Question?

Wantabe
Wantabe Posts: 50 Member
edited September 18 in Health and Weight Loss
Can you save most of your calories for the end of a day meal without causing havoc with your diet? wantabe:noway:

Replies

  • Wantabe
    Wantabe Posts: 50 Member
    Can you save most of your calories for the end of a day meal without causing havoc with your diet? wantabe:noway:
  • alf1163
    alf1163 Posts: 3,143 Member
    I am not an expert but I think you should have balanced meals throughout the day. But sometimes if I know I am going out to eat dinner or know that the dinner I am preparing is higher in calories I might skip my snacks between meals but still eat about 300 cals for breakfast and lunch (more if I have exercised and I have increased my calorie allowance). I hope this helps. :flowerforyou:
  • DianneLynn
    DianneLynn Posts: 156 Member
    Not a good idea.

    Your body needs fuel early in the day to optimize its function. (ie. Can you drive to work with no gas in your car's gas tank?)

    Timely put as just yesterday I had my first consult with a Personal Trainer/LifeCoach and his view to food consumption is an inverted pyramid with the most food being consumed at Breakfast and absolutely NO starchy carbs at the evening meal. Apparently starchy carbs (ie. rice, potatoes, hamburger/hotdog buns etc. etc) will go straight to your thighs when eaten at your evening meal.

    This Friday I start the program and will have my Nutrition session first...will keep y'all posted

    (where are ya Banks?)
  • Wantabe
    Wantabe Posts: 50 Member
    Not a good idea.

    Your body needs fuel early in the day to optimize its function. (ie. Can you drive to work with no gas in your car's gas tank?)

    Timely put as just yesterday I had my first consult with a Personal Trainer/LifeCoach and his view to food consumption is an inverted pyramid with the most food being consumed at Breakfast and absolutely NO starchy carbs at the evening meal. Apparently starchy carbs (ie. rice, potatoes, hamburger/hotdog buns etc. etc) will go straight to your thighs when eaten at your evening meal.

    This Friday I start the program and will have my Nutrition session first...will keep y'all posted

    (where are ya Banks?)
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
    well, it's not really a good idea IMHO. your body doesn't think in 24 hour cycles, the best way to keep your metabolism running smooth is to eat throughout the day. If you can't do that for some reason, then it's still better to eat smaller meals more often.
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
    Not a good idea.

    Your body needs fuel early in the day to optimize its function. (ie. Can you drive to work with no gas in your car's gas tank?)

    Timely put as just yesterday I had my first consult with a Personal Trainer/LifeCoach and his view to food consumption is an inverted pyramid with the most food being consumed at Breakfast and absolutely NO starchy carbs at the evening meal. Apparently starchy carbs (ie. rice, potatoes, hamburger/hotdog buns etc. etc) will go straight to your thighs when eaten at your evening meal.

    This Friday I start the program and will have my Nutrition session first...will keep y'all posted

    (where are ya Banks?)

    Here! :laugh: I'm curious as to why your nutritionist said that. I can see why you want to give yourself fuel in the morning, but I'm not sure I follow the logic. I want to stress that I'm not disagreeing with the advice, I just like to know the why of things (it's my fatal flaw). The reason why I am so skeptical is because the research I have done, doesn't necessarily lead to this conclusion. The metabolism does wax and wan through the day and night, but not as much as people think. Only a few percent, and giving your body food (in a 1 day period) does boost it, but not a ton, likewise, your metabolism is still running at night, and therefore still burning calories. While I agree with not ingesting a ton of carbs at night, I don't see why you should have NO carbs.
    All that being said, I am NOT a nutritionist, so it could just be that there is some factor involved that I don't know about or have gotten wrong.
    Dianne, next time you see her/him, can you ask about that? It's a question that has been brought up before, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who would like to have a good solid answer.
    (oh, I just realized that you didn't say she/he was a nutritionist, sorry for that, my bad)

    I have a clinical report (I think from the NEJoM) somewhere around here about the fluxuations in metabolism of a normal adult through the day. If I find it, I'll try to post the numbers for you guys.
  • yoginimary
    yoginimary Posts: 6,788 Member
    I think you are asking if you can do this once, right? A special occasion type of thing? Sure - enjoy your splurge, still eat something throughout the day though.
  • wriglucy
    wriglucy Posts: 1,064 Member
    Ok...I know I may step on some toes here...but I would talk to a registered dietitian before a nutritionist. I am a nutritionist, you are a nutritionist, anyone can be one. My mom is a registered dietition..and she get sooooo angry when people tell her what a 'nutritionist' said becuase they do not have all the credentials or have to stay up to date on their training (if they have any). I do know also, however, that some people use the term nutritionist when they are in fact registered dietitian just because some people don't know what a dietitian does.
    So..that's my suggestion...talk to a registered dietitian...and ask your nutritionist about their credentials. (Just passing along what my mom tells me...she's been doing it for a LONG time now, and I tend to value her input)

    And...I know that she always tells me that it is TOTAL calories for the day. it is better to fuel your body along the course of the day...but when it comes down to it...it's still total calories for the day.
  • DianneLynn
    DianneLynn Posts: 156 Member
    In regard to your question Banks...here are the rules I was given ...

    3 meals/3 snacks per day. Eat every 2.5 - 3.5 hours.

    Eat in accordance to an inverted food pyramid with your largest meal at the beginning of the day.

    30g of protein per meal.

    First off begin each day with a glass (or 2) of water at room temperature. This awakens the digestive process gently.

    Starchy carbs at brekky. Some at lunch. Meat and Non-Starchy Veggies at dinner. If you work out in the afternoon, after the workout you can have starchy carbs because your body needs it and will not store it.

    Yes Banks your metabolism runs as long as you are alive but technically your body does go into SLEEP mode where it supports your BMR otherwise you wouldn't be able to sleep...ie. a good hard workout before bed....you have boosted your metabolism...I forget how many hours it runs on high afterwards but apparently it does.

    Basically brekky should be big because technically, unless you eat in your sleep, your body has fasted...you need water to begin rehydration and carbs for energy...but you also need protein for cell development and repair and fruits and or veggies for the fibre and obvious nutrients...Sometimes I think Rocket Science would be easier!!

    This is the thinking in a nutshell...basically does it not make sense that you want your body fueled so it could operate at its maximum efficiency during the day when you are more active?

    Thats why I used the analogy of the car and the gas tank...would you expect your car to run on an empty tank of gas? does your car need gas to sit (not turned on) in the driveway? do you not have problems if your car has dirty gas in the tank?
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
    In regard to your question Banks...here are the rules I was given ...

    3 meals/3 snacks per day. Eat every 2.5 - 3.5 hours.

    Eat in accordance to an inverted food pyramid with your largest meal at the beginning of the day.

    30g of protein per meal.

    First off begin each day with a glass (or 2) of water at room temperature. This awakens the digestive process gently.

    Starchy carbs at brekky. Some at lunch. Meat and Non-Starchy Veggies at dinner. If you work out in the afternoon, after the workout you can have starchy carbs because your body needs it and will not store it.

    Yes Banks your metabolism runs as long as you are alive but technically your body does go into SLEEP mode where it supports your BMR otherwise you wouldn't be able to sleep...ie. a good hard workout before bed....you have boosted your metabolism...I forget how many hours it runs on high afterwards but apparently it does.

    Basically brekky should be big because technically, unless you eat in your sleep, your body has fasted...you need water to begin rehydration and carbs for energy...but you also need protein for cell development and repair and fruits and or veggies for the fibre and obvious nutrients...Sometimes I think Rocket Science would be easier!!

    This is the thinking in a nutshell...basically does it not make sense that you want your body fueled so it could operate at its maximum efficiency during the day when you are more active?

    Thats why I used the analogy of the car and the gas tank...would you expect your car to run on an empty tank of gas? does your car need gas to sit (not turned on) in the driveway? do you not have problems if your car has dirty gas in the tank?

    I agree with pretty much all of it (except for the water thing in the morning, I don't disagree with it, I just never heard that one before). and yeah, during sleep metabolism does kind of shut down somewhat, but I totally agree that working out late might cause some sleep issues.

    My only little (and I stress little, more of a curiosity point then anything else) point to bring up, is this:
    If your body is slowing itself down at night to sleep, it's using much less energy to run, therefore, doesn't use up as much fuel as it would if you were awake and active and I wonder if your body is really fasting a heck of a lot, this doesn't mean I don't think breakfast should be healthy and large, It's just a point I have thought about before, I would love to know how much our metabolism slows down at night. Hmm, maybe I'll sleep tonight with my HRM on and see what my average heart rate is when I sleep. I'm curious now. :wink: I tend to even out my meals, making sure I eat a pretty decent meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, along with snacks between, my only difference is I tend to eat a little less at night, and try not to eat at all at least an hour before bed. But I have no problem with these premises. I certainly think that they are tweaks of the common theme of eat healthy, eat often, feed your metabolism, and make sure you have a good healthy breakfast. Which I'm all for!

    So IMHO good program Dianne! Let us know how it works for you. Although I'm sure you'll do great with it, it sounds pretty grounded in reality and based on good solid knowledge.:happy:
  • alf1163
    alf1163 Posts: 3,143 Member
    Ok...I know I may step on some toes here...but I would talk to a registered dietitian before a nutritionist. I am a nutritionist, you are a nutritionist, anyone can be one. My mom is a registered dietition..and she get sooooo angry when people tell her what a 'nutritionist' said becuase they do not have all the credentials or have to stay up to date on their training (if they have any). I do know also, however, that some people use the term nutritionist when they are in fact registered dietitian just because some people don't know what a dietitian does.
    So..that's my suggestion...talk to a registered dietitian...and ask your nutritionist about their credentials. (Just passing along what my mom tells me...she's been doing it for a LONG time now, and I tend to value her input)

    And...I know that she always tells me that it is TOTAL calories for the day. it is better to fuel your body along the course of the day...but when it comes down to it...it's still total calories for the day.

    I am sooooooooooo glad to hear that!!! I feel better now...my largest meal of the day is usually dinner and I sometimes worry if that is the right thing to do...I do eat throughout the day and my breakfasts and lunches are about 300-400 of nutritious foods. I try to keep my snacks at 100 or a little more...dinner is the only meal with the family so it tends to be larger but I stay within my caloric limit.
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
    Ok...I know I may step on some toes here...but I would talk to a registered dietitian before a nutritionist. I am a nutritionist, you are a nutritionist, anyone can be one. My mom is a registered dietition..and she get sooooo angry when people tell her what a 'nutritionist' said becuase they do not have all the credentials or have to stay up to date on their training (if they have any). I do know also, however, that some people use the term nutritionist when they are in fact registered dietitian just because some people don't know what a dietitian does.
    So..that's my suggestion...talk to a registered dietitian...and ask your nutritionist about their credentials. (Just passing along what my mom tells me...she's been doing it for a LONG time now, and I tend to value her input)

    And...I know that she always tells me that it is TOTAL calories for the day. it is better to fuel your body along the course of the day...but when it comes down to it...it's still total calories for the day.

    Bahh, toes heal, don't sweat it, it's a good point and one everyone should take to heart, make sure the people you are asking for advice know what they are talking about. That's why I almost always refer people that have questions that are out of the relm of "well known" to talk to a doctor. I DO say certified nutritionist a lot, but I guess I should ammend that to say certified nutritionist that your doctor recommends.
  • DianneLynn
    DianneLynn Posts: 156 Member
    Noway Kristin...you are entitled to your opinion. I look at this as a sharing of ideas, opinions and information which could benefit us all hopefully. I do not doubt your Mother's ability but I am trying to maximize a weight loss here while at the same time trying to maximize lean muscle development via food and exercise having some physical limitations. That being said and having a daughter myself, I think you should always listen to your Mother!

    As far as its just the total number of calories...I can't agree with it because one's total calories could be derived from overprocessed or junk food...My coach is saying "Don't count calories...Make your Calories count!" I also believe "You are what you eat!"

    The timing of the foods is just a tip to maximize my program to allow me to reach my goals healthily.

    I think what makes the difference to me in this regard is that I am taking a step beyond what you all are doing for the simple reason that I DO have metabolic issues with being hypothyroid and having Multiple Sclerosis. Menopause is certainly NOT enhancing my program much either. So it's like anything else and that is highly individual to the person. i doubt anyone younger and healthy would have to push as hard as I do with this. Also it seems I have really messed my metabolism up by not eating enough all these years. I've always eating properly but apparently not enough.

    About 5 years ago I saw a dietician affiliated with my doctor's clinic (his referral) and painfully she advised me to eat according to Canada's food guide and truthfully, if I ate in accordance with that, I wouldn't expect to live very long.

    The group I am working with have the following credentials and are on a different plane than a nutritionist or dietician...I just said nutritionist to avoid alot of words.

    I think the only difference between the two of them is one went to Waterloo and the other went to McGill University.

    Education
    Honours Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology, Dean's Honours List, University of Waterloo

    Certifications
    Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, NSCA
    Certified Kinesiologist, Ontario Kinesiology Association
    CHEK Practitioner Level 1, CHEK Institute
    Licensed Lifestyle Coach, Lifestyle Coaching Institute


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinesiologist

    I believe their eating principles derive from Dr. John Berardi

    http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/7habits.htm (check this guy's credentials out...wowzers)

    and so far, except for the huge amount of food I'm trying to eat...it's all good.
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