Breakfast like a King, Dinner like a Poor Man

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  • DorkothyParker
    DorkothyParker Posts: 618 Member
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    I'd say do what works best for you. I generally eat a fairly large dinner compared to my other meals, but I never eat so much that I'm not hungry for breakfast in the morning. Like the others, avoid the night time snacking (unless worked into your plan.)
  • jrcox520
    jrcox520 Posts: 130 Member
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    For me, as soon as I switched my meals to breakfast being the largest meal of the day instead of dinner... I dropped weight very quickly without any exercise (had to stop due to an injury). I actually dropped just shy of 10 pounds in 3 weeks. My day usually looks like this now:

    Breakfast (like a King) = 450-550 calories
    Morning snack = 150 calories or less
    Lunch (like a Prince) = 300-400 calories
    Afternoon snack = 150 calories or less
    Dinner (Like a Pauper) = 250-300 calories
    Evening snack = 150 calories or less

    I find that I am not hungry at all after breakfast and sometimes have to force myself to eat a light lunch before it gets too late in the afternoon. By dinner time, I am still not very hungry so I can make wiser choices too.

    Do whatever works best for your lifestyle. I don't know if having a large breakfast will work for everyone, but for the people who have switched... it has made a world of difference in their energy level throughout the day.

    This has worked wonders in solving my nighttime eating. Previously I would be so hungry by the time I got home from work that I would just grab whatever, I had no patience to cook a decent meal. Now I look forward to my enormous breakfasts and don't feel so starving when I get home. I don't take the morning snack though, I'm just not hungry yet after my eggs, bacon, almonds, and banana. Loving it.
  • agent300
    agent300 Posts: 73
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    there is no "best" way. whatever way gets you to eat less calories to lose weight is the best. its a complete myth that you have to have breakfast be your biggest meal. that might work for a lot of people, but its not the reason for success. the reason is just simply eating less calories. so just pick whatever is most convenient for your lifestyle.
  • Schwiggity
    Schwiggity Posts: 1,449 Member
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    I think a king eats more than 550 calories in a meal. Just saying.
  • Dtho5159
    Dtho5159 Posts: 1,054 Member
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    Im not a huge breakfast eater. I will maybe eat a breakfast sandwich or some cereal or oatmeal but couldn't eat a HUGE meal.. I guess it works different for everyone..
  • Rilke
    Rilke Posts: 1,201 Member
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    I eat when I'm hungry. :P

    Honestly, though, I have found that I feel best when I do as my Italian ancestors did: biggest meal at lunch. I only manage it about half the time, though, because when I know we are going out to dinner, I save calories :P
  • seasonalvoodoo
    seasonalvoodoo Posts: 380 Member
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    I have heard this, too....but I generally eat a larger dinner than my breakfast or lunch. But I DO eat a substantial breakfast and lunch and, although my dinner is larger, I am very hungry in the morning when it is time for breakfast.
  • takemeaway10
    takemeaway10 Posts: 75
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    "Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, supper like a pauper." That's the quote to which you are referring. I don't think the last,two meals matter much (As far as division of calories) but your breakfast should definitely be the biggest because... it's your breakfast! They call sleeping "the overnight fast," so you have to "break" That "fast' with breakfast!
  • petekane51
    petekane51 Posts: 1
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    Hi,

    I agree with concept of eat like a king. My situation though is somewhat peculiar as I have have a fast metabolism as reported by a device I wear called BodyMedia. It is reporting that i burn in a 24 hour period something like 3200 calories. And all i do is go for walks with the occasional visit to the gym for resistance training. I do not go down the road of too much CV, as I burn more.

    I would appreciate someone help me understand how I would spread my calories through the day. I eat something like 2600 calories per day, taking into account approx 500 deficit for weight loss.

    Many thanks in advance.

    Pete
  • spoiledpuppies
    spoiledpuppies Posts: 675 Member
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    I think that for general loss, it doesn't matter. But a dietician told to space things pretty evenly--to think of myself having 4-5 "snacks" vs any meals (and this was for maintaining even). And my trainer has given me pretty specific guidance for breaking out my macros by each meal (5-6), with calories being pretty even. He said that, sure, my body will get what it needs when it can get it so it's not the end of the world to have a big meal now and again; but it is preferred to keep a pretty consistent level of fuel for best efficiency.
  • lesteidel
    lesteidel Posts: 229 Member
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    http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/myths-surround-breakfast-and-weight/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0



    I personally have lost a lot of weight by eating tiny breakfast, medium lunch, if at all (my schedule gets busy) and a large dinner and a small snack before bed.

    When I eat a big breakfast, I tend to overeat during the rest of the day
  • FaileAybara
    FaileAybara Posts: 21 Member
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    I really think this is very individual.

    I find that if I have a large sit down breakfast I am far more satisfied for the rest of the day. If I have coffee for breakfast, I'm constantly wanting to eat.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    I did try this. Then when the later meals rolled around I was still greedy and wanting to eat the normal amounts. :ohwell: Breakfast is now whatever quantity keeps my tummy from growling during meetings. Lunch a break from (sometimes) mind numbing work and dinner and midnight snacks is where it's at :wink:
  • bajoyba
    bajoyba Posts: 1,153 Member
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    Just do what works for you.
    I stay on track and maintain my deficit because I enjoy the way I eat.

    Personally, I generally like to have at LEAST 800 calories left for dinner and dessert at the end of my day. I like the last meal of the day to be my biggest meal, so that's what I do.
    Sometimes I eat breakfast, and sometimes I don't - I don't like to eat when I first wake up, and I find that eating an early breakfast usually leaves me hungrier the rest of the day. I prefer to fast for the first few hours of the day and have a brunch instead, which means I typically eat 2 meals a day and a couple of small snacks. Plus dessert. :smile:
  • Leonidas_meets_Spartacus
    Leonidas_meets_Spartacus Posts: 6,198 Member
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    You should figure out what works for you. I don't eat breakfast most of the days unless I am hungry. I usually eat two big meals a day with no snacking.
  • in_the_stars
    in_the_stars Posts: 1,395 Member
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    I eat close to this. Breaktast/brunch/lunch like a king. Salad for lunch and and dinner is light. It fits my life right now. :)
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,068 Member
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    This thread is nearly 3 years old.
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
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    I heard that dinner should be the smallest meal (calorie wise) of the day, while breakfast be the largest. The problem with me is that I usually workout during the end of the day and have a raging appetite come dinner time.. And then you can imagine the rest. Is eating more calories during dinner rather than at breakfast harmful to a weight loss diet?

    Doesn't matter how you do it(when you consume the calories), but if you workout later in the day or night, in terms of energy, I'd save some calories for the latter part of the day. Best of luck.
  • Natmarie73
    Natmarie73 Posts: 287 Member
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    I think that saying originated way back in the agricultural times when men worked the fields all day plowing by hand etc etc and women did everything by hand as well, churning butter, milking cows etc etc and every one pretty much did hard physical labour from sunup to sundown a la Little House on the Prairie.

    These days most of us sit in our cars then sit at a desk for 8 hours then sit in our cars some more then maybe go to the gym and then sit in front of the telly then go to bed so our physical output is much less.

    I would say that you should have your biggest meal prior to your biggest output of excersise so if you work out after work then eat more later in the day and if you work out in the morning or have a very physical job then eat more at breakfast. Whatever suits your particular situation.
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
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    I tend to eat much more in the mornings than the afternoons, and very little if anything in the evenings. I do this, in part, so that I have calorie fuelled energy when I am active, which is daytime, and my most calorie depleted time is when I am sleeping. Hard for me to understand why someone would go hungry in the morning, for instance, so that they can have a before bedtime snack. You are about to lie still for eight hours, do you really need the energy then?

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