How do you split calories between meals?

Chezzie84
Chezzie84 Posts: 873 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hello

In the (hopefully) near future I will be looking at maintaining my current weight.
I am trying to lose at the moment to have a baby but obviously as soon as I find out I am pregnant I will obviously up my calories.

I have seen a lot of posts slating women who are pregnant and who are still using this site. But I feel that since I am working so hard to make by body a healthy place for my baby to grow in the first place, I dont want to let being pregnant be an excuse for overeating and not eating the right foods. I want to use MFP as a tool to make sure I am eating right.
(For the first 6 months, my doctor has advised that in the first 3 months eat at maintance, for the next three eat 100 more and for the last 3 eat 200 more).

At the moment my TDEE is 2241 but obviously the less I weigh the lower this will be.
Obviously at this stage it is all theory, I am just interested in how you split your day calorie wise. ie how many for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

Replies

  • katematt313
    katematt313 Posts: 624 Member
    1200-1400 calories per day. I will have 300-400 calories per meal, with some good 100 calories snacks in between (half banana, half serving of almonds, or a small greek yogurt).

    I lost weight to have a baby, too. My dietician recommended a low carb diet, and it really worked. Basically, I stopped eating starches/sweets, including potatoes, breads, rice, and high sugar fruits, and replaced all my starches/sweets with cooked veggies, raw veggies and salads.
  • mamahannick
    mamahannick Posts: 322 Member
    I try to space my meals and snacks evenly as well as divide my calories up among them more or less evenly. I tend to eat 200-400 calories about 6 times a day (every 2-3 hours). If I'm hungrier at breakfast, I eat 400 for breakfast. If I'm not so hungry, I eat around 200 and eat more later. This is what works best for me and my (CONSTANT) hunger. Others do better eating more in one sitting. Experiment a little and find what works best for you. :)
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    It really should depend on your personal metabolism/body.

    For me personally I eat around 2000 / day (gross) I eat roughly 400 calories about 3 hours after I get up ( I work out fasted). I eat another 400 or so another 4 hours after that or if I'm feeling hungry I'll just eat breakfast, lunch AND all my snacks before 2pm then break until dinner around 6-7pm. I do about 600 - 700 for dinner and anything I have left over I normally snack before bed. I find that this keeps me happy.

    Do what works for you. If you're hungry eat, if you aren't then don't.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    When I was pregnant, I just ate when I was hungry and ate what I craved. Learn to push the plate away when you're full, and you'll be fine when pregnant. Trust me, when your hormones are going wild, you're not going to stick to a certain calorie amount for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    Eat throughout the day to keep you feeling satiated. I personally can get lower blood sugars and get hungry often, so I snack semi-frequently. I usually have 300-400 cals for breakfast and lunch, two 150ish calorie snacks, and then save about 700 calories for dinner. I like larger dinners, and I go out semi-frequently, and so the higher calorie count helps. I'm on 1800 calories a day.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    What works best for me is to backload.

    I'm around 1400 net. I typically use 200-300 for breakfast, 200-300 for lunch. That gives me around 800 for dinner and snacks. I typically have a snack of nuts or something similar around 5PM while I'm waiting for dinner (100 calories or less) and use 500 at dinner. I then have ice cream or nuts or something else around 9PM. If I have a larger lunch it gives me lots of time to exercise and gain calories or I can just lighten up on dinner or have a smaller after dinner snack.
  • einzweidrei
    einzweidrei Posts: 381 Member
    I do whatever I feel like for the day.

    I am usually night shift so I can eat 1000+ calories from 3 AM ---> 8 AM. Because that's when I'm starving. I'm not that hungry after I wake up so my calories for dinner (before I go into work) usually end up being less.

    Usually when I'm on a day schedule, I like saving calories for nights because I'm more of a night eater naturally.

    Whatever works best for you, IMO.

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