How do you budget your calories?

cpsf73

I'm just curious as to how other people divide up (or don't divide up) their calories throughout the day...
I eat 1350 calories a day, and this is how I budget my calories:
250-300 calories for breakfast
250-300 calories for lunch
150-200 calories for a snack
Most or all of my remaining calories for dinner
and I might have some snack after dinner if I still have some left over calories

Ed98043

My budget is 1500 calories. I'm not that hungry during the day but I'm ALWAYS hungry at night even if I've eaten during the day, so I save most of my calories for the evening. Typical day is a protein shake (180 calories) and a piece of fruit (80 calories or so) in the early afternoon, then a big dinner (usually 900ish calories) and a late night snack for the remainder.

dunnodunno

It depends. Most days I have around 300-500 for Breakfast, sometimes 500-1000 for lunch (since I get hungriest around lunch & that also includes morning snacks), sometimes my dinner is around 100-500 calories, and my later snack could be anywhere from 200-400 calories.

TravelDog14

My calorie goal is 1700 per day.

I eat around 850 calories spread between waking and 3 PM when I'm at work. I snack on something about every hour.

Dinner is usually around 450 calories, leaving me 400 calories to snack on during the evening before I go to bed.

Sashoi

I'm on a 1900 cal a day ... When I'm working out I rarely meet that goal.

I pre-log my days and my snack section is usually higher in cals than my 3 meals. I eat like every 2-3 hours so that's a lot of snacking and when at work all my meals are eating there. The only thing I have when I come home is my Italian ice cause I eat one after all my workouts n I normally don't get to workout till 8 or 9 at night.

81Katz

I pre-log a lot of foods/meals but also treat my calories like a bank account. What am willing to spend my calories on? A 'goodie' that while tasty is high in calories, not long lasting/filling or 'better for you' foods where you can eat more, less calories, better nutrition long run?

My mood usually decides this. Sometimes I want the cookies or ice cream, other times fruits and veggies win. It depends!

ehorn625

My budget is 1500 calories. I'm not that hungry during the day but I'm ALWAYS hungry at night even if I've eaten during the day, so I save most of my calories for the evening. Typical day is a protein shake (180 calories) and a piece of fruit (80 calories or so) in the early afternoon, then a big dinner (usually 900ish calories) and a late night snack for the remainder.

Pretty much this^^. Coffee for breakfast, salad for lunch, the rest for the evening! Do what works for you. For years I kept hearing or was told you had to eat breakfast to lose weight. Well I never found that to be true and frankly I am just not that hungry during the day but at night, that's a different story!

KingRat79

I’m eating 2600 calories a day I eat four complete meals per day each one between 500-700cals with a good balance of protein carbs and fat, and the rest I make up in snacks.

nehushtan

Weekly. Eating more one day means I eat less another. I keep a spreadsheet of my weekly count (just sums up the daily totals from MFP). See this post:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/591066-weekly-calorie-spreadsheet

chezjuan

I break mine down like this:

20% for breakfast and a morning snack (about an hour after breakfast - and only if I am hungry)
20% for lunch
5% for an afternoon snack
10% when I get home from the office (pre-workout snack)
25% for dinner
8% for dessert

The balance is spread throughout the evening, sometimes (generally) drinks, sometimes more food (if I had a big workout, or need to hit a specific macro)

Although I am currently on maintenance at 2,600 calories a day, I ate these precentages throughout my weightloss.

Francl27

Totally depends. Typically 300ish calories for breakfast and I try to keep 500 calories for dinner... the rest is whatever really.

Unknown

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