How to spread the calories?

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MismatchedAlmonds
MismatchedAlmonds Posts: 90 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok peeps, I'm having a problem. I go through my day totally determined to keep on/under my calorie limit. I do ok. Then the anywhere between 10 PM and 2 AM (night owl) I am munchy or authentically hungry and end up blowing my limit to sh*%. How would you recommend I portion out my calories during the day so I have, like, 300 for the evening when I want more? I eat something for breakfast and then our big meal is around 3 or 4 PM.

My calorie limit is 1400 btw.

Replies

  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    You could try eating lower calories during the day to allow you to eat later or even find a low-calorie, filling snack for the night time. You could try any number of fruits or even air-popped popcorn. Honestly, it looks like you haven't been here long, so I can tell you from experience that it gets easier as you go.

    Also, I think your username is adorable.
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    I forgot to ask: What's your height, weight and goal weight? And your weekly weight loss goal?
  • MismatchedAlmonds
    MismatchedAlmonds Posts: 90 Member
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    Height: 5'5
    Weight: 251
    Goal Weight: 150? 145?
    Weekly weight loss: 2 lbs if possible


    You're right, I haven't been on here long. I'm a life long body-hater, but just figuring out how to cook at home with my S.O. and eat in a way I'll be happy with for life, not just for weight loss. :)

    As to the name--thanks! I love my eyes, but they are oddly shaped IMO. They dont quite seem to match when you look up close.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
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    Have you tried to break the late night habit? I was a terrible night owl, and was able to break myself of it by going to the gym super early, leaving me no choice but to go to bed at a reasonable hour. Since then, I have better energy, am NEVER hungry while staying within my calorie goal, and get more productive stuff done in my day.
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
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    Hmm, well, are you up early as well as up late? I would suggest picking any 10 hour eating window you want and just stick to it.

    I try and average cals over a week, so I plan 2 days where I stick to a lower number of cals and then I can have more for the weekends. I know some people freak out about being under 1200 but this is what it might look like:
    Sunday 900
    Monday 1400
    Tuesday 1400
    Wednesday 900
    Thursday 1600
    Friday 1600
    Saturday 1600

    on the low cal days I usually skip breakfast and have 300 cal meals and a snack. I have quite a few 300-cal go-to meals and that works for me...
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,654 Member
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    Pre-log a few hundred calories for a midnight snack... then plan your meals accordingly within your calorie goal. It works.
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    Ok, so your loss goal isn't too high, that's good. I do like what AllOutof_Bubblegum suggested, but like you said, it has to be sustainable for you. If you're not quite ready to break out of your night owl-ness yet (or can't for some reason) you could try creating a larger deficit during the day.

    Also, I know that eating at a deficit sucks for the first few months, but it's not bad at all once you get used to it.
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    Hmm, well, are you up early as well as up late? I would suggest picking any 10 hour eating window you want and just stick to it.

    I try and average cals over a week, so I plan 2 days where I stick to a lower number of cals and then I can have more for the weekends. I know some people freak out about being under 1200 but this is what it might look like:
    Sunday 900
    Monday 1400
    Tuesday 1400
    Wednesday 900
    Thursday 1600
    Friday 1600
    Saturday 1600

    on the low cal days I usually skip breakfast and have 300 cal meals and a snack. I have quite a few 300-cal go-to meals and that works for me...

    That's similar to some of the fasting plans I see around here. Before you get into anything like that, though, you should always consider whether or not you can stick to it.
  • wonderwoman234
    wonderwoman234 Posts: 551 Member
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    If you are 251 lbs. your calorie goal of 1400 seems a bit low, at least for your size right now. I would try tapering your calories down over time as you lose. Maybe start with 1800 a day until you lose 20 lbs then cut back a bit more? If you feel deprived because you are severely restricting your calories as compared to before, you can become food obsessed and then binge at some point. Better to moderately cut back so it feels manageable.

    Having said that, are you truly hungry or bored when you are snacking? Emotional eating is a problem that you will have to address if you want to keep the weight off. I know this from experience. Do you have to stay up so late? If you do, do you have to eat?

    Your body hating could also be getting in the way. A lot of people who hate their body feel they don't deserve to eat, but eat because they are hungry (as humans do), and then feel bad because they ate since they feel they don't deserve it, then eat more because they feel bad.

    Learning self acceptance can actually help you lose weight. Self-hatred can create all kinds of toxic thoughts and feelings that just get in the way of a lot of good things.
  • KeepGoingKylene
    KeepGoingKylene Posts: 432 Member
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    are you exercising at all?
    burn calories and then you get to eat more.
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    If you are 251 lbs. your calorie goal of 1400 seems a bit low, at least for your size right now. I would try tapering your calories down over time as you lose. Maybe start with 1800 a day until you lose 20 lbs then cut back a bit more? If you feel deprived because you are severely restricting your calories as compared to before, you can become food obsessed and then binge at some point. Better to moderately cut back so it feels manageable.

    Having said that, are you truly hungry or bored when you are snacking? Emotional eating is a problem that you will have to address if you want to keep the weight off. I know this from experience. Do you have to stay up so late? If you do, do you have to eat?

    Your body hating could also be getting in the way. A lot of people who hate their body feel they don't deserve to eat, but eat because they are hungry (as humans do), and then feel bad because they ate since they feel they don't deserve it, then eat more because they feel bad.

    Learning self acceptance can actually help you lose weight. Self-hatred can create all kinds of toxic thoughts and feelings that just get in the way of a lot of good things.

    I really like all of this. I totally forgot how hard it was to try to stick to a very strict calorie goal when I started (three years ago, thus the memory lapse) so easing yourself into it is a much better suggestion. You won't lose as fast, but that's not the most important thing during this time!

    And I just quoted this again to add emphasis. Awesome, awesome advice
    Learning self acceptance can actually help you lose weight. Self-hatred can create all kinds of toxic thoughts and feelings that just get in the way of a lot of good things.
  • rak173
    rak173 Posts: 105 Member
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    I am similar to you. I love snacking, especially at night! I would suggest pre-logging snack cals. for night in the morning. I have a similar calorie goal as you and I tend to keep my meals pretty low in calories (350-500) to leave enough cals for snacks.
  • sargessexyone
    sargessexyone Posts: 494 Member
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    It really doesn't matter what time you eat as long as you stay within your calories goals. I save quite a few calories just for night time snacking. :bigsmile:
  • bshot1
    bshot1 Posts: 44
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    Personal preference plays a big part in this.

    For me, I experimented a bit. I didn't like splitting the calories up, having 3 tiny meals just made me hungrier the whole day. I ended up just going the intermittent fasting route and split the majority of my calories into 2 meals. On an average day, I eat one at noon and another at 4pm. Keeps me filled the majority of the day with the exception of breakfast hours.

    Whatever you choose, just be consistent with it.
  • jim180155
    jim180155 Posts: 769 Member
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    Exercise.

    I get 1640 calories a day for a 250 calorie or 1/2 pound deficit. I plan those 1640 calories in the morning, and pack them all for lunch and snacks, except what I eat for breakfast. At this point in the day I've eaten everything but my apple. I'll probably eat that before I leave work.

    That leaves no calories for dinner. But since getting my Fitbit a couple months ago, I've started walking a lot. So as it stands at this moment, I've used up 1665 calories, slightly over my daily allotment, but because of daily exercise, I now have 839 calories I can spend on dinner. By the time I sit down to eat that calorie total will probably be between 1000 and 1300 calories, and I more than likely will leave 200 to 400 calories uneaten.

    So, like I said, exercise. I'd have a tough time sticking to 1600 calories, but I don't have to. If I work for it, I get to eat 2000 to 2600 calories every day.
  • MismatchedAlmonds
    MismatchedAlmonds Posts: 90 Member
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    Ok, I'm gonna read through this more thoroughly during my next homework, break but I wanted to answer a few things really quickly:

    I am not an early riser as well--I usually go to bed between 2 and 4 and wake up at 11:30.

    I do indeed exercise--I walk and I'm also doing some interval jogging. I do eat the extra calories!

    Sometimes it's hunger, sometimes it's boredom/entertainment/emotional. I will be working on breaking the habit of boredom/emotional eating, but it is just as often true hunger!

    I'll read more in depth soon--just wanted to give you guys the extra info!
  • AeiriMuse
    AeiriMuse Posts: 254 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/AeiriMuse/view/base-metabolic-rate-662172

    This is the equation most sites and calculators basically use. If you wanted to understand.

    My advice is to base your calories off of this equation, study your protein and fiber intake, and try to front load your calories (eat more at the beginning of your day rather than try to hoard them for the end). By trying to save your calories for the end of the day, by fasting, you are causing your body to ravenously try to consume as much food as it can when you finally give it some (back loading). If you keep from spacing your meals more than 4 hours after a generous breakfast, you will prevent your body from going into this starvation mode.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    Ok peeps, I'm having a problem. I go through my day totally determined to keep on/under my calorie limit. I do ok. Then the anywhere between 10 PM and 2 AM (night owl) I am munchy or authentically hungry and end up blowing my limit to sh*%. How would you recommend I portion out my calories during the day so I have, like, 300 for the evening when I want more? I eat something for breakfast and then our big meal is around 3 or 4 PM.

    My calorie limit is 1400 btw.
    What works for me is to eat smaller meals throughout the day I generally have a healthy breakfast, a small snack, medium lunch, small snack, small dinner, and then often a desert. I have kept to this pattern since using the MFP tools.

    However, I would suggest you experiment and find what works best for you. It sounds like your hunger kicks in toward afternoon/evening, so you might want to eat smaller prior to this and save the bulk of your calories for the times when you are hungriest.

    Oh, also--are you eating enough? If you have little too lose and you exercise, 1400 might be too aggressive of a goal.

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