Evening calories.....

senglishrose
senglishrose Posts: 86 Member
edited November 13 in Health and Weight Loss
Sometimes in the afternoon I may want something but when I see how many calories I have left for the day I think to myself that I may want to conserve them for dinner. Do you save a certain amount of calories for your evening meal?
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Replies

  • notnikkisixx
    notnikkisixx Posts: 375 Member
    I usually try to reserve about 400 calories for dinner, on workout days I'll bump it up to 500. Pre-logging helps me a ton because I can plan everything out ahead of time and make adjustments where I need to, like cutting out certain snacks.
  • DeeGardner714
    DeeGardner714 Posts: 3 Member
    I also log all my meals the night before :) I may add in a little snack or have a larger portion at dinner if my deficit is too high. Failing to plan is planning to fail.
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    I usually have 75% of my calories between 5-10pm. I usually don't eat early in the day....im just not hungry.
  • DarrelBirkett
    DarrelBirkett Posts: 221 Member
    senglishrose wrote: »
    Sometimes in the afternoon I may want something but when I see how many calories I have left for the day I think to myself that I may want to conserve them for dinner. Do you save a certain amount of calories for your evening meal?

    I pre log my whole day more or less the day before. I basically use MFP to plan meals rather than logging after eating. this is so I can aim for my macros. That said, I dont control evening meal (wife cooks) but she is healthy focussed so I generally allow 400-500 cals and then add it once I have it.
  • Angierae75
    Angierae75 Posts: 417 Member
    I plug in my dinner first thing, so I know how much I have left for the rest of the day. If I earn more calories (I have a FitBit) I will use about half of those for a nighttime snack if I need to.
  • AskTracyAnnK28
    AskTracyAnnK28 Posts: 2,817 Member
    Dinner is my favorite meal so I generally work around that unless I have a lunch or something I need to attend.
  • LeslieB042812
    LeslieB042812 Posts: 1,799 Member
    awarreningermany wrote: »
    mkakids wrote: »
    I usually have 75% of my calories between 5-10pm. I usually don't eat early in the day....im just not hungry.

    I need to start trying to do this lol. I have the hardest time in the evening with calories. I usually could skip breakfast but thought it was bad. If I train I would have to eat before 5 but usually my hunger picks up the most in the mid afternoon till bedtime and it drives me nuts cause if I try to equally split up my meals (like I usually do) I end up overeating because I am the hungriest at night. I still have to find the right approach or breakdown for me clearly!

    I was the same way, falling for the lines "breakfast is the most important meal" and "if you eat more in the morning, you'll feel more full". Neither is true for me! If I eat a big healthy breakfast, then I also eat a big healthy dinner and end up with too many calories. I've switched to a small snack for breakfast (if anything), a small lunch and a moderate afternoon snack, followed by a hefty dinner (typically over 1/3 of my daily calories) and an evening snack. So, I end up saving about 50% of my calories for after work (on a typical day, if I know I'm going out that night, I'll save more, about 70%). This works for me because it allows me to eat when I'm ravenous (at night) without going over my calories and while still keeping my blood sugar up throughout the day.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    600-800 for both dinner and dessert. If I have less, then I'll usually go for a couple chocolate squares instead of a higher-calorie ice cream serving.
  • Foodiethinking
    Foodiethinking Posts: 240 Member
    I generally know my week so pre-log a few days in advance depending on foods that need using. My biggest meal is lunch most days which I have s late as I can push and then that sees me through until 7ish for dinner. If I spare cals I snack, if I don't then I drink lots of water. Usually 500cal lunch, 400-500cal dinner and then everything else on breakfast and snacks :-)
  • misskarihari
    misskarihari Posts: 104 Member
    I eat about half my calories on breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack at work, then the rest for dinner and an after-dinner snack. So 50/50-ish. I like a big dinner.
  • senglishrose
    senglishrose Posts: 86 Member
    wow....thanks for everybody's thoughts. I need/want/love my breakfast and lunch so I don't think I could save 75% for dinner. My problem with dinners is that I eat with a household so I don't cook or plan the meals. I guess I could start asking what we're having for dinner tonight....actually I think we're going out tonight for sushi. I think it may be safe to save 400-500 for dinner...and there is always workout to counter anything I may have gone over! Plus I walk over 10,000 steps a day when i'm at work so that part is good.

    When I lived alone it was sooooo much easier to plan my whole day out for food. I'm going to make this work though! I was just curious how others do it.
  • senglishrose
    senglishrose Posts: 86 Member
    Failing to plan is planning to fail -- I like that quote - thank you!
  • misskarihari
    misskarihari Posts: 104 Member
    I had sushi on saturday, ate 13 pieces and it quickly ended up on 800 calories (roughly estimated)! So watch out, but enjoy it :)
    10k steps a day is very good. Keep it up. :)
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    I try to have 2K calories left when I leave work at 5:00pm.
  • senglishrose
    senglishrose Posts: 86 Member
    @misskarihari -- yikess...seriously?
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
    Unless I know I have plans later in the evening, I prefer using snack calories midday.
  • yesimpson
    yesimpson Posts: 1,372 Member
    I like a big 800-calorie dinner, so for me I either have to make food choices thoughtfully in the day, or make sure I go for a walk/run/gym session.
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
    I usually eat about half during the day, saving the rest for dinner and evening snack!
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    edited February 2015
    I pre-log my days a week in advance, too. So the days when I cook at home are pre-planned. I eat at 1300 calories and typcially I'll divvy them up as about 200/500/400/200 breakfast/lunch/dinner/evening snacks, give or take, because that's sort of my usual hunger pattern.

    If I know I'm going out for dinner, I'll deliberately eat a smaller lunch to save up more calories to allow for a bigger dinner.
  • jaynerz
    jaynerz Posts: 31 Member
    I need 300-400 calories set away for AFTER dinner or I'm in trouble! I have always been a late night snacker. And I do pre log too for the most part!
  • kailibertsch
    kailibertsch Posts: 139 Member
    I'm with those who save a big portion for dinner. I like a big dinner and usually a dessert. Sometimes even an evening snack. I sometimes even have two mini dinners because my husband typically works late so I will have a small one when I would normally eat dinner, and then another small one with him when he is home.
  • senglishrose
    senglishrose Posts: 86 Member
    @segacs I'm interested in what you eat for breakfast that's only 200 calories
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    senglishrose wrote: »
    @segacs I'm interested in what you eat for breakfast that's only 200 calories

    Usually some oatmeal and a cup of coffee when I get to the office. I'm not much of a morning/breakfast person.
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    mkakids wrote: »
    I usually have 75% of my calories between 5-10pm. I usually don't eat early in the day....im just not hungry.

    Yeah that's pretty much me too. I'll eat a modest breakfast (300 cal or so). I eat a pretty light lunch, and usually a small snack in the afternoon. That usually leaves around 1200 calories or so for dinner/evenings.
  • NANA70DIET1
    NANA70DIET1 Posts: 1
    I eat a small breakfast, about 300 calories, and have a healthy salad for lunch, and use rest of my 1200 for dinner
    I put in my log first thing in AM what I am going to eat that day, as I know if I am going out or not so know if go out how many calories I can have for dinner.
    I also do fitbit and at least 10,000 steps a day, most days do more .
  • misskarihari
    misskarihari Posts: 104 Member
    senglishrose wrote: »
    @misskarihari -- yikess...seriously?

    Yes. The rice is very high in calories, and make rolls with avocado, tempura, salmon has lots of fat, sugar in the ginger... Eat sashimi if you want to be careful with the calories :-)
  • Troy13691
    Troy13691 Posts: 60 Member
    senglishrose wrote: »
    @segacs I'm interested in what you eat for breakfast that's only 200 calories

    Im a small brekkie eater too. I usually only eat a piece of whole meal bread ( toast) with a light butter and either vegemite or peanut butter. anywhere from 115-150 calories. if i add a poached egg instead its still around 200 calories.
  • senglishrose
    senglishrose Posts: 86 Member
    suddenly I don't want sushi tonight lol The tempura the best part of sushi.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    senglishrose wrote: »
    Sometimes in the afternoon I may want something but when I see how many calories I have left for the day I think to myself that I may want to conserve them for dinner. Do you save a certain amount of calories for your evening meal?

    I generally pre-log my entire day and know exactly where I stand at all times. I always make sure I have enough calories for desert.
  • KylaDenay
    KylaDenay Posts: 1,585 Member
    I normally do not eat breakfast, so my calories are usually dividing amongst lunch and dinner. Gives me more to work with for each. It makes me happy that way.
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