I plunked in what I'm eating today, though it is a LOT of volume, the calories themselves are low for the day.

Normally i wont eat a heavy dinner, it's just not in me to do that, i feel so blah about eatin ga heavy meal in the late day.

So my question - do I find something high calorie yet healthy to fill in the gap or just simply have a low end calorie day today.

Breakfast was incredibly filling, made a whole wheat bagel with scarmbled egg and turkey bacon for 320 calories.
Lunch should have been better planned as it is a spinach/tomato thingy I love with hot sauce and even some cheese. The volume its self is a lot but the calories are under 200.
I have fresh berries for my snack this afternoon, and some peanut butter I could put on an apple to bump up the count if I want to.

All in all, Im sitting at under 700 for the day so far, I allwo 1350 - 1450 daily. I can't imagine eating a 600 cal dinner . . . thoughts?

I'd get a headache if I only ate that amount! Why not add something to your lunch, like wheat bread or something? And then have something with protein for dinner, like eggs, or tuna? I noticed that on days I didn't get my calories in all the way, if I ate hearty protein for dinner, I wouldn't feel so bad. i.e. health wise I didn't feel weak, or lazy, or just plain BLAH! Plus, keep in mind that you don't want your body entering starvation mode, nor do you want to work out everything you've consumed! Add a little extra! For your body's sake! It loves you...

My honest opinion is that if you occasionally go under calories one day (1 or 2x/month) but you feel content and satisfied, then don't even worry about it. You might be ready to feel a little more hungry tomorrow and you may end up going to the upper end or just over your cals then, but from a week-long vantage point, everything will even out. Sometimes you just aren't hungry, right? Listen to yourself.

That being said, if you start to feel hungry, tired, or sluggish... then I recommend cutting that apple up and adding some peanut butter at whatever time you need it.

If you'd rather bump up the cals anyway to stay in range (and that's OK ), then you can try to fit in some higher-cal density foods with the meal you have left: can you add a little more healthy oil to your dinner? Switch to full-fat dairy instead of low- or fat-free? Add some avocado or other healthy food? You may also consider adding a dessert after your dinner if that doesn't trigger you, or maybe stop by a coffee shop after work for a latte or cappuccino! You'll add more calcium and it's easier to drink calories and not feel full or heavy.

Hope that helps!

I totally agree and think that was brilliantly well-said advice!

Listening to your body and hunger signals is always such a good thing to do. You know if you feel hungry, unenergetic or sluggish then you should eat something extra, but if you feel comfortable and aren't experiencing any symptoms of hunger, then being under like that very occasionally shouldn't pose any problems.

Just make sure you don't set yourself up to do this all the time. I have a tendency to get sorta macho, so if I eat 200 calories under one day, I start to feel like I should ALWAYS eat that much since I've proven I can handle it. But after 4 or 5 days at that new level I am starving and go over and feel like a failure. This is stupid, obviously, but I've been known to do it.

Allow me to be the little "devil on the shoulder" type....how about eat your normal dinner, then splurge on a dessert. Not like a totally overboard splurge...but something special. Just this once.

Don't sweat it, but don't make it a habit. I've done the macho thing like Shmead and it ALWAYS backfires. If you're not hungry, tired or otherwise not feeling 100% then just eat what's planned for the rest of the day and plan a little better tomorrow.

Thanks all for the advice, I figured i'd listen to my body it'll tell me what is best.
Threw an avacado on my salad tonight - havent had one in forever and even did up a slice of turkey bacon as bacon bits. Still left me under for the day, but I'm feeling alright about it. I don't see this being habit, I just didn't think ahead with the lo cal lunch and a lo cal snack, usually I'll do one or the other.

Thanks again for thoughts ladies!!

This reminds me of a funny conversation I had with my DH the other day. I had bought chocolate-covered frozen bananas (yum -- only 130 cals!) and had planned all day to have one for dessert. I had it entered in myplate and made sure I had those calories set aside. That evening, I had not only my dessert calories left but 130 extras to boot! And I'm in maintenance, so I try to eat all my calories.

But I wasn't hungry.

I thought about it and thought about it. My brain wanted that little frozen piece of heaven... but my stomach didn't.

So I asked my husband what he would do. He looked at me like I was crazy. "You're not hungry," he said, "so you don't eat it." "But I want it," I said, "and I have more than enough calories." "I don't get it," he said. "You're not hungry."

~sigh~ Need I mention the man has never carried an extra pound in his life?

When I come in under, I jot down the number of calories. Then, if I want to go over later in the week, I can check back and see how many calories I've "banked" for going over. This is really helpful for special occasions or for going out to eat. However, I always make sure that I "save up" the extra calories rather than play "catch up" (eating them first and promising myself I'll make it up later). I don't consider this cheating -- it's' more like zigzagging. Our bodies don't grade us every day -- they grade us over time.

(I guess this is my long way of saying -- you don't have to eat if you're truly not hungry!)

I agree with the idea of just letting it go. If you aren't hungry, you aren't hungry! Keep track of how many calories under you are for the day. If you find yourself extra hungry on another day this week, allow yourself to go over a little. Your body knows what it needs better than any silly number you've calculated.