How many calories for dinner?

abillings9
abillings9 Posts: 165
edited September 19 in Food and Nutrition
I'm wondering how many calories makes for a sensible dinner? I always run around 400 or so calories...

Replies

  • I'm wondering how many calories makes for a sensible dinner? I always run around 400 or so calories...
  • wildkat318
    wildkat318 Posts: 326 Member
    That's about what I run, filling and I don't need a snack later.
  • I have wondered the same thing. I usually get 3 to 4 hundred.

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  • aspohn
    aspohn Posts: 1
    :laugh: Snacking is what kills me. I get in from work at 6:45 & by that time I'm starving. I snack the whole time I'm cooking then I'm not hungry.
  • jdelisle
    jdelisle Posts: 1,050 Member
    I usually stay within the 300-400 range myself. Have been logging my food 1 day in advance (and posting it on the fridge) so it leaves the guess work out! You never go over if you stick to your plan :)
  • Anna_Banana
    Anna_Banana Posts: 2,939 Member
    I usually stay within the 300-400 range myself. Have been logging my food 1 day in advance (and posting it on the fridge) so it leaves the guess work out! You never go over if you stick to your plan :)

    Me too.

    Also I will fill my plate up with veggies with have little calories but help fill the tummy.
  • sltaime
    sltaime Posts: 13 Member
    300-400 seems kinda low for a filling dinner. What are people eating that's low in calories and filling? The only low cal dinner I've come up with is veggie omelette, and I can't eat those every day of the week.
  • WISHFULTHINKING
    WISHFULTHINKING Posts: 167 Member
    around 300+
    i personally think it doesnt matter how many cals as long as u have some protein like veggies and stuff then ur good
  • yellow_pepper
    yellow_pepper Posts: 708 Member
    300-400 seems kinda low for a filling dinner. What are people eating that's low in calories and filling? The only low cal dinner I've come up with is veggie omelette, and I can't eat those every day of the week.

    White meat and green vegetables! Maybe frozen yogurt for dessert.

    I'm reminded of a quote from "Thin Tastes Better" by Steve Gullo:
    "White and green are the colors of weight loss: white is light and green is lean."

    They're easy to fill up on in 300 calories. And with 400 calories, you'll be FULL.
  • rmarlow
    rmarlow Posts: 64
    I've been around the mid 400 range so I guess that's normal.

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  • Wolfena
    Wolfena Posts: 1,570 Member
    Mine's more like 600-700 most nights. I like dinner to be my biggest meal, I eat smaller breakfasts and lunches (under 300) and whatever I've exercised is what I allow for snacks.
  • sltaime
    sltaime Posts: 13 Member
    Thanks! I'm just starting and will probably need to limit the carbs and go shopping for white and green this weekend.
  • sltaime
    sltaime Posts: 13 Member
    300-400 seems kinda low for a filling dinner. What are people eating that's low in calories and filling? The only low cal dinner I've come up with is veggie omelette, and I can't eat those every day of the week.

    White meat and green vegetables! Maybe frozen yogurt for dessert.

    I'm reminded of a quote from "Thin Tastes Better" by Steve Gullo:
    "White and green are the colors of weight loss: white is light and green is lean."

    They're easy to fill up on in 300 calories. And with 400 calories, you'll be FULL.
  • sltaime
    sltaime Posts: 13 Member
    I'm really screwing this whole thing up, trying to reply to a post that replied to me adn making a mess. Well, hopefully it makes some kind of sense.
  • LOL!!:laugh: I get confused posting aswell!! I usually set myself a meximum of 600 cals for dinner so they usually range from about 450 - 600.
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  • MoniQ
    MoniQ Posts: 22
    Here is a great recipe for dinner, it is a chicken wrap which i eat twice a week and it is quit filling. This recipe has 200 calories.

    - medium size wrap
    -20g of chicken breast
    - quarter of a medium avocado
    -lettuce
    -4 slices of tomato
    -4 onion slices
    -table spoon of sweet chilli sauce

    place all the ingredients in the wrap as listed. If you dont like avocado you could use low fat cheese, preferably the slice cheese so you dont go overboard.
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
    Mine's more like 600-700 most nights. I like dinner to be my biggest meal, I eat smaller breakfasts and lunches (under 300) and whatever I've exercised is what I allow for snacks.

    Same here. Breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack are light.
    I tend to be a night time eater. I have between 600-900 calories for dinner and a night time snack.
  • MoniQ
    MoniQ Posts: 22
    :laugh: Snacking is what kills me. I get in from work at 6:45 & by that time I'm starving. I snack the whole time I'm cooking then I'm not hungry.


    The Best solution to your snacking is to just drink alot of water when you get home or just before you get home so you dont snack alot because the water makes you feel full.
    hope that works for you.
  • Phoenixflame
    Phoenixflame Posts: 560 Member
    A year ago, I would never have believed I could be friggin stuffed from a 300 calorie dinner. But it's true!

    I was really bored in my kitchen and concocted this little beauty:

    - About 1/4 eggplant, sliced into wedges.
    - 1/2 cup Kashi Original Pilaf
    - 1/4 cup black beans
    - 1/2 cup diced tomato
    - 1 cup steamed spinach
    - 1 tsp olive oil

    About 270 calories!

    I cooked it all up, having no idea what sort of monstrosity would arise. It was beautiful! I nearly cried because my camera's out of batteries. It was a work of art! The purple flushed against the tomato, the black beans adding contrast, and the vibrant green of the spinach...eugh!

    When I realized the low calorie count, I felt great about getting a cappuccino later with some friends.
  • Chellekk
    Chellekk Posts: 421 Member
    I'm 300-400, but if I go work out when I get home I can eat 500-700 for dinner. I would split that between dinner and a snack with the man later.
  • Hello Ladies,

    I recommend adding more soluble and non-soluble fiber to your meals. Women should be getting 20-30 grams of fiber per day but on average most Americans only get between 15-20 grams.

    Fiber will make you feel full and stay with you longer. Eating 600-1000 calories in a single meal is not good for you, even if it is balanced, unless you are really active, like on a forced military march! If you are consuming more carbs (simple or complex) and too much fat at one time, all of those calories that you do not burn by the time it is digested will be stored in andipose tissue (fat cells).

    I recommend trying to spread 5 meals with equal amounts of calories throughout the day and ensure you are getting about 30% of your calories in complex carbs, 40% protein, and 30% fat. This should help stoke your metabolism and burn the stored fat more rapidly.

    Good luck reaching your goals! :flowerforyou:
  • if you are looking for filling...look up Miracle Noodle. 100% Vegan. Not AWESOME but ok. I have it with Sauce and chicken. You can eat as much as it take. zero zero zero.
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