How long is a "day"?

We all know that X amount of calories per day are needed, but how long is a "day" in hours?

A day can be pretty long and busy, sometimes.

Thanks,

SS

24hr

That depends. On Mercury it's 1407 hours.

I believe that most people use the midnight to midnight schedule, which this site's burn meter works on.  If you are on shift-work or something, your clock is going to be rotated, and you'll have to figure that out for yourself.  I think consistency is the most important thing.  In other words, pick a time (like midnight) and make that your cut-off.

I suppose you might have been asking whether it matters if your calories are spread out during the day, so I'll answer that...  I think it does, but you'll hear lots of conflicting ideas on that, so my opinion is just that: my opinion.  Personally, I try to eat small meals throughout the day...that's just what works best for me.  I always keep snacks with me!  At first, it takes a lot of planning to get the right amount of calories by bedtime.  Over time, it becomes much easier.

Good luck!  :)

Thanks Panda651 for the "midnight-to-midnight" time frame. It helps me figure things out.  I've been eating the small meas throughout the day, like you.  I'm at a plateau now and trying to bust past that. 

SSkirt

I think its more of a vague thing than a specific # of hours.  I'm go to bed late and wake up early.  So I tend to look at my calorie intake over the course of a week.  So when I was gaining and needed 3000 calories+ I made sure that between sunday morning and the following saturday night I had eaten at least 21000 calories. 

I still do it that way, so some days I ate more and others less but it all averages out to about my goal at the end of the week.  Its really helped me not get crazy over every single calorie.... If I have a bad day its fine because I can make the next day a good day.

A day is 24 hours technically speaking. But it goes from the time you wake up till the time you go to bed to get them calories in. I've had nights where I get home around 1AM and I find myself eating a snack then, and getting up at 7AM the "next" morning to eat my usual breakfast.

Sugar - I really like the way you look at it - a weekly amount versus daily. I wish I could wrap my mind around that concept but unfortunately my ED is extremely picky. >.<

Original Post by rebelchick1017:

Sugar - I really like the way you look at it - a weekly amount versus daily. I wish I could wrap my mind around that concept but unfortunately my ED is extremely picky. >.<

My ED almost drove me insane with this whole concept of calories per day.  I used to count calories in coffee and make sure that I exercised at least X number of minutes per day (usually 90 minutes was my minimum).  I was honestly convinced that 100 extra calories  or only 45-60 minutes of cardio in a day would cause weight gain... and 200 or 300 extra calories or skipping a day at they gym was DEVASTING - panic attacks, crying, and general freaking out.  Looking at it in terms of weeks has REALLY helped me get a perspective on diet and exercise.  And I now realize taht I can go a few days without exercise and eat an extra 100 or 200 calories most days of the week and still not be fat and flabby.  It took me a looooooooong time to get here though.  My poor husband.... If I was him I probably would have left me 3 years ago . He's the BEST!