How important is WHEN you eat calories

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jerryvo
jerryvo Posts: 66 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I find myself with a ton of calories to eat at the end of the day to make my goal so I usually have a heavy dinner. I generally don't eat anything after 7:00 but is having such a heavy calorie load in the second half of the day a problem?

Typical day: 1870 calorie goal

Short jog with dog -50 calories
Breakfast 250 calories
AM Snack 250 calories
Lunch break at Gym -400 calories
Lunch 450 calories
Mid day snack 200

1170 remaining for dinner
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Replies

  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
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    Meal timing is personal preference.
  • Ainar
    Ainar Posts: 858 Member
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    Not important at all. It's personal preferance. Just do what suits to you, it has no effect on anything.
  • KarenisPaleo
    KarenisPaleo Posts: 169 Member
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    Timing doesn't matter. Good news for once!!
  • bartman4
    bartman4 Posts: 24
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    Agree that timing doesn't matter at all. Feel free to eat under your goal. That's OK too.
  • celadontea
    celadontea Posts: 335 Member
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    I am going to go against what everyone else is saying-- I learned in a nutrition class I just took that it is very critical. If you consume more than you need to replenish your body with energy at one given time you will store it as fat. It is better to have a few meals throughout the day that are all around the same size and total up to your calorie goal. It is better for your metabolism as well as the hormones in your body related to digestion.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    It is nothing but personal preference..... Best of Luck
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
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    I am going to go against what everyone else is saying-- I learned in a nutrition class I just took that it is very critical. If you consume more than you need to replenish your body with energy at one given time you will store it as fat. It is better to have a few meals throughout the day that are all around the same size and total up to your calorie goal. It is better for your metabolism as well as the hormones in your body related to digestion.

    Nope.
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
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    I am going to go against what everyone else is saying-- I learned in a nutrition class I just took that it is very critical. If you consume more than you need to replenish your body with energy at one given time you will store it as fat. It is better to have a few meals throughout the day that are all around the same size and total up to your calorie goal. It is better for your metabolism as well as the hormones in your body related to digestion.

    This has been proven to be incorrect.
  • mathjulz
    mathjulz Posts: 5,514 Member
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    As long as you're feeling satisfied through the day, and not prone to overeat when you get to dinner, it doesn't really matter.

    Also be wary of eating back all your exercise calories … it depends on how sure you are of the accuracy (if you're using the machine's estimate at the gym, not very accurate; a HRM, more accurate)
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    I'll add my voice to the personal preference vote. If snacking during the day helps you stay on track, great! If you prefer to eat two meals in an 8 hour window, that's good too! Whatever helps you stay within your calorie goal for the day is fine.
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
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    I wasn't going to post, but since someone went the other way I will add my voice to the din. Recent studies have completely blown away any notion that meal timing matters. It does not. What made the recent studies so definitive is that they incorporated data mining; it turns out there were hundreds of thousands of in patient records that had exact meal times and all manner of weights and measures they could use to determine impact. It has none.
  • Fitnin6280
    Fitnin6280 Posts: 618 Member
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    I always eat about 70% of my cals at or after 7:00 pm. I really don't think it matters.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    I am going to go against what everyone else is saying-- I learned in a nutrition class I just took that it is very critical. If you consume more than you need to replenish your body with energy at one given time you will store it as fat.

    The problem with this type of thinking is that you're focusing on acute processes and not on long term things.

    If you are in a caloric deficit over time and eat all of your food in one big meal, you may store fat after that big meal but you are burning fat before and afterwards. Fat accumulation is the difference between fat storage and fat oxidation, and this is governed by energy balance over time.
  • IZackV13
    IZackV13 Posts: 157 Member
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    There is no difference in meal timing whatsoever. Popular "science" and even dieticians have mislead the average Joe to thinking they have to be tupperware-toting lunatics, eating 6-7 small meals a day, yada yada. Rubbish. This is not to say this can't work, but it's more a tactic of reducing the urge to overeat or binge rather than have any measureable effect on gains/losses in dieting.

    I am a big proponent of I.F. (Intermittent Fasting). There are different ways to do it, but I essentially only eat during an 8-hour window each day. This allows you to eat larger meals without all the tupperware-hysteria, and you still achieve your macro-nutrient ratios.

    Please read again: THERE IS NO TRUTH TO EATING FREQUENTLY KEEPING YOUR METABOLISM "BURNING" HOT!!!! Your metabolic rate on an I.F. plan actually INCREASES, as well as it improving your blood sugar levels (after a few days adjustment), triglycerides, and noticable ability to burn fat faster (especially if training in a fasted state, as I am currently doing).

    I know, sounds crazy, but research it. I.F. is legit. Google "leangains".
  • Fitnin6280
    Fitnin6280 Posts: 618 Member
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    I am going to go against what everyone else is saying-- I learned in a nutrition class I just took that it is very critical. If you consume more than you need to replenish your body with energy at one given time you will store it as fat.

    The problem with this type of thinking is that you're focusing on acute processes and not on long term things.

    If you are in a caloric deficit over time and eat all of your food in one big meal, you may store fat after that big meal but you are burning fat before and afterwards. Fat accumulation is the difference between fat storage and fat oxidation, and this is governed by energy balance over time.

    This is a great way to explain it. Thanks Side Steel!
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    Regarding "how important" it is to time your nutrients:

    1) It may be important for gym performance.
    2) It may be important for dietary adherence/hunger/satiety.
    3) It may be important for blood glucose regulation.

    But for all of the above, methods of meal timing are going to vary from person to person so you can't really make concrete recommendations, in my opinion, that are going to apply to everyone.

    It's not likely to be very important for fat loss outside of the above circumstances, assuming we are talking about meal distributions that remotely resemble "normal" eating habits.
  • MikeDasTrainer
    MikeDasTrainer Posts: 95
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    Unless you have a metabolic condition is does not matter. However, I'm still all for the simple carb and protein sorce after a workout to inhibit muscle breakdown for energy
  • RockClimber69
    RockClimber69 Posts: 82 Member
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    Not at all. Length of eating window though....now that's a different story.
  • Deb226
    Deb226 Posts: 1 Member
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    My experience has been to eat bigger meals at Breakfast and Lunch time when your most active during the day and your metabolism is working faster to burn off the fat and calories, later have a small meal when your going to be less likely active and more relaxed.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    Not at all. Length of eating window though....now that's a different story.

    How is that a different story?

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