does anyone purposly not eat a lot of calories for the purpose at eating more at night?
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trulyhealy
Posts: 242 Member
im just wondering if anyone does this as I've noticed previously I ate two good meals for breakfast and lunch and a snack during the day which didn't leave that many caloires at night which is when I like to snack. if you do this does it help with not over eating? im scared this will leave me to binge at night.
for example today I had
apple for breakfast
banana for a snack
carrots and dip for lunch
orange before dinner
dinner ( idk what im having yet)
and then i plan to have a mars bar, a milky way cripsy roll and an orange flavoured club bar
this sort of plan i would only do for like 10 days while im in college as i leave soon for a few months. i know the night time isnt the healhtiest but i feel as if jumping one extreme to another would jsut backfire and for now, this could be a stepping stone
for example today I had
apple for breakfast
banana for a snack
carrots and dip for lunch
orange before dinner
dinner ( idk what im having yet)
and then i plan to have a mars bar, a milky way cripsy roll and an orange flavoured club bar
this sort of plan i would only do for like 10 days while im in college as i leave soon for a few months. i know the night time isnt the healhtiest but i feel as if jumping one extreme to another would jsut backfire and for now, this could be a stepping stone
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Replies
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Sure. Lots of people practice Intermittent Fasting or "One Meal a Day." When I was working I ate very little during the day and ate a lot at night.
I was also 50 pounds over weight.
The problem I have with the one meal a day thing is that it's hard to get enough good nutrition in - but some people can make it work. Many people find that once they start eating it's hard to stop (like midday) - I just feel like steady energy is better that a big feed all at once. I tend to make bad/impulsive food choices if I let myself get too hungry.
Experiment. It's your project.5 -
Your food in your example for instance doesn't have much protein or fat, it's almost all carbs. How do you plan to get the necessary nutrients of protein and fat? You'd have to have a huge dinner.8
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Like others have said, you need to get in enough protein and nutrients, but otherwise you can spread out your calories any way you want.
If I don’t exercise I maintain at 1700 calories. I generally eat around 250 for breakfast and 250 for lunch. That leaves me with 1200 for dinner, wine, dessert in the evening. It works for me and my lifestyle.4 -
You can certainly distribute your calories across your day as you see fit. So having a lot at night, or in the morning, whenever suits you, is fine.
I echo @cmriverside regarding the importance of making sure you get good nutrition if you attempt this framework. While weight loss is really just about calories in vs. calories out, good nutrition is important for a lot of reasons. Protein is especially important during weight loss to help with muscle retention.5 -
I save cals for a 500 cal bedtime snack every day.
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I do this all the time.1
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I don’t eat a lot in the morning most days.
Usually my day goes something like this:
1-2 cups of coffee with 2tbsp creamer
Gym time
100 calorie protein shake
100-200 calories of Greek yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit
Lunch might be some protein and a carb or carbs and fat usually about 300-400 calories
Then I might have another cup of coffee with cream.
By the time dinner rolls around I usually still have 700-800 calories available. Sometimes more.
Your day however looks to be all carbs. Make sure you are meeting your protein and fat needs as well.5 -
Yes, maybe around 350 calories, up until dinner time, because I have no idea what that is going to be. That gives me quite a few clories before I reach the 1200 max, and if dinner is low in calories, all the better. I've eaten that way for so long, it's pretty much my normal.0
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I save 1000 for supper and snack.
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trulyhealy wrote: »im just wondering if anyone does this as I've noticed previously I ate two good meals for breakfast and lunch and a snack during the day which didn't leave that many caloires at night which is when I like to snack. if you do this does it help with not over eating? im scared this will leave me to binge at night.
for example today I had
apple for breakfast
banana for a snack
carrots and dip for lunch
orange before dinner
dinner ( idk what im having yet)
and then i plan to have a mars bar, a milky way cripsy roll and an orange flavoured club bar
this sort of plan i would only do for like 10 days while im in college as i leave soon for a few months. i know the night time isnt the healhtiest but i feel as if jumping one extreme to another would jsut backfire and for now, this could be a stepping stone
everyone is different but i'd be a beast by lunch time if i ate only an apple and a banana. by mid afternoon i'd be yelling at people.
But if i undereat during the day i tend to OVEREAT in the evening so counter productive.
i prefer a 300cal steel cut oat breakfast to keep me going, good 350 cal lunch 400-500 cal dinner the rest in snacks.2 -
I recommend eating eggs in the morning if you can! They aren't too high in calories and keep you filled for a good amount of the day. I also tend to eat less during the day, but eggs saved me from being starved all the time. For lunch I'll do a salad (you can get salad kits for 250-350 cals) or grab a Clif bar (not super nutritional but filling). This is more cals than it looks like you're consuming at the moment before dinner, but might be worth it to feel fuller. Feeling full will help lower the probability of binge eating. Good luck!1
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My breakfast + lunch is around half my calories for the day. Dinner is the other half.
But this is fine with me. I’m not ravenously hungry during the day and I can have a nice dinner.1 -
You have to figure out what works best for your own body and routine. I am never hungry in the morning - basically how I've been as long as I can remember (with the exception of when I was pregnant haha). So I don't eat breakfast. Not hungry, so why force it. Then I eat an early but large lunch with lots of fiber which personally helps me stay full, and a large dinner. Some small snack between and maybe evening glass of wine or popcorn if I have room for it. This works well for me. But some people wake up super hungry in the morning, have a huge breakfast, but a tiny dinner. Others have to graze all day to not get too hungry. So you have to figure out how to listen to your body and adapt your eating to keep you full and satisfied so you aren't tempted to binge.0
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The thing is, when you reach goal, will this be a sustainable eating pattern for you? Hopefully you will keep logging and tracking in maintenance. Otherwise, I see the possibility of over-snacking at night and re-gaining the weight. I personally prefer spreading my calories almost evenly across 3 meals, with a bit more for dinner and maybe a 150 calorie snack after dinner (but I only get 1200-1300 calories).0
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Um... didn't I mention intermittent fasting on your last thread?
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There is nothing inherently wrong with this plan, nor is there anything unhealthy about eating at night. The idea that you shouldn't eat after a certain time is a myth. You can eat your calories at whatever time you like.
Having said that, the question is really about whether this plan is healthy for you. I would personally feel pretty bad if all I ate before dinner was a couple pieces of fruit and some carrots. I would probably have a headache, feel very hungry, and be in an awful mood. If you like to eat this way and it works for your body, you can do it.
I prefer to pre-log the food I plan to eat, always making sure I budget for dessert after dinner, since that's what I enjoy doing. This helps me balance out my food over the day so I neither overeat nor feel hungry.2 -
shadow2soul wrote: »I don’t eat a lot in the morning most days.
Usually my day goes something like this:
1-2 cups of coffee with 2tbsp creamer
Gym time
100 calorie protein shake
100-200 calories of Greek yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit
Lunch might be some protein and a carb or carbs and fat usually about 300-400 calories
Then I might have another cup of coffee with cream.
By the time dinner rolls around I usually still have 700-800 calories available. Sometimes more.
Your day however looks to be all carbs. Make sure you are meeting your protein and fat needs as well.
This is pretty much exactly what I do, too! Personally, I like having my largest meal at night because I don't like moving around with a lot of food in my system. I'll eat what I need to get me through the day at work, then I come home and eat dinner and a snack while relaxing for the night. I feel like it helps me sleep/recover better too.3 -
I don't exactly eat at night (I'm done eating by 5 or 6 pm), but my calories are not split equally. Lunch is by far my largest most of the time. My breakfast is usually 0-500 calories (I only eat breakfast when I'm hungry in the morning), then however many calories lunch takes (usually 700-1200), and the rest is for dinner and snacks. Dinner is typically pretty light because the heavy lunch keeps me full. If I go out for dinner and I know it will be high in calories, I skip breakfast on purpose and have a light lunch (or even skip lunch if I'm expecting dinner to be very high in calories).0
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Breakfast and lunch for me is about 1/4 to 1/3 of my daily caloric intake. I save the rest for dinner. I usually don't snack unless I'm trying to make a minimum caloric goal for the day. I don't have a lot of calories per day to "play with" so I make dinner my biggest and most satisfying meal.0
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I usually am at about 300 calories before dinner and snack. I usually end up with around 1200, so most of my calories are used during and after dinner too0
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