How do you spread your calories througout the day? NO TIME!

SouLThinking

Subject line not long enough first off! LOL.

I'm a working mom...I work 40 + hours a week. I get a 30 minute lunch break at work. I can eat breakfast before work...lunch at 2 to 3 pm. and then of course supper at home after 6pm. Ok, so here goes. I can't have snacks. ..there is no time at work for that. I have been pretty successful losing weight (98 lbs) But now that I am closer to goal it's a delicate balance . I am just wondering for all of you near goal or close to maintenance how do you spread out your calories when lets say you have a net goal of 1400-1500. I have barely any appetite in the morning my calories are always less than 300. Lunch is less than 500 usually ..(not this past 2 days LOL ..Thanksgiving meal at work) So that leaves like 600-700 for supper which to me feels like too much but maybe I am over thinking it. Anyone else only able to eat 3 times daily and doing ok?

I also know that I have to measure every single thing still. I can't eyeball anything, I have to weigh it or measure it to know for sure what my calories are. That is why today and yesterday really got to me because of the dinner at work and I just got a "spoon" of stuff and the whole time thinking how in the h### am I gonna log this?? LOL. I may be close to 100 lbs lost and goal but I am still learning and still worrying sometimes.

Sorry for rambling but I get really frustrated a lot now when a lot of the time I have like 900 calories left when I get home and feel horrible if I eat them. I only get 30 minutes like I said and I have to prepare my food in that time too so eating anything heavier is just not likely to work out time wise.

Thanks for any kind and patient responses LOL. I haven' posted to many topics ...cuz i see a lot of bashing ..

be gentle.

Nichole

george_ie_girl

You will have heard this before - but avocado and nuts. Have some with breakfast and lunch or on your commute (keep nuts in the car?) to consume more (healthy) calories...

scagneti

I eat two meals a day and a snack at around 5pm before I leave for home. I take in around 1800 calories a day. First meal is at noon (around 500 calories) snack is around 300 and dinner is around 1000.

I've been in maintenance since May and have lost inches since I've started eating that way, but have stayed within the same 5 pounds (currently 126.8) the whole time.

babykanguruh

I would think that based on science (calories in, calories out) that as long as you are within your caloric range, it doesn't matter when you eat the calories. I could be wrong, but I tend to do the same thing (eat most of my calories in the evening.) I am anxious to read what other people think!

nicksaysnever

I eat 3 meals due to my work schedule as well, with dinner as my largest, and I haven't noticed any difficulties in my weight loss. If you've already lost as much as you have on that schedule I wouldn't over think it.

I honestly think that the 5/6 meals a day plan is only relevant if you're one of those people that experiences severe cravings and/or has a lot of trouble adjusting to a lower calorie goal.

NatyRusso

keep bagged snacks available, 100 calorie amonds, 90 calories special K bars, naked juice (about 140 calories), just some of the snacks that work for me that I can eat and work without it taking up time or space. hope this helps

gp79

Eat so that it fits your schedule. If that means once per day, or right before bed, etc etc, so be it. Eat the number of calories that correlate to your specific goal though. Obviously if you eat once per day, that meal is going to be a biggie.

kymberlin

Hi, I work for the Visiting Nurses. I eat a breakfast of whole wheat waffles with a tablespoon of low calorie peanut butter and an apple while driving to my first visit. Sometimes my first visit takes four hours. Then I eat lunch around noon and a snack again around 2pm. If I don't have a long visit I will eat a snack about two hours after breakfast. Usually something small like a 100 calorie pack or veggies. I eat most of my meals in the car driving between visits. I prepare all my food at home the night before. I rely on fresh fruit and veggies for snacks. I only get 1200 a day so easier for me. I'm usually hungrier at dinner than any other time anyway. Plus I usually work out before and dont get dinner til after 7pm.

servilia

Why do you have to spread it out? You don't have to eat 6 times a day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are fine. I used to go with just dinner until recently and it was fine. I assume you don't have hypoglycemia though..

Ashlea82

not sure if this is possible or a stupid suggestion but what about something like a handful of nuts in your bag and eat them while walking to the bathroom or something? surely you have bathroom breaks at work?

Victoriav99

I eat 4 times a day. I don't have time for snacks at work so I eat oatmeal before I go in. Eat my lunch at lunchtime of course. Eat dinner when I get home around 7. AND I always snacks around 9p.m. Light snacking of course. Most of my calories are consumed in the evening, but I'm losing weight just fine. I don't think you need to eat 6 meals a day to lose weight.

bert16

I'm a 6x per day kinda gal... breakfast at home, mid-morning snack that I bring to work (say, an apple and a Babybel cheese), then a small lunch, a mid-afternoon snack (say, a 200 calorie baggie of trail mix or nuts that I pack in my briefcase), dinner, and an evening snack! I have always preferred to graze throughout the day, but as I've been trying to lose weight now, I find that eating regularly stops me from overeating at meal time.

Whatever works for ya, I guess!

havalinaaa

I don't spread my calories out, I'm lucky if I get three chances a day to eat. I usually eat between 200-400 calories for breakfast, 300-500 for lunch, and anywhere from 700-1200 for dinner. If I'm lucky I can sneak a few snacks in there, but rarely. I'm losing weight steadily, making sure to hit my calories and my macros.

There are numerous studies that have shown meal timing has zero effect on weight loss. As long as you are staying within your calorie deficit and eating a balanced diet during the times you can eat, you will be just fine.

havalinaaa

I also know that I have to measure every single thing still. I can't eyeball anything, I have to weigh it or measure it to know for sure what my calories are. That is why today and yesterday really got to me because of the dinner at work and I just got a "spoon" of stuff and the whole time thinking how in the h### am I gonna log this?? LOL. I may be close to 100 lbs lost and goal but I am still learning and still worrying sometimes.

Take an evening and weigh the things you eat most often. Look at what a healthy portion looks like, find something you can compare it to in your mind - like for me I think of 1.5 oz of cheese as being 4 dice. Google visual food portion guide and there are a lot of things that come up. This REALLY helped me when I was starting out, so much so that when I did finally buy a scale and was able to check myself, I found that with most things I'd been pretty accurate (pasta is a hard one for me still though). Here's a link to one guide you can print out and carry in your wallet: http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/portion/servingcard7.pdf

Sorry for rambling but I get really frustrated a lot now when a lot of the time I have like 900 calories left when I get home and feel horrible if I eat them. I only get 30 minutes like I said and I have to prepare my food in that time too so eating anything heavier is just not likely to work out time wise.

If a 900 calorie dinner is too much food for you to consume in one sitting, try to make your other meals more calorie dense as opposed to larger. Opt for full fat, fat in foods does not equal fat in your body. Use whole milk. real half and half, butter not margarine, etc. REAL cheese, not low/no fat (that stuff is gross anyway). You might even wind up eating less actual food this way, but be getting more bang for your bite.

CoraGregoryCPA

I always like to view others diaries for help. You are welcomed to see mine. I like to eat ice cream in the evening that gets me more calories in and it keeps me happy!

I have to measure everything as well. My fiance thinks I'm crazy. I have to measure my wine. I have to cut the pizza, I have to weigh the cooked chicken-everything. I have a scale in my kitchen, 4 measuring cups and 3 different sets of measuring spoons. Always gotta have one handy to measure! Nice job!!

I'm about to start carrying a disposal or foldable measuring cup in my purse. I think my fiance is going to find one for me for xmas! Today, I even thought I shoudl really bring measuring spoons and cups to work! Seriously! I want to be as accurate as possible (not perfect, but accurate) AND not under estimate any portion.

SouLThinking

Thanks for all of your kind responses. I actually think that the answers provided are very helpful. During my weightloss I have learned that the larger the meal in the evening the slower my weightloss is. I"m not trying to win a race. I began this journey 7 yrs ago. Of course I have had a child in the middle of that 7 yrs. But anyway, I think what I have to do is incorporate all of your advice but make my lunch my bigger meal but make it not larger but like the previous posters said ..denser calories. I will add some sour cream or cheese and maybe have a little desert. I plan my meals every morning so I will just need to think it through so that my lunch is higher so my evening calories can stay about 500. I might even try for 500 3 x's a day and see what that does. I just know that every time I eat over 600 cal in the evening I stall or gain that week. I dont' get it. My body isn't the "normal" calorie burning machine I think LOL. I lost most of the last 40 lbs when I was having a shake for dinner. But, I was starving when I woke up and sometimes very weak so I decided to start eating again. It's slowed way down. I want to be healthy and fit not skinny and weak. LOL. I want to lose fat not muscle. Thanks again. I am gonna really think about my lunches from here on out. I am just glad to know that it's not strange to have a high cal meal a day like a lot of you posted that you have. Mine will be just at lunch, but I gotta cook a lot on the weekend to make this work. NO time to cook at work unless it's 15 minutes and then 15 to eat LOL. That just gives me indigestion.

Nichole

Ange_

it seems to me there are 2 ways of doing it and you are already doing one. Either have 3 big meals in the day that add up to your calorie goal. Or 5-6 small meals spreading out the calories in the day.
Oh and i've heard of the option of having the biggest meal being breakfast, and then gradually decreasing the number of calories through the day so that dinner is the smallest.
From what i've read it is better not to have a huge meal at dinner as it can affect sleep and you body won't need all that energy just as you are going to sleep but would prefer it in the morning.

So... being that you can't snack (although couldn't you sneak a protein bar or something during 'bathroom breaks'?), then maybe try to eat more at breakfast so you don't have to eat as much at dinner. I know you said you aren't hungry then, but you'll find that if you are eating less for dinner you might be, also i think it just takes getting used to. I used to not want breakfast at all, and then would be starving at about 9am. Now i can't live without breakfast (although still get hungry again at about 10, unless i've had an enormous kind of cooked breakfast that is only possible on weekends and then i don't want lunch until the late afternoon if at all).

Anyway the main thing is don't eat too little. I know plenty of people that ate almost nothing and then when they started eating proper breakfasts and meals in general they lost weight - that is all they had to do!

it_be_asin

I wish I had the problem of trying to eat enough... I am always battling to stay satieted!