How many cals in one meal?

Carmella9

Breakfast: Never over 400 cals (never eat out for breakfast)
Lunch: Usually between 200-500 cals
Dinner: 400-500 cals

Depending on how much cals I have in my meals I will have snack if I have cals left.

stephiehampshire

Depending on exercise I try and spread my meals equally but it usually ends up dinner heavy

breakfast: between 200 and 400
Lunch: between 200 and 400
Dinner: between 400 and 600

I eat alot of snacks so thats what fills up the rest of my calories

However if its my birthday or a special treat Il eat a 1500 calorie meal if I want but I try to limit it to once a month

Even on my day off a week I try to avoid going massively over, I usually eat normal but get drunk instead lol

harleygroomer

I "SURPRISE" meal every now and then, say when you go out, is NOT going to be dangerous or hurt you. In fact your body will dance at the extra calories every now and then. BUT that being said that amount of calories day in and day out if definitely going to affect the size of your backside !!! You need to ask yourself WHY do you need to eat like that?

neandermagnon

I have a question and honestly, I'm only asking because I already have a firm belief in mind, but hey, maybe that is wrong. So, what better way to get varied answers than to ask on here? I could be wrong or maybe someone has info I could see. So, here goes.... How many calories do you typically consume in one meal AND do you feel there is a maximum that is 'healthy' to consume in one sitting? Long story short, I was told emphatically today that consuming 1600 calories in one meal was 'unhealthy' and 'dangerous'. For ANYONE. Irregardless of their size, sex, eating patterns, athleticism, etc. So, what's the consensus?

a big man who is doing manual labour as his job and working out in the evenings may need 4000 calories a day or more. If he eats 2 meals a day, then that's 2000 cals a meal. so no, what they said is not correct

Also, even if someone only needs to eat 1600 cals/day, if they only eat one meal a day then that meal would have to contain 1600 calories.

thirdly, even if someone overeats by 1600 cals/day once in a while, it's not *dangerous* unless they have a pre-existing medical condition that makes it so. Most people will eat more calories than that on a special occasion with no ill effects. Overeating on a regular basis is not good for health, but it doesn't become dangerous until you get to morbidly obese amounts of body fat, and that takes habitually overeating for a very long time. There's a big difference between doing something habitually for a very long time and doing something once in a while.

so basically, I totally disagree with whoever said that.

Additionally, don't worry about consensus for these issues.... find out what doctors and dieticians say.

crackur

people continually get this wrong.......its over daily and weekly....don't matter how many meals. etc

jonnythan

It makes absolutely no difference whether you consume all your daily calories in six meals or one.

Eating six 300 calorie meals is effectively the same as eating one 1800 calorie meal.

People do this all the time. Some people eat one meal a day. Some people eat eight. It doesn't matter.

I typically have around 350-500 for breakfast, 400-600 for lunch, and anywhere from 600 to 1500 for dinner+dessert depending on how active I was that day.

MissKitty9

I've definitely done this before. When I log it & realize, it's definitely like... WHOA, but sometimes I know I'm having a big dinner, so I eat lightly throughout the day, & then splurge. Some people take a more balanced approach, but I find you can't be balanced ALL the time

crackur

It makes absolutely no difference whether you consume all your daily calories in six meals or one.

Eating six 300 calorie meals is effectively the same as eating one 1800 calorie meal.

People do this all the time. Some people eat one meal a day. Some people eat eight. It doesn't matter.

I typically have around 350-500 for breakfast, 400-600 for lunch, and anywhere from 600 to 1500 for dinner+dessert depending on how active I was that day.

thank you

some people like to break it down so they fill fuller all day long...........the only true benefit.......and maybe u might get sick from eating a lot of food at one time every day.

Jewlz280

It depends on your caloric needs and weight loss goals. I am about 140 lbs + or - 5 lbs. For weight loss, I reduce to a 1700 to 1800 calorie a day diet, = up to 600 calories per meal 3bx daily--or more like 500 per meal plus healthy snacks in between totaling no more than 300 calories. For maintenance calories I need about 2300 per day, so I can up the meals to about 700 calories with 200 in between for snacks. You need to figure out your maintenance calories--where you do not really lose or gain weight--and then subtract 3500 calories per week for each pound per week you want to lose. 1 lb per week loss = 3500 calorie deficit = 500 daily. You can add calories back (more food) for calories burned during exercise. So, if you burn 500 calories on a cardio machine, etc., you can eat 500 more calories that day. Google for a calorie needs calculator to get an estimate for your sex, weight and activity level. Hope that makes sense. It worked for me. I lost 20+ lbs and averaged 1 to 1.5 lbs a week weight loss during my weight reduction period. Now I only reduce calories as necessary to keep my weight around 140. (i.e., after a recent vacation I gained a few pounds...LOL). Tracking all my foods on Myfitnesspal was the key--it educated me on thecalories in foods I eat, the good and bad nutrients, and to adjust my portions/serving sizes. Hope that helps and good luck with your fitness goals!

Thanks. LOL But, it wasn't for me. You probably posted without seeing my comment above but it wasn't about me. I rarely eat more than 1000 for a meal, but once in a while it happens. This was about someone a friend saw while she was eating out. I typically eat 400 to 500 per meal as my calories are 1800 per day. I also have a snack or two depending on my hunger levels.

Jewlz280

My meals tend to be between 250 and 400 calories, but I definitely "save up" for fun (meals out, a night of drinking, whatever) all the time and I have been known to just say eff it and go over my calories because cheese exists.

It's nobody's business what other people eat, barring obvious exceptions like parents/children and doctors/patients. Your friend was being a jerk and you clearly know it, but that has no relationship to what MFP's average meal size is. Like you said, it's different for every person.

Thank you! I felt like she was being not only a jerk, but hugely judgmental of someone she saw out that she didn't know. She has NO idea of what her typical day is, her dietary needs, or her life situation. Just rubbed me the wrong way!

Jewlz280

I use IF too.

My one or 2 meals...are huge! That is how I like to consume my calories.

YUP! And you know, I go through swings of this. Sometimes I'm snacky and need to munch on small meals all day. Other times, I may get up and eat a huge breakfast and then go all day and not eat a thing until dinner. Just rubbed me wrong for someone's life to be so generalized and attempted to be put into one tiny standardized box.

FrauHaas2013

Yeah, 1600 calories seems like A LOT unless you're an exercising fiend. My meals typically average anywhere between 200-500 calories each. Snacks are usually 100-200.

Jewlz280

I "SURPRISE" meal every now and then, say when you go out, is NOT going to be dangerous or hurt you. In fact your body will dance at the extra calories every now and then. BUT that being said that amount of calories day in and day out if definitely going to affect the size of your backside !!! You need to ask yourself WHY do you need to eat like that?

It wasn't me -- but even if I wanted to eat that much, I don't see that it would matter. If I was USE to eating that way or if it was a meal with a high fat and protein content, it would be very easy to do.

Jewlz280

I have a question and honestly, I'm only asking because I already have a firm belief in mind, but hey, maybe that is wrong. So, what better way to get varied answers than to ask on here? I could be wrong or maybe someone has info I could see. So, here goes.... How many calories do you typically consume in one meal AND do you feel there is a maximum that is 'healthy' to consume in one sitting? Long story short, I was told emphatically today that consuming 1600 calories in one meal was 'unhealthy' and 'dangerous'. For ANYONE. Irregardless of their size, sex, eating patterns, athleticism, etc. So, what's the consensus?

a big man who is doing manual labour as his job and working out in the evenings may need 4000 calories a day or more. If he eats 2 meals a day, then that's 2000 cals a meal. so no, what they said is not correct

Also, even if someone only needs to eat 1600 cals/day, if they only eat one meal a day then that meal would have to contain 1600 calories.

thirdly, even if someone overeats by 1600 cals/day once in a while, it's not *dangerous* unless they have a pre-existing medical condition that makes it so. Most people will eat more calories than that on a special occasion with no ill effects. Overeating on a regular basis is not good for health, but it doesn't become dangerous until you get to morbidly obese amounts of body fat, and that takes habitually overeating for a very long time. There's a big difference between doing something habitually for a very long time and doing something once in a while.

so basically, I totally disagree with whoever said that.

Additionally, don't worry about consensus for these issues.... find out what doctors and dieticians say.

YESSSSSSS!!!

Jewlz280

It makes absolutely no difference whether you consume all your daily calories in six meals or one.

Eating six 300 calorie meals is effectively the same as eating one 1800 calorie meal.

People do this all the time. Some people eat one meal a day. Some people eat eight. It doesn't matter.

I typically have around 350-500 for breakfast, 400-600 for lunch, and anywhere from 600 to 1500 for dinner+dessert depending on how active I was that day.

thank you

some people like to break it down so they fill fuller all day long...........the only true benefit.......and maybe u might get sick from eating a lot of food at one time every day.

Thanks folks! I knew how I felt about it, but had just wanted to make sure that if anyone knew of any research or whatever, they could link it for me. She linked ONE article talking about overeating, but the conversation moved so fast, I didn't get to read it but I have a guess as to what it would say "Overeating in general is unhealthy when calories over time are in excess". DUH.