saving calories for the PM?

thelassiemickyjames
thelassiemickyjames Posts: 197
edited November 12 in Food and Nutrition
So, I'm back on 1200 instead of 1500. And I KNOW this is bad, but I've been enjoying saving my calories for dinner. Eating a 150-200 calorie breakfast and a 200-300 calorie lunch, then being able to eat a 600-700 calorie dinner can be far more satisfying! Especially when eating dinner with people who don't necessarily monitor their intake. Proud to say that I enjoyed a burger and fries tonight and still finished the day below my calorie goal!!! WooT!

Does this help anyone else stay on track sometimes? It definitely helps me.

Replies

  • sagetracey
    sagetracey Posts: 607 Member
    I like to save calories for the evening but mostly because I don't always have as much control as I would like over my evening meal. Breakfast, lunch and daytime snacks, I can usually pre-log, plus I tend to exercise in the morning. Lately I have also been struggling with wanting to over eat in the evenings, dinner time and afterwards, so I would rather have some calories available so I can stay under. But I do "try" to keep my choices fairly healthy.....
  • chickenscrawl
    chickenscrawl Posts: 2 Member
    I totally know what you mean. I've been sorely tempted to save up my calories for dinners with my friends. I get conflicting advice, though--is it bad to consume half your daily calories at dinner? Or does it not matter how you space out your calories?
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    I eat most of my calories from dinner til bed. It works for the way I eat. I am not forcing myself to eat early because I know I will go over at night. Not everyone eats the same. You have to do what works for you or it will never work. That is why diets almost never work.
  • thelassiemickyjames
    thelassiemickyjames Posts: 197
    I eat most of my calories from dinner til bed. It works for the way I eat. I am not forcing myself to eat early because I know I will go over at night. Not everyone eats the same. You have to do what works for you or it will never work. That is why diets almost never work.

    I agree! if I eat too much early in the day I always go over no matter what
  • vanishingirl77
    vanishingirl77 Posts: 37
    I think that the *ideal* way to do it is whatever works best for you and your appetite!

    I'm still struggling to find a balance, because although I wish that I could eat perfectly portioned meals divided evenly throughout my day, it doesn't work realistically. I know there are good reasons that the "experts" recommend what they do, but they don't work for everyone, including me.
  • kayleesays
    kayleesays Posts: 564 Member
    Same! I try to keep breakfast under 300 calories, lunch under 350 and I eat twice at night because I actually am afraid of not having enough calories and having stomach rumbles. Far more beneficial to my happiness to save those calories and eat from dinner until ~2 hours before bed. I function a lot better if I don't go to bed hungry :P
  • spectralmoon
    spectralmoon Posts: 1,179 Member
    I guess I'm opposite; I'm eating light before bed right now, but HOO BOY, when I get home from college... pantry-raiding!!! (I typed this as panty-raiding at least twice.)

    I work out before bed and drink a lot of ice water during/after, so I think that kills my appetite and lets me sleep without my guts waking me up to whine.
  • jesusHchris
    jesusHchris Posts: 1,405 Member
    I just typed this as a big long reply and then noticed the "I KNOW this is bad for me" part.

    Nevermind. :)

    I've heard the human body compared to a burning fire. You want to keep the room at a nice even temperature, so you throw a few logs on at a time throughout the day. Too many at once and you start sweating, not enough and you're breathing steam.

    I'm no expert, so you should probably ignore anything I say. However, I have read that it is best for your metabolism to keep the food at even intervals and somewhat balanced over your waking hours.

    When you exercise also comes into play. You want your body to have the proper fuel inside it to prevent it from going to the reserves and burning muscle instead. There is a lot of science to this stuff and if you are ever really bored there is plenty of info on sports nutrition online. The best part is, NOBODY AGREES ON ANYTHING. :) Helpful, huh?

    So, going lean all day and completing your normal exercise and then tossing in all the calories at night may not be the best way to go. It might even be a bit counterproductive. But if it is working for you then kudos and enjoy!
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    If you've found something that you can sustain and it is working for you, then no, it's not bad.
  • Melyssaks
    Melyssaks Posts: 69 Member
    So, I'm back on 1200 instead of 1500. And I KNOW this is bad, but I've been enjoying saving my calories for dinner. Eating a 150-200 calorie breakfast and a 200-300 calorie lunch, then being able to eat a 600-700 calorie dinner can be far more satisfying! Especially when eating dinner with people who don't necessarily monitor their intake. Proud to say that I enjoyed a burger and fries tonight and still finished the day below my calorie goal!!! WooT!

    Does this help anyone else stay on track sometimes? It definitely helps me.

    That's exactly what I do...I think I would get sick of my "diet" if I tried to space everything out into 400-500 calorie meals. There just isn't enough variety of filling food that is under 500 calories. Though I admit sometimes I don't feel like I'm even dieting when I can eat that 700 or 800 calorie meal dinner (which is probably why I like counting calories more then dieting).

    Personally, I find this routine something that I can stick with since it doesn't completing elminate any food and I am able to have at least one "normal" meal without hindering my social life too if everyone else is going out to eat.

    Recently, Dr. Drew did an episode on the myth of "eating after 6 will automatically cause weigh gain". He said the main reason why he doesn't recommend eating in the pm is because most people have already used up their calories for the day by then, however if you have maintained calories well throughout the day and stay under your acceptable total then it's not a problem.
  • Melyssaks
    Melyssaks Posts: 69 Member
    Also, my schedule only allows me to work out at night and I'm always starving after a workout so I like to have the extra calories available then :)
  • volume77
    volume77 Posts: 670 Member
    I am the same way. I've tried every other way but this is what works for me:)
  • jaguilar333
    jaguilar333 Posts: 33 Member
    Glad to know there are others like me. I tend to overeat in the evenings. Not sure if its psychological because I relate home to relaxing and enjoying good food. During the day Im at work and its easier for me to keep my mind off of food and just get by on soup and fruit. So I tend to eat most of my calories at night. Another plus is that it curbs my appetite so I'm not eating again at 9pm because I'm still full. I fill out my diary in the morning based on what I want to eat that night. Its working and I don't feel deprived.
  • ldalbello
    ldalbello Posts: 207 Member
    I skip breakfast to save the calories for the evening. I was never a big breakfast person anyway. It's working for me. The time doesn't matter, it's calories in, calories out.
  • dutch1979
    dutch1979 Posts: 1
    This is exactly the blog I was looking for. I also save most of my calories for dinner time. I've only been using My Fitness Pal for about 20 days. I've only lost a couple of pounds and was just curious if most of you are successful saving most of your calories for the evening?
    Thanks
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
    This is not bad at all, it's a fairly common practice actually. The goal is to burn more calories than you consume over an extended period of time, it doesn't matter what time of day you eat them. If it helps you stay under your limit by arranging your day this way, then do it.
  • lebbyloses
    lebbyloses Posts: 133 Member
    I like to have some left in the evening in case I want to go out or just snack. I find eating no breakfast or a small breakfast doesn't affect me much, so it's easier to go light in the morning. Now that I'm in maintenance, I've easily doubled my breakfasts because I find eating MORE in the morning makes me slightly hungrier for lunch and has no effect on dinner, so I'm not scrambling to add healthy calories before bed. It's weird but it works.
  • FitMelody4Life
    FitMelody4Life Posts: 106 Member
    If you are more of a night time eater have you considered adopting an intermittent fast diet? They are a lot of benefits to an IF lifestyle and work really well into someone's lifestyle that likes to eat large quantities at night.

    I follow Sara Soloman's IF protocols and workouts but there are tons of intermittent fasting methods and styles out there. Just research into what would be best for you but it sounds like you could benefit. It has helped me a ton!
  • toronto_j
    toronto_j Posts: 206 Member
    Yes, I do this on days where I'm eating out for dinner, and possibly having alcohol. I still try to make good choices but I want to enjoy myself too and not worry about it too much.
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