When You've Eaten All Your Calories at Breakfast 😲

Soup or chili can be pretty low-cal and also filling. Not a great suggestion for summer, I guess.

These things happen, and sometimes you just have to write it off as a maintenance day, or a day you're over your calorie goal. That may be better that reducing your dinner calories to the point where you are miserable.

Think fiber.

my lowest cal dinner or lunch tends to be stir-fry mix with soy/ginger/garlic. Add protein if you need it for today. don't skip the nutrients to avoid going a hundred or so over calories.

I mean... assuming it was a relatively balanced meal then you've fueled your body for a great, active day.

For example if you're on vacay then why not walk instead of cab from place to place. If you're at work, then perhaps it's a stairs only day or a day where you happen to help out the folks in the shipping department 🤷🏿‍♀️

The idea is to free up some caloric space for a light dinner that is still satisfying.

Personally, I'd choose something high-fiber with a smidgen of fat: a PB & banana sandwich on wholegrain bread with a warm beverage 😋

You could call it an Intermittent Fasting day test for the slightly improved morning eating window - eat a small lunch or afternoon snack, and no dinner.

Or call it an over day and enjoy whatever the extra breakfast was.

You know, I think I would just have my regular dinner and put it down to a maintenance type day.

Why? Because if I go too light or skip dinner there is a good chance I will wake tomorrow a tad more hungry than normal and eat a bigger breakfast to sate.

My lunch could probably be skipped (or smaller) after a breakfast that size with no hardship.

Cheers, h.

I'm in the camp that would eat for the rest of the day based on hunger, choosing things that for me are satiating despite being relatively lower calorie, and that fill out any nutritional gaps. Sure, if the big meal gives you an energy boost, use that energy rather than tamping it down, without going crazy with exercise or anything.

If it's a rare thing, it really doesn't matter. One day is a drop in the ocean. The majority of our days determine the majority of our progress.

For me, extreme compensation measures tend to backfire: If eating well below satiation or over-exercising, the next day can be crave-y, setting up a cycle of annoying, counterproductive feelings, if not counterproductive actions.

Good chance to practice "intuitive eating" and "intuitive activity": Interrogate your hunger/satiation impulses closely but not obsessively for the rest of the day; use what you've learned about your satiation-creating foods if needed; try beverages (especially warm ones) before food for satiation, not at an extreme; notice/ride your energy level, etc.

I've been at a healthy weight for 5+ years, since losing quite a lot. I'm an uneven eater (I calorie bank, but don't closely track save vs. spend calories in the cumulative bank or high-eating days much anymore, I just watch the weight trend). Every once in a while, I have a 4,000-5,000 calorie day, which is probably 2x TDEE +/-, perhaps more. After the water weight dissipates, it makes astonishingly little difference in my weight trend, as long as it's quite rare.

Just go back to your routine, generally. It'll be fine. I'd say, put yourself on a life-path where wild abandon with food is rare, but possible without stressing, on the rare occasion. Part of weight management is managing pleasure, social eating, and that sort of thing in an emotionally healthy way. Though I'm not able to define exactly what "emotionally healthy" is for other people, I personally don't like the "sin and expiation" model implied by a strong "making up for it" approach. YMMV.