Your biggest meal of the day ?

Options
jrusso28
jrusso28 Posts: 249 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have noticed that I have been making dinner my biggest meal of the day.
Normally I get home and still have 800-900 calories remaining.
So I end up using them up for dinner and snacks.

I am wondering if it would be better to use up more of those calories before I get home, so it forces me to have a smaller dinner and less snacks before bed time.

Thoughts?
«1

Replies

  • sweetnshy
    sweetnshy Posts: 97
    Options
    bump
  • rmhand
    rmhand Posts: 1,067 Member
    Options
    I tend to have big dinners but thats how it was growing up. I'm trying to transition to smaller dinners and make better use of my calories. Making lunches bigger to support me through my early evening work out.
  • missy1970eb
    missy1970eb Posts: 1,209 Member
    Options
    i had my bigger meal 4 lunch 2 day instead of dinner, cause id done all my workouts this morning so figured it might b better, but not sure if it makes any difference
  • sandylicious427
    sandylicious427 Posts: 4
    Options
    I think your biggest meal should be breakfast, that way you will burn it off during the day and it gets your body up and running. If you make your dinner the biggest meal, you wont burn as much calorie because following dinner its usually bedtime...
  • rachyrach1234
    rachyrach1234 Posts: 160
    Options
    lunch is my big meal of the day.....gives me more time to burn it off
    usually my dinner is 300 to 400 cal
    you really shouldnt eat ALL of your earned calories
    what good does your workout do if you eat what you just burned?
  • foxxybrown
    foxxybrown Posts: 838 Member
    Options
    I'd say yes, make your earlier meals bigger so you can digest and burn them off during the day.
  • WildFlower7
    WildFlower7 Posts: 714 Member
    Options
    Through my experiences, this has proven to have worked-
    "Breakfast like a king, lunch a queen, dinner like a pauper"

    Breakfast should be your biggest meal because you have all day to burn off the calories and you are just begining your day so you need energy.

    Lunch should be carbs and protein with a little fat to recharge your body

    Dinner should be very lean. Protein and a salad. This is because you don't want to eat alot of calories before you go to bed. Remember... calories are energy. If your body doesn't use up the extra energy, then guess what it will do to it? Store it as fat!!
  • paul87920
    paul87920 Posts: 165 Member
    Options
    I have noticed that I have been making dinner my biggest meal of the day.
    Normally I get home and still have 800-900 calories remaining.
    So I end up using them up for dinner and snacks.

    I am wondering if it would be better to use up more of those calories before I get home, so it forces me to have a smaller dinner and less snacks before bed time.

    Thoughts?

    Your metabolism slows down at night especially when you are sleeping. I try to keep the day balanced (more or less an OCD symptom) however I would consider a few things when approaching this topic. Are you going hungry throughout the day, or are you eating those remaining calories just because you have them to spare? Maybe neither applies to you, but if nighttime is your favored time of consuming, try to make those calories the healthy ones.
  • elliecolorado
    elliecolorado Posts: 1,040
    Options
    Depends on if I am at work or not, when I work it's dinner just because there is only so much I can bring to work for lunch. On my days off it is usually lunch.
  • Raynamama
    Raynamama Posts: 480 Member
    Options
    I would agree, I try to eat most of my calories for breakfast and lunch and have a smaller meal for dinner and try not to have any evening snacks. My nutritionist told me that I should try to not eat after 6PM and that it will really boost weight loss (which is not always feasable for me because sometimes I don't get home until 6:30 or 7:00) but I try my best to make it work. :)

    Hope that helps! :flowerforyou:
  • angel_eyes17
    angel_eyes17 Posts: 103 Member
    Options
    It think it would be better. And if your schedule allows you to, wait a minimum of 3 hours after dinner before you go to sleep.

    I eat 2 small snacks - one at around 10am and another at 3pm. You can eat a smaller dinner and you'll be less hungry during the day.
  • Ash32b
    Ash32b Posts: 9
    Options
    I always had this problem bc I have little time for lunch at work. But since I started using this website to calculate my calories I try to eat a bigger meal for lunch & it helps me that I work ten hour days so I have little time to eat when I get home bc I have to do my workout. I've only been working on my weight for two weeks now so I'm not sure if it makes a difference but I seem to be loosing weight. Good luck :)
  • JellyJaks
    JellyJaks Posts: 589 Member
    Options
    I've noticed that I have a ton of calories left over at night and feel the need to play catch up. Often it's because I'm so busy during the day (I'm a stay at home mother to a 10 month old and 2 year old) that I don't even realize I haven't eaten. I really need to get in the habit of eating when I feed the kids instead of using that time to clean up while they are occupied.
  • jamie1888
    jamie1888 Posts: 1,704 Member
    Options
    Timing of meals/calories is far, far less important than meeting your calorie goal and macros for the day. Let me see if I can find the article for you....
  • Rhiani
    Rhiani Posts: 9
    Options
    I think this is a very individual thing. I know there are numerous studies out there that say you shouldn't eat after 8pm or 9pm or just before bed, etc; but consider what you normally do between dinner time and bed time. If you are very sedentary at that time of day it may make more sense to shift the bulk of your calorie intake to a more active part of your day. In my case, I break up my work out time for the day over 2 or 3 work outs and my most intense, highest burn session is between dinner time and bed time so I tend to make dinner my largest meal.
  • rileamoyer
    rileamoyer Posts: 2,411 Member
    Options
    Mine is dinner, but it is not really my ideal. Big breakfasts or lunches work best for me individually. However, it doesn't work that way for DH, so we try and compromise a few days a week. Depends on activities for the day.
  • BabyDuchess
    BabyDuchess Posts: 353 Member
    Options
    Through my experiences, this has proven to have worked-
    "Breakfast like a king, lunch a queen, dinner like a pauper"

    Breakfast should be your biggest meal because you have all day to burn off the calories and you are just begining your day so you need energy.

    Lunch should be carbs and protein with a little fat to recharge your body

    Dinner should be very lean. Protein and a salad. This is because you don't want to eat alot of calories before you go to bed. Remember... calories are energy. If your body doesn't use up the extra energy, then guess what it will do to it? Store it as fat!!

    Exactly!........I like the way you think and you're spot on!
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
    Options
    Mine are generally spread pretty evenly throughout the day. I just eat every couple of hours. I don't go any longer than 3 hours without snacking on something otherwise I don't feel right and become sluggish.
  • jrusso28
    jrusso28 Posts: 249 Member
    Options
    Timing of meals/calories is far, far less important than meeting your calorie goal and macros for the day. Let me see if I can find the article for you....

    That would be great, will be on the lookout for it.

    Thanks!
  • allimac09
    allimac09 Posts: 33
    Options
    I've had the most success when lunch is my biggest meal. I eat breakfast and that gets me thru my workout, then a small snack and at mid day I have a big lunch. It feels so good to feel like I worked for something big and something that I really enjoy.... Then I have a small dinner. Lately it's just been a protein shake for dinner. There are a couple more snacks in between there. I think I've trained myself not to be that hungry at dinner time, and the pounds are coming off much better than ever before. Also, my workouts are more productive and I wake up feeling great about myself. :)

Categories