How do you allot your calories?

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  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    There is no "left over" calories in my day unless I bust my @zz at the gym to earn it. If I do that, then I eat back half of those cals with protein, which is usually meat or eggs. If I have say 300 cals I just earned and I ask myself do I want like half a muffin or a decent piece of lean beef, the beef wins hands down. Or I could make a vegetable omelette.
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
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    Breakfast - 100ish
    Snack - 200ish
    Lunch - 200ish
    Snack - 40ish (if I have it at all)
    Dinner - 400ish
    Snack - 450-500ish

    I really love snacking. It makes me happy. So I make sure to allot a good amount of calories for it. Even if it means keeping my breakfast in the low 100s. It's why I cut out drinks that contain calories b/c it was eating away at my ability to have after dinner snacks.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,972 Member
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    My breakfast, lunch, and bed time snack are pretty much the same or similar calorie variants so without exercise I usually have the same amount of calories to play with for dinner.
  • grinning_chick
    grinning_chick Posts: 765 Member
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    I shoot for eating around 6-700 calories for 'brunch' (breakfast/lunch combined) and supper each. That leaves around 2-300 calories for a dessert or a lighter evening snack and/or a couple mugs of tea with cream if I can achieve that goal.

    I'm trying to curb the whole snacking thing beyond once in the evening where it has become abundantly clear I start food seeking again. Right around 7:30-9:00 PM.

    When I start hiking again, the surplus calories it creates will be used for the turn around point snack during.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Jessie24330 wrote: »
    Do you just eat what you want for each meal and then plan later in the day with what have left over? Or do you start each day with a certain amount for each meal/snack? I've always done the first but I'm starting to think that there may be a benefit to saying "I'm gonna eat xxx calories for breakfast, xxx calories for lunch, xxx calories for dinner and xxx calories for snacks". I hope this makes sense.

    When I logged, I pre-logged...I didn't have a set amount per meal...it was just pre-logged so that I could see that it would all fit and that I wouldn't have to forgo a meal later or have some unsubstantial meal just because I had gone over earlier in the day.
  • JaxxieKat
    JaxxieKat Posts: 427 Member
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    My breakfasts and dinners are almost always the same thing, so I go ahead and pre-log those then work my lunch and snacks around that. Lunch is my biggest meal of the day, so between breakfast and dinner, I usually have plenty leftover for lunch, a snack or two, and a glass of wine before bed.
  • jo_nz
    jo_nz Posts: 548 Member
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    I find it best for me to have small breakfasts and lunches, as I prefer to eat more at dinner and still have enough left for an evening snack.

    I seem to sleep best if I eat later in the day rather than bigger breakfasts and smaller dinners.

  • thedarkwombat
    thedarkwombat Posts: 123 Member
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    I pre plan but I back-load all my calories towards the evening. I dont get that hungry during the day at work but when I get home, look out! So I save up my calories all day long and then spend them.
  • bwhitty67
    bwhitty67 Posts: 162 Member
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    I usually plan breakfast and lunch M-F... Weekends I'm off schedule. But still try to just eat balanced.
    Breakfast- 300cals
    Lunch - 375-450
    Dinner - 500 ish
    Plus maybe 200 in snacks
  • rosnz
    rosnz Posts: 91 Member
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    Well I'm less virtuous .. first I pre-log my 'can't survive without' that's 2 squares of chocolate and at weekends a glass of wine. I'm pretty boring with breakfast - same most days and often lunch so I pre-log those. Then I tend to eat my evening meal according to what calories I have left - which is dependent on the amount of extra calories I have gathered up from my exercise. Works for me!
  • mgobluetx12
    mgobluetx12 Posts: 1,326 Member
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    I pre-log sometimes a week in advance. I'm a nerd like that.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I prelog my day every morning. I save the bulk of my calories for dinner and dessert.
  • memickee
    memickee Posts: 250 Member
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    I eat all my calories after 5:00 pm. Large dinner and a snack.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    A mix of both. If I have something in mind, I plan around it. If I don't, I just eat what I feel like eating for every meal with whatever calories look reasonable to me.

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