Average cals: bkfast, lunch, dinner??

lalalalyndsey
lalalalyndsey Posts: 565
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
So, I feel like I usually have a lot left over for dinner on most days and want to be able to plan my days out more efficiently. So, my question is... how many cals do you usually consume for bkfast, lunch and dinner separately? Do you have a max number of cals or a percentage of your cals you allow yourself for each one of those meals? My cals are set to 1370 a day, and I want to find a max and median number for each of my meals. Thanks in advance! :D

Replies

  • sister_bear
    sister_bear Posts: 529 Member
    I usually eat 300-400 per meal and have snacks ranging from 50-150 calories in between until I hit my limits.

    Occasionally, I'll have a larger meal at about 500 calories, but I usually can't eat that much in one sitting.
  • Dellonious1
    Dellonious1 Posts: 209
    i am eating 1200 calories a day,,,,thats 350 per meal including 3 snacks a day.
  • olag00
    olag00 Posts: 222
    I eat like my biggest meal at breakfast and taper the calories down.

    Breakfast 550 cal
    Morning Snack 380
    Lunch 350
    Afternoon Snack 300
    Dinner 280
  • MNPierce80
    MNPierce80 Posts: 21
    I've always been told Queen, Princess, Pauper. So For breakfast you should be eating heavier than you will later in the day. Breakfast is normally my heaviest meal of the day between 350-450
  • sue26
    sue26 Posts: 412
    Depends if you are exercising that day how many extra cals you need. I usually eat breakfast snack and lunch then see how many cals I have left for the rest of the day:smile:
  • SeasideOasis
    SeasideOasis Posts: 1,057 Member
    Different people have different ways of combating the problem you have. I know many people who go 500/400/300...IE Breakfast, Lunch Dinner, because many have found results in eating more in the morning and less through out the day.

    I find that my meals end up being in the 300-500-500 ball park (depends on the day) + my workout calories. I am actually in week one of trying the zig zagging. (1200 plus workout calories one day, 1800 plus workout calories the next...etc) The above is what you will most commonly see my diary for my 1200 calorie days.
  • hannahjoanne2011
    hannahjoanne2011 Posts: 13
    what i would do if i was u is quarter ur calories for example 1370 / 4 = 342.5 cals for brekkie lunch dinner and snacks :) but if u dnt want to eat that many snacks just add them onto the other meals
  • Fayve
    Fayve Posts: 406 Member
    Honestly. Mine are about 150 for breakfast, 250 for lunch, then 600 or so for dinner, plus snacks. I don't know if that's best, but it works for me :)
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
    breakfast i try and keep as light as i can, then medium lunch, with more for dinner, and i also snack a fair bit

    Breakfast is my downfall If i eat a big breakfast, i pretty much eat more all day long. It starts me off on the wrong foot.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    I aim for under 300 at breakfast, usually 3-400 for lunch, about the same at tea time (4pm) and whatever I have left, depending on exercise in the evening.
  • lucycaz
    lucycaz Posts: 191 Member
    Hi

    I tend to have a rough split of 250/250/500 with 2 x 100 snacks or shakes

    I plan my day in advance (roughly) and I was worred that my biggest meal was my last (although we do eat around 6pm) but my PT told me that the not eating late is a myth....

    You need to try out different things and see what works for you

    Lucy
  • along21291
    along21291 Posts: 45 Member
    I usually have about 300 for breakfast 300 for lunch 200 for snack between lunch and dinner 700 for dinner+before bed snack (I have my daily intake set at 1500). I always eat back all my exercise calories too so those values go up if I've exercised that day
  • McKayMachina
    McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
    It varies wildly for me at 1200.

    Some days, I save up half my cals for a "monster" dinner. :laugh: Try to tell January me that 600 cals is considered a lot! :tongue:

    Some days I eat a big ol' brekkie to start the day off fueled.

    I have to play it by ear or I get shaky and weak. But I support more structured meals if you can manage it!
  • RosannaElizabethL
    RosannaElizabethL Posts: 25 Member
    I eat less than 1200 calories a day most days - but am totally fine and do not starve myself and always feel full. This is a typical day.

    Breakfast - fruit - 150kcals
    Snack - soy yoghurt - 100kcals
    Lunch - tomato soup - 130kcals
    Snack - fruits/nuts/berries - 150kcals
    Dinner - stir fry chicken and veg - 250kcals

    Total is 780. As you can see it is not needed to eat 1200 calories a day - I feel myself well throughout the day with a mainly plant-based diet.

    A tip of mine is to cut juices and cordials, et cetera. One glass of diluted "Ribena" is 100 calories a pop!
  • tmarie2715
    tmarie2715 Posts: 1,111 Member
    breakfast i try and keep as light as i can, then medium lunch, with more for dinner, and i also snack a fair bit

    Breakfast is my downfall If i eat a big breakfast, i pretty much eat more all day long. It starts me off on the wrong foot.

    Everyone always says not to do the above, but I feel the same way! I am not that hungry in the mornings, either.

    I've been shooting for bigger lunches (from 150-200 cals to 300 lately), which allows me to feel fuller until dinner and resist the urge to snack after dinner. I am not sure why this works for me, but it does.
  • melzteach
    melzteach Posts: 550 Member
    With your daily goal all you should do is take the amount and divide by 4 (breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner). That would be about 342 calories at each meal.
    My thought on the amount of food to eat at each meal is that I'd rather eat more at breakfast and have the day to burn it off than at dinner a few hours before I go to bed. I think the whole I-eat-more-all-day-when-I-eat -a-big-breakfast thing is defiantly true but it's just because your metabolism is off to a great start and your body is asking for more food. If you can't eat a large breakfast then you might try to eat what you can and have a small snack in between lunch and dinner. You might try a handful of your favorite nuts with apiece of fruit, a smear of natural peanut butter on a rice cake and a banana.
    When you think about it 340ish calories at breakfast, lunch, and dinner is not that much. Plus you have an 'extra" 340 calories for an afternoon snack OR you could break that up and have an AM snack of 170 and a PM snack of 170. Then your metabolism is stabilized all day long and you don't run the risk of being hungry or at the end of the day with a bunch of calories left! Good luck!
  • melzteach
    melzteach Posts: 550 Member
    Hi

    I tend to have a rough split of 250/250/500 with 2 x 100 snacks or shakes

    I plan my day in advance (roughly) and I was worred that my biggest meal was my last (although we do eat around 6pm) but my PT told me that the not eating late is a myth....

    You need to try out different things and see what works for you

    Lucy

    Planning your meals in advance is a fantastic idea. The days that I do that go SO much better. Oh and I totally agree that you have to figure out what works for you.
  • CraftyGirl4
    CraftyGirl4 Posts: 571 Member
    I start my days off pretty calorie heavy because I feel like breakfast is the most important meal of the day. When you have breakfast, you have to remember, you've been sleeping and not eating for 8-10 hours so you have to kick start that metabolism for the day. So I start off heavy in the morning, and get lighter throughout the day. I also do that because I generally work out in the evenings and don't want a ton of food sloshing around while I am working out.
  • MichelleF81
    MichelleF81 Posts: 98 Member
    300 breakfast, 300 lunch and 500 or 600 dinner.
  • almonds1
    almonds1 Posts: 642 Member
    400-500 cals for breaky.... spread out the rest during the day
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    I try to have breakfast between 300-400 calories(on the weekends it's more like 500)

    Lunch is generally 400-500 calories

    Dinner is generally around 500 calories(I exercise right before dinner, so I'm generally starving after!)

    I have one snack and it's normally about 200 calories or less.

    MFP has me at 1680 before exercise calories and I try to land with in a hundred or so calories of that.
  • lalalalyndsey
    lalalalyndsey Posts: 565
    Thanks for all the replies! I have a hard time eating a heavy breakfast... but I may need to try to up my cals in the beginning of the day so I don't have to worry about having such a heavy dinner, which I also have a hard time eating! :P

    On a usual day my bkfast usually only amount to about 100-300 cals, and my lunch is about 200-300 which and my snacks usually are around 100 cals, which leaves me A LOT for dinner, and that's without exercise! I am going to slowly try to integrate more food in the AM, which I know is supposed to be better for you than eating more in the PM.

    Thanks again everyone!! :DD
  • LilRedRooster
    LilRedRooster Posts: 1,421 Member
    I average between 250-350 cals per meal, and then my snacks are usually about between 150-200. I like to have smaller meals that are closer in size to my snacks, because I find that I just work more efficiently through the day that way. I like to eat a majority of my calories in breakfast, lunch, and snacks before 3pm, because that leaves me more satisfied so I don't feel starved come dinnertime.
  • AlMusallam_47
    AlMusallam_47 Posts: 34
    Eat your Breakfast like a King .. Eat your Dinner like a poor
    ( and your lunch should be like normal )
  • rachelllk
    rachelllk Posts: 63
    I do 5 meals a day..my calorie allowance is 1350 so I try to keep each "meal" around 300 calories
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    Feel free to look at my diary. I generally eat more as the day goes on (small breakfast, medium lunch, big dinner). I could never eat a huge breakfast in the morning at the hour I get up for work!
  • hillview2
    hillview2 Posts: 212 Member
    My calorie allotment without workout is 1330. I do 5 meals a day -- and divide it evenly. So I target about 266 per meal. I am sometimes over or under in a given meal. Sometimes for dinner I eat a little more. I am rarely over. And I am rarely hungry.
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
    Thanks for all the replies! I have a hard time eating a heavy breakfast... but I may need to try to up my cals in the beginning of the day so I don't have to worry about having such a heavy dinner, which I also have a hard time eating! :P


    I think the most important thing for success is to work with your own natural eating rhythm to an extent. Its great if people prefer to have a heavier breakfast and a lighter evening meal, but its equally OK to do it the other way round if thats what feels natural to you, otherwise you will be fighting against your instincts which will lead to failure.
    If you dont like eating big in the morning, or evening, try and make lunch your main meal
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