How many calories do you leave for dinner/end of day?

coronalime
coronalime Posts: 583 Member
edited September 30 in Food and Nutrition
I feel like maybe I under eat during the day and then I have a bizillion calories left for dinner and snack. What are you averaging for dinner calorie wise?
I think I do this b/c I am scared of overeating and the cushion is safe..
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Replies

  • autumnridge
    autumnridge Posts: 97 Member
    I try to have about 400 for breakfast, 400 for lunch, and that leaves 650 for dinner and a snack.
  • sassylilmama
    sassylilmama Posts: 1,493 Member
    I tend to do the same thing.
  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
    I usually leave 550 - 600 for dinner.

    However, if I know what I'm cooking for dinner, I'll add it in in the morning so I have an estimate of what I've got left for the rest of the day.

    When I cook dinner and dish up I tweak the amounts I added in the morning so everything is 100% correct.
  • king821
    king821 Posts: 6 Member
    I leave 200-300 calories left... I know your suppose to eat all 1200 but I have been losing and Im not hungry so I hope that's okay!
  • mjhuff1121
    mjhuff1121 Posts: 112
    My daily aim is 300-400 cal per meal. Sometimes I go over, sometimes I way under eat. (Like today, I have over 700 cal left!) But I don't snack during the day, so that makes it easier to know my meal goal. Good luck!
  • soccerella
    soccerella Posts: 619 Member
    I feel like maybe I under eat during the day and then I have a bizillion calories left for dinner and snack. What are you averaging for dinner calorie wise?
    I think I do this b/c I am scared of overeating and the cushion is safe..

    i do that too.....when it comes to dinner i often have 800-1000 calories left for the day
  • lclarkjr
    lclarkjr Posts: 359 Member
    I usually try to leave around 700-800 calories for dinner. That's about 40% of my daily allowance.
  • TheKitsune6
    TheKitsune6 Posts: 5,798 Member
    I save about 80% of my calories for the day for the evening when I'm at home and not at work.
  • MJ5898
    MJ5898 Posts: 1,549 Member
    I do that too!!! For me, it is a comfort thing - afraid if I eat more than 1/2 my daily calories during the day, somehow I will end up super hungry in the evening and not have enough to fill me up. But then when I make dinner, it is usually about 1/2 of my remaining calories and since most of my snacks are low cal, I end up eating several of them. Plus, when I make it to the gym, I have even more calories that could be eaten. I have been considering beefing up my breakfast to use more calories and give my metabolism a boost early.
  • Dramatic456
    Dramatic456 Posts: 30 Member
    You can always plan ahead (on days when you can) and then you budget more evenly (without getting scared you're going to "run out" of calories and be starving. However, I think you should leave the most calories for the meal you enjoy the most-- for me, that will ALWAYS be dinner. So I always leave more calories for that meal!
  • LHSHokie
    LHSHokie Posts: 18
    The night before, I put in everything that I plan to eat the following day to see how it adds up. If I'm eating a low-calorie dinner, I add more to my lunch. It's like a puzzle that I try to figure out on a daily basis.
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
    I feel like maybe I under eat during the day and then I have a bizillion calories left for dinner and snack. What are you averaging for dinner calorie wise?
    I think I do this b/c I am scared of overeating and the cushion is safe..

    Im thje same..im very stingy with breakfast, if I ever eat it, hardly ever eat lunch and pig out for dinner ( on healthy stuff, though). everyone says it's better to pig out for breakfast, have a modest lunch and a very simple evening meal...ho hum.
  • FatUncleRob
    FatUncleRob Posts: 341
    I usually try to leave around 700-800 calories for dinner. That's about 40% of my daily allowance.

    Me too. I snack throughout the day but try to stick to lower calorie snacks. I need around 40% left for dinner (more if I want dessert :smile:).
  • Dootzy1
    Dootzy1 Posts: 2,345 Member
    Heck, it seems to be working well for you!!!!!! Congrats on your great weightless. Mine varies, but since dinner is my time to wind down, I like to have a lot left, plus sometimes do more exercise to get more calories.
  • lijparsons
    lijparsons Posts: 258
    I do the same thing. I'm afraid to load up in the morning, and then be "screwed" for dinner. My answer to that is to plan my meals/snacks the night before (on weekdays anyway, while I am packing my food for work the next day), and log it all. I usually plan our dinner the night before as well, but if not, all the rest of my food is logged and I know up front how many I have for dinner. When I log on to MFP in the morning, I am usually starting off with a big red negative as well, because I log my exercise once I have done it. That's another thing, I plan my exercise and have a good idea how much I am going to burn. So, really, my suggestion is to plan, plan, plan. Good luck!!
  • HeatherSuzanne123
    HeatherSuzanne123 Posts: 22
    Have you ever planned your meals? I find when I plan my meals out, and my dinner is usually the largest meal of the day and I prelog I don't have to worry about over or under eating. I just adjust my calories at the end of the day, if neccassary.
  • jackiebo
    jackiebo Posts: 115 Member
    I'm on 1200 cal/day, so I try to allot 300 for each meal, plus snack. If I have exercise calories to spend, which is most of the time, then that's a bonus.
  • Soulbird81
    Soulbird81 Posts: 86
    I am trying to get back to where most of my calories are at the beginning of my day, that works for me because I don't eat much for dinner and dinner is never later than 7pm. I also would rather do that because I do not like going to bed feeling full at all.

    With the amount of exercise I am getting each day I always have plenty of calories left over if I did decide to use them for a "bigger" dinner.

    Also a not for everyone tip, I've cut out all fast food (with exception of Subway) and processed foods. That cuts out the possibility of consuming way too many calories in one sitting. If I know we're celebrating something and we're going out to a resturant to eat I will workout more that day and also "pre-plan" my meal by going onto the website of the resturant and locating their nutritional information..honestly once I began to do this is when I stopped eating out anyways. The calories are usually more than one should consume in an entire day, let alone one meal, and I will not even begin to go into the amount of sodium that is in resturant meals.
  • SoCalSwimmerDude
    SoCalSwimmerDude Posts: 507 Member
    I have anywhere from 400 to over 1000... but usually try to be on the higher end as a cushion. My dinners are big.... healthy, but big. I think, more importantly, its about planning for that big or small dinner. If its small, I'll just do chicken and broccoli. If its big... maybe its mexican fiesta night! (which can be small too, but I prefer a GOOD mexican fiesta night w/ chicken, beans, salsa, guac... and yes, tortillas)
  • cmvanwinkle
    cmvanwinkle Posts: 1
    "Eat like a king for breakfast, queen for lunch, prince for dinner." I definitely eat the most for breakfast, lunch, and snacks throughout the day, leaving less than 500 calories for the evenings when I'm typically not hungry anyway. Then I wake up in the morning starving, and it's cyclical from there... :)
  • kimtpa1417
    kimtpa1417 Posts: 461 Member
    I do this. I was eating very little during the day afraid that I wouldnt have enough calories for dinner. I was always under my calories and now I havent lost any weight in weeks. So this week I started to beef up my breakfast and lunch so I am hoping that this helps. I have gotten so use to barely eating anything all day and now forcing myself to eat all this stuff and it be healthy at the same time is challenging. Not to mention I am exhausted. Listen to your body. If you are comfortable doing this and it works for you then keep at it. It did get me down 10lbs but like I said its been weeks since I have actually seen the scale go down
  • elly0001
    elly0001 Posts: 191
    i used to have a massive sweet tooth so saved like 900 for dinner and dessert but i found that i didnt have enough energy during the day so now i eat 6 200cal meals per day and my energy levels are far better -otherwise u just have to plan ahead like if i know im going out to dinner i wont eat much during the day and stuff like that
  • jb_2011
    jb_2011 Posts: 1,029 Member
    4 meals a day, about 300 cals each, dinner may be a tad more, but I try to leave room for a little wine if I've done my exercises. :drinker:
  • SiltyPigeon
    SiltyPigeon Posts: 920 Member
    I separate my day into mini-calorie goals. It looks like this:

    Breakfast ~ 200 cals
    Lunch ~ 400 cals
    Snack ~ 100 cals
    Supper ~ 400 cals
    Snack ~ 100 cals

    Total ~ 1200 cals

    If I don't do it this way I freak out all day thinking I'll go over in the evening, then dinner comes and I have a ton of calories left over! Also, if I go over on one of my main meals I can just cut out a snack. :)
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I usually try to leave around 700-800 calories for dinner. That's about 40% of my daily allowance.

    Me too. I snack throughout the day but try to stick to lower calorie snacks. I need around 40% left for dinner (more if I want dessert :smile:).

    Same here. Most of my dinners are around 800 calories. Sometimes more.
  • fiberartist219
    fiberartist219 Posts: 1,865 Member
    I usually leave just enough to not go to bed hungry.

    I use up most of my energy during the day when I'm working, so I eat breakfast, lunch and I snack throughout the day. When I get home, there isn't as much to do, so I don't need as much energy. Of course, I do exercise, but honestly, if I eat right before exercising, I'll get some interesting, and unwanted side effects.
  • fultzjaf
    fultzjaf Posts: 141 Member
    The night before, I put in everything that I plan to eat the following day to see how it adds up. If I'm eating a low-calorie dinner, I add more to my lunch. It's like a puzzle that I try to figure out on a daily basis.

    I do the same thing pretty much. I plan out as much of my food as I can so I know what I will have left.
  • mattnj74
    mattnj74 Posts: 2 Member
    I try to leave work with having between 900-1,000 calories left to eat dinner and snack hoping to have a balance of like 150-200 afterwards. My biggest fear is introducing a normal caloric intake for a day to maintain weight. I'm keeping myself at 1680 a day before exercising. If I run 4 miles I'll get an add'l 500 calories and I feel ok with eating a lot. With no exercise I feel that 2,300 calories will put weight back on again (almost like its too much food) especially going from 1680 per day (which i feel like i'm starving myself sometimes).
  • norahwynn
    norahwynn Posts: 862 Member
    Between 300-500 calories.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    It varies, but generaly between dinner and dessert I have about 800 during the week. I don't track on weekends but it would be more because I don't usually drink during the week.
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