Does anyone else "save calories" for dinner (or another meal)?

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  • melissakunimitsu9232
    melissakunimitsu9232 Posts: 13 Member
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    A long time ago when I lost weight with weight watchers I used to do that save points or calculate my dinner in advance. These days due to work my dinner is on the late side so I feel better when it's smaller so I'm not saving calories for it or I get tempted to overeat. While I crave a cooked dish, a salad with lean protein and maybe some carbs depending on how late is what actually suits my body and lifestyle. My motivation: less heart burn.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
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    "breakfast" is coffee, my prescriptions, and an Ovaltine. Around ten I get a boiled egg. Lunch is moderate, dinner is moderate, I have small snacks like veggies or another boiled egg here and there to keep my blood sugar stable (I'm prediabetic). and that uses up every last calorie I'm allowed. If I wanted what I consider a "real" dinner I would have to do without food all day... which would crash my blood sugar. I wish things could be more flexible but I have to put blood sugar values first. :/ Blargh. I'm mostly used to it but I get annoyed from time to time by how restrictive the whole medical maintenance thing is.
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
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    Yep. Same here. I also save enough calories Monday-Thursday, especially from my big workout days to have extra on the weekend, usually spent on alcohol and or pizza. YUM! I only look at weekly average.
  • IILikeToMoveItMoveIt
    IILikeToMoveItMoveIt Posts: 1,172 Member
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    yep. I keep breakfast and lunch as super low calorie or no calorie as I can. Sometimes I save some extra if I know I have a dessert/beer I want to indulge in. You are right OP, it's amazing how little our bodies run on. I find that it's the nutrition that counts more than calories for health.
  • IronBatMaiden
    IronBatMaiden Posts: 377 Member
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    Yes. I save my calories for dinner. That tends to be my most caloric meal of the day and I want to be able to enjoy it. I won't starve myself until dinner. I just eat fewer calories at breakfast and lunch.
  • kristinegift
    kristinegift Posts: 2,406 Member
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    Definitely. I use half (or fewer) of my calories on breakfast and lunch, then treat myself with dinner and dessert. :)
  • SwindonJogger
    SwindonJogger Posts: 325 Member
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    Yeah. Have around 300 cals for breakfast, the same for lunch and save 1000-1400 or so for dinner. Can't handle being hungry in the evening but actually like being hungry during the day, it makes me feel more alive!
  • Drewlssix
    Drewlssix Posts: 272 Member
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    DrEnalg wrote: »
    I've found out I actually don't really need much to get through the day. Usually a bowl of high-protein cereal with skim milk and berries for breakfast plus black coffee. Then lunch is salad and maybe some cheesesticks. Once my exercise is factored in, I typically have 1500-2000 calories to play with by dinnertime.

    A couple days ago I took advantage of this and had KFC for dinner (my absolute favorite). I may actually indulge in one of those calorie-dense "chicken bakes" from Costco tonight, and have calories left over for a snack / dessert later.

    It's nice to be able to have the room to indulge. Just takes a little planning ahead.

    I learned to do the opposite too, a while ago my work bought lunch for everyone and the agreed upon source was one of those texmex places where portion control is a foreign concept.

    I indulged to the point of being uncomfortable and had only a rough estimate of the calories but I decided I didn't need diner... Then I skipped breakfast the next morning without missing it at all and only had a tiny bit of something to snack on for lunch. It wasn't until diner the day after the work linch I was actually hungry for a real meal and my weight loss for the week was perfectly on track. Within reason it really dosent matter when you get your calories, breaking it down into meals is really just a social convention.
  • JustBreathe418
    JustBreathe418 Posts: 355 Member
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    I do this at least a few times a week!
  • noelbugley
    noelbugley Posts: 9 Member
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    I eat 5-6 times a day. I had gastric bypass so that has an effect on why I eat so often. Small meals and snacks throughout the day. I am hungry every few hours unfortunately!
  • CatMom8
    CatMom8 Posts: 6 Member
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    I do. I plan for little treats and snacks to help keep me sane and if I know we are going out for dinner, say, on Saturday night, I check the menu and try to make some choices ahead of time, so I get an idea of calories, protein fat, etc. MFP has a lot of good info in its database to make that planning feasible.
  • ScreeField
    ScreeField Posts: 180 Member
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    I don't "save calories". However, I'll time my longer workouts to occur late morning on days I know I'm going to eat more in the afternoon--but I rarely eat large meals at night, even on hard workout days.
  • Katzedernacht
    Katzedernacht Posts: 266 Member
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    4theking wrote: »
    Always! Never breakfast, rarely lunch, always a feast in the evening! :)

    That's the warrior diet thing or just how you like to eat?
  • courtneylykins5
    courtneylykins5 Posts: 168 Member
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    I like sitting down to big dinners with my family. So yeah, breakfast and lunch tend toward the lighter side usually.
  • bioklutz
    bioklutz Posts: 1,365 Member
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    65% of my calories are eaten in the evening. I love a big dinner and of some sort of snack or dessert after dinner.

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