Which is better?

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Lisa1971
Lisa1971 Posts: 3,069 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
To eat a big breakfast, small lunch and small dinner and then go to bed hungry or to eat a small breakfast and lunch and then a big dinner and go to bed satisfied? I hate going to bed starving!

Thanks!

Replies

  • hkuiuc99
    hkuiuc99 Posts: 79 Member
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    I'm not an expert, but I think eating a big breakfast is better than eating a large dinner....I think you want to consume more of your calories earlier in the day....just my opinion!
  • sevangelista
    sevangelista Posts: 42
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    neither...try to even out your calories over 5 meals...three plus two snacks...not good to spike your insulin which is what a big meal does..then you crash!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    neither, The best would be medium sized breakfast, Snack, medium sized lunch, small snack, small supper, if hungry small snack between supper and bed.

    Large meals anytime of the day will take energy to digest making you feel more sluggish as the energy to perform your day to day stuff will be used elsewhere. It is also best to eat every 3 hours or so. I typically eat every 2-2.5 hours, with no large meals
  • Nelski
    Nelski Posts: 1,607 Member
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    I think everyone has to find what's best for them. If you are hungry and night and eating larger meals earlier doesn't work for you then eat more at night. If you are calorie counting then spread them out evenly or however works for you. Maybe your dinner needs more protein, fiber and healthy fats to make you feel fuller longer.
  • melizerd
    melizerd Posts: 870 Member
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    Better to split it up better ;)

    I prefer to eat a moderate breakfast/lunch (I do about 250 for breakfast and about 300 calories for lunch) and then I use about 700-800 for dinner.

    I eat back about half my exercise calories as snacks if I feel I need it. Of course when I first started I felt like I was always hungry but now that my body has adjusted to the amount of food I really need it's much better. The first two weeks are the worst.
  • kaymd
    kaymd Posts: 470 Member
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    I eat a satisfying breakfast, a light lunch, a light snack in between, then a larger supper and if I am still hungry I have a light snack before 8:00pm. I hate going to bed starving too! Lots of water throughout the day too :-)
  • katschi
    katschi Posts: 689 Member
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    Just my opinion of course but I believe calories are calories and no matter the time that they are consumed, as long as you are within your range for losing weight, you will lose.

    Many Europeans eat late dinners and manage to stay slim.
    It's WHAT we're eating that counts, not the time.

    I see so many people here who are not breakfast eaters trying to force themselves to eat in the morning. Why?
    Because "they" say so?
    Do what's best for YOU to keep YOU satisfied and motivated to stick with this lifestyle change.
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
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    Depends...if you are trying to lose weight never go to bed with food in your stomach. You still burn calories when you are sleeping.
    The calories can come from the food in your stomach or stored fat. You decide.
    If building muscle, you want to eat something before bed so your body has the building material it needs.

    Also, your body can only process so much food at one time. If you eat a large meal chances are the food it can't process will be put away for later (stored as fat.) Try to eat equal size meals thru out the day and train your body. If you get hungry in the evening and have to have something before bed then go with protein.
  • Gary6030
    Gary6030 Posts: 593 Member
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    I'm going to echo what others have said. Try to balance your caloric intake out over the full day. If you feel the need to eat a "BIG" dinner more than likely you are in need of a mid afternoon snack so that at dinner you don't need to eat as much to feel full. A great snack for super low calories is to take 1/2 a container of a Walmart's No Fat Plain Yogurt. The large container. Add a packet of dry Ranch dressing mix and eat it with as many fresh veggies your heart cares to eat. A full cup which is quite a bit of dip is only 200 calories. I usually never eat more than 1/2 a cup with veggies. It's also great on a baked potato.

    On a side note dinner has and will always be my most difficult meal. The afternoon snack really tends to help me. Let us know how you are doing in a couple of days after trying some suggestions. Keep us posted.
  • MelissaL582
    MelissaL582 Posts: 1,422 Member
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    I have a decent size breakfast and lunch (at least 400 calories each), afternoon snack, a decent size dinner and an evening snack before bed.

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