Lunch as main meal

Athijade
Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello all! I was wondering if anyone here makes lunch their main meal instead of the typical dinner? If so, what do you eat for your "dinner"? Planning lunch will be easy for me because I already meal prep breakfast and lunch for the week on Sundays so I can just do the same only with slightly larger portions and things added to it. I would like to keep dinners under 350 calories but I am so used to having a big dinner that I am struggling with wrapping my head around a smaller meal.

Now, before anyone gets on my case, I am not doing this strictly for weight loss. I know calories in/calories out, meal timing doesn't matter, etc. I am doing this because my doctor suggested it to see if it has a positive impact on my sleep and because I often have stomach issues at night after dinner. I also have found I am simply less hungry in the evenings and end up eating simply because it is "dinner" time. If it helps me with losing weight by helping me feel better, that is simply a bonus.

Thank you for your time and advice.

Replies

  • thisPGHlife
    thisPGHlife Posts: 440 Member
    Something that has helped me when I can't decide what to eat for a meal:

    Food doesn't know what time it is.

    If you were having light lunches and bigger dinners, why not flip the actual meals? Have lunch for dinner. I've had dinner leftovers for breakfast before. And they don't call it Brinner for nothing!

    You could do things like a veggie or chicken wrap. If there wrap party of it adds too many calories, I've done wrapping and tacos using romaine as the wrap. Oatmeal could be really great as a dinner. Salad. I know salad send boring but it doesn't have to be. My obsession with creative, delicious salads actually helped land me a job before. Cereal is a good with option that can be lower calorie.

    Or, make what you would normally have for dinner but eat less of it.
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    Since you know timing doesn't matter, I say go for it. My dad has issues with GERD and eating at night can cause him problems, so it might be the same for you. I have trouble sleeping without food in my stomach, but if it doesn't bother you, try it and see if it helps with sleep.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    If I want a small fast dinner I will just have a vegetable omelet.

    I often have bigger lunches than dinners, though -- mostly I'll have some kind of starch with my protein and veg at lunch, and then just have protein and veg at dinner.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    edited December 2018
    I would probably just cook dinner as usual but have a small portion and then pack a big portion for lunch the next day. Or for a small dinner, I'd just do a sandwich or salad. Maybe soup. Breakfast for dinner, you could do eggs and bacon etc. that's an easy quick dinner and you can make it a small portion. I often find that if I have a large lunch or ate a lot during the day that I'm not really that hungry for a big dinner anyway.
  • Sambo_fitness
    Sambo_fitness Posts: 137 Member
    Counterproductive to your post, but I try to keep all my meals as a "main meal". I do have a slightly bigger lunch, but ultimately I try to keep all my meals around 350-400 calories, with an allowance for small snacks such as fruit.

    What I have done for dinners before are buffalo cauliflower, nutrition shakes, a small protein and veggie. It's actually a lot easier than you think! Check out some meal prep posts on pinterest for ideas - there's tons of them.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    So I also don’t sleep well on large dinners and they make me ravenous in the morning.

    I eat at 10ish and 3ish. I do have between 500-600 calorie meals. It seems I naturally ate that way except on social occasions.

  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,741 Member
    Lunch is my main meal for two reasons: I workout in the afternoons so I need the energy and I don't like to eat a lot prior to bed.

    So generally in the evenings I'll have simple things like fruit and pretzels or raw vegetables and a bit of dip, etc. I prefer things that are light and in season.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Sure, after my parents split up and Mom was no longer cooking dinner for Dad he switched his main meal to noon.

    He ate things like tuna sandwiches or a can of soup for dinner.
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
    My main meal is also at noon because of GERD.

    I tend to eat the same things as before, just switched around the quantities. I tend to eat the same thing for dinner and lunch the next day, so I simply adjusted my servings sizes so that the larger quantity ends up in my tupperware and the smaller on my plate. Less volume in my stomach did wonders for my night time reflux. :smiley:
  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
    I prefer this. It is typical in Latin countries. I don't work 9-5 so I try to make my biggest meal midday, usually around 1:00 pm. I walk to work around 2:30. So for dinner, I will eat soup, or salad, or vegetables and a starch, or fruit. Sometimes I'll eat meat but I prefer not to. Or could just be a smaller portions of what I eat for the main meal.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    Thanks guys. I appreciate the comments and the lack of woos! Haha!

    Anyway, like I said, this is mostly for medical reasons and a suggestion from my doctor. While I will be working on losing weight, this issue is reflux, stomach cramps at night, and just not sleeping well. If anything can help me sleep better I am willing to do it because I suffer from depression and anxiety and not getting enough sleep can make it harder for me to handle those things. I also work 7:30 to 4 with an hour for lunch, so my schedule feels like it is moving towards this idea naturally due to an early bedtime. Finally, I am hoping that with not having to make a complicated meal at night I will have more time to fit in some yoga or, when it is not freezing, a walk.

    I meal prep once a week on Sundays and I make breakfast, lunch, and snacks for the week already. I am going to only be doing breakfast and lunch now as I have not even been hungry enough to snack at work. Those will be easy. I can pretty much just use any recipe I have and portion it out with sides.

    Dinners I really want to be light and lower calories. I love the idea of a vegetable omelet for an example. Or wraps. I can do salads but not for more then a couple days because of digestive issues. Stir Fry may be good with lots of veggies...

    I know I can do this... it's just hard when you have spent 36 years of it being a small lunch and a big dinner. Breaking that habit is what I am struggling with.
  • WilmaValley
    WilmaValley Posts: 1,092 Member
    I eat light at night so that I can sleep better, so yes lunch is often a big meal!

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