Large lunch small dinner?

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  • AmyB_1992
    AmyB_1992 Posts: 32
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    Just wondering if there is any science to this? Traditionally we (humans) eat more in our evening meal than any other meal during the day, probably in both quantity and calorific terms. Then soon after we retire to bed. Is that a waste of fuel? Does that food metabolise slower? It feels right to maybe have a larger lunch than a dinner. I usually work out of an evening after work, probably starting around 7pm and then getting home around 9-930pm. The last thing I want to do is eat a large dinner and then sleep, just doesn't feel right. Anybody have any thoughts on this?

    I've been brought up having a small lunch and a large dinner, on my days off I get up at about 11 so I don't really have time to cook lunch, and we have dinner at around half 4-5pm so it's not really before we go to bed.
  • marinweb
    marinweb Posts: 23 Member
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    All that matters is that over the course of time, fat oxidation exceeds fat storage. This happens regardless of what both of these processes do in the short term, if you're eating in a calorie deficit.

    It
    Makes
    No
    Damn
    Difference

    The more I read, the more this seems the case. "Generally Accepted" fitness rules don't necessarily mean they are right. Meal timing seems to be more of a performance thing (eg. more energy for workouts if you eat carbs before) than a body composition thing.

    It makes sense. Anyone really think hunting man had the luxury of 3 - 6 meals a day?
  • JanSmelly
    JanSmelly Posts: 143 Member
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    I eat a small breakfast and a small lunch, a small snack, and then a huge dinner with a snack after dinner. Breakfast isn't my favorite meal of the day, but I am hungry so I eat enough to get me through. I workout after lunch when the kids go down for nap and I don't really want to throw up my food. We have homemade family dinners every night and that is where I like to spend my calories. For me it's a combination of enjoying my cooking and spending time as a family and having a big dinner satisfies both.
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
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    I purposefully eat light during the day so I can have lots of calories left for dinner, since, when I cook, I just estimate the calorie counts the best I can.. I am usually hungriest in the evening, anyway... I've been doing that for the past two months, at least. It has worked out fine for me.

    All of the super smart people who have achieved great success on here have said that it doesn't matter, and I believe them (even if years of saboteur thinking from websites says differently).
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    The theory of eating your largest meal earlier in the day makes perfect sense if the body resets at night. But that's not what happens. If you eat a large meal right before you go to bed and don't burn it all off during sleep, you'll still have that fuel available the next morning.
  • vlynnvale
    vlynnvale Posts: 89 Member
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    I used to prefer the large lunch/small dinner option because of exactly what you're saying. Just relaxing after eating a large dinner didn't help in my progress.
    But now that I'm cooking for my family every night (not on a meal plan and like to EAT!), I save my biggest calorie meal for dinner and work out beforehand to give my metabolism a boost.
  • elliott82
    elliott82 Posts: 156 Member
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    My trainer suggested we eat five small meals of protein and carbs throughout the day (veggies and fruits being most of the carbs) and then for your last meal eat a protein and a fat (peanut butter, nuts, avocado, cheese). he said since it takes longer for the fat to break up in your body, you will be working it off in your sleep.
  • londoneye
    londoneye Posts: 192 Member
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    Just wondering if there is any science to this? Traditionally we (humans) eat more in our evening meal than any other meal during the day, probably in both quantity and calorific terms. Then soon after we retire to bed.

    You've clearly never lived in Spain! Large, late lunch around 2 or 3, then a snack for dinner around 10pm. I much prefer it!
  • iLoveMyPitbull1225
    iLoveMyPitbull1225 Posts: 1,691 Member
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    Personally, I eat light all day and save about 600-700 calories for dinner, and I work out in the evenings after work. So that leaves me with somewhere around 1000-1200 ish cals left for the rest of my day. I dont eat back all of my excersise calories. I dont think it is a waste of fuel. You have to replenish and nourish your body, and then you sleep (or at least you are SUPPOSED to) for 8 hours. Thats along time to go without eating, and thats if you eat as soon as you wake up.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    My trainer suggested we eat five small meals of protein and carbs throughout the day (veggies and fruits being most of the carbs) and then for your last meal eat a protein and a fat (peanut butter, nuts, avocado, cheese). he said since it takes longer for the fat to break up in your body, you will be working it off in your sleep.
    Total myth, with no science at all to back it up. Trainers have zero education on nutrition, that's the absolute last person I'd look to for advice.

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