Does it Really Matter?

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lavender101
lavender101 Posts: 27 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My question is, does it really matter when you eat most of your calories for the day? I'm a 5'6, 125-130lb. girl, who's looking to *maybe* drop a pound or two (really just be closer to 125lbs. than I am 130lbs.) and really focus on toning up, and I've found that I like not eating much during the day, then enjoying a dinner and good-sized snack at night. For instance, right now, I like having morning coffee (I'm never hungry in the mornings, so a cup of coffee is good for me), then for lunch half a turkey and cheese sandwich, a GOOD sized amount of fruit salad, and an apple. My afternoon snack varies, sometimes it's a HUGE apple, sometimes some sort of veggie, a carb-y snack, doesn't really matter to me. However, I love eating a decent sized dinner, and then having a night snack afterwards. Not just a piece of dark chocolate, but a good sized one. Like, a cupful of trail mix, a BIG (BIG) handful of chocolate covered pomegranate seeds, etc. I assume my night snack is normally around 600 or so calories, but it does seem to fit well into my calories for the day, and keeps me from binging.

Is this all okay for my body? It feels okay to me, but health-wise, I'd love some kind imput?

Replies

  • eganita
    eganita Posts: 501 Member
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    I have no link to any science about it, but from what I know, it's fine to eat your calories whenever you like throughout the day. I am the opposite.. if I don't eat breakfast, I am ravenous (and cranky) by lunch time haahha. :)
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    As long as you are staying within your calorie goals for the day, it doesn't matter when you eat. Do what works for you. You may want to look into intermittent fasting and see some of the benefits that are claimed by eating just the way you are eating now. A lot of people are doing it.
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
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    Doesn't matter when you eat your calories.
  • 1princesswarrior
    1princesswarrior Posts: 1,242 Member
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    The only advice I have is log it all to verify it fits into your calories.

    Your body does not care what time you eat. I eat most of my calories at night and have lost 75 lbs. I'm like you and just not hungry in the daytime or I often forget to eat until I sit down for the evening.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,022 Member
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    I am currently eating roughly 2000 calories a day. I eat 300 or so before 4 PM. The rest, I eat for dinner and dessert. Meal timing means nothing for 99% of people, except as it relates to your preferences and ability to stick to your diet.

    If you have certain medical conditions or if you're beyond "dieting" and are looking at advanced nutritional strategies for achieving certain body composition or performance goals, it gets more nuanced. For most people, these scenarios do not apply.
  • blahblah1990
    blahblah1990 Posts: 19
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    Nope it doesn't matter. If you eat above maintenance, you will gain weight and if you eat under maintenance, you will lose weight. Simple as that :)
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
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    It's fine. I only eat between noon and 10 pm almost everyday. Check out the intermittent fasting groups on here.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
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    Meal timing makes absolutely no difference. Just make sure that you weigh and log your food. I have the sneaky feeling that you might not be doing that, because you report that during the day you eat very little. Half a sandwich, a big apple and a goodly amount of fruit salad for lunch could be more calories than you think and that many people have and definitely is not " very little ". Just make sure that you know what you are doing, that you know how many calories you should eat, stay within that deficit and log those.
  • DoNotSpamMe73
    DoNotSpamMe73 Posts: 286 Member
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    Nope it doesn't matter. If you eat above maintenance, you will gain weight and if you eat under maintenance, you will lose weight. Simple as that :)

    I definitely agree with this quote. My partner bugs me about eating breakfast though. I still miss it a lot of the time and only eat a bit before dinnertime. I think eating earlier does speed metabolism a little. But I think that is mostly for the purpose of exercise energy. I don't know.
    I've lost most of (halfway done exactly) my weight by trying to keep my muscles active through just whatever exercise I feel like. Usually just very long walks. I do pretty much everything by foot because I can't drive and buses can be irritating, so that turns it into weights as well.
    Anyway I think it is mostly having some energy in your body so you don't faint or something when you exercise. Particularly heavy exercise.
    When it comes down to it eat less and the weight will slide off. Some people take longer than others, perhaps merely because the bodies get used to processing less and metabolism remembers where it is supposed to be going. It took a month or two before my weight came off consistently.
    Time will pass anyway so I wouldn't worry about speed. Eat, exercise and be supported by all your friends on mfp and other places and it'll work.
    I think enjoying yourself and being supported are necessary but that's just my opinion.
  • Pirate_chick
    Pirate_chick Posts: 1,216 Member
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    No, it doesn't matter as long as you're getting your calories in you're good.
  • ValeriePlz
    ValeriePlz Posts: 517 Member
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    I agree that it doesn't matter.

    I asked my doctor one time, and she said that the body has a slight drop in metabolism after 2 or 3 p.m., but that it's overall daily caloric intake that matters.

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