Losing weight with dinner as largest meal?

judgesinnui
judgesinnui Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Good morning everyone! I used to be on MFP quite some time ago, but when I stayed plateaued in the 170s, I gave up on my weight loss journey and left. Thankfully, I'm still in the 170's and back to being focused on losing weight. I'm 5'5" and my goal currently is to weigh 150.

However, my concern with my weight loss journey pertains to dinner. I live with my boyfriend, and he tends to eat 3 meals a day, each typically around 600 or more calories. Due to this, dinner is my largest meal, since I like to munch on food throughout the day whenever I feel hungry, so my lunch and breakfast are small, with a snack in between these meals (I'm commonly eating fresh cherries as a snack). Will having a large dinner keep me on my plateau, or will I still be able to lose weight? MFP set my calorie goal to lose one pound a week to 1,440. It's not too difficult for me to stick to so far (I just started back up here yesterday) with simply walking to and from work.

Replies

  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
    When you eat does not matter, at all. Dinner is always my largest meal, by far. Some people do intermittent fasting and eat all heir calories in an 8 hour window and lose. It's what suits you.
  • ultrahoon
    ultrahoon Posts: 467 Member
    As long as you're in a calorie deficit, eating a large dinner will not stop you losing weight.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    Meal timing doesn't matter for weight loss. You could eat all your calories directly before going to bed and it wouldn't matter.
  • KezJT
    KezJT Posts: 32 Member
    dinner is always my largest meal of the day (same reason - nubby cooks it!). I lost 68lb on year before. My advice is pre-log your dinner whenever possible so you know exactly how much you have to play with for the rest of the day. If not possible (my hubby likes to change his mind during the day!) take a guess that it will be on the high end of whatever he normally cooks (we usually hit 500-750 per meal for example) and if it turns out to be lower, you can snack in the evening:) Yay!
  • judgesinnui
    judgesinnui Posts: 3 Member
    Okay, thank you everyone! I intend to try to hit my MFP calorie goal every day. I'm glad to know that when I eat a lot isn't the problem, it's just how much I eat and what I'm eating.

    Thank you KezJT. I will try doing that and tracking what I'm going to eat for dinner so that I know how much I can eat throughout the day.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    I would be surprised if the majority of people don't have dinner as their largest meal of the day calorie wise. For me, mine usually averages out to:
    Breakfast ~ 300 cals
    Lunch ~ 400-600 cals
    Dinner ~ 600-800 cals
    Snacks/Wine ~ 200-400

    How you space the calories out during the day has no impact on your weight loss. What matters is that you are in a calorie deficit. Many people find they have long term success with a balance of primarily nutrient dense foods with a few treats mixed in.
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    Bring on the big dinner plate!
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    I also tend to have dinner as the largest meal. Honestly, whatever keeps you within your calorie goal will work best.

    There may be studies saying that doing XYZ will boost your metabolism by up to T%, but that small % doesn't matter if you overshoot your goal because you were hungry and decided to sneak something.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
    As long as you stick to your calorie goal it doesn't matter how you spread the calories out.
    My dinner is usually my largest calorie meal. It works for me.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    I also have dinner as my biggest meal of the day. It seems natural to eat this way since I'm working during the day. A big meal while working just makes me sleepy.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    Dinner is usually my largest meal of the day, too. I generally eat 500-600 during the day, and 1000-1200 for dinner.
  • joolieb1
    joolieb1 Posts: 140 Member
    It is being calorie deficient that will lose weight and not the time of day you eat. I have lost 15 lbs in 11 weeks. I have a small breakfast, might skip lunch or have fruit and have a large evening meal (meat n 2 veg plus pudding). Don't usually need supper or munch as I feel full and satisfied. Tonight I am having beef, potato, 2 mini Yorkshire, cabbage and carrots. Will have merangue nest, low fat ice cream and peaches. Looks like I will have lost another 1 lb this week again
  • daniwilford
    daniwilford Posts: 1,030 Member
    I have lost over 45 lbs eating about half of my allowed daily calories between 4 and 9 PM. The only "plateau" I had was when I was eating at maintenance.
  • spatulamom
    spatulamom Posts: 158 Member
    I eat a good sized dinner at 8:30 or so (we're stuck at my son's football practices most nights), and I've lost almost 24 lbs in 3 months. I don't eat breakfast, and I don't eat huge lunches, so I have a lot of calories left for dinner and a snack - usually around 800-1000 most days. Meal timing doesn't matter - it's that deficit, as others have said.

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