Division of calories into meal and snacks

I eat with my family in the evening, so I usually try to save a good chunk of my calories for dinner. Since I eat alone breakfast, lunch and most snacks, I eat less. For me, I try to keep breakfast, lunch and snacks between 200-300 calories each. That leaves me a nice dinner cushion.

But, it's really about what works for you.

Ive got 1200 caloies per day as my allowance.

Im not following any formal kinda diet and am hoping somone can point me in the right direction as to how much I should 'spend' on each meal and allow for a snack (or two) to stop me feeling hungry.

Any (reasonable) suggestions welcome.
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It really depends on how you prefer. I like to save calories for a big dinner so I eat light throughout the day. I rarely eat anything before 12 - 1:00, and then it's a small lunch and snack. I've always prefered to eat more at night. Just develop a schedule you can be happy with. That's all that matters.

And if you exercise you get more calories and still have the same deficit, so be sure to figure that in.

I log my calories into time of the day rather than by meal... For example Morning, Mid-Day, Evening, and Late Night. If there's a specific time of day you don't want to have a bunch of calories in, it's easier to track your food intake that way. My diary should be open to the public, take a look and you'll see what I mean.

I usually go for a light breakfest, light lunch, and large dinner. I feel better that way typically and generally my work out is either right before or right after dinner, and the large calorie influx then makes me feel better and recover quicker.

For breakfest, eggs are your friend. 70 cals/ea, filling. 2 eggs, scrambled, salt, pepper, garlic, onion. Yum. 140 cals, cheap breakfast.
Lunch is a mixed bag for me, greek yogurt is nice (0%) toss a couple straw berries and a touch of vanilla and it's great. Sometimes some chicken breast or sauteed veggies... try to keep it in the 200-300 range.

Rest comes from dinner and exercise calories.... I've had as low as 400 and high as 1400 and generally hit in the 700 range somewhere which is pretty comfortable as far as being filling goes.

First of all, there is NO WAY I could do 1200 if I wasn't working out. It's usually pretty easy since I'm working out twice a day, but when my broken toe was healing and I was sedentary, keeping under that line was almost impossible. The basic rules I follow are these:

- I follow the eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper. I also have the most carbs in those bigger meals. That way I have the energy when I need it and stay fuller longer. I don't snack in between breakfast lunch and dinner. I do a pre-workout snack in the morning (usually yogurt and a coffee), and a nightcap in the evening (usually hot chocolate!). I really does keep me full.

- If I'm hungry I eat. If I'm TRULY hungry, I eat. No matter if it means going over my calories or not. If you've got a growling stomach, feed it!

- If I'm not hungry, I stop eating. If it's a breakfast, lunch, or dinner, if I'm full I stop. If I'm hungry an hour later, I'll finish my sandwich or pasta or whatever I was eating. This might be good for you since it would mean smaller amounts throughout the day.

- Don't let that number make you hungry. Choose a range. I have a 1200-1400 range where I can end up at the end of each day. If you try to control the calories too much, I believe you risk putting too many restrictions on food and yourself. Like not eating something because you don't know exactly how many calories is in something. Food should still be enjoyed and it won't always add up to the same number.

- Remember there's a learning curve. Do what you can now and learn as you go. Maybe you'll find a 200 calorie breakfast isn't enough or a 400 calorie dinner is too much. It's all about what's right for you. Experiment a little.