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

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joeygirl84
joeygirl84 Posts: 224 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone, I am really just curious about this... and looking for ideas.

If you have a diet of 1200 to 1300 calories a day (which is what MFP puts me at)...

- When do you eat the most of your calories... breakfast for example?
- Do you exercise before dinner? or after? And approx how many calories would you have for dinner?
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Replies

  • BranMuffin21
    BranMuffin21 Posts: 157 Member
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    I space mine out. I am a evening eatter so I save more for then. Check out my diary if your interested!
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
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    to be honest, what works for one person, will either be subtle or drastically different to another.... you really should find what works for you.... we all work different jobs, so schedules will be different, thus eating when/how much will greatly differ...

    I work as a chef and often dont have time to eat anything... talk about an oxymoron! LOL!
  • NikkiTaber
    NikkiTaber Posts: 190
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    The biggest meal I eat is dinner. That is usually 300-400 calories. I space the rest out through the day.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    I am at 1400ish right now, but have done 1200 before too. I try to keep breakfast between 200 and 300 and have 400 calorie meals for lunch and dinner and some snacks.

    Feel free to look at my diary.
  • JPayne53
    JPayne53 Posts: 235 Member
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    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:
  • Kimmer2011
    Kimmer2011 Posts: 569 Member
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    I tend to spread them out--my diary is open if you want to look. I prefer to exercise early, but can't always
  • Hanna82
    Hanna82 Posts: 138 Member
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    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.
  • debmjohn
    debmjohn Posts: 5
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    I have the same calories. I try to sread it out evenly through out the day. Breakfast is very important and I feel if you have to do more calories for one meal it should be breakfast. I myself find if I exercise after dinner I cant sleep at night so I think that it depends on your metabolism on when you should exercise. I also seem to get very hungry after a good work out so I try to make sure I have some thing light and healthy to eat after a workout.
  • RonneyKay
    RonneyKay Posts: 464 Member
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    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:)
  • prettyfitchick
    prettyfitchick Posts: 502 Member
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    i just stay with in my limits trying to divide them equal is just to complex for me to spend time doing and I eat my excersise cals
  • bassklan
    bassklan Posts: 19 Member
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    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!
  • LesliePierceRN
    LesliePierceRN Posts: 860 Member
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    I space mine out, but shoot in general for about 100cals/hr.. If I eat every two hrs, I eat about 200 cals, or every 3 hrs, 300 cals. I try not to go much over that 3 hr time frame, I find that frequent feeding keeps blood sugar stable and cuts down on hunger.
  • Crimson_
    Crimson_ Posts: 60
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    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.
  • emilychristineleask
    emilychristineleask Posts: 33
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    I always eat at the end of the day, light breakfast and light lunch, so I can have a large main meal at night with my boyfriend!!!

    (:

    And I exercise just when ever I can find the time.
    There is no exact science, You do it how you feel you would do it best
  • Faintgreeneyes
    Faintgreeneyes Posts: 730 Member
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    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!
  • Icklemellie
    Icklemellie Posts: 45
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    I havent been on here long but I tend to eat approx 200-300 cals at breakfast 200-300 cals at lunch and around 600 at dinner. And if I have any left over I tend to snack in the evening around 200cals.
    As I'm a stay at home mom atm on maternity leave I try and do the bulk of my excercise in the morning but when I go back to work I will probably do it in the evening before tea. I tend to feel icky if I eat then excercise anyway.
    I suppose It depends if you work, then what shifts you do (nights or days etc). But its whatever works for you really.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    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.
  • m1nky
    m1nky Posts: 104 Member
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    1300 calories for me. Dinner is my biggest meal (typically around 400 calories) simply because I'm also feeding my family. We also eat pretty early (usually around 5) so i dont feel hungry in the evening and don't have problems sleeping. I go to the gym in the mornings and space the rest of my calories out evenly (breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack).
  • LisaGNV
    LisaGNV Posts: 159 Member
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    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.
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,453 Member
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    I'm an evening eater so I leave about 900-1000 for dinner :)

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