is 500 calories for breakfast too much?

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jjkoba81
jjkoba81 Posts: 33 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm not supposed to go over 1,820 calories a day, this breakfast smoothie I've been making though comes out to be just under 500 calories. Is that too much just for breakfast?
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  • snoringcat
    snoringcat Posts: 131 Member
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    Not if it fills you up & you limit the rest of the day to 1320.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,523 Member
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    How you meet your 1820 goal throughout the day is personal preference. The body doesn't have a time clock, nor a calorie amount cap when it comes to eating at meal times.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    edited May 2015
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    I think it's too much if it's just a shake. You could eat a lot of real food for that amount of calories. If you stay within your calorie range the rest of the day though, shouldn't be an issue.
  • laditz
    laditz Posts: 1 Member
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    Better to get those calories in at start of day and end the day with less than pile all your calories into last meal.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    laditz wrote: »
    Better to get those calories in at start of day and end the day with less than pile all your calories into last meal.

    Actually no, it doesn't really matter.
  • KimberlyTG2
    KimberlyTG2 Posts: 84 Member
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    I agree. I tried shakes for a while until my friend pointed out how much actual food I could eat for the same amount of calories. I would rather eat my calories than drink them. Personal choice
  • tarcotti
    tarcotti Posts: 205 Member
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    Just depends on what you eat the rest of the day I think. I'd rather eat a big dinner than a big breakfast so mine are rather small in calories.
  • yusaku02
    yusaku02 Posts: 3,476 Member
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    Depends on your eating habits. Really as long as you keep your other meals in check it doesn't matter how big breakfast is. 500 for breakfast, 600 for lunch and 700 for dinner might be a reasonable breakdown for you if you can stick to that.

    Personally, I tend to skip breakfast (I'm bad at getting out of bed so I'm always in a hurry during the morning) plus I know that I tend to eat pretty big dinners. So on the off chance I do eat breakfast it's usually 150-300kcal.
  • Foodiethinking
    Foodiethinking Posts: 240 Member
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    If a shake works for you and you enjoy the shake i.e. savour and look forward to it then go for it. It doesn't matter what time you have your calories as long as there's an overall deficit. Some people might prefer solid food in its place but if it works for you and keeps you working towards your goals then I'm all for it- enjoy! :)
  • _incogNEATo_
    _incogNEATo_ Posts: 4,543 Member
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    jjkoba81 wrote: »
    I'm not supposed to go over 1,820 calories a day, this breakfast smoothie I've been making though comes out to be just under 500 calories. Is that too much just for breakfast?

    What kind of smoothie is it? The important question is whether or not you enjoy it and are content. The answer is "not as long as you're staying at 1820 calories/day."

    That smoothie better be good to take 500 of my calories away though. That's a whole lot of eggs and bacon for breakfast!
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
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    I eat more than 500 calories for breakfast, so no it isn't too much. But I would rather eat those 500 calories than drink them. If you enjoy the smoothie and are able to stay within your calorie goal, then keep it up.
  • peachyfuzzle
    peachyfuzzle Posts: 1,122 Member
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    _incogNEATo_ wrote: »
    jjkoba81 wrote: »
    I'm not supposed to go over 1,820 calories a day, this breakfast smoothie I've been making though comes out to be just under 500 calories. Is that too much just for breakfast?

    What kind of smoothie is it? The important question is whether or not you enjoy it and are content. The answer is "not as long as you're staying at 1820 calories/day."

    That smoothie better be good to take 500 of my calories away though. That's a whole lot of eggs and bacon for breakfast!

    So much this.

    Eggs, bacon, toast, and a yogurt!
  • adamitri
    adamitri Posts: 614 Member
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    laditz wrote: »
    Better to get those calories in at start of day and end the day with less than pile all your calories into last meal.

    How did you come up with this? I don't eat breakfast at all and regulate a majority of my calories for end of the day use because that's when I know I'm going to eat the most and I've lost about 67lbs so far.
  • weavingtheweb
    weavingtheweb Posts: 135 Member
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    OP said smoothie, not 'just a' shake.
    I used to skip breakfast all together but I've started biking to work (10 miles) every day and almost fainted halfway in the first week. Now I have a smoothie each morning made from 'real' foods at about 480 calories. Fruit, veg, oats, greek yoghurt, protein. Fills me up until lunch and no more fainting.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    edited May 2015
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    laditz wrote: »
    Better to get those calories in at start of day and end the day with less than pile all your calories into last meal.

    why would you think this would matter?

    OP, personally I would opt for food...you can have a pretty substantial volume of food for 500 calories. Smoothies don't tend to keep me satiated for long and really the only time I do them is for quick recovery after a long ride or something.
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
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    I eat about 800- 1000 calories in the am just because I'm ravenous after my morning workouts and it works for the rest of my day.. Everyone is different the key is at the end of the day or week did you stay under or at your caloric goal.
  • therealklane
    therealklane Posts: 2,172 Member
    edited May 2015
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    I prefer to chew my calories, but how you consume them is up to you :p

    If I'm getting an awesome breakfast for 500 calories, than that's great. I can probably do protein pancakes, turkey bacon, and eggs for ~500 calories. Maybe even some home made hash browns. Mmmm. I'll probably have a lighter lunch having had a big breakfast. So I can make it work. I will say that I typically like to save my calories to have a bigger dinner so I usually stay around 400 or less for breakfast. That's just me though.

    The question is whether or not you're satisfied by a 500 cal smoothie?
  • maillemaker
    maillemaker Posts: 1,253 Member
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    It does not matter when or what you eat during the day, so long as you hit your calorie goal for the day.

    I personally try to save the bulk of my calories for dinner. Mostly because I never know what I'll be having.
  • jjkoba81
    jjkoba81 Posts: 33 Member
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    Before I started this I never ate breakfast, so by the time lunch rolled around I'd go buck wild. The smoothie is 1 cup spinach, 1 banana, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1 tbs chia seeds, 1 tbs oats, 1 date, 1/4 cup almonds, 1 1/2 almond milk unsweetened. It's really good and very filling. I can't be bothered to make anything elaborate in the morning before work. So yes, I'm definitely satisfied by a 500 cal smoothie it just seemed like 500 calories were more than most of what I see people eating for breakfast.


  • _incogNEATo_
    _incogNEATo_ Posts: 4,543 Member
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    Nah bruh, you good. If you're satisfied and it's enjoyable for you, keep it up. It sounds pretty good actually.

    for the record though, I think it's easier for me to fry bacon and eggs easier than all of those ingredients :)

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