Breakfast like a King, Dinner like a Poor Man

lesteidel

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/myths-surround-breakfast-and-weight/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0



I personally have lost a lot of weight by eating tiny breakfast, medium lunch, if at all (my schedule gets busy) and a large dinner and a small snack before bed.

When I eat a big breakfast, I tend to overeat during the rest of the day

FaileAybara

I really think this is very individual.

I find that if I have a large sit down breakfast I am far more satisfied for the rest of the day. If I have coffee for breakfast, I'm constantly wanting to eat.

MelodyandBarbells

I did try this. Then when the later meals rolled around I was still greedy and wanting to eat the normal amounts. :ohwell: Breakfast is now whatever quantity keeps my tummy from growling during meetings. Lunch a break from (sometimes) mind numbing work and dinner and midnight snacks is where it's at

bajoyba

Just do what works for you.
I stay on track and maintain my deficit because I enjoy the way I eat.

Personally, I generally like to have at LEAST 800 calories left for dinner and dessert at the end of my day. I like the last meal of the day to be my biggest meal, so that's what I do.
Sometimes I eat breakfast, and sometimes I don't - I don't like to eat when I first wake up, and I find that eating an early breakfast usually leaves me hungrier the rest of the day. I prefer to fast for the first few hours of the day and have a brunch instead, which means I typically eat 2 meals a day and a couple of small snacks. Plus dessert.

Leonidas_meets_Spartacus

You should figure out what works for you. I don't eat breakfast most of the days unless I am hungry. I usually eat two big meals a day with no snacking.

in_the_stars

I eat close to this. Breaktast/brunch/lunch like a king. Salad for lunch and and dinner is light. It fits my life right now.

paperpudding

This thread is nearly 3 years old.

_Terrapin_

I heard that dinner should be the smallest meal (calorie wise) of the day, while breakfast be the largest. The problem with me is that I usually workout during the end of the day and have a raging appetite come dinner time.. And then you can imagine the rest. Is eating more calories during dinner rather than at breakfast harmful to a weight loss diet?

Doesn't matter how you do it(when you consume the calories), but if you workout later in the day or night, in terms of energy, I'd save some calories for the latter part of the day. Best of luck.

Natmarie73

I think that saying originated way back in the agricultural times when men worked the fields all day plowing by hand etc etc and women did everything by hand as well, churning butter, milking cows etc etc and every one pretty much did hard physical labour from sunup to sundown a la Little House on the Prairie.

These days most of us sit in our cars then sit at a desk for 8 hours then sit in our cars some more then maybe go to the gym and then sit in front of the telly then go to bed so our physical output is much less.

I would say that you should have your biggest meal prior to your biggest output of excersise so if you work out after work then eat more later in the day and if you work out in the morning or have a very physical job then eat more at breakfast. Whatever suits your particular situation.

goldthistime

I tend to eat much more in the mornings than the afternoons, and very little if anything in the evenings. I do this, in part, so that I have calorie fuelled energy when I am active, which is daytime, and my most calorie depleted time is when I am sleeping. Hard for me to understand why someone would go hungry in the morning, for instance, so that they can have a before bedtime snack. You are about to lie still for eight hours, do you really need the energy then?

Achrya

Zombie thread is zombie.


I don't eat until noon. Dinner is always the largest meal of the day, because that's how I like to roll. I don't lose any more or less weight not eating breakfast than I did when I did eat breakfast; the calories remain the same no matter when I eat them and that's what matters (for most people)

Achrya

I tend to eat much more in the mornings than the afternoons, and very little if anything in the even, iings. I do this, in part, so that I have calorie fuelled energy when I am active, which is daytime, and my most calorie depleted time is when I am sleeping. Hard for me to understand why someone would go hungry in the morning, for instance, so that they can have a before bedtime snack. You are about to lie still for eight hours, do you really need the energy then?

Yes, I do. Nothing kills a good nights sleep like waking up hungry at 4am.

MelodyandBarbells

I tend to eat much more in the mornings than the afternoons, and very little if anything in the evenings. I do this, in part, so that I have calorie fuelled energy when I am active, which is daytime, and my most calorie depleted time is when I am sleeping. Hard for me to understand why someone would go hungry in the morning, for instance, so that they can have a before bedtime snack. You are about to lie still for eight hours, do you really need the energy then?

Right or wrong I'm not necessarily looking for energy in food, I'm looking for GOOD taste. I just don't crave that very early in the morning, just need sustenance. I also do not lie still for 8 hours (how I wish I did). I'm periodically getting up, packing a gym bag, picking/cleaning up around the apartment, watching tv - well, that is lying still Also coffee does a pretty good job energizing me in the mornings. Please don't talk to me until this cup of coffee I'm holding in my hand while walking down to my desk like a zombie is *in* me.

chelstakencharge

There is no right answer.....just do what works best for you and your schedule

linkirving

What matters most is sustainability. If I ate more calories at breakfast than at dinner, I would ragequit within 2 days and just go back to the lifestyle that made me a fat dude.

Do what works for you.

12skipafew99100

I hardly eat breakfast or if I do its later in the morning. I have to "save" my calories for later in the day. I get too hungry and then over eat if I eat most of my calories early.

I think as long as your total for the day is under your goal it dosn' really matter.

bajoyba

I tend to eat much more in the mornings than the afternoons, and very little if anything in the even, iings. I do this, in part, so that I have calorie fuelled energy when I am active, which is daytime, and my most calorie depleted time is when I am sleeping. Hard for me to understand why someone would go hungry in the morning, for instance, so that they can have a before bedtime snack. You are about to lie still for eight hours, do you really need the energy then?

Yes, I do. Nothing kills a good nights sleep like waking up hungry at 4am.

Amen to that. I don't want to go to bed even slightly hungry or wishing I had had that chocolate cake.

PLUS, I cannot work out on a full stomach. If I eat a meal, I have to wait 2+ hours before I can do my usual workout, so it makes more sense for me to eat a big meal AFTER I get my major activities in. Also, I'm not hungry in the morning. I don't particularly like eating when I'm not hungry; conversely, I do like to eat food when I am hungry.

It's been working out quite well for me so far, so I'm just going to keep eating a ton of food before bed and then laying in all of that calorific glory all night long. :laugh:

Just do what works for you.

krawhitham

I do the opposite. Many of my breakfasts are 250-300 calories and dinners can be upwards of 600 depending on what I ate for lunch, or if I had snacks throughout the day.

bc2ct

These recommendations (smaller meals for dinner) are not made based on weight loss goals/caloric needs but rather on the fact that eating large meals late at night is generally not recommended as it can mess with your sleep cycle. If eating large meals late doesn't mess with your sleep cycle... you do you!

wheird

I eat most of my calories later in the day. That's how I prefer it. I'm usually not that hungry in the morning, but start getting hungry around lunch.

Sarauk2sf

Eat in a way that increases the chance of adherence and helps the most with gym performance, lifestyle and energy levels in general.

magerum

From a weight loss perspective, food timing is irrelevant. I eat 2/3 of my calories in the last two hours that I'm awake. Typically going to bed minutes after finishing.

tomandshell

I don't get hungry before noon and so I have stopped forcing myself to eat when I'm not at all hungry. (Starting to eat early in the day also gets my appetite going at a rate beyond what my available calories can keep up with.) Skipping breakfast gives me more calories to play with in the late afternoon and evening, when my appetite is at its greatest. Dinner is my major meal and I often save up some calories for a late night snack.

kapoorpk

Not necessarily the best approach, but it depends what your day looks like and when you work out. Based on American Dietary Associations recommendations and my experience, the best approach is to eat evenly through out the day aligning with upper limits of carbs, proteins and fats.

What worked for me and per ADA is to eat smaller and more frequent meals spread out through out the day.

Good luck.