what meal do you consume most calories?

LadyKim66

Hi everyone!! Got a general question, hubby and I have a debate.. at which meal do you eat the most calories? Is it better to have heaviest meal in the morning or at night?

always looking for insights..

add me if you like.

Kim

Kelll12123

Dinner. I can't stomach a heavy breakfast and I don't have enough time at work for a big lunch. I also like a big dinner because it keeps me full until I go to bed.

SezxyStef

Doesn't matter as calories do not tell time.

My meals usually are about 500 calories each leaving 500 for snacks.

For me tho I try to eat more carbs during the day to help with my workout vs after my workout is done.

BombshellPhoenix

My evening snack is the biggest, typically.

But that said, it's personal preference. Meal timing and frequency depends on the individual. Everyone is different. It has no bearing on weight loss in the grand scheme. Do what makes you feel best and maintain a deficit.

Ninkyou

Usually Lunch is my biggest meal, but it can also be Dinner.

I try to do about 500-600 calories for Lunch and Dinner. Sometimes it's higher, sometimes it's lower.

sjserna

Dinner ! Breakfast is usually really light with light snacks and during the day I usually don't have lunch so I snack a little more

Happymelz

Dinner!!!
It is easier to control my choices for breakfast and lunch and allows me to have a "normal" dinner with the hubby.

Holly_Roman_Empire

My biggest meal is dinner, except for today, in which case it's breakfast. I've also eaten 2500 calories one day and 1200 the next, because hey, calories can't tell time.

So OP, who was right, you or your husband?

FindingAmy77

my biggest meal is always dinner and bedtime snack if I have one. I just plan my day around it.

StaciMarie1974

I don't think there is a better/worse answer - unless it matters for the individual. Such as does eating a big meal at night keep you awake?

Usually my dinner is larger but some days the sum total of my snacks is more than that. Depends on how the day plays out.

leggup

Weekdays:
Breakfast: 50-200 calories
Lunch: 500-600 calories.
Dinner: ~800 calories.

Weekends:
Breakfast: 0
Brunch: 309674520947 calories
Dinner: A hangover.

LadyKim66

Great discussion.. I am seeing it is just a personal preference. I tend to think more during the day, hubby says evenings. But i guess my thinking is that during the day I am more active so I would want more then. After dinner I tend to veg out and definitely not active so I don't want it all just to sit there.. LOL. I don't know. still new to this and trying to find my way.

leggup

Great discussion.. I am seeing it is just a personal preference. I tend to think more during the day, hubby says evenings. But i guess my thinking is that during the day I am more active so I would want more then. After dinner I tend to veg out and definitely not active so I don't want it all just to sit there.. LOL. I don't know. still new to this and trying to find my way.

Regardless of when you eat, food moves through your digestive tract at about the same rate. All of those sayings about "Eating before bed makes it turn to FAT" or "If you're hungry, you're losing weight!" "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a blah blahh" just aren't backed up by any science. All else controlled if you eat at a deficit (let's say 1,500 calories is a deficit for you), you would lose the same amount of weight if you ate all 1,500 for breakfast OR all 1,500 for dinner, or if you had 15 meals that were 100 calories.

seltzermint555

Dinner!!!
It is easier to control my choices for breakfast and lunch and allows me to have a "normal" dinner with the hubby.

Pretty much this.

MityMax96

Hi everyone!! Got a general question, hubby and I have a debate.. at which meal do you eat the most calories? Is it better to have heaviest meal in the morning or at night?

always looking for insights..

add me if you like.

Kim

My biggest is usually my meal post workout....
on the order of 1,000 calories or more.

bwogilvie

Whatever works for you. I usually have a light breakfast (150-300 calories), a light lunch (300-400 calories), a small snack after work, and then the rest of my calories at dinner, around 8 pm. If I do a long bike ride (more than 2 hours), I will usually have a few hundred calories during the ride, too.

Branstin

Since meal timing doesn't affect weight loss, the amount of my calorie consumption varies from day to day.

PowerfulHunt

Lunch

PRMinx

Weekdays:
Breakfast: 50-200 calories
Lunch: 500-600 calories.
Dinner: ~800 calories.

Weekends:
Breakfast: 0
Brunch: 309674520947 calories
Dinner: A hangover.

This is remarkably close to my diet plan.

PRMinx

In all seriousness, it seems to vary by the day. I was starving after my workout this morning (probably because I hit the gym last night, too) so I had a bigger breakfast than usual. Typically, dinner is a little bit bigger than my other meals. Because, wine.

jimmmer

Hi everyone!! Got a general question, hubby and I have a debate.. at which meal do you eat the most calories? Is it better to have heaviest meal in the morning or at night?

always looking for insights..

add me if you like.

Kim

My biggest is usually my meal post workout....
on the order of 1,000 calories or more.

^Same for me.

Like to eat big after training.

thepandapost

It really depends on the day but normally it ends up being lunch for me. Although if I workout in the morning it sometimes ends up being breakfast.

thepandapost

In all seriousness, it seems to vary by the day. I was starving after my workout this morning (probably because I hit the gym last night, too) so I had a bigger breakfast than usual. Typically, dinner is a little bit bigger than my other meals. Because, wine.

((wine)) :drinker:

kristydi

Dinner!!!
It is easier to control my choices for breakfast and lunch and allows me to have a "normal" dinner with the hubby.

This is me too. Usually just coffee, maybe some yogurt for breakfast 50-150kcal. Something 500 kcal or less for lunch, then between 700-900 kcal for dinner. Then, if I've been on the bike that day, maybe 200-250 kcal evening snack (usually ice cream).

Of course today hubby took me to Waffle House for breakfast where I ate over 850kcal. So today I'll eat a small snack at lunch time and a smallish dinner.

Spiderkeys

Easily at dinner, because I feel get frozen at night, I feel warmer after a big meal, which is telling me, I must be burning calories, Out of my 2,000 calorie a day limit, I like to at least save 1,300 calories for dinner and I can also fit in big bowl of ice cream to enjoy at the end of the day.

tar0809

I tend to be really hungry in the AM so I try to eat a big breakfast and if not then I try and make lunch my biggest meal. But I can also say that once in awhile dinner is my biggest meal!! lol I guess this doesn't help much but I suppose it just depends on when your the most hungry and go from there.

Jim_Barteck

Dinner is by far my largest meal. I plan my meal, and then plan the rest of my day's eating around how many calories I'll have left over.

That being said, studies have actually shown that the people who have the largest breakfasts actually do better at losing weight than those who have smaller or non-existent ones. (Most likely because they are less prone to hunger and snacking between meals as a result.)

Remember how they always used to tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? Turns out they were actually right

maizerage66

I only eat twice a day with an occasional snack. And my lunch and dinner are usually pretty even as far as calories go, but my dinner has more volume. I like doing it this way so I feel full when going to bed so I don't binge on something I shouldn't.

MKEgal

I eat about half my calories for breakfast, because studies have shown that it contributes to greater weight loss and better control of other health markers (abdominal obesity, fasting glucose, triglycerides).

But don't take my word for it (as everyone else commenting so far seems to expect you to do), read some of the studies I'll provide links to below.

All of those sayings about ..."Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a blah blahh" just aren't backed up by any science.
All else controlled if you eat at a deficit (let's say 1,500 calories is a deficit for you), you would lose the same amount of weight if you ate all 1,500 for breakfast OR all 1,500 for dinner, or if you had 15 meals that were 100 calories.

meal timing doesn't affect weight loss

Wrong.

This study compared eating a small breakfast, medium lunch, and large dinner, [200, 500, 700 cal]
with eating a large breakfast, medium lunch, and small dinner [700, 500, 200 cal].
"The [large breakfast] group showed greater weight loss and waist circumference reduction ... fasting glucose, insulin [&] triglycerides ... decreased significantly to a greater extent in the [large breakfast] group."
In addition, hunger was less and satiety was greater.
Abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23512957
Full text:
http://genetics.doctorsonly.co.il/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Jakubowicz-at-al-Obesity-2013-oby20460.pdf

"subjects assigned to high caloric intake during breakfast lost significantly more weight than those assigned to high caloric intake during the dinner"
Abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24467926
Full text: http://www.tradewindsports.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Nutrient-Timing-and-Obesity-2014.pdf

"data suggest that a low-calorie Mediterranean diet with a higher amount of calories in the first part of the day could establish a greater reduction in fat mass and improved insulin sensitivity than a typical daily diet."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24809437

jsheter

Great weekend response and mine is often similar. I take weekends "off" from posting and enjoy the weekend time, food and drink. I have been enjoying too much lately and have to get back on track--including weekends. Love the post, tho!

MKEgal

Easily at dinner, because I feel get frozen at night, I feel warmer after a big meal, which is telling me, I must be burning calories.

When you have a fever you probably feel cold, because you're warmer than the air around you.