splitting calories?

thetoughequus
thetoughequus Posts: 25 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Mostly out of curiosity, as I think I've found what makes it easier for me, but how do you split your calories for the day?
Do you eat most in the morning and less throughout the day, eat light during the day to eat a big dinner, preplan for the next day? Do you care at all or do you just wing it?

Replies

  • weightliftingdiva
    weightliftingdiva Posts: 522 Member
    I tend to increase my calories at each meal. Smaller at breakfast, medium at lunch, larger at dinner and dessert.

    I do this especially when I'm at home, as my mom cooks the evening meal without tracking the calories. So I try and eat smaller meals earlier to save room for a big dinner.
  • Halcyon3608
    Halcyon3608 Posts: 28 Member
    I also give myself a bit more per meal as the day goes on. In general, I try to keep breakfast at 300, lunch at 450, dinner at 550, and snacks at 300 (which includes my after-work snack and my dessert, if I have room for it at the end of the day).
  • Followingsea
    Followingsea Posts: 407 Member
    I don't eat breakfast because my stomach is very sensitive in the morning, until it's about time for lunch anyway.

    I don't tend to get hungry until around noon anyway, and then not very hungry.

    I prefer no breakfast, a light lunch, and a giant dinner.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    I split my calories into a thing called meals. I call one breakfast, one lunch and the final one I've decided to call dinner. (Snazzy names huh)
  • _MG_
    _MG_ Posts: 453 Member
    If I am eating the way I have it planned (we all know how well plans seem to fall in to place) I want to eat the most at Breakfast. In terms of caloric content it ends up usually like this: Breakfast > Dinner > Lunch.

    I also usually have snacks around 9am, 2-3 pm and after dinner. I try to keep them to around 100-200 cals.

    I do all my workouts early in the morning. I have a pre-workout "breakfast" around 0445 am; hit the gym/pool then drive my hour to work and have the full "breakfast."

    **edited to add workout info.
  • wildrosegeo
    wildrosegeo Posts: 27 Member
    Supper is my big meal of the day. I'm not too hungry during the day, so I graze on small snacks.
  • breakinghabits
    breakinghabits Posts: 3
    Generally breakfast is my biggest meal of the day. I wake up pretty hungry, and I see breakfast as important to fuel my day. Also, if I want a treat I tend to fit it into my breakfast as opposed to having it after dinner for dessert (which I used to do all the time). Dinner is my smallest meal. I generally abide by the cliche 'Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper'. I don't eat a huge amount of dinner because by then generally I've done all my workouts/ chores for the day and just chill out after dinner.
  • Zomoniac
    Zomoniac Posts: 1,169 Member
    I prelog everything to make sure it all fits, but if I'm working with 1,800 I'll do approx 400/200/400/100/700 on a five-eat day. Big eating days I'll scale accordingly. Big big eat days I pile the excess into the morning, I struggle to eat lots of nutritious food throughout the day (as in 3,500+ of decent quality food is a lot to stomach), but knocking back a 900+ cal shake first thing goes down easily.
  • lavaughan69
    lavaughan69 Posts: 459 Member
    I don't eat breakfast because my stomach is very sensitive in the morning, until it's about time for lunch anyway.

    I don't tend to get hungry until around noon anyway, and then not very hungry.

    I prefer no breakfast, a light lunch, and a giant dinner.

    Same!

    I usually skip breakfast because I'm not hungry until 11:30ish. I eat a small lunch, usually soup or oatmeal with a veggie, a fruit and yogurt. I may have a veggie snack around 3pm to hold me over until dinner, which is my biggest meal of the day. I like to leave room for a 8pm snack of popcorn or frozen yogurt.

    Pick something that fits your lifestyle and is a routine that you plan on doing for life. Everyone is different so you need to choose an eating pattern that best suits you.
  • craftywitch_63
    craftywitch_63 Posts: 829 Member
    I eat a pretty large breakfast (~400 cals), a 10 am snack (~200 cals), smaller lunch (~ 350 cals), afternoon snack (~200 cals), then usually have a protein shake about 1/2 way into my workout in the late afternoon (keeps me from passing out from passing out on the treadmill), then dinner (~ 300 cals). My meals get smaller towards the end of the day because I am less hungry at the end of the day than I am at breakfast. If I don't work out that day I leave out the protein shake and I usually hit my goals.

    This is very individualized. My daughter, for example, can't face food until about noon. My youngest son is a night owl, so he has a protein shake about 3 pm, and his first meal is dinner, then he overnight. I've just now gotten him to the point that he eats "a little something" even if it's just a protein shake, every 3 hours or so. My oldest son is like me: ravenous at breakfast, at 10 am and lunch, then his appetite drops near the end of the day.

    Like most things, no one size fits all. :bigsmile:
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    First food for the day is about 12 noon - 1pm.

    Then I have a snack mid afternoon (nuts) and then an evening meal.

    Finish the evening with a square or 2 of dark chocolate about 9pm.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
    Since I am a volume eater ( meaning I prefer a dinner size plateful of food twice a day over three meals and snacks ) I eat 18:6 style.
    It depends on what my plans are during the day. Here in Latin American the big meal of the day is always between 2-4 pm ( that is also when people have their lunch brake and that is when I eat the first time each day ) with another smaller meal around 9 pm.
    If I have plans for the evening, I switch it around and eat a smaller meal early and a bigger one later....it just all depends.
    I like eating only twice a day, because I get up from the table satiated and don't have to think about food and prepare food for three meals and several snacks, especially since I am not used to snacks.
    I feel well, I am losing weight, my lab results are good....and that is all that counts.....:o).

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