Is it bad that most of my calories come from dinner?

I work out first thing in the morning and usually burn around 700 calories. Throughout the day, I constantly snack on low-calorie foods and I try not to eat more than 900 calories because I want to save a lot of them for dinner (my mother takes a lot of pride in her cooking).  According to this website:  http://www.phord.com/cc/ (I find it to be more accurate than CC) I should be eating 1700-1800 calories a day to lose 1 lb per week.  I've noticed I dropped some weight quickly, but I've started gaining it back (my measurements have gone up with my weight).

Could my body be going into starvation mode because I don't eat a sufficient amount of calories after I work out?  Immediately after working out, I have a small 200-300 calorie breakfast.  I eat the recommended amount of calories in a day (I think), and I'm not overly hungry throughout the day (because I'm constantly snacking).  I don't know if it's better to eat after you work out, or exercise to burn off what you've eaten.  Does it make a difference?

ALSO, could I be overestimating the amount of calories in my dinner?  I tend to eat a pretty big plate filled with lean meat, veggies, potatoes, breads, and cheeses, but everything is homemade with generally low fat ingredients.  I usually find a food close to what I've eaten, but never exactly the same.  When I count in my large portions, I end up with a lot of calories.  How do I know my calorie count is accurate and that I'm eating enough?

From my experience, as long as you are consuming the amount of calories- it doesn't really matter when you consume them. 

That being said, I think it is a metabolism booster to constantly nourish your body (as you seem to be doing with the small snacks) and to exercise periodically throughout the day.

Maybe try doing half your workout in the morning and half in the afternoon?  Eat smaller portions of moms good cooking so that you have calories to expend throughout the day.  Breakfast is considered the best meal of the day so make sure you're not cutting yourself too short in the a.m.

While I have nothing important to add to this post, I was just talking with my co-worker about the exact same thing, so I am curious to know what the people say =]

Alana

Hi

I've also been pondering this.  So have decided this week to give the '6 small meals' thing a go.  So we are on thursday and i'm gettin pretty sick of small portions of dinner but i am feeling more balanced over the day and feel less peckish at 5pm when i get home.  I still cook my dinner then eat one small portion and put the others in little tupperware boxes for during the day at work. 

We'll see how it goes.

I eat breakfast, lunch, and snacks throughout the day. My dinner is still my largest meal. The only thing is affects is weigh-ins, cuz I'll have extra food weight floating around in there undigested. I try to combat this with having dinner earlier (like 6 or 7 instead of after 8). Doesn't always work, but I guess it also depends on what I ate! Like last night around 9pm I ate chicken nuggets (boneless chicken breast breaded with fiber one), butternut squash fries, and a slice of bread with butter. I was up 2 pounds this morning, but that also probably accounts for swollen muscles since I did weight training before dinner.

Are you eating appropriate portions?  In changing my eating habits I measure EVERYTHING. I weigh my green beans instead of just using a measuring cup.  that can really impact what amount of calories you are really eating.  Also even though you are starting with healthy ingredients there are so many things added in the cooking process are you counting those?  I make my french cut string beans with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. And I make grilled cheese with butter.  I wasn't logging those calories and the can add up.

Just my two cents.

This is the way I always eat.  I have always been sort of nauseous (spell?) in the morning even when I was a kid.  However, I do work out at night after work on most days (I Can only work-out in am on week-ends). so I don't know if that makes a difference.  Try being extra careful of the portions for potatoes, bread and cheeses and fill up more on veggies.  Good Luck.

It really won't matter when you eat and/or work out, in the long run. It's about in put and out put. As one or two others have suggested, it sounds like your problem is probably more related to underestimating the cals you take in a dinner.

Think about it this way: one ounce of cheese tends to have about 110 cals. Can you really tell the difference between 1 oz. and 1.5 or 2 oz (esp if it is a sauce or shredded, or something like that, and already put on the food). A 3.5 oz serving of meat can have about 250 cals--can you really spot the difference between 3.5 and 4oz, or 4.5 oz?

My point is, it is really hard to know if you are not measuring and logging. If you are "off" by only 50% on the high cal foods, it adds up quickly. See if weighing and measuring (with  your mom's help) gets you some good progress and then you'll have your answer.

Some days I tend to eat this way.  There is a term for it, I believe it's called the "warrior diet".  Google it and I'm sure you'll come up with some interesting reading.

MJ

I'm wondering how in the world you are burning 700 calories in the morning? What kinds of exercises are you doing, and for how long? Are you having to get up ultra early to fit in this workout? I just know that if it was me, I'd have to work out for hours to burn that many cals.

I can burn 700 kcals on the elliptical fairly easily in just a little over an hour.  If I do the legs and Back workout for P90X I can burn 900 in an hour.  It is entirely possible.

MJ

Thanks everyone for your responses!

miserybabe- keep me posted about what happens with your 6 daily meals thing... I know that's supposed to be better for you, but I don't really have to motivation to actually try it.  However, if you see significant difference, I might have to consider changing my ways.

MJ- I googled the warrior diet and came across these websites:

http://www.everydiet.org/diet/warrior-diet

http://www.cbass.com/warrior_diet.htm

Definitely helpful, but this looks like it's more concerned with fasting during the day, and I think I'm consuming too many calories to be considered "fasting".

Bubbasgirl- I pretty much stick to high intensity cardio in the morning- like elliptical or treadmill.  You can burn that many calories in an hour, but you have to be in pretty good shape.  Just as an example, I worked out for about an hour this morning on a treadmill: 2% incline, 6mph, for 45minutes, followed by 15 minutes of walking and the calorie counter on the machine said about 800 cals (I tend to think of that as 700 because I don't know how accurate those things are... I'm trying not to overestimate).  I definitely had to work up to this point though... I remember really struggling trying to do 30 minutes with no incline at a slower pace several months ago.

Thanks again for the input!

You may be overestimating the number of calories you burn, and therefore are consuming more cals than you should. Perhaps you should get a heartrate monitor to truly see what you are buring throughout the day. I hear they are very effective. You may also be undercounting the number of calories your mother cooks. Enjoy her cooking, just make sure you know how many calories they are. You are not putting yourself into "starvation" mode. This is a serious condition caused by eating far too few calories each day over an extended period of time. As long as your calories in 24 hours add up to what you need, that should not be an issue.

Hey,

 http://www.phord.com/cc/  says that I should be eating 1300 calories and burn like 1800, female 5'3" 125, so my question is that even if I work out I should still only eat 1300 calories? My HRM says I usually burn like 330 from my workouts so usually I'll eat like 1500 or 1600 so I don't technically go below 1200, is that right or should I just be eating the 1300?

I eat 1 meal a day usually..  so all my calories come before I go to bed.  I'm losing weight just fine.

I am surprised by these responses.  And I have to say that I disagree.  I have been amazed by the weight I am able to lose by eating the maj. of my calories earlier in the day.  And I suspect that my current weight gain was caused by late night carby dinners.  Yes the portions were too big, but I also believe that to lose weight it is important to burn all your calories b4 bed. And unfortunately this means more calories earlier in the day.  And dinner before 7 ideally.  Easier said than done, right?  For me too!  I don't get off work until 8 pm.  So now I'm trying to have a larger 'lunch' meal at 4 pm and then later just a salad, definitely under 500 calories. . . . I do wonder if I'm losing weight too fast!

No need to be too surprised--It goes to show that there are "a million and 1" philosophies on  when to eat what, and you've found one that works for you.  Be thankful, as some ppl are still searching for what works for their body.

MJ

Well, I have a question and a thought for you. One, are you reading your labels and then measuring your food? That's a good first start. Do not omit any calories you add while cooking, such as that one lil tablespoon of olive oil, etc.

Next, the idea of the 6 small meals is to 1) keep your blood sugar level stable, 2) it increases your metabolism. There are lots of lil tricks you can do throughout the day to boost your metabolism. Here's just a few of my favorites..

a cup of coffee or green tea mid day

2 -20 min workouts instead of 1 -40 min. Also not sure where you work but if you get an hour for lunch, take 20 mins to eat, 10 mins for a brisk walk. You should be able to do this on a nice day without working up a sweat.

cinnamon, and red pepper are also known to increase your metabolism

one of my faves is to make sure you are eating a lil protein at each meal. So if breakfast is normally a bowl of oatmeal, add 2 egg whites cooked with Pam for an extra 40 cals. At lunch if you are having a salad, add some chicken to it. Hold the cheese, dressing always on the side or bring your own.

That's all I can think of but there has got to be a reason your not losing if your cals and exercise are in check.

I too consume the larger part of my cal's at dinner, but I do without the bread, a small spoon of the potatoes and usually omit the other cals the rest of the fam are having. It does help to make sure you are eating 4 hours before bedtime if that fits in your schedule. Make sure your bedtime snack is under 100 cals. 100 cal pack popcorn, SF jello, Sf pudding... etc.

Good luck!!