Men, what's a normal main meal allowance?

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  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    24hr net energy balance.

    Eat whenever you want and hit the numbers.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    - main mean (mine is dinner)
    - male
    - in weight loss mode
    - On 1700 calories a day
    - 26 years old
    - Confused as hell as to what a normal dinner for someone like me should be.

    so you dont think there are any women who could possibly eat 1700 cals per day?!
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
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    You guys are right to say that you cant say because it depends on what you ate that day and your own allowance. I suppose I should have added that you should think of this in % terms.

    So in a 1700 calorie diet, 850 cals is 50%. I'm around that for my main meal, which seems to me as a large number.

    But I am still losing so obviously not a major concern, just want to draw context from fellow MFPers.

    If you are on a similar boat, add me as a friend, would love to see some diaries to draw context! :)
    The point you're missing is that the percentages don't matter. Reach your calorie goal for the day. You can eat all 1700 calories in one meal if you like, or you can split dinner into 3 separate 300 calorie meals if you like. It... just... doesn't... matter!

    But isn't time of day important? Doesn't metabolism take a dip at night? By that logic a person can have 1700 calories 5 minutes before bed?...

    I do get the gist of your post though, but forgetting the physical aspect, how people space their meals and what they eat in them is mentally important.
    Even if it did, if you're still burning more than 1700 cals throughout a 24hr period, eating 1700 cals in one sitting still means you're in a negative energy balance and you will lose weight.

    Meal timing is only important in adherence and personal preference.
  • AverageUkDude
    AverageUkDude Posts: 371 Member
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    I tend to have around 1000 for breakfeast, 200 for dinner and 1000 for tea with a 400 allowance for snacking. Well when cutting anyway, when maintanance i add too breakfeast.
  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member
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    But isn't time of day important? Doesn't metabolism take a dip at night? By that logic a person can have 1700 calories 5 minutes before bed?...

    I do get the gist of your post though, but forgetting the physical aspect, how people space their meals and what they eat in them is mentally important.
    Even if it did, if you're still burning more than 1700 cals throughout a 24hr period, eating 1700 cals in one sitting still means you're in a negative energy balance and you will lose weight.

    Meal timing is only important in adherence and personal preference.

    ^^^^^ This ^^^^^

    Your question has been answered, and you've answered part of it yourself. It doesn't matter WHEN you eat the freakin' food. If the timing is mentally important, as you say... TO YOU..... then eat it when YOU feel most comfortable eating it. That's what ya call your personal preference.
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
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    Meal timing and size of individual meals isn't a significant factor, barring specific extra factors (like managing blood sugar levels for some hypoglycemics and diabetics). For me, personally, I generally have 200-300 calories at breakfast and another 300-400 at lunch, followed by the remainder of my 1650 + exercise calories sometime between mid-afternoon and bedtime.
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
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    - main mean (mine is dinner)
    - male
    - in weight loss mode
    - On 1700 calories a day
    - 26 years old
    - Confused as hell as to what a normal dinner for someone like me should be.

    so you dont think there are any women who could possibly eat 1700 cals per day?!
    I must have missed the part in what he said where asking for input from men on what and when they eat said anything at all about what he thought about what women could or couldn't eat.
  • eksero2k
    eksero2k Posts: 83 Member
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    Sorry to sound sexist, but I'm just trying to draw context from other guys, preferably those in their 20s. These types of threads are redundant and I apologize for adding YET another one, but what normally happens is that everyone pitches in and you end up confused.

    So the variables are:

    - main mean (mine is dinner)
    - male
    - in weight loss mode
    - On 1700 calories a day
    - 26 years old
    - Confused as hell as to what a normal dinner for someone like me should be.

    I normally have about 200-300 calories for breakfast, 300 for lunch, 100-200 for snacks of all types, so this leaves me with 700-900 calories for dinner.

    I FEEL like this is way too much for someone losing weight. BUT, mathematics says it isn't.

    When I was on much lower allowance it was never an issue. What happened is that as I raised my allowance, my lunch and breakfast habits didn't change much so my dinner allowance is now HUGE?!

    Before I lost all my weight (about 46kg - 101 lbs), I used to have BIG eating disorders. And to make matters worse, my parents are freaks when it comes to this, their portions are very low, in the 500 calorie range, so I never quite formed an idea of what a "normal" dinner is?

    Those stats are about the same as mine, and i usually eat a small breakfast around 7am, about 200-250 calories. A snack around 10am, usually 60-70 calories of fruits etc. Then a big lunch at 12 of anything from 7-1000 calories. Which leaves me 4-600 left for dinner/home snacks depending if i work out that day or not. This works out pretty well for me, but go with what works out the best for you.

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