What should my meals be averaging calorie wise??

nikkiej2012
nikkiej2012 Posts: 236 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Breakfast is about 500-620 cals

Lunch is about 450-550

Dinner is about 500-700 (i think)

and snacks ranges around 200-500..

someone told me that my meals should be like 400 or less..and my calories i eat per-day is 2170(set by MFP)...trying to lose 1 pound a week...

My log is open please feel free to look at my log ...

Replies

  • heatherrose86
    heatherrose86 Posts: 43 Member
    Many people suggest 4-6 small meals a day... I've read that your meals should be no more than 500 at one time for weight loss, I've heard no more than 800 at one time, and many other different viewpoints on the issue.

    Personally, I am doing absolutely fine with a breakfast of 200-300 calories, lunch @ 400-500 or so and dinner between 800-900 or even 1000 some days. 3 meals, no snacks (just spaced out well so I am not hungry for snacking) Everybody works differently. I love to cook a decent dinner and look forward to a satisfying meal later on... alongside a horse-trough full of salad, of course.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    This is going to vary by each person and what works for you... I am currently eating 3200 calories a day ( I eat back exercise calories) and have a built in deficit of losing 1 lb. a week (per MFP) that being said my meals are even across the board, I average 800 calories at each meal breakfast,lunch, and dinner and between my 3 snacks a day they add up to 800 calories. I tend to eat the majority of my snack calories right before bed though.. 300 between the first 2 snacks earlier in the day and 550 calories (30 Almonds and a glass of 1% Chocolate milk) when I head to bed at 10 p.m. This works for me and am still losing weight.... Good luck to you.....
  • ashisashortone
    ashisashortone Posts: 14 Member
    What I TRY to do( hasn't happened in the past few days) is eat 5 or 6 times a day, but all smaller meals. Everything usually averages about 300 or so calories at a time. I got myelf out of the mindset that I used to have that dinner is the biggest meal. Lately I have been eating a big dinner, but I found I was less hungry when having something to eat every 2-3 hours.
  • jsapninz
    jsapninz Posts: 909 Member
    someone told me that my meals should be like 400 or less..and my calories i eat per-day is 2170(set by MFP)...trying to lose 1 pound a week...

    I'll say it AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN: the ONLY thing that matters to lose weight is HOW MANY calories, not WHEN you eat them.

    I personally save up most of my calories for dinner, because I like to cook a big meal in the evenings. You may like lots of little snacks throughout the day, you make not. It's ALL personal preference, just stay under your daily goal and it won't matter.

    Good luck!! :flowerforyou:
  • Abells
    Abells Posts: 756 Member
    depends what you feel works for you. If you find that eating 3 meals a day causes you to be hungry in between then break those up into smaller meals. I tend to have a bigger breakfast than anything if I can then a snack then lunch snack dinner snack.

    It looks as if you lost some weight already so continue with what you are doing.
  • nikkiej2012
    nikkiej2012 Posts: 236 Member
    ok thanks every1...yes i have been staying under to...and some day i have between 200-500 cals left at the end of the day...because of walking, circuit training and cleaning the house...and people say to eat those back which i am learning to do..i guess its just how your body work..and how it breaks down food ..to how much weight you want to lose...

    Thanks every1 again :smile:
  • jsapninz
    jsapninz Posts: 909 Member
    ok thanks every1...yes i have been staying under to...and some day i have between 200-500 cals left at the end of the day...because of walking, circuit training and cleaning the house...and people say to eat those back which i am learning to do..i guess its just how your body work..and how it breaks down food ..to how much weight you want to lose...

    Thanks every1 again :smile:

    Don't go too much under your daily goal though...I try to get as close as I can get to my goal without going over, sometimes I am within 1 or 2 cals even. :smile: Feed your body what it needs!
    You SHOULD eat back your cals if your TDEE does not include exercise. However, be careful eating them back if you aren't using a Heart Rate Monitor, because other methods aren't personalized to you and usually overestimate.

    Glad to help! You can do it!
  • adswillis27
    adswillis27 Posts: 76 Member
    I started with a smaller breakfast, 300-400 calorie lunch, less than 500 calorie dinner and a few snacks (100-200 calories).

    Recently I switched to a larger breakfast at about 500-600 calories which keeps me full longer and I don't need an early morning snack. Plus I workout in the morning so I with sleep time and no fuel plus a tough workout I really need to refuel.

    Usually I have cereal or an english muffin/toast with peanut butter or just butter. Plus, I have a shake on the way to work which I count as part of breakfast. Usually I consume breakfast in about 45 minutes. I used to have 2 snacks between breakfast and lunch and now usually have one about 3 hours after breakfast.

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