How do you distribute your calories throughout the day? Currently I eat 1400 calories a day spread out between 10 "mini-meals" with 100 to 200 calories each. I wonder how many meals and how many calories per meal everyone else is doing.
10 meals! Wow, where do you find the time? I switch it up depending on my hungry. I usually eat 5xs a day, but sometimes 4 and sometimes 6. It's always 3 meals and 2-3 snacks.
I definitely tend to "backload" my calories...small breakfast/lunch and bigger dinner/room for some evening snacks. A typical day (when I'm working, weekends are a little different) looks like this:
breakfast: fiber 1 bar & coffee with a bit of creamer...not a big breakfast eater
mid-morning snack: low fat string cheese
lunch: turkey and cheese sandwich on wheat, can of V8
mid-afternoon snack: fruit
dinner: pretty "normal" dinner usually consisting of meat, starch and veggie. Hubby won't last long on "diet" food, so I just control my portions. Gives me something to look forward to and so far it's worked ok for me!
Dessert: skinny cow ice cream, a small piece of chocolate or fruit if I'm being "good" Depends on my mood/calories for the day.
Evening snack (if I have the calories): 100 cal bag of popcorn, serving of baked chips, handful of nuts or something like that.
I try to average about 1500 cal/day.
Last edited by NorthernExposure; 06-05-2010 at 12:15 PM.
3 meals a day, 300 - 500 calories, a snack or two, 100-300 depending on what my totals are or the day.
I tried to do the many meals thing and it doesn't it my liestyle, where I'm too busy to sit and eat that oten. I also hate always having to think about my next meal
I try to eat 3 meals a day with most of my calories and then have snacks. I eat around 1500 on good days and 1700 or 1800 on bad or really intense workout days. I eat around my exercise so I have enough fuel. I try not to eat past 400 per meal because I heard that your body only uses 300-400 per sitting and turns the rest to fat. I don't know if that's true, but I can't imagine my body using 700 calories all at once for one meal. I usually just eat until I'm full and eat slowly. If I get hungry later, I snack on nuts or dried cranberries. Almonds are very low in calories and they keep my blood sugar steady. I also try to stay away from sugar and only have it in low quantities or when I'm really craving it. That keeps me from crashing and eating more of something that I don't need.