I have more trouble in the afternoons. A couple days a week I work out at noon, so I am very careful those days to manage my calories before my workout so I feel as good as possible. That seems to spill over into the days I don't work out.

Snacking after work / before dinner is my problem time. I'm trying to drink tea while I make dinner so I have some flavor in my mouth, but no calories!

I pack a lunch and snacks for work and don't allow myself to go to the cafeteria except for ice water. That also seems to help spread calories throughout the day.

my eating is ok. It's the wine that gets me...

Ummm, yeah! The wine is really, well, uh, just.....delicious!

So... I'm wondering when people spend their calories? I'm struggling with spending them all by lunchtime and then going to bed hungry... any tips?

I guess that would depend on what you are eating in the beginning of the day. Use your calories wisely - with low calorie but filling things. I have 1250 calorie allowance per day and often don't use up all of those by the end of the day!

A typical breakfast for me would be 30g oatbran with 150 ml (soya) milk - because I don't do cows! You could have some fruit on top of that - I use drained tinned fruit that is tinned in fruit juice (not syrup) on top of that. I have a cup of black coffee with sugar free sweetener to finish off. That's less than 250 calories and very filling.

Mid morning I might have a cup of tea and a Jumbo snack a jack. Or some plain (soya) yoghurt with fruit and you could sprinkle some nuts/hemp seeds or oats on top. Again filling, sweet and low calories. Or you could have a cup-a-soup or something depending on whether you like sweet or savoury. I have a sweet tooth which is why I go for fruit or a low calorie snack-a-jack (a flavoured rice cake).

Lunch - something like stir fry vegetables and tofu (you could have lean chicken), maybe a vegetarian sausage sandwich made with wholemeal bread, or something.

Mid afternoon - similar to breakfast or mid morning

Dinner - Similar to lunch

Generally I have been avoiding things like pasta, couscous, sweet potato, potatoes, bread - anything stodgy. The thing is to change your eating habits. I am a strict vegetarian on a plant based diet - but my weakness is cake, wine and bread and large portions of my usual stuff. I have had to reign that in to lose weight.

There is no point in spending your calories on chips (fries), or a big burger or cake or something which takes up 600-700 cals because you would be hungry afterwards. Leave those things as once a week treats and change your daily eating habits. If there a certain foods that you like to eat for breakfast that are calorie laden could you think of a low fat, low calorie way of making them - ie cut portions size, grill instead of fry, replace sugar for a substitute, use wholemeal bread instread of normal bread, and so on.....

The other important thing is to weigh and measure - you might be surprised when you look at a portion you would normally have compared to what a 30g portion of cereal/rice/pasta looks like. Use the recommended portions on the backs of the packets as a guide and weigh everything! Use the scanner on the mobile phone app if you have a smart phone to scan and log things on the go. And for the first few weeks until you are confident about portion sizes and calories - don't eat anything that you haven't scanned or weighed first!

Hope that helps!.

There definitely needs to be a balance throughout the day so you don't run into the afternoon and evening hunger abyss.

I try to eat more of my protein earlier in the day. I often start the morning with a greek yogurt and follow that with a mid morning protein shake. The protein helps you keep that full feeling. My physician recommends that I keep my grams of protein and my grams of carbs about equal. Watching that has been both a challenge and a stress but it seems to work.

My lunch is generally a sandwich, using flat bread, and some kind of "healthier" snack. I LOVE freeze dried green beans. YUM! They give you that crunch and salt of a chip with sooo much less fat and calories. Maybe another yogurt or fruit or snack bar in the afternoon and then I still have about half my calories left at the end of the day (I'm on 1200 also).

Then there is the extra added benefit of exercise. You feel great because of the endorphins released during exercise, you look better AND you get more calories to consume. Win win all around.

my eating is ok. It's the wine that gets me...

I'm with you there! But really...100 cals a day (not that I actually only have one glass) is only 1 lb a month. We can work that off no problem (once we get where we're going).

whoops! That is true! But I got to get there!!! I have given up wine for now. Which is really hard, because it is my job!!! I am on a mission. I am going to make this work!

Lunch to late afternoon is the most difficult for me. That is when I tend to want to look for the sweet and salty snacks ... heck, whatever I can find in the junk food department I want. I need to learn to make myself grab that apple.