how do you divide your calories?

atichnell

A random question I just thought of.... How do you all divide up your calories between meals and snacks? More specifically, do you find that you eat more calories for one meal than others, or are you pretty even across the board? After looking at my food journal I notice I eat about even caloric amounts for breakfast, lunch and my two snacks combined. Then dinner is the remainder of my calories. I'm just curious to see how others do it and if maybe switching my heavier calorie meal to earlier in the day would be more beneficial. Any thoughts?

Sidesteal

A random question I just thought of.... How do you all divide up your calories between meals and snacks? More specifically, do you find that you eat more calories for one meal than others, or are you pretty even across the board? After looking at my food journal I notice I eat about even caloric amounts for breakfast, lunch and my two snacks combined. Then dinner is the remainder of my calories. I'm just curious to see how others do it and if maybe switching my heavier calorie meal to earlier in the day would be more beneficial. Any thoughts?

The most important thing to note is that personal preference should dictate your decisions on this. You aren't going to have any physiological benefit to making one meal bigger or smaller provided that we are comparing the exact same total intake.

That being said, I skip breakfast, eat a medium sized lunch, and then eat a buttload of crap for dinner.

rainbowbow

I eat about 150 cals for breakfast, 300 for lunch, and then like 1,000 calories for dinner.

1SlimShaylee

A random question I just thought of.... How do you all divide up your calories between meals and snacks? More specifically, do you find that you eat more calories for one meal than others, or are you pretty even across the board? After looking at my food journal I notice I eat about even caloric amounts for breakfast, lunch and my two snacks combined. Then dinner is the remainder of my calories. I'm just curious to see how others do it and if maybe switching my heavier calorie meal to earlier in the day would be more beneficial. Any thoughts?

The most important thing to note is that personal preference should dictate your decisions on this. You aren't going to have any physiological benefit to making one meal bigger or smaller provided that we are comparing the exact same total intake.

That being said, I skip breakfast, eat a medium sized lunch, and then eat a buttload of crap for dinner.

this! it is all about what keeps you satisified and from binging. my 3 meals are fairly equal in size (approx 600 cals each)because that is what works best for me

bhbarros

I usually eat around 200 calories for breakfast (my go-to meal is a bowl of cereal with almond milk and some strawberries).
Lunch is more varied, but usually doesn't go over 400.
Dinner can be anywhere from 300 to 600.
And I'm a HUGE snacker. This probably isn't the case for a lot of people, but I eat every 2-3 hours or so. I'm more likely to have 6 small meals than 3 large ones. My snack calories from yesterday totaled to 500. On days that I eat a really small dinner it's even higher :P

BrettPGH

With my teeth and digestive system.

Lina4Lina

250-350 calories 5 times per day. I just switched to this eating last week and I really like it.

birdieaz

I do approx 300 breakfast 400 lunch 500 dinner and that leaves 300 cal to split in two snacks for 1500 ca total..on active days I will add another 200 to 300 cal somewhere in there.

betterplayer

A random question I just thought of.... How do you all divide up your calories between meals and snacks? More specifically, do you find that you eat more calories for one meal than others, or are you pretty even across the board? After looking at my food journal I notice I eat about even caloric amounts for breakfast, lunch and my two snacks combined. Then dinner is the remainder of my calories. I'm just curious to see how others do it and if maybe switching my heavier calorie meal to earlier in the day would be more beneficial. Any thoughts?

The most important thing to note is that personal preference should dictate your decisions on this. You aren't going to have any physiological benefit to making one meal bigger or smaller provided that we are comparing the exact same total intake.

That being said, I skip breakfast, eat a medium sized lunch, and then eat a buttload of crap for dinner.

same thing.

With my teeth and digestive system.

*facepalm*

LorinaLynn

Smaller breakfast and lunch, snacks as needed, big dinner. Typically 50% of my calories are for dinner and an evening snack.

jeffsater

Ideally the majority of your calories should come early in the day. Eat like a King at breakfast, a Prince at lunch, and a peasant at dinner with a couple of snacks in between. Five small meals per day is a good rule. I've found that the key is not so much when, but HOW you allocate your calories.

40% Carbs (Good carbs, complex)
40% Protein
20% Fat

heytherestephy

I try to keep my calories to around 400 a meal, but then again my allowance is 1770.

AnvilHead

As Sidesteal said, do whatever works best for you. As long as the total caloric intake is the same, it doesn't matter when you eat it. Your body has no idea what time it is and your metabolism works 24 hours a day. There's no such thing as "kickstarting" it in the morning with breakfast, nor does it grind to a halt between meals. Eat whenever is most convenient/comfortable for you.

kluvit

There's no right or wrong. Divide in a way that keeps you from feeling deprived. I usually either skip breakfast or have a frappachino light or yogurt (less than 150 calories), have a medium lunch and larger dinner. Actually, the lunch and dinner meals are usually about the same, but then I enjoy cake and ice cream almost every night after dinner.

dan11222

i tend to not eat till about 6pm after exercise then i go nuts on protien and healthy fats and get all my calories in before 10 pmworks a treat and i dont get hungry in the day cant beat it:)


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amykff

my lunch and dinner are usually between 400-600 cals each day....most days i dont eat breakfast but on the days i do it would prob be something small and only about 150 cals!! i try not to use too much on snacks maybe 200 cals a day!! everyone is different though so try out a few different things to see what suits you most

confettibetti

With my teeth and digestive system.

? Im sorry but why do you even bother posting if you are going to be a smart *kitten*?

confettibetti

I normally have about 200-300 for breakfast depending on the day, then around 500 for lunch, and the rest for dinner and my two snacks are around 200 each. I net around 1500 each day :-)

newmein2013

I try to divide my meals into roughly 5 equal meals. But that's mostly b/c I'm diabetic and working really hard at getting off the meds. This helps stabilize the blood sugar, prevents highs & lows. Experiment and do what works best for you. You'll probably change it around a few times anyway as you increase your activity level.

corrinnebrown

250 - Breakfast
400 - Lunch
150 - Snack
400 - Dinner

Impy84

I eat when i'm hungry. I attempt to keep each snack under 150 cals. but if i snack a lot during the day and that totals to 750 cals, and then dinner is 200 cuz i'm not as hungry then so be it.

I don't plan that portion of my food.

munchlaxx

Lunch usually takes the most calories for me. I don't like to eat much in the evening, since I move around like a sloth during night hours. Always feel like crap the next day if I have a big dinner!

gaylynn35

I have about 200 calories or so for breakfast, 200-300 or so for lunch, 400 for snacks and 400 for dinner.

weird_me2

I do about 300/500/700 for breakfast/lunch/dinner, then another 500 or so usually for 1 or 2 snacks. I've tried doing the eat more earlier in the day thing, but it didn't work for me. This is what I naturally tend to gravitate towards, and it's working, so I'm happy.

amonroe1343

My breakfast is usually 200-300 calories, my snacks are each about 100-200 calories, my lunch is about 300-400 and my dinner is more 400-600. It works the best for me.

reneecgc

Lunch with my afternoon snack tends to be my highest. I am eating 1800 plus calories now because I am
in maintenance, but most days I was 350 per meal including 350 for snacks when I was trying to lose.

Illona88

400 for breakfast, 300 for lunch, 500 for dinner and then whatever I have exercised off for snacks.

BrettPGH

With my teeth and digestive system.

? Im sorry but why do you even bother posting if you are going to be a smart *kitten*?

People call them "jokes".

Molly_Maguire

I'm sedentary (i.e. "lazy") so I'm on a low cal diet.

I eat a very small breakfast, just like an apple or an energy bite, because I want to rev my metabolism for the day, but am usually not very hungry when I wake up. Lunch is usually the big meal for me, and then I have a light dinner.

Personally, I shy from snacking, I tend to let calories get away from me when I eat a snack. (a "handful" of cashews turns into three or four, I lose count, and whoops! I just horked down 300 calories, and I'm STILL hungry. FML)

DanaDark

I don't. I judge my next meal based off of the calories and macros if the meal I just had.

Some days a large lunch and small dinner, some days vice versa. Some days same size.

Lizzym911

I try and eat more calories for breakfast and lunch and keep it light for dinner plus my two snacks.