How to split calories across the day?

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DebbDuquette
DebbDuquette Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I get 1,500 calories a day. How do I determine how many I should be eating at each meal and "snacks"?
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  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    Whatever works for you is how you should split them.
  • jayjay_90
    jayjay_90 Posts: 83 Member
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    My understanding is that is doesn't matter how you split it up. As long as you're staying within your calorie limit, you'll be in a deficit and lose weight.
    For me personally I tend to have a small-medium sized breakfast, small lunch, and a bit of a larger dinner. It just tends to work out that way. I'll have snacks randomly or not at all depending on what else I'm having that day.
  • Susieq_1994
    Susieq_1994 Posts: 5,361 Member
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    It doesn't matter how you split them--Do it the way it works for you. When are you most hungry? If the answer is the evening, then maybe have a smaller breakfast and lunch and then leave plenty of calories for a big, filling dinner and maybe a bedtime snack. If you're hungrier in the morning and don't care to eat much at dinner, you can do the opposite. It all depends on what will give YOU the best chance at success. :)
  • DebbDuquette
    DebbDuquette Posts: 3 Member
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    Well, it's day 1. I am thinking I will be hungry all day!! LOL
  • vivelajackie
    vivelajackie Posts: 321 Member
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    I'm on team "It doesn't matter". I work at Amazon walking around 10-13 miles a day so I tend to load up breakfast with complex carbs to keep me full long and give me plenty of energy. I usually have enough left over after all my meals for a snack at the end of the night when I'm relaxing. It really is ALL up to you though and how you go about your day. Find what fits best for you and your activity level.
  • suziecue20
    suziecue20 Posts: 567 Member
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    DebbDuquette wrote: »
    Well, it's day 1. I am thinking I will be hungry all day!! LOL

    Why? have you no food in the house/at work?

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    edited September 2015
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    Eat when you're hungry. Try to make good choices. Eventually you'll figure out what works for you the best.

    For me I usually eat 60% of my calories by 1pm, but a lot of people are not very hungry during the day and have a big dinner.
  • DebbDuquette
    DebbDuquette Posts: 3 Member
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    suziecue20 wrote: »
    DebbDuquette wrote: »
    Well, it's day 1. I am thinking I will be hungry all day!! LOL

    Why? have you no food in the house/at work?

    no... I have food... just day one of cutting calories... I usually eat whenever I feel hungry, and usually not foods that are necessarily good for me... hence the reason I have gained a lot of weight over the last year...
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    DebbDuquette wrote: »
    suziecue20 wrote: »
    DebbDuquette wrote: »
    Well, it's day 1. I am thinking I will be hungry all day!! LOL

    Why? have you no food in the house/at work?

    no... I have food... just day one of cutting calories... I usually eat whenever I feel hungry, and usually not foods that are necessarily good for me... hence the reason I have gained a lot of weight over the last year...
    You gained weight because you ate too many calories, not because of the particular foods.

  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
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    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    Whatever works for you is how you should split them.

    This is what you should do.

    Don't worry if you blow it on any given day as long as it gives you some feedback on what works and what doesn't. Your first few days / weeks is as much about gaining insight into what works for you and what doesn't as much as anything.
  • Commander_Keen
    Commander_Keen Posts: 1,179 Member
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    DebbDuquette wrote: »
    I get 1,500 calories a day. How do I determine how many I should be eating at each meal and "snacks"?

    It depends on how many meals you plan on eating.
    You can go with 300 calories for 5 meals
    You can go with 500 calories for 3 meals.
    If you plan on working out, then eat something before and after
  • jaqcan
    jaqcan Posts: 498 Member
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    I usually stick with 300 for breakfast, 300 for lunch, 600 for dinner and then I have 300 for snacks and/or dessert!
    But you'll see what works for you! You may want a smaller dinner and bigger breakfast and you'll just have to figure out your balance! And nothing is set in stone, move them around as needed!
    Good luck on your journey!
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    I'm on 1500 calories and you tend to get a 'feel' for how much you should be consuming for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For breakfast, I aim for no more than 400 ideally. My evening meal tends to be my largest meal of the day as I usually eat after an intense work-out :]

    This probably isn't much help to you but pre-plan your food the night before and you'll be able to determine whether your calorie split is working for you through trial and error. Tweak where necessary - this is a learning process! Good luck!
  • suziecue20
    suziecue20 Posts: 567 Member
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    msf74 wrote: »
    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    Whatever works for you is how you should split them.

    This is what you should do.

    Don't worry if you blow it on any given day as long as it gives you some feedback on what works and what doesn't. Your first few days / weeks is as much about gaining insight into what works for you and what doesn't as much as anything.

    ^ YES it would be no good individuals on here saying for example that you should have 250 cals for breakfast and 500 for lunch and 500 for dinner and 250 cals for snacks because everyone eats differently.

    Start by finding out how many calories are in the portions of foods you like and eat now by inputting them into MFP [most accurate is to measure in grams [g] for solids and ml or oz for liquids] and then see how much you have to reduce your portion sizes to fit into your 1500 daily calorie allowance. You may want to swap some really high calorie foods for others as time goes by.

    I love how I am eating because I now eat a bigger VARIETY of food - you know what they say - variety is the spice of life :)
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
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    Sit down and pre-log your days.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    You will have to experiment and observe what works best for you.
    It doesn't really matter for weight loss if you eat all your calories at once or split it up into 6 eating sessions. It might matter to how you personally feel and function though.

    I do well eating about 200 calorie breakfast, 400-600 calorie lunch, 400-700 calorie dinner and 100-200 calories for snacks. I typically eat every 3-5 hours between my wake up time and my sleep time.
  • big_striker
    big_striker Posts: 15 Member
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    There is no right or wrong time to eat, every person is different. For me personally, I get hungry no matter what around 10:30am so I tend to have a smaller breakfast and bigger lunch. I also get very hungry around when I leave work and as I workout after work, I have a small meal before I leave work. I have a smaller dinner as well based on this. So essentially I have 2 lunches about 3 hours apart to make up for smaller breakfast and dinners. This works for me. I tried bigger breakfasts and changing what I eat based on what I read online but it didn't work. For instance I found porridge in the morning to make me feel sluggish and tired after an hour
  • kdz526
    kdz526 Posts: 210 Member
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    I tend to eat smaller amts in the day and then have a larger dinner. It is easier to do that for me, as when I make dinner it is for the whole family, so I need to make sure there is a variety that will be consumed. I tend to do less then 200 for breakfast, around 400 or less for lunch, a small snack in the afternoon then whatever is left is aloted for dinner. Dinner sometimes is not decided till right after the kids get home from school, so having breakfast and lunch figured out every day gives me wiggle room for dinner.
  • sandsofarabia
    sandsofarabia Posts: 95 Member
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    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Sit down and pre-log your days.

    THIS. I always log the night before and the only times I cave in my diets is when I try logging as the day goes on.
  • glitzy196
    glitzy196 Posts: 190 Member
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    If i know what we are having for dinner i log it first abs work backwards. I usually don't eat intil noon though. I eat a bowl of cereal, and like 2 hours later i eat lunch, and then dinner..and then ice cream.

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