Too many calories left at day's end.

you wont starve yourself for not eating ALL the calories you've set. if you feel full and are not hungry, then dont worry about it. I too have this problem, since i try to eat very well. but of course i am trying to bulk muscle on, not lose weight. i dont feel hungry, and actually feel too full to eat all i am supposed to. 1600 cals. i should be eating 1800, but unless i eat junk i wont meet that. but hey, dont worry about it. the less cals, the more weight you'll lose.

I find it's easiest to plan your meals in advance. I like to plan my meals the night before so that I can know what I can eat. I factor in my exercise because I have a good idea of what I'll burn and how many more calories I have to eat. It's easy for me because I eat pretty much the same things every day, the only that really changes is my dinner. This helps me to stay within my calorie limit without going over and also helps to ensure I eat all my exercise calories.

Its tough sometimes to get the balance right. Im going back to school and i refuse to eat the crap that they have so i'll go without. Plus I have to drive to all across town to different campuses. What I do is keep lots of snacks in the car. Almonds, wheat crips, beef jerky, granola bars, ect. That way I always have healthy stuff with me. So if you try something like that it can boost your totals up a little bit.

Maybe you could add a protein shake to your lunch or have a peanut butter sandwhich for snack.

Being a little short on calories is a good problem to have. Being a lot short (as it seems you often are) is a bad problem because your body will go into starvation mode and burn muscle while retaining fat.

Since you are so busy, find some healthy calorie filled snacks you enjoy and eat them on the go:
-Cheese Sticks
-Granola Bars
-Nuts


ALSO: Don't concern yourself with eating after a certain time. That is a myth. It is a fact that it makes no difference what time of day you eat. It all boils down to calories in vs. calories out. Multiple scientific studies have concluded so. It does not matter what time of day you eat. It is what and how much you eat and how much physical activity you do during the whole day that determines whether you gain, lose, or maintain your weight. No matter when you eat, it is only if you overeat that your body will store extra calories as fat.

The only way eating at night could be a problem is if you ONLY ate at night and skipped breakfast and/or lunch. Even then it isn't anything to do with the time of day, just the lack of balance throughout the day that could cause your metabolism to slow considerably and could eventually lead to weight gain. If you have 1000 calories left at 10 PM, you should probably not eat 1000 calories during one sitting. I would suggest maybe shooting for 500-700 calories at a time tops. But don't worry about time of day!

I think you've already identified the key issues here - being used to eating "low cal" all the time, and not planning ahead.
So, now you know what the issues are, how can you try to change them?

There are some great ideas here about adding extra healthy cals in during the day, so go for it and add just a little more each time. You don't have to go overboard, or make huge changes but you can add a bit of cheese, avocado, olive oil, egg yolks to them meals you are having - which will bump up your calories and give you some good fats or extra good stuff like calcium. Or snack on a banana or wholegrain peanut butter sandwich or cheese and crackers or almonds.

The other issue is planning. This is a tricky one because planning takes time, but the reality is that it also saves you time once you have done it.
Could you schedule in half an hour on the weekend to plan your dinners for the week? I find that if I do this and shop for just what I need that I save money and my week is much easier - no more wondering what is for dinner when I get home from work, and no over/under calorie surprises at the end of the day.

I'm also trying to enter as much as I can into MFP ahead of time. I have the advantage of having a half hour bus ride to and from work each day, so this is useful time to catch up with what I've done today and what I'm doing tomorrow, but maybe you could do this during a lunch break. Scribble it on paper if you don't have access to MFP when you are at work (I use the iPhone app and love the portability).

It sounds like you have a really busy life, but in order to keep up with all this activity, you need to take out just a little bit of time for you. You have to stay healthy to be there for your work and family, sacrificing your health will not help in the long term!

Good luck

I find if I don't bring enough to eat during the day I end up with a big supper like tonights. I didn't plan on a 600 plus calorie dinner but it worked out that way because I was starved when I got home. That being said I still have 295 left for the day even with this big dinner.