Is it bad to have most of your calories for dinner?

I am doing really good sticking to my calories.... but feel like perhaps I am eating them at the wrong time of day?

Breakfast:  250
Lunch:  400
Dinner:  600

For dinner I had an amazing Indonesian Veggie Curry (304cal) and a baked potato (250cal) with 3 tbsp of weight watchers sour cream.   I have to admit after the run I was starving and wolfed it down, but at the same time I feel guilty for having such a big filling dinner at the end of the night.

I'm only at 1257cal for the day (which I know is low) - but can't help feeling stuffed like I over did it.

So........  should I be having more for breakfast and less for dinner?  Or am I doing ok?

I am not a nutritionist, but I've always liked the saying:

"Eat like a King for breakfast, a Prince for lunch, and a Pauper for dinner."

I think that is good advice.  I also try to not eat anything within 2 hours of going to bed.

I, on the other hand, eat 1000 calories between 8 am and 5 pm, then another 1000 calories after 5, including a bowl of cereal right before bed.  I've lost 48 pounds in the past 8 months.  It just depends on what works for you.

I think it's just what works for you.  I eat about 1,600 calories a day...About 600 between breakfast and lunch, 300 for a snack before I work out and the remainder is dinner.  That's always the way I've eaten, so maybe it was just easier for me to cut back portions to keep spirits up as opposed to changing every single thing about the way I eat.

Ok I will stick to what I'm doing for now and adjust later.  I couldn't imagine adding more at lunch (I ate quite a bit) - but guess I could transfer a bit from dinner to breakfast. 

But that dinner - wow - was one of the best I've ever had!

Dinner is always my biggest meal of the day.  It’s just the way I do things.  On weekdays, smaller meals are much more practical early in the day and I enjoy saving the calories for a decent-sized dinner.

I generally have about 200-300 for breakfast, 250-300 for lunch 550-650 for dinner and I save 200 for dessert/late evening snack every day.

Add me to the big dinner list. :)   I stick to vegetables and some fruits during the day, along with a protein shake after working out.  I do not have traditional breakfast or lunch.  It's nice because I do not experience a post meal energy drop and eating primarily vegetables and some fruits is satisfying.   I'm usually somewhere around 500 calories when dinner comes along and then I eat the rest of the days calories (up to 1750 total) with a huge salad, a healthy protein and cooked vegetables.   That includes the last 100 calories of the day for dessert. :)

There really is no one right way to eat.  You should find what works for you.. for instance, if you are hungry and its distracting during the day, then certainly balance out your calories with small meals.  If you are busy during the day and find it more convenient to have small healthy snacks and then a larger dinner, thats great too.

Good luck!

Only when the calories you consumed before dinner wouldn't be considered  enough.

My big meal is dinner too.  I eat at least 3 hours before bed  because I hate going to bed hungry.  Usually I'm starving by morning which is good because it makes me eat breakfast and if I still need something I'll have a glass of milk or tea.

I dont know about anyone else, but i couldnt even concentrate on what I was going to say after i read what you had for dinner. It sounds awesome and im sure you enjoyed the hell out of it. Plus you just went for a run so your body was screaming for some fuel which you gave it, so good for you. Also, i doubt this is an everyday thing so i wouldnt worry about it at all... said the guy who just wolfed down half a block of tofu and a veggie quesadilla.

When I lived with my parents, I always had to  make it so that dinner was the biggest meal of the day.  I lost about 20 lbs when I was living with them, so evidently it's not all bad.

I don't think it's bad at all so long as you are within your calorie range for the day.  Dinner is always my biggest meal too.  There is just something nice and comforting about a big dinner to end the day.  It also gives me something to look forward to after my evening work out.

My biggest meal of the day is dinner, and most of the time I have a dessert following it a couple hours later, with about an equal amount of calories.

It's never stopped my progress, i just have to be choosy on the carbs before bed.. otherwise I won't sleep. Popcorn, icecream, yogurt, a sandwich, fruit, or some chocolate is all fine. But if I have anything like pizza, breadsticks, or stuffed pretzels... I'll be up at least another 4 hours. lol

Add me to the big dinner club too!  I swim in the mornings when I am off, so I eat a small breakfast and a late lunch, or I work at 5am, so not so hungry and eat small breakfast.  Lunch or dinner is my biggest meal, but just because I "graze" all evening with small, but healthy snacks rather than one big meal.  I usually split about 1000cals between lunch/dinner with snacks.

Guess it is working, I lost 42lbs since 3/1/09!

me too! i find that if i eat too much early in the day i feel kinda full and sluggish and i run around both at work and literally running and exercising during they and cleaning the house that i just dont like to have a very full tummy. also like someone else said, in the summer when im living at home i kind of have to do this b/c i usually eat dinner with the family, and i like to enjoy my mom's good home cooking and eat a good sized portion. i think my family would get concerned too if i ate like 200-300 cals at dinner too b/c thats just not what we do around here. i like it though, i look forward to it during the day. we eat a pretty early dinner usually too so im always hungry by the time i go to bed. ive lost (and am easily maintaining) 8-10 lbs doing this over the past year or so, so i dont think its a big deal. whatever works for you!

Count me in too :)  I treat my calories like the government treats a budget.... I often end up with some at the end and I splurge.  And I love it!  I think that's why I've been in my calorie range every day for the last 19 days straight. 

The days that I am really on the ball, I get to have some chocolate!!  And one day, I'm going to be SOOO very good that I can have some cheesecake (well... maybe one day... we'll see).

A long time ago, like 8 years ago, I lost 45 pounds in about 5 months, and I was pretty much doing the same thing.  Except back then I lived in a city with ample access to cafes and bakeries.  Now I live in the country and I pretty much eat out of my garden.  I think I'm doing better than I did that last time!  But I'm just at the beginning of the journey (week 3).  I'll know more in a month or two.

I love hearing that this works for people.  Its not something that I plan to do every day - but at least knowing that it works for some people makes me happy. 

I stayed in my calorie range, had my dinner at around 6:45pm and didn't have anything else to eat after I was done... just water for the night.

The only damage that  might have been done was to my husband.  I'm pretty sure he was a little stunned at how fast I ate ;)

This is off-topic...

But CanuckaAbroad... I love your user name.  How far abroad are you? I'm a Canuck-at-home (I live on a small gulf island in BC).

Shana :)

I usually save my biggest meal for last too. I think the most important thing is you are at least eating something every few hours. I have a lot of little snacks I eat during the day so I don't get hungry. If you are staying within yuor calorie limit I think that's the most important thing.

HI there. Im Sally and I'm new to this site. I am five foot 3 and my last weigh in at the gym which was yesterday was 120. 120 was my goal weight back in January. I started at 130. So to many people I am very skinny or at least slim. But I myself would love to get back to high school weight which was 115. So I have 5 more pound to go.

I basically want to tone up. I go to the gym 4 days a week now and this is how I lost the 10 pounds in 6 months. I started tracking my calories yesterday and found out that I generally consume about 2000 calories a day. Then I will burn about 200 on my cardio and then I dont know how much on weights but I will do weight lifting for 20 more minutes plus 100 abs crunches on the machine every day. My question is basically like the other poster:

Can I have a bigger meal when I get home around 7:00pm? Last night I had some pasta with home made spegetti sauce. (this was all factored into the food log as well.)

So is eating carbs at night bad for me?

I really want to continue on my weight loss.
Thanks for listening

~Sally

srochman2000@yahoo.com if anyone wants to email directly.

Instead of changing how much you eat for dinner, why don't you just go for a brisk walk after you eat? It's okay to eat a little more for your dinner just don't sit around afterwards. If most of your physical activity is in the morning then it is wise to eat less in the evening, but if you want to just stick to what you are doing now then exercise in the morning and do 15-20 minutes of exercise (walking the dog, brisk evening walk, or even dancing in your living room) after your dinner.