What portion of calories do you eat after 5p?

jadedone
jadedone Posts: 2,446 Member
edited October 7 in Food and Nutrition
I wanted to take a little poll. How many calories (what percentage) do leave for dinner and post dinner snacks?

I've heard the old adage about breakfast like a king.......but I know that doesn't work for me. I like to have breakfast foods at breakfast time, and I can rarely make it to a 400 calorie breakfast. Mine are typical 200-350 calories. By the time late afternoon hits, I seem to leave 40% of my calories for dinner time. I feel like I get hungrier at night, so I eat most of my food then.

I usually get hungry on the following schedule and eat accordingly:
Breakfast: 8-9a, 200-300 cals
Morning Snack: 10-11, 100-200 cals
Lunch: 12-1:30, 350-500 cals
Afternoon Snack: 330-5, 100-200 cals
Dinner: 7-8: 400-550 calories
Dessert or whatever: 8-9, 150 calories

How about you guys? What's your pattern and what has worked really well for you?
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Replies

  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,380 Member
    Whatever's left. ;-) I don't portion out my calories in a specific way, I don't obsess over what time I'm eating them, I just eat when I'm hungry and make sure to get close to my calorie goal every day. Dinner might happen anytime between 5pm and 8:30pm, and it might contain anywhere from 300-800 calories depending on my mood and what I've eaten the rest of the day. And I always snack after dinner. Anywhere from 200-maybe 600 calories worth of snacks, and I keep snacking right up until bedtime. I budget snack calories into my day b/c I can't stand to sit around watching TV and not be allowed to snack, and I can't stand going to be hungry. I feel hungriest in the evenings, too. Probably b/c I exercise in the late afternoon or early evening, I guess.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    75-100%
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
    80% +
  • gp79
    gp79 Posts: 1,799 Member
    75%-100% - tonight it's all 2400!
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    about 60-80% I would say for me.
  • SnowWhite824
    SnowWhite824 Posts: 210
    I try to keep dinner my lightest meal, but I get worried that I'll be really hungry. Plus, if I'm trying to eat with my family, its really hard to keep it super light, unless I eat something other than what they are, which I do a lot of the time. Anyway, I work out in the morning, so before I get there, I eat something, then I have a pretty good size caloric breakfast after that. Then my lunch is usually pretty light, but I make sure to have a good amount of snacks in there..... So I'd say that the percentage of calories I eat for dinner are about.... 20-25% if I'd had to make a guess.
  • 4theking
    4theking Posts: 1,196 Member
    My typical day is around 70%. Love going to bed full!
  • 2Bgoddess
    2Bgoddess Posts: 1,096 Member
    Looking at my diary it seams that lunch is often my biggest meal. So ater 5, maybe 35%.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    75-100%

    ^ Usually this. When cutting, almost always this. When bulking I am quite a bit more random with it.
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
    Half for lunch, half for dinner.
  • mariapuhl
    mariapuhl Posts: 529 Member
    I'd say about a half... or a third depending on the day.
  • nenabubbles
    nenabubbles Posts: 13 Member
    I usually eat high calories in the morning for breakfast. I try to keep dinner the lowest. I try to eat before seven. I eat more calories in the morning because when I wake up Im so hungry because I ate so little the night before. lol It really helps me though, I have been seeing a difference in my weight when I do this.
  • maryjay51
    maryjay51 Posts: 742
    i try to make it lighter at dinner and for anything i have after that..i really dont obsess with portions ..more with trying to eat six times a day and try not to have any one meal too top heavy with calories and the snacks around the same calories .. if for some reason i just gotta have something that i really shouldnt have then i just have it and get it out of my system so i dont binge ..that really doesnt happen a lot these days thankfully
  • SalishSea
    SalishSea Posts: 373 Member
    I love a real dinner. I eat most of my calories at dinner. My dinner is probably 60-75% of my calorie goal. I still have to eat small dinner portions to stay in my calorie goal. Not like before when I weighed 200+lbs. Before I would eat all of whatever dinner was, meaning no leftovers.

    Let's hear it for healthy, calorie-wise dinners! Portion control, lots of hot veggies, tasty meal!
  • fitnoflab
    fitnoflab Posts: 90 Member
    Lately about 60% of calories after 5. Dinner and snacks are all after 5. Love eating late at night. I was forcing breakfast down the hatch before and now I stopped doing that. I don't enjoy eating that early and it makes me sleepy.
  • catcrazy
    catcrazy Posts: 1,740 Member
    80-100%...I've decided (from 2nd Jan) to listen to my body and if i'm not hungry I don't eat. So far 3.9lbs down eating the same foods, the same calories but most of it being consumed in the evening. No idea why its kick started my losses but I'll be listening to my body and not all the text books in future.
  • _David_
    _David_ Posts: 476 Member
    I eat till I go to sleep, sometimes I eat on the way to bed, and other times I eat in bed!
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    It totally depends on the day and what I have planned. I don't think I really try to make it come out in any particular percentage. Today it was a lot higher percentage because I didn't snack much and was so busy this morning that I missed breakfast. So lunch was my first meal. Since I had the extra calories, I decided to have a bigger dinner and splurge a little. Other days are different. I might have a big breakfast or lunch and then a light dinner.

    So yea... it's never really the same.
  • livinginwoods
    livinginwoods Posts: 562 Member
    I eat most of my calories at dinner because I also feed my husband. I now get my plate first and measure things out but I don't do anything to special for my diet at dinner time. I try to work on it during the rest of the day and I am way under AGAIN and not hungry. I just cant seem to eat enough calories.
  • BioQueen
    BioQueen Posts: 694 Member
    On a good day I eat less than 20% of my calories after 5. I also tend to eat dinner early that is generally on the smaller side.
  • it_be_asin
    it_be_asin Posts: 562 Member
    I would say 35-50%, depending on the day. Going to sleep with a full stomach is non negotiable.
  • SarahMorganP
    SarahMorganP Posts: 921 Member
    Most of my days look like this:

    10am 300 calories
    1pm 400 calories
    6pm 600-700 calories
    9 or 10pm 200-300 calories

    Once or twice a week I will skip breakfast and eat around 900 calories for lunch and eat the other 500-700 later at night though.
  • Silverkittycat
    Silverkittycat Posts: 1,997 Member
    It varies, but lately about 400 for breakfast, 400/500 lunch/afternoon snack, 600 for dinner and another 300/400 for dessert. :smile:
  • missjoci
    missjoci Posts: 412 Member
    70-80%
  • Kenzietea2
    Kenzietea2 Posts: 1,132 Member
    I pretty much eat when I am hungry.
  • missfluffyuk
    missfluffyuk Posts: 245
    Most of it. I like to have dinner, and then some more dinner before I go to sleep. Because I tend to have dinner, then I'm active for a little while, then I have more dinner and then I go to sleep :smile:
  • mideon_696
    mideon_696 Posts: 770 Member
    depends for me. on workout days. probably 70% or more.
    on other days, i dont care as much, lol. anywhere between 30 and 80%.
  • claire_90
    claire_90 Posts: 99
    breakfast usually about 150 calories
    lunch about 200 calories
    day snack about 100 calories

    and the rest occurs between 5pm and 10pm
  • tiente
    tiente Posts: 6
    Dinner's usually my biggest meal. I often stay up fairly late (past midnight) working and I eat dinner at about 6, so I sort of need the extra energy to keep me going in that time!

    I tend not to snack after dinner though as that just leads to more mindless eating whilst I'm working, it's easier to go cold turkey and just drink lots of tea/squash for me :)
  • jenbousman
    jenbousman Posts: 22
    I try to save 50 - 60% of my caloeries for dinner. I like a full meal!
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