When You've Eaten All Your Calories at Breakfast 😲
MsCzar
Posts: 1,069 Member
Well, most of them anyway. What are some good ideas for VERY low-cal dinners? Hoping someone here has a better idea than my 'can of tuna & water' plan.
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Replies
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That must have been some breakfast! lol
Let's see... I would probably go for some lean protein like grilled or roasted chicken breast and either pair it with a huge salad base or maybe a bunch of riced cauliflower for some bulk so you find it filling.9 -
Soup or chili can be pretty low-cal and also filling. Not a great suggestion for summer, I guess.
These things happen, and sometimes you just have to write it off as a maintenance day, or a day you're over your calorie goal. That may be better that reducing your dinner calories to the point where you are miserable.8 -
I'd do fish and a bunch of steamed vegetables.
(Eggs benedict? That'll do you in every time...
) 6 -
That must have been some breakfast!
It was! Fresh eggs (fried in bacon drippings) and home-churned butter from Amish country, sausage, whole grain toast and still warm-from-the-oven scones drizzled with honey. To make it "healthy" I had a few fresh-picked black raspberries.
Soooo goooood.
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Well, I was going to say a vegetable omelette (2 eggs + 1 egg white) made with Pam and a salad, but maybe you've had enough eggs for one day.
So I'd say SOUP! plus drink lots of lo-cal, unsweetened liquids.1 -
a piece of fish filet and lots of broccolli/cauliflower and or tomato/cucumber/lettuce salad. or just borrow some calories from tomorrow .4
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I just made a massive bowl of kind of greek salad of freshly harvested cherry tomatoes, cucumber, while greek (some vegetarian 'feta') and edamame. Together with a simple burger with lean tartar, tomato ketchup, acar that I made some other time and Ikea rosted onions. Comes in at around 500 calories all together.2
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Think fiber.
my lowest cal dinner or lunch tends to be stir-fry mix with soy/ginger/garlic. Add protein if you need it for today. don't skip the nutrients to avoid going a hundred or so over calories.9 -
Fish, egg whites, and veggies are very low cal. Fruit is more on the higher end than veggies. if it isn't berries.
I don't have meal for you but these are some options.1 -
I mean... assuming it was a relatively balanced meal then you've fueled your body for a great, active day.
For example if you're on vacay then why not walk instead of cab from place to place. If you're at work, then perhaps it's a stairs only day or a day where you happen to help out the folks in the shipping department 🤷🏿♀️
The idea is to free up some caloric space for a light dinner that is still satisfying.
Personally, I'd choose something high-fiber with a smidgen of fat: a PB & banana sandwich on wholegrain bread with a warm beverage 😋7 -
You sure you don't want to just eat normally at dinner and be over a bit for the day? LOL
When I'm absolutely determined to hit my calorie number for the day and don't have a meal's worth of calories left, I pull out the polenta. A massive bowl of the stuff, with a Tbsp of butter thrown in, is like 400 calories and sits in your stomach like glue and easily puts off the hunger until the next morning.8 -
You could call it an Intermittent Fasting day test for the slightly improved morning eating window - eat a small lunch or afternoon snack, and no dinner.
Or call it an over day and enjoy whatever the extra breakfast was.5 -
I probably wouldn't do anything different and just chalk it up to one of those days. They happen here and there. As long as it's not a regular thing, they're pretty irrelevant.11
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cwolfman13 wrote: »I probably wouldn't do anything different and just chalk it up to one of those days. They happen here and there. As long as it's not a regular thing, they're pretty irrelevant.
Also this.
Go back to reports and look at your last week, month, or 90 days of net calories. It'll give you a bigger overall picture of how you're doing and some perspective.
I have eaten above maintenance (by more than a handful of calories) twice in 3 months. so like wolfman I'd just... eat more normally for the rest of the day.2 -
I would probably just have a huge mixing size bowl of salad. Or make a stir fry with 20 calorie shirataki noodles and tons of veggies. You can make a huge meal for <200 calories. See volume eaters thread.4
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You know, I think I would just have my regular dinner and put it down to a maintenance type day.
Why? Because if I go too light or skip dinner there is a good chance I will wake tomorrow a tad more hungry than normal and eat a bigger breakfast to sate.
My lunch could probably be skipped (or smaller) after a breakfast that size with no hardship.
Cheers, h.6 -
soup.
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I'd do fish and a bunch of steamed vegetables.
(Eggs benedict? That'll do you in every time... )
IME eggs benny is actually not terrible, it comes out around 600-750 calories by my math, at least the way it's served at most of the breakfast places around me. (The homefries on the side, though, that's the kicker.)
Anyway sometimes it be like that, it's more important to stay honest with yourself. Keep logging the rest of the day, drink water, opt for a light dinner of soup or tuna salad and crackers or something along those lines.0 -
My usual go-to for a low calorie meal is boiled potatoes. Cut it up, boil in salted water with a small head of onion and a bay leaf, drain when ready, cover for 5 minutes, sprinkle with dried herbs and black pepper and you're good to go. So delicious and filling!
If you're too miserable by dinner, don't torture yourself. Just have one of your usual low-ish meals that you like. being a bit over for the day is not the end of the world.4 -
I'm in the camp that would eat for the rest of the day based on hunger, choosing things that for me are satiating despite being relatively lower calorie, and that fill out any nutritional gaps. Sure, if the big meal gives you an energy boost, use that energy rather than tamping it down, without going crazy with exercise or anything.
If it's a rare thing, it really doesn't matter. One day is a drop in the ocean. The majority of our days determine the majority of our progress.
For me, extreme compensation measures tend to backfire: If eating well below satiation or over-exercising, the next day can be crave-y, setting up a cycle of annoying, counterproductive feelings, if not counterproductive actions.
Good chance to practice "intuitive eating" and "intuitive activity": Interrogate your hunger/satiation impulses closely but not obsessively for the rest of the day; use what you've learned about your satiation-creating foods if needed; try beverages (especially warm ones) before food for satiation, not at an extreme; notice/ride your energy level, etc.
I've been at a healthy weight for 5+ years, since losing quite a lot. I'm an uneven eater (I calorie bank, but don't closely track save vs. spend calories in the cumulative bank or high-eating days much anymore, I just watch the weight trend). Every once in a while, I have a 4,000-5,000 calorie day, which is probably 2x TDEE +/-, perhaps more. After the water weight dissipates, it makes astonishingly little difference in my weight trend, as long as it's quite rare.
Just go back to your routine, generally. It'll be fine. I'd say, put yourself on a life-path where wild abandon with food is rare, but possible without stressing, on the rare occasion. Part of weight management is managing pleasure, social eating, and that sort of thing in an emotionally healthy way. Though I'm not able to define exactly what "emotionally healthy" is for other people, I personally don't like the "sin and expiation" model implied by a strong "making up for it" approach. YMMV.8 -
Stir-fry won the day! Sesame oil and hoisin sauce added 200 calories to the whole pan - but there are leftovers for tomorrow.
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If you want to go the seafood route, a shrimp louie or crab louie salad with several kinds of vegetables would be a tasty option, quick and easy if you use precooked seafood and premade or microwave-steamed vegetables. An egg white omelette with vegetables could be good too, if you are OK having more eggs.0
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A bowl of salad and a bunch of prawns (or shrimp or whatever they are where you live) - they are ridiculously low calorie and full of protein.3
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Planning to add prawns to the leftovers tomorrow. Yum!
Managed to hold the day at ~ 1800 cals.10 -
Planning to add prawns to the leftovers tomorrow. Yum!
Managed to hold the day at ~ 1800 cals.
I think that's a good example of not letting a day get out of control, but also not feeling like to you have to starve yourself the rest of the day.
Sometimes, people get into the mindset that "Well, I've already ruined the day, so *kitten* it, I'm going to eat whatever I want today and start fresh tomorrow." I have done that. There's nothing necessarily "wrong" with that in the sense that one day is not going to ruin you. But, it's kind of a defeatist attitude.
You did it best...you had a big meal that might have taken most of your calorie budget for the day, but then you were thoughtful the rest of the day and still came out with a reasonable calorie total.6 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »Sometimes, people get into the mindset that "Well, I've already ruined the day, so *kitten* it, I'm going to eat whatever I want today and start fresh tomorrow."
I call that 'the misewells' - as in, I've eaten much too much and so I misewell keep eating and start afresh tomorrow. Thanks for the encouragement everyone. It really helped me keep to plan. I have a lot of trouble dealing with foods off my deficit plan... but that's a subject for whole other thread 😁4 -
I have houseguests this week, so there are changes in what I keep in the kitchen as well as meal schedule additions and changes. But I also have difficulty making good choices when there is abundant free food at craft services or catering at work. During the pandemic, that wasn't something I had to deal with. Now it's become a bit of an issue.5
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If I eat all the calories for breakfast, which has happened, then I fast for the rest of the day. If I have some calories left, then I find something that will fit in.2
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egg whites on low carb flatbread. Nothing better than a egg sandwich. If you got enough calories throw in 1/2 pc of cheese.0
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