hi all.
i got one question. I hope im putting it in the right place.

I eat about 1200 calories a day (and eat most of my exercise calories back). I know that it's wise to start off with a big breakfast so that I am less hungry throughout the day but I am wondering approximately how many calories I should allocate to breakfast without having to feel to restricted throughout the rest of the day? any ideas or approximations? thanks!

Seems what ever I eat for breakfast, and that is my favorite meal of the day it runs to be about 350 calories. I too am on 1200 a day... which use to be what I ate for breakfast... hence my weight at 325... I am new to this forum and doctor has just put me on weight loss plan, getting me nutrionist today.... I dont want to get older and stiffer than I already am... I am 53 and turning into my mother, bless her heart. But I see what difficulty she has getting around, and am already noticing that.... Hope you reach your personal goal and most of all , enjoy your breakfast. You can do it.!!!!

Everyone has very different hunger schedules - some are hungrier during the morning, some at night, and others consistently through the day. That's why this is a difficult question to answer!

You may want to try splitting your day into equal calorie meals like Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner 300 calories each, with two 150 calorie snacks during the day and see if that satisfies you. You can always tweak your day as you see fit, having more lunch and less dinner or getting rid of snacks and adding more into one (or all) of your meals.

I am a very low calorie eater and I prefer to lower calories all day so that I can eat a more substantial meal for dinner.

There is no right or wrong way, it's all about the total budget in the end. Good luck!

Thank you guys for your help. Im gonna try what munchy said and see if this works for me

I love breakfast. When my eyes open in the morning I need to eat. I'm also on the 1200 calories a day and eating back excercise calories. Mine goes at about 280-350 most mornings. If you have oats, milk and coffee that's about it.

It does not really matter but you need to balance breakfast with your other meals.

I like to eat a small breakfast normally consisting of oats, milk, maple syrup, dried apricots and coffee.

And then I eat a massive lunch.

But right now I am traveling for work. And staying in a hotel with a nice breakfast.

So breakfast is going to get upgraded to egg, smoked salmon and trout (a lot of) and lunch will be seriously down-sized.

So play around.

My main rule is do not try to run (literally) on a full stomach.

So, it's light breakfast and then gym or gym and then big breakfast.

Pay attention to when you get hungry and schedule your calories accordingly.

I have a small breakfast and a small lunch, then some kind of mid afternoon snack and finish out my calories at dinner. Because I get hungry around four o'clock each day but my husband wants a big dinner at 6:30 pm.

I have tried to eat a larger lunch to see if that could carry me through to 6:30 but it makes no difference to my hunger, I need a snack at 4:00.

For breakfast I have an egg and high fiber toast, or high fiber cereal and greek yogurt, or cereal and a little bit of granola, or mixed grain hot cereal with berries. That's usually around 250 calories (including coffee).

When I was dieting at 1200cal/day, I kept breakfast small because I liked to have bigger meals for lunch and dinner. This may not be optimal, but psychologically it pleased me. I still lost weight easily. I think little details like 'should you eat a lot at the beginning or end of a day' are fairly insignificant in the longer run of things. Just do what pleases you and if it stops working, mix it up and try something different.

Do what works best for your body and mind at this point in time. I've successfully lost weight with the "grazing" strategy and I am happy this time with an IF/one-meal-a-day strategy. Don't push a lot of calories into breakfast just because you think you "should." If that's the allocation that works best for you, go for it. But if it works out better for you to eat more calories at dinner or in several small "meals" then do that.

The one advice I would give for breakfast is stay away from all grains. I am grain free. I know that is a huge step for most people. A year ago I would have called anyone doing that nuts.

But if you have protein and fat at breakfast, stellar A++ start to the day. And if you get into bulletproof coffee, I will let people google it, awesome. The old eggs and bacon, hopefully cooked in real grass fed butter, who knew? Virtually the perfect breakfast. Especially if the hogs were raised well.

Protein and fat will get you full to lunch and get your brain going. Cereals will spike your insulin and leave you feeling famished well before breakfast for many people. And for many it will put their bodies into fat storing mode instead of fat burning mode.

We were giving our three year old oatmeal for breakfast. She isn't grain free right now. Just too hard to do with a three year old. But we switched to only eggs and even bulletproof almond milk in the morning. It may be a coincidence but she has had her best month ever at school and seems much happier and just a much better listener than when on oatmeal and cereals for breakfast.

Well, while some people do well with a big breakfast to start their day, it is up to you if you do well with it. Personally, I am not hungry in the morning, so I have a cup of almond milk at some point and leave it at that. For some reason, I am a morning person and am productive earlier in the day, even without breakfast.

If you truly enjoy a good, big breakfast, then by golly have it. As has already been mentioned, allocate the remaining calories as you see fit - there is no best way. You can bulk up the rest of your daily food line-up with vegetables, some fruit, and whole, unprocessed foods like hard boiled eggs or a few nuts (a few - they add up fast). Meat and fat are calorie dense, so add these judiciously. Once you've become familiar with a good and healthy hunger response between meals, better habits tend to fall into place and you won't feel restricted.

I think we've all heard that it's wise to start our day with a good (meaning big?) breakfast. Cereal companies want us to think that, I'll bet. I don't buy it.

Wow - I just noticed that this is an old thread! I'll have to pay better attention

I would suggest trying balancing all meals out calorie wise, or try to a slightly bigger breakfast of say 500 calories, and then eat 300 calories at lunch or dinner. What ever meal you are the most hungry at, you could make slightly bigger than the others. Hope this helps. Good luck!