This might sound strange but I was just wondering what calorie allotment everyone is using and how they break them up. Is it a meal by meal goal? Is there a range you like to be in pre-dinner? Or like Lin are some of you working your calories from Dinner to Lunch instead of Breakfast to dinner? (Great idea BTW!)

I am trying to get back to really being consistent and trying to figure out what's gonna be best. I am really kinda finding it hard since I moved and have had to set up a new routine. I feel like a total rookie.

It's 5:00 pm and I am at 905 cals for the day and hungry. I have a dinner of about 470 cals planned and I still need a snack later....

400 ish calories per meal spread 3-4 hrs apart. I go with 1800 total.

A.

I range my calories on 1200-1400 a day, depends on how hungry I get.

Breakfast: I eat no more than 100 calories if I have breakfast, a light yogurt, fruit, etc. -- though usually I skip breakfast because I do better w/out it, everyone is different though.

Lunch: 300-400 calories. I like to have a protein packed lunch after my work out.

Dinner: Remainder of calories if no planned snacks after dinner. I try to keep it under 600 calories though, but full of protein.

Snacks are remainder calories if I'm going to be under the limit or if I get snacky. Yogurt, fruit. etc.

I like to have most of my remaining calories for dinner though, it's my favorite meal

I'm maintaining now and trying to eat around 1800 a day. I try to spread it out between breakfast, lunch and dinner like when I was losing, but the only difference now that I added snacks in.

My schedule is like this during the week:

Breakfast (6:15 am) - 200-250 cals
Snack (9:00 am) - 100 cals
Lunch (11:15 am) - 450 cals
Snack (1:30 pm) - 100 cals
Dinner (5:00 pm) - Usually enough to bring me up to around 1800, if not I have another snack after I get back from the gym

I prefer to do all of my eating earlier in the day as I'm just not hungry in the evening. I find myself ravenous in the morning though, so I need some type of protein-filled breakfast. After that I'm never hungry so I need to schedule my meals or I'll end up way below what I need to eat!

I do 250 for breakfast, coffee as my snack (68), under 300 for lunch and 350 for dinner

But I keep track of my day total. I can always control breakfast so I keep it small in case I have something unexpected later

My calorie range is 1200-1400, though it's usually on the lower end; I eat a lot of veggies, and that boosts volume and nutrients while not adding many calories.

I usually eat a 250-300 breakfast (oatmeal and fruit, mainly), then lunch and dinner are around 300-400 each. I'll add in a couple 100-ish calorie snacks during the day as needed (0% greek yogurt, almonds, fruit, veg. with hummus, etc).

What's made calorie counting easier for me is to focus on fiber and nutrient-dense foods with a lot of volume. Lunch or dinner is usually a large salad with either salmon, tuna, or beans added or a large soup such as barley & mushroom with added kale or spinach. For snacks, I also like the steam bags of veggies.

My calorie count for the day is between 1200 to 1400 and I try to base it on protein rich foods and vegetables with the occasional serving of fruit tosed into the mix. I do not eat fruit every day however. Only when I am craving some.

I tend to eat lighter in the morning and let my meals get larger as the day goes on. This morning I will have a breakfast of 2 eggs sunnyside up in a teaspoon of butter and a half cup of baked beans.
Lunch will be a large veggie salad with a can of tuna tossed on top and dinner will be Basa and veggies.

I do not eat a lot of meat (been a long time since I had any beef), no dairy and I mainly eat beans, fish, seafood, vegetables (mostly non-starchy), fruit, healthy fats (like avocadoes, nuts and olives) and lots of water and tea to drink (no sugar). Once a month or less often) I will have a can of gingerale if my daily calories allow that. Sometimes I will also have basmati rice, sweet potato,turnips or parsnips.

I seem to put up with my hunger through the day so that I can have a big dinner, generally consisting of whatever I fancy so usually about 400-500 for lunch and then anything up to 1000 for dinner at about 6pm (yes 1000 is a lot but I love to feel full up!! and I really look forward to dinner doing this.)

Beck I can't help but notice you are also 5'9" and have lost a massive amount of weight, well done! But Have you always had a low calorie intake along your journey (1200-1400)? Only I am struggling to lose even 5 lbs and I'm not really sure what my calorie/exercise levels should be to lose consistently like you have?

I do as others mentioned before, I keep breakfast as small as possible. Usually around 100-150cal and then use 300 for lunch and if I can I try to use no more than 400 for dinner. Which leaves a bit of calories for 1 or 2 snacks a day. I try to stay around 1200 calories when loosing weight. When maintaining it's all a ton easier because I can eat about 1600-1800 a day.

Agreed on keeping breakfast as small as possible. I go out to eat often, so I usually have to keep lunch small (200-300 Cal) as well

I get between 1200 and 1400 calories a day. Since my hubby and child don't need to lose weight and get sick of "mom's food" I try to keep as many calories as I can left for dinner with them. So, breakfast is usually about 200 and lunch about 300. That leaves me with 700-900 calories for dinner. My dinners actually tend to be around 600 or so, so I'll usually have one or two snacks of about 100 calories during the day. But when I have them depends on my work schedule.

1500 calories a day and 1500 mg of sodium. I do not allot certain amounts to specific meals but I keep a running real time daily total on my computer. If I eat too much for lunch, shame on me and it is to bed with no dinner. I seldom ever eat breakfast but I do like afternoon and evening snacks if I have calories left. I also do not eat extra calories burned with exercise.

Larry,

I don't have specific amounts allotted to each meal, but I'm still remarkably consistent.

Breakfast: always a banana and Greek yogurt. Ends up being anywhere from 230 to 280 calories, depending on which brand/flavor of yogurt I have, and how big the banana is.

Lunch: 250-320 or so, depending on what I have. Sometimes it's split into two smaller meals.

Dinner: About 600 calories, or just shy of.

If it's a lower day--say I have the lighter yogurt and a smaller lunch--I might have a small snack at some point. This usually ends up being while I'm making dinner, and is never more than about 50 calories.

I try to always be within the 1100 to 1200 calorie range. I refuse to let myself end up under 1100 under any circumstances, because that way lies madness. I find that having more in the evening helps me; I have my worst cravings and hunger pangs at night.


Edited to add: same here. The counts just aren't reliable enough, and, honestly, I'm not exercising to lose weight; I'm exercising to get in shape. I suppose that if I were doing some kind of massive marathon, I'd have to up my daily calories, but my walking and weightlifting sure isn't a marathon.

Thank you! I feel amazing; I'm so pleased that I'm able to be fit and active with my children (I have 6); I sat on the sidelines for far too long- but no more.

Yes, the entire time I've been eating in the 1200-1400 calorie range, and I feel like I can continue this forever, though I am still losing, albeit more slowly now, and I feel like I'm past goal, and would really just like to focus on my fitness goals. If I lose a little more along the way, it's fine, but I think I'm going to start upping my calories a bit (maybe 100 calories/day) to see how things settle.

I do not eat any meat, only a little fish (salmon, tuna, or tilapia) once or twice a week. I limit dairy and eggs and try to focus on whole grains, fruits, veggies, and legumes. When I do have dairy, it's 0% high protein Greek yogurt (plain, with added Stevia and cocoa).

For me, I'd say that the bulk of my weight loss is due to changing my eating habits, at least 90% of my success is due to that, and only 10% is due to exercising. The exercise has helped, of course, with my health and overall well-being.

If you have any specific questions I'd be happy to try to help.

Breakfast 250, lunch 300, dinner 350, and 3 snacks about 100 each. I usually end up around 1250 total.