How many calories do you leave for dinner?

Jenninscotland
Jenninscotland Posts: 97 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I was just wondering how many calories other people tend to eat at dinner (or even after although I TRY not to snack after dinner)? I've heard that it's better to eat more throughout the day and less in the evenings. I however get upset if I have anything less than 500 calories left for my evening meal. I was raised believing that the evening meal should be the largest meal of the day.

What about you? How many calories do you leave for the last meal of the day?
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Replies

  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
    I try to be realistic with myself, so I leave around 650 for dinner and 300 for my middle of the night snacking.
  • ChrisS30V
    ChrisS30V Posts: 157 Member
    Typically, 500-1000 depending on my activity levels for the day. I love a good, hardy meal at the end of a long day.
  • susieoj
    susieoj Posts: 181
    Try planning out your whole day, you can modify later but it takes the stress out of "leaving calories for dinner" - this is my new approach because I was stressing over that very thing and found myself worrying about having "enough" left for dinner which just led to me being overly hungry at dinner because I didn't eat enough for lunch, wanting to leave more for the evening lol ... That is the way I ended up overeating later in the day time and time again.
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    I think I'm usually at 500 left for dinner unless I get two workouts in that day. I'm a lot like you - I like to have a big dinner! Sometimes, though, I'm a bottomless pit during the day and eat my calories earlier.

    It doesn't really matter if you eat more later in the day. Your body processes calories the same at night as it does throughout the day. All you need to worry about is sticking to your counts and getting the right macros in your diet.
  • MuseofSong
    MuseofSong Posts: 322 Member
    I usually have around 800-1000 calories left for dinner & whatever; however, I eat ~2000 calories a day. If I want restaurant food for dinner, I really need about 1k calories available.

    And of course, since I usually exercise at night, that can add more calories into the evening availability too (but sometimes I do not eat back exercise calories till the next day). As long as my week balances out at my net goal, all is well.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    you can eat whenever you want...meal timing and metabolism are irrelevant. So if you want to save some calories for a post dinner snack then by all means do it.

    I usually have about 700 to 1000 cals for dinner, but I like to have my largest meal post workout for training reasons...and I always save about 100 cals for something that I want in the evening...

    and eating in the evening will not make you "fat" that is a myth...
  • ellis222
    ellis222 Posts: 59 Member
    I eat about 1200 calories a day and try to reserve 600 - 650 cals for dinner and a small evening snack. I helps to plan meals early in the day or the night before.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    oh and planning out your day the night before is a great suggestion. I usually do this so that I can fit things in ...like tonight I wanted to have pizza on the grill..so I put in my dinner first and then worked backwards from there so that I would be under calories and come pretty close to my macros....
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    I am a night time eater. If I don't have 1000 cal remaining for dinner and after dinner/overnight snacking, I'm in trouble. I eat less during the day (when I'm not usually all that hungry) to accommodate this.
  • mrsamanda86
    mrsamanda86 Posts: 869 Member
    I pick our dinner for the night based on what I had for breakfast. If I had a low calorie breakfast, then I'll have steak or a hefty side, if I had a pretty big breakfast, it's either a chicken or fish and lots of veggies night. I had a 90 caorie fiber bar for breakfast this morning(wasn't hungry at all) so we're having steak tonight for the first time in like three weeks! I'm excited ;)
  • ellis222
    ellis222 Posts: 59 Member
    oh and planning out your day the night before is a great suggestion. I usually do this so that I can fit things in ...like tonight I wanted to have pizza on the grill..so I put in my dinner first and then worked backwards from there so that I would be under calories and come pretty close to my macros....

    This is kind of what I do... my breakfast generally stays the same, than I figure out what's for dinner and the remainder of the days calories go to lunch.
  • GingerLolita
    GingerLolita Posts: 738 Member
    I try to distribute calories evenly throughout the day. I eat about 1800 calories/day, so I usually leave 600+ calories for dinner and dessert. I track all my meals and snacks in the morning before I eat anything so that I can stay balanced.
  • Fit_Natasha
    Fit_Natasha Posts: 83 Member
    I try to keep it around 400 calories and no carbs. I don't like heavy meals before bedtime and we usually having dinner around 6-7 pm. I would rather go hungry to bed then overstuffed.
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
    I try to be realistic with myself, so I leave around 650 for dinner and 300 for my middle of the night snacking.

    this is pretty much what I do as well.

    I prefer to eat lighter during the day and have 1/2 (or more) of my calories for after 6pm. It's just how I prefer to eat, and it works for me.
  • Jenninscotland
    Jenninscotland Posts: 97 Member
    Thanks all for your replies. It's really interesting to read everyone's habits :).

    I had a personal trainer who once told me not to eat carbs in the evening....but not always possible for us as we try not to have meat every single night of the week. I did however lose a lot of weight at that time and seemingly easily (I did not calorie count and mainly ate natural foods and definitely no bread). I think I like calorie counting better however as I travel for work and sometimes find it quite challenging to eat clean when in hotels etc.
  • Grace215lbs
    Grace215lbs Posts: 129 Member
    depends what kind of day ive had and how early i plan to stay awake or sleep... If i'm having an early dinner i have 300-400cals so then i can have desert =D.. If it's late its about 300-500cals.. If i've had a huge work out day. I'll have a pizza night and wine 500-600cals omnomnom!
  • comrade_questions
    comrade_questions Posts: 103 Member
    I try to leave at least 600. Any less and I'm cranky.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    I was just wondering how many calories other people tend to eat at dinner (or even after although I TRY not to snack after dinner)? I've heard that it's better to eat more throughout the day and less in the evenings. I however get upset if I have anything less than 500 calories left for my evening meal. I was raised believing that the evening meal should be the largest meal of the day.

    What about you? How many calories do you leave for the last meal of the day?

    i eat most of my calories at dinner. because that way my husband can witness me eating and not be concerned. 500 cals for dinner. and another 100 for a late night snack, or after dinner dessert, or wine with dinner.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    Thanks all for your replies. It's really interesting to read everyone's habits :).

    I had a personal trainer who once told me not to eat carbs in the evening....but not always possible for us as we try not to have meat every single night of the week. I did however lose a lot of weight at that time and seemingly easily (I did not calorie count and mainly ate natural foods and definitely no bread). I think I like calorie counting better however as I travel for work and sometimes find it quite challenging to eat clean when in hotels etc.

    i eat carbs with dinner. it's not a thing.
  • katekross
    katekross Posts: 463 Member
    My trainer said to leave most of the cals for dinner. I usually allow about 600.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    oh and planning out your day the night before is a great suggestion. I usually do this so that I can fit things in ...like tonight I wanted to have pizza on the grill..so I put in my dinner first and then worked backwards from there so that I would be under calories and come pretty close to my macros....
    Working backwards from a planned meal is an excellent suggestion.
  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,787 Member
    I try to have around 800 left at dinner time; I usually plan and eat a dinner of around 500 calories, which leaves me roughly 300 for either snacking or boozing. It's not a perfect plan -- sometimes I want something more elaborate for dinner, sometimes I'm really hungry at lunch and so eat a lighter dinner -- but it's a good enough guideline.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    I am a night time eater. If I don't have 1000 cal remaining for dinner and after dinner/overnight snacking, I'm in trouble. I eat less during the day (when I'm not usually all that hungry) to accommodate this.
    Ditto. I enjoy wine with dinner (rather than dessert), so I like to have a couple hundred calories available if I want some wine with a good hearty dinner. And maybe a snack. So I try to have about 1000 calories left for 5pm onward.
  • DorothyR87
    DorothyR87 Posts: 113
    I don't know why, but I go into panic mode if there is less than 800 calories for dinner. I try to have around 1000. I don't usually eat it all but knowing I have flexibility for dinner is comforting. Usually during the day I am in too much of a rush to eat a lot so dinner is always the biggest meal for me.
  • StripedSmoker
    StripedSmoker Posts: 104 Member
    Every mornins I quick add 350 cals for my dinner, later I replace them with what I ate. It helps me plan my day so much!
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
    I try to meal plan dinners a week ahead, or at least the night before. Of course with 2 full time working parents and a 4 year old and a 2 year old, that sometimes doesn't happen, lol. But most of the time, whenever I can, I know what I'm making for dinner at least the night before, so I add that first and then plan the rest of my day around it. It can range anywhere from 200 to 500 calories on a typical day, and then more for special evenings and such.
  • Sashoi
    Sashoi Posts: 295 Member
    I usually pre- log all my meals but dinner usually has the most calories since I usually eat dinner between 5-6 n I workout between 7:30-10 at night so that works for me cause I'm never hungry
  • PrettyPearl88
    PrettyPearl88 Posts: 368 Member
    Usually 500-600, sometimes less sometimes more, but never less than 350 or else I'm cranky about it! :laugh: I also try to leave an extra 100-200 calories for dessert as well. I like my dessert and I insist on having it! :tongue:
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I used to leave 600 calories or so... Now I tend to snack more during the day and leave 300-400 for dinner. Often I just prelog dinner so I can see exactly what snacks i can eat during the day though.
  • HeyGoRun
    HeyGoRun Posts: 550 Member
    Dinner usually smallest meal 100-300, i workout usually after dinner, it would suck to have alot of food in me, plus waking up feels better.

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