled in one meal.
  • Sharon_C
    Sharon_C Posts: 2,132 Member
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    Goodness. I sometimes have problems hitting 1400 for the entire day. I'd love to see what you eat for dinner so I can drool over it :D
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 6,627 Member
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    I'm curious what you eat too! You can divide your calories up however you'd like, it's what works for you. I usually have a big breakfast, small lunch, and medium dinner with room for dessert.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,088 Member
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    ElReyDelMundo365 wrote: »
    Calories are a unit of energy. Your body gets energy from the food you eat. We tend to go to sleep a few hours after dinner, so you don't need 1500 calories worth of energy for 3 hours of leisure and then going to sleep. They recommend eating 500 calories before a heavy workout, so unless you're training for worlds strongest man and are 370lbs of muscle and require 10,000 calories a day, spending 1,500 calories on 1 meal is alot.

    Huh?🤷‍♂️
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,015 Member
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    Yeah, my main food goal is to keep my "dinner" to 1000 calories.

    I could v e r y easily eat 1500 at dinner every night. I'm with @SuzySunshine99 - it's not a stretch by any means.

    Love that username, BTW.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    edited October 2019
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    Wow, I feel like an amateur. My dinner "placeholder" for planning purposes is 800 kcal, and I hardly ever reach that.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,088 Member
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    Jruzer wrote: »
    Wow, I feel like an amateur. My dinner "placeholder" for planning purposes is 800 kcal, and I hardly ever reach that.

    What's up pingpong?
    just_Tomek wrote: »
    Calorie dense foods will do that to a dinner plan for sure. Volumize ppl volumize!!! :)

    Volume can help. If you are trying to "save" for a meal, using the principles of a modified protein meal can help. Half protein and half non starchy vegetables. The fiber and protein fill you up and help keep you sated. Works for some people.

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