If you eat 1200 to 1300 calories a day...

I space mine out. I am a evening eatter so I save more for then. Check out my diary if your interested!

The biggest meal I eat is dinner. That is usually 300-400 calories. I space the rest out through the day.

I usually eat roughly 350-400 cal per meal and it gets me pretty evened out... I exercise before dinner just because that's they only time I have room in my schedule being a working mom and wife.. but that allows me to splurge a bit during dinner if I want. Hope this helps! :drinker:

I eat my biggest meal in the evening so I would eat my breakfast and lunch and usually a light snack, then work out before dinner. Most the time I would work out until I burned most of the calories I had eaten earlier in the day leaving room for a good sized dinner and breathing room for if i wanted a snack later.

Eating so few calories is hard work and takes dedication but it sheds pounds.

I snack alot. I eat until I am satisfied. I eat a majority of my calories at snacks. It works for me and I am never hungry:)

Lots of fruits and veggies all day! : ) There are a ton of vegetarian recipes and most of the vegetable dishes I eat are 100 calories or less! So, I eat all day betweeen 1200-1300 calories and I'm supposed to eat 1450!

i try and divide it evenly by 5 meals, so 1300/5=5 meals of about 260cals, its not always exactly that but i try to stay close(of course my numbers are different but i just used the 1300 for ur example) and i space them out as evenly as possible 24-7(hours of sleep)/5=3.4 so i eat about every 3-3.5 hours.

I pretty much eat evenly throughout the day. Breakfast is usually my smallest meal- but the one that I back with the most fiber/protein to help keep me full. I work out after work, so after breakfast and lunch. My dinners range in cals from 290-500 depending on what I am eating. I usually do not eat back all my exercise cals (I usually burn between 450-800 cals per work out) but I try to keep them in mind when I am having dinner and load up on veggies and things of that nature.

I also have a big sweet tooth, so I tend to have dessert after dinner and I know that if I exercise before dinner, that I can have a treat afterwards.

However, do what works best for you! If you are hungrier in the morning, than eat a bigger breakfast. Just listen to your body, can't go wrong doing that!

I have changed mine now but when I was at 1280 I ate:
170 breakfast
300 lunch
700-800 dinner
If there were any calories left (particularly if I exercised that day) I would eat a snack, or eat more at dinner.

If you get really hungry during the day of course that won't work for you. I have never been a big breakfast eater, and I like a light lunch, so it works for me.

I'm a creature of habit, a major food planner, and repetitive eating doesn't bother me. Having said all that...here's how I typically divide my calories throughout the day:

Breakfast: 300 calories
a.m. snack: 100 calories
Lunch: 300 calories
p.m. snack: 100 calories
*workout before dinner*
Dinner: 300 calories
p.m. snack: 100 calories

I try and keep my intake consistent throughout the day to keep my metabolism in check - never going more than 3 hours between a meal/snack.

If I have a heavy calorie burn during the workout then I'll eat some of those calories during dinner but try and have them be smart calories - nuts, cheese, lean protein, etc. or I'll make a decaf latte w/ skim milk as an evening treat. I'm fairly new to MFP but my food diary is open if you'd like to see what I do.

I'm a morning person - exercise and bulk of calories have to be in the morning for me or my day does not go well, lol .

I'll typically eat 400-600 cals at breakfast and split the rest throughout the remainder of the day. I'm rarely hungry in the evening and can easily get away with 300 cals or less if needed.

I'm usually more hungry during the day so I usually eat most of my calories then. During the week I workout at night after dinner and after my kids go to bed. On the weekends I workout in the morning before I eat breakfast.

Breakfast needs to be around 350 calories, a small snack before lunch, lunch is the smallest caloric intake of a main meal you should have, another snack, then dinner should be around 500 calories or so give or take.

Always eat AFTER your workout for your body to refuel on energy.
For example, I workout at 5:30a Mon, Wed, and Fri, then soon after I'm finished I eat something like peanut butter on a whole wheat bagle thin, then about an hour or so later I eat a 100 calorie pack of almonds--that way my body has plenty fiber and protein to burn on and I feel fuller longer until lunchtime. I used to freak out over fat grams, until I learned there is healthy fat then there is bad fat. Healthy being fat that is naturally contained in certain foods, bad being processed fat like in potato chips etc.

A key thing I have also learned is SUGAR is a big thing to look out for! It's that hidden little thing on nutrition labels that packs on unwanted pds. Like in many juices, which you ASSUME would be healthy, contain 28g-32g of suger per serving, and juices that say "no sugar added" is sooooo different from sugar-free (my dad taught me that one!).

It's best not to workout late at night because it can cause issues with sleep(atleast that's what a trainer has told me, and from my personal experience my heart rate is just too high to relax). People that get a healthy amount of sleep at night tend to workout harder and be more alert and willing to stay to their alotted amount of calories per day, that's why I feel better doing early morning workouts. It releases endorphines making me feel more pleasant throughout the day, and creates a natural decline in my energy level so I fall asleep easier at night.

I'm a licensed Zumba instructor hoping to get hired very soon at my home gym(!), and hopefully, after completing college, being a nutritionist/fitness trainer. I've gained alot of knowledge from speaking with many trainers, my doctor, and my own personal research, on what to eat and what kind of exercises to do to gain certain results. After losing the weight I had after my twins were born, I got very confident that I was at a good weight so I started to eat the bad things I loved again(pizza, burgers, fries) while still continuing my intense 6-7days a week workouts, problem with that, though, I was only maintaining my weight because I was consuming about the same amount of calories a day that I was burning in my workouts. I'm still healthy and in shape, but I would really like to lean-down to a nice toned figure. In order to do that I've obviously had to cut down on my calories ha. You don't have to be TOO health consciencious, but just make sure you're getting the right amount of good fat, proteins, and vitamines your body needs a day, and good exercise!

Sorry the reply is so long, I'm very passionate about being healthy and fit! )

I workout in the morning because with work, school, and being a wife that is the only time I can find for myself. I try to spread most of my calories throughout the day and leave the bulk for dinner. It takes practice but you will figure out what works best for you!

Breakfast needs to be around 350 calories, a small snack before lunch, lunch is the smallest caloric intake of a main meal you should have, another snack, then dinner should be around 500 calories or so give or take.

Always eat AFTER your workout for your body to refuel on energy.
For example, I workout at 5:30a Mon, Wed, and Fri, then soon after I'm finished I eat something like peanut butter on a whole wheat bagle thin, then about an hour or so later I eat a 100 calorie pack of almonds--that way my body has plenty fiber and protein to burn on and I feel fuller longer until lunchtime. I used to freak out over fat grams, until I learned there is healthy fat then there is bad fat. Healthy being fat that is naturally contained in certain foods, bad being processed fat like in potato chips etc.

A key thing I have also learned is SUGAR is a big thing to look out for! It's that hidden little thing on nutrition labels that packs on unwanted pds. Like in many juices, which you ASSUME would be healthy, contain 28g-32g of suger per serving, and juices that say "no sugar added" is sooooo different from sugar-free (my dad taught me that one!).

It's best not to workout late at night because it can cause issues with sleep(atleast that's what a trainer has told me, and from my personal experience my heart rate is just too high to relax). People that get a healthy amount of sleep at night tend to workout harder and be more alert and willing to stay to their alotted amount of calories per day, that's why I feel better doing early morning workouts. It releases endorphines making me feel more pleasant throughout the day, and creates a natural decline in my energy level so I fall asleep easier at night.

I'm a licensed Zumba instructor hoping to get hired very soon at my home gym(!), and hopefully, after completing college, being a nutritionist/fitness trainer. I've gained alot of knowledge from speaking with many trainers, my doctor, and my own personal research, on what to eat and what kind of exercises to do to gain certain results. After losing the weight I had after my twins were born, I got very confident that I was at a good weight so I started to eat the bad things I loved again(pizza, burgers, fries) while still continuing my intense 6-7days a week workouts, problem with that, though, I was only maintaining my weight because I was consuming about the same amount of calories a day that I was burning in my workouts. I'm still healthy and in shape, but I would really like to lean-down to a nice toned figure. In order to do that I've obviously had to cut down on my calories ha. You don't have to be TOO health consciencious, but just make sure you're getting the right amount of good fat, proteins, and vitamines your body needs a day, and good exercise!

Sorry the reply is so long, I'm very passionate about being healthy and fit! )

^^ Listen to her. She is a genius! :drinker: