Biggest meal is lunch

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Angie_1991
Angie_1991 Posts: 447 Member
in Chit-Chat
I work at a hospital and was recently talking to a nurse....she says lunch should be the biggest meal of the day...anyone do this?

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  • DoNotBurnTheDay
    DoNotBurnTheDay Posts: 121 Member
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    I can understand the logic to this. Give the body the remainder of the day to burn off and digest the food. I know you shouldn't eat anything within 3 hours of going to bed, but I guess it all comes down to whatever your preference is.
  • wolverine66
    wolverine66 Posts: 3,780 Member
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    i do this. not really intentionally... but lunch is usually my biggest meal
  • coliema
    coliema Posts: 7,646 Member
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    Dinner is normally my bigger meal, if I had more time I'd make breakfast the biggest. I love breakfast.
  • ToughTulip
    ToughTulip Posts: 1,118 Member
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    Its all personal preference
  • ilanawithani
    ilanawithani Posts: 18
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    I have a salad at lunch and a snack on the train home. I go to boot camp for class at 8pm so I have a small snack/meal before hand and a protein shake after. I think I have more calories at the end of the day but it doesn't feel that way since I am drinking the shake.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    Lunch is almost always my biggest meal of the day.

    Whatever works for you.
  • kristen6022
    kristen6022 Posts: 1,926 Member
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    It doesn't matter. It's like the old wifes tale that you shouldn't eat before bed (or after 7)...
  • jann34
    jann34 Posts: 10 Member
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    I know my mom lost alot of weight that way , unless you work at night most people just are not that active after they eat dinner so your food is not burned off . Alot of people like to have there biggest meal in the morning or in the afternoon and eat light at night .:smile:
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
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    yo body don't know dat
  • frando
    frando Posts: 583 Member
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    I would rather shift calories to lunch or snacks around that time, then keep them for later if I'm feeling hungry or (like today) unforeseen foods appear!
  • know_your_worth
    know_your_worth Posts: 481 Member
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    yo body don't know dat

    :laugh:
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
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    ...I know you shouldn't eat anything within 3 hours of going to bed...

    Why?

    OK, there's the obvious-sounding "anything you eat after your last heavy exercise is somehow instantly turned to fat because the body immediately ceases burning all calories precisely 180 minutes before your head hits the pillow", and I understand how inherently obvious that is. Wait, what?

    In reality, your body burns calories 24/7, even while sleeping, and is quite good at retaining energy overnight without immediately turning it into fat. In fact, really the only difference on the scale is because that late-night snack is probably still making its way through your digestive system and you haven't pooped out the stuff you don't need yet.

    Stay within your daily or averaged weekly calorie limits, and you'll do fine. Spread it out into 12 small snacklets so you're never "full" or "hungry", or eat one humongous meal at 3AM. Doesn't really matter all that much, as long as the food is nourishing and eaten in reasonable proportions of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates and you're getting all of your nutrients.

    The only rational reason to avoid food later in the day, and especially heavier food, is because it might interfere with your ability to get a good night's sleep if you're that type of person. And if snacking late at night actually helps you sleep, then save up a few calories and snack away, amigo!
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
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    I would rather shift calories to lunch or snacks around that time, then keep them for later if I'm feeling hungry or (like today) unforeseen foods appear!

    Timing food intake for portion control is perfectly valid. Personally, I start with a decent breakfast, and pack things I can eat in small portions all day long. It helps me avoid the 10AM and 2PM "GOTTAEATSOMETHING!"s, which are healthy diet kryptonite for me. I'll just find a vending machine, start throwing loose change in, stick my mouth under the output hopper, and chew until I run out of loose change. I know that about myself, so I pack a healthy and fulfilling lunch that I can nibble-nibble-nibble on all day long. But that is not the only path, and I understand that I am doing this for psychological, not physiological, reasons.

    And planning your intake ahead of time - that's a thing of beauty indeed. Planning gives you willpower, because you have already worked out what you are going to eat and know there simply isn't room for unexpected treats. It's so much easier with a plan.

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