Anyone eat the bulk of their calories in the evening?
I do, and let me tell you, it is working for me! I don't feel deprived at all, or like I am on a "diet." I have been a "night-eater" for as long as I can remember -- and now that I am serious about counting calories, I typically eat very light throughout the day leaving the bulk of my calories for dinner/evening. I shared in another thread that I begin my day with a deficit of 150-170 to allow for my single-sized Edy's that my amazing hubby lovingly picks up for me (at my request, because I don't trust myself at this point to have more in the house ).
I tend to only eat about 700 calories until evening (300 breakfast, 300 lunch, small snack 100). I eat a whole foods', organic when we can afford it, 'clean' diet so I feel pretty satisfied throughout the day.
There is something about having the bulk of my calories in the evening that makes me feel like I am not restricting at all (though I do count every bite and eat around 1600-1700 a day)
Anyone else do this?
Last edited by MyBestYear; 03-08-2010 at 08:56 PM.
I definitely feel the need to eat a lot more at night than in the day. It is the time I'm most likely to binge so I try to leave some calories for it. At this weight, I have dropped my calories to about 1200-1400 a day. For instance, today, I have eaten about 800 calories, so I still have about 500 left or so. It doesn't feel like I have a ton of food at night, but I'd like to...does that count? I most definitely eat very little in the morning and as the day progresses, it increases.
Also, I'm in college and I'm very, very, very involved in extracurriculars in addition to my classes and my job, so on a typical day, I get back from my meetings at half past midnight. And I know, from experience, that after a long 9am-12:30am day, I like to come home and have a snack. So like you, I've been careful to portion out my calories smartly during the day.
I have met SO many 'night eaters' (even people of healthy sizes) that I wonder if some component isn't biological - definitely not giving anyone a green light to binge just sayin' maybe it isn't all in our heads, the desire to snack in the evening.
I believe calorie in/calorie out so it doesn't really matter *when* I am eating something so long as it is within my planned range of calories.
It also helps when people typically want to go out (to dinner), I have more wiggle room.
I save the bulk of my calories for dinner...I eat dinner with my family every night and I dont want to be a hassle and have to eat something different... but in general I'm not very hungry in the morning and if I'm busy I dont feel hungry at all
I definitely bank my calories for the late afternoon/evening. I really am just not terribly hungry early in the day, so I keep it very light until mid-afternoon, when I start up with eating the bulk of my day's calories.
I think it goes to show how different we all are; practically every piece of dieting advice I've ever seen on the subject is pretty insistent that you should start with a good breakfast, but eating more than a small amount of my calorie budget early in the day makes it much more difficult for me to stay on plan.
Ditto here! I wouldn't be able to handle making my family something different for dinner so I just plan for a healthy dinner for everyone and eat pretty much half of my calories then. I'm staying between 1200-1400 and eating around 600-700 during the day and the rest for dinner/snack.
Same here...my family has always been a "dinner" family. During the day I'd eat (I thought) very little, then have a big meal. Looking back now I realized I ate more during the day than I thought...that's why I got up to more than 220 pounds.
But even now I prefer to eat a larger dinner. I HATE the feeling of going to bed hungry and waking up even more hungry...
I could "not eat" until dinner if given the opportunity. I just forget to eat. But that's how I gained so much weight--I would starve myself until I got home and then binge until 2am. Forget single serving Edys...I'd have a big 2500 calorie dinner and then polish off a 1200 calorie Ben & Jerry's...maybe have a bag of popcorn too. So every week I probably gained a pound...
mmm good times.
blech.
I still can't stand to eat breakfast. But I try to eat before 1pm, that's my rule--if I don't eat before 2pm I have to go out and get something RIGHT NOW.
Ditto here! I wouldn't be able to handle making my family something different for dinner so I just plan for a healthy dinner for everyone and eat pretty much half of my calories then. I'm staying between 1200-1400 and eating around 600-700 during the day and the rest for dinner/snack.
I was going to post, but Sugar Sherry did it for me! This is exactly me - I'm fine with healthy choice meals, salads, or soups at lunch - but I need to eat after work!! I save calories for both dinner and snacking :-)
i'm definitely a night eater. i'll have 200 cals for breakfast, around 500 for lunch .. & the rest in the evening! i'm still not quite sure how many calories i need a day. i'm using free dieting, so we'll see!
It wasn't too long ago that I read a maintainer at 3FC state that she saved her calories for the end of the day. I thought, OMG, that works for her! That works!
Since then, I am doing the very same thing. I do eat breakfast, but a light breakfast. A light lunch works for me too. The bulk of my calories are eaten in the evening. I'm still eating healthy and I'm losing weight.
This works for me. I am so relieved to hear that I'm not the only one with this eating pattern. One less thing I have to change.....sigh, that's nice! Makes everything else I do so much more manageable!
I save the majority of my calories for evening so I can eat dinner with the family. It has really worked for me. I actually struggle more on days when I somehow end up eating a lot of my calories during the day, and have to have a really light dinner. Temptation to snack at night is a real problem on those nights. I do much better eating light through the day and having a good meal in the evening. Guess it just fits my natural way of eating better?
Anyone eat the bulk of their calories in the evening?
). 
I most definitely eat very little in the morning and as the day progresses, it increases.
So like you, I've been careful to portion out my calories smartly during the day.
