When Do You Spend Your Calories?

Texsox

I've been eating about 300 breakfast / 300 Lunch / 200 snacks / 1,000 Dinner and I just can't seem to make anything else work as far as hunger, but I know I could be losing more if I rearranged the calories and ate more earlier.

Enigmatica

I'm happiest (and less inclined to snack throughout the day) if I have most of my calories for breakfast. Most of the time I'm perfectly fine with dinner being my smallest meal.

GTI_Girl

i aim for most my calories to be breakfast ones. lunch comes 2nd and I try to have dinner be the least. And snacks always very

strongdog68

I've been having success averaging 400 for breakfast, 450 for lunch, 500 for dinner, and 300 in snacks. I'll sometimes cut a little off one meal to "save up" for another on occasion, but this plan works for me without feeling deprived of anything.

rnroadrunner

men's health had an article that said the time you ate did not matter. Only the total amt consumed made the difference in weight loss.

RoyaDee

Ya, you're eating in the wrong order. General rule: Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince, & Dinner like a Pauper. Try and keep your dinner veggies and protein with as few carbs as possible.

adriayellow11

Yeah my breakdown looks similar. But I know it's a soothing mechanism after caring for people all day at work so there's not much I can do about it for now. My nutrionist didn't tell me to rearrange them but did say to never have more than one glass of wine at night with most of my fats being consumed then too.

RMinVA

I read something a long time ago that you should eat the bulk of your calories when you are most active, which is during the day for most of us. So I subscribe to the old adage of "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper."

Breakfast is often my biggest meal of the day. We usually don't eat dinner until about 8pm or so after the gym. I try to keep it simple - piece of chicken or fish and a roasted/steamed veggie. I'm never that hungry after my workout and don't like to eat a big meal late @ night anway, so this works great for me.

patjad

I agree with the mens health magazine.
Calories in versus calories burned, it doesn't matter when calories go in.

jkestens63

Personally I do not think time you eat matters. I have always had trouble with grazing/binnging at night so I eat dinner every nite at 9 pm. Then I have a snack at bedtime usually at 11:15 pm. And if I do feel the munchies coming onn I willl even have another snack I will even at 10 pm. I have lost 254 lbs over 3 years. I think it comes down to calories in vs. Calories outIf you want to increase the loss exercise a bit more perhaps.

floridabootcamp

As a rule it is best to eat according to what you will be doing in the next few hours....If 1 meal is going to be the largest then it should be your pre-workout meal. That way you are not left with unused calories that end up getting stored as fat. Depending on what your caloric goal is you might not want to eat any meals/snacks that are over 400 calories.

kwardklinck

I try to spread them out over the day so that I get no more than 500 for dinner. Eating more calories earlier makes me feel more satisfied during the day.

sarah44254

Totally doesn't matter WHEN you get the calories, as long as you are moving and using enough energy to burn them off

Great job on everything! I eat about 500 for breakfast, 100 a few hours later, another 100 in 3 or so hours, then by 3 or 4pm i'll have a big dinner that's just how i get hungry, I guess.

abyt42

This is going to sound dumb, but I'm more likely to overeat when I'm awake.... so, on nights when I cannot sleep I eat more between 7Pm and 2 AM. When I don't have problems sleeping, the bulk of my calories go between 3 and 7. I'm a huge fan of dinner (and a beer with it,) and have 20 minutes for lunch (so it's difficult for me to fit in a larger lunch without feeling ill at work.)

elid

I try to spread my calorie consumption out throughout the day as best I can, though I do try to go light earlier in the day because I always like having a little snack at night 1-2 hours before bed. Not to mention, if I eat too much at breakfast, I tend to feel sick. A piece of fruit and handful of nuts or a small bowl of oatmeal works alright for me.

It's worked for me so far, at least.

rosebarnalice

Mine is typically ~ 200 breakfast before 7:00; ~ 60 snack (fruit) @~10:00; 400 lunch @1:30 (often after a lunch hour workout); ~500 - 600 between dinner and an evening snack before bed.

MobiusMan

a calorie is a calorie. X fuel in minus Y fuel used= deficit makes nary a difference when the fuel hits the tank. do what works for you

p_cakes

I allow myself more for breakfast and dinner.
Breakfast is usually anytime between 7 and 9 for me, depending on when I have to be at work. I try to stay around 400 calories for it.
Lunch is about 300 calories, sometimes less. I have lunch between 12 and 1. I can eat at my desk, so I can usually take my time.
Dinner is usually anytime around 7 or 8 and I try to stick to about 500 calories.

That usually brings me up to 1200 calories, but I add in about 200 for snacks between each meal. Usually my snacks are veggies and fruit. I sometimes will have a yogurt or a smoothie. Anything that is good for you will fill you up for a goo amount of time. My goal is to not feel hungry throughout the day and not eat after 10.

Paige1108

I've been eating about 300 breakfast / 300 Lunch / 200 snacks / 1,000 Dinner and I just can't seem to make anything else work as far as hunger, but I know I could be losing more if I rearranged the calories and ate more earlier.

I didn't have a problem losing while eating most of my calories at night. I ate 300-400 breakfast, maybe a 100 snack, 300 to 400 lunch and then I would eat all the rest of my calories from 7pm to about 11pm. I usually had about 1800 a day to eat. Now that I'm in maintenance I do things pretty much the same, I just have more calories to eat, and I eat the bulk of them at night.

Good luck on your journey I hope you find a way that works for you.

iplayoutside19

men's health had an article that said the time you ate did not matter. Only the total amt consumed made the difference in weight loss.,

Correct. I've experimented with this....and it really doesn't matter. I will say try and keep each meal under 600 calories.

My biggest meal is lunch. I usaully spread 800 calories over two hours. But that's just what works for me and my schedule.

TrainerRobin

men's health had an article that said the time you ate did not matter. Only the total amt consumed made the difference in weight loss.

Yup. Newest data shows that's true. Kind of.

In terms of your body caring, the results said timing of meals didn't make a difference in weight gain/loss. The folks in the study who ate all of their calories late and at once, lost the same amount of weight as the folks who spaced the calories out in small meals through the day.

That said, studies are showing that while it may not make a difference to your body, it does make a difference in OUR ability to eat properly. Folks who skip breakfast or eat only one or two large meals throughout the day, often end up consuming more calories than those who space their meals out throughout the day.

So if you have superb self-control, it's not an issue. If you don't have so much control and end up eating more calories than you mean to, when you're hungry or it's been a long time since a meal, then yes, it's better to space your meals out AND eat a good breakfast.

Hope that helps.

Ben2118

Time of day doesn't seem to be a factor, although I read that you should leave at least 2 hours before sleep (longer if you have had a big meal) for the food to digest.

jlsironen

I like your post! I'm putting it on my fridge

Ya, you're eating in the wrong order. General rule: Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince, & Dinner like a Pauper. Try and keep your dinner veggies and protein with as few carbs as possible.

Texsox

Thank you.

sdwelk11

I tend to eat whatever whenever and still lose weight. the key for me is to eat only natural carbs and have them early in the day. For dinner I usually only eat meat and veggies. i dont normally snack after that but if i do its usually just some trail mix or something that I can take a half a handful of. I think it just varies based on your body's needs and each person is different. I know that i have read on here and other websites that say quantity doesnt matter if you eat a large dinner its really the late night snackers that gorge on food that have an issue with weight loss. Who knows! You will figure it out! Good Luck!