How do you spread out your calories?

I need help with this a bit, I think.  I need to be able to spread out my calories correctly, but it's a bit hard when my times for eating spread from 7:30am-11:00pm.  It gets a bit difficult sometimes.  I try to take in 1500 calories daily, the only time I ever really go over (as in 100 calories over, I usually go about 50 :/) is when I work out that day, and on those days I get up to around 1700 depending on how many calories I've burned.

Oh, btw, I'm 15, 5'5"-ish, 140lbs., and GW is 115-120 :]

I think something that would definitely help you is to stop eating about three hours before you go to bed.  After that, it just depends on what kind of eater you are.  Figure out If it works better for you to do three bigger meals or 4-6 smaller meals throughout the day.  Last, try to make all of your calories really count too--as in NO refined carbs like sugar or white flour.  Eat lots of fresh fruit and veggies and lean protein and you'll get there! Good luck

Thank you for replying!

The thing is, I do eat 3-4 hours before I go off to bed :\ I know, I have a lot of late nights, but I usually just sit at my desk and write until 2 or 3 in the morning since it's the only quiet time I really have in my house (I have a big family...).  So, that's why my last meal is around 11pm, but it will get a lot more regular when school starts back up for me. 

I do the 4-6 small meals a day thing, it seems to work a lot better for me.  While at home, I usually do have whole wheat/grain breads, no refined sugars, etc.; the only place I have trouble doing that is while spending the night at a friend's house.  But all in all my diet is very healthy. 

I'm just not sure how many calories I should have at certain times, and when those times should be..

Thank you :]

To be honest I think the answer to this question varies from person to person.

It really depends on what you prefer, but also when you tend to be hungry.

Often times I will be up at 5am and will not go to be till 10pm that night. So I will have a quick 100 calorie breakfast (usually a vitatop muffin) so that I jump start my metabolism and then a large snack around 9am. This could be oatmeal or some cereal and fruit. I usually have another mini snack around 11am, then lunch around 2pm and dinner at 6 or 7pm.

For whatever reason I tend to be, when I am working, hungrier in the morning rather than late afternoon to evening so I eat according to that pattern. Otherwise I know if I let myself get overly hungry I will over eat on junk food.

As others have said, what works best varies from person to person, but my calories are about the same as yours, and my spacing looks like this:

6:30 -- breakfast 350 - 400 calories

10:00 -- snack 100 - 150 calories  (I aim for 500 before lunch. )

1:00 -- lunch 500-600 calories

3:30 -- chocolate squares 110 calories 

7:00 -- pre-workout snack 100-200 calories (nuts and fruit or vegies)

9:30 -- post-workout protein shake 150 calories

On days I don't work out, I have a small dinner at 7:00 of 200-250 calories and no protein shake. 

Thanks sharz96, that has helped! I ended up working it all out on a sheet of paper and following it yesterday and I came up with this:

7:30:  breakfast 250-300 calories

11:00:  lunch 400-500 calories

3:00:  snack 100-150 calories

7:00 or 8:00:  dinner 200-300 calories

10:00 or 11:00:  snack 100-how many other calories will bring me up to 1500

[it varies a bit on days that I work out, but this is how it is otherwise:]

Breakfast - 200 cals max

Snack - 100

Lunch - 300 - 400

(Breakfast and lunch are usually 600 total)

Dinner - 400

Snack (evening) - 100 max or a little more if I had a light lunch. None if I have a big lunch, or eat out and can't calculate calories well.

 

On a regular weekday, my schedule looks like this:

6:00 am: Breakfast = ~400 cals

10:15: Snack #1 = ~150 cals

12:30 pm: Lunch part 1= ~300 cals (eat larger lunch item... ie: sandwich, wrap, salad, etc)

1:30: Lunch part 2 = ~150 cals (eat smaller item in lunch... ie: banana, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc)

[I find spacing out my lunch really keeps me from snacking in the afternoon]

3:15: Pre-workout snack = ~200 cals

5:45: Post-workout snack = ~250 cals

7:30: Dinner = ~400 cals +/- ~150 cal "dessert" (ie: fruit, puffed cereal with soy milk, 1 cookie, etc)

Bed around 10:30 pm.

= ~1850 - 2000 cals total (My RMR is 1788).

On weekends, it depends on when I wake up but if I don't work out, I skip the pre & post workout snacks (obviously) and try to alternate meal & snack every 2-4 hours.

From what I've heard, and what I follow, is you should have more calories in the morning and less at night. For example, I also follow a 1500 calorie a day plan, and mine looks like this:

Breakfast: 375 cals

Snack: 300 cals

Lunch: 300 cals

Snack: 300 cals

Dinner: 225 cals

My first meal is as soon as I get up, and I eat every 3 hours on the dot. If I slept in one day on my day off, I'll either skip the last one so I'm not eating too late (and I'm less active so I don't need it as much since I spent half the day sleeping) or I'll just eat a really light protein dinner with less calories.

Hope that helps!

Why do you have to stop eating 3-4 hours before going to bed?  I love eating in the evenings, and as long as you don't eat so much that you have trouble sleeping, then I think it's totally fine to eat in the evenings.  It certainly won't effect your weightloss (unless of course, you are starving and binge over your allotted calorie amount, but that's another story.)

On week days I usually eat the following:

wake up 7 am

work out 8 - 9

9:30:  green tea

10:30am: 75 cals (breakfast)

1:30pm : 360 cals (lunch)

4-5 pm: 100 or 150 cals (snack)

9:30 - 10:30 pm: 600 calories (dinner - usually soup, main meal and maybe a healthy dessert)

It works really well for me, and I'm never too starving, and plus I get to look forward to having a big dinner. 

I do 1500-1700 depending on if I work out that day or not and a "typical" day looks as follows for me:

Breakfast (9am):  whole wheat english muffin (140) w/ wedge of laughing cow light garlic and herb cheese spread (35) =175

       &nb sp;               &nb sp;             OR

2 blueberry waffles (180) w/ light, sugar free syrup (25)=205

       &nb sp;               &nb sp;            OR

instant organic Oatmeal (180-200)

Snack (10:30-11:30am) : usually some type of fruit (around 100 cals)

       &nb sp;           OR

1 or 2 Cheese Stick 60-100

Lunch (12-1pm): depends on the day, but usually around 200-500 cals

Afternoon Snack (1-3pm):  sunchips 210 (individual bag)

       &nb sp;               &nb sp;               &nb sp;      OR

Mini rice cakes (14 cakes-serv. is 7.c'mon who can have only 7?) 120

Dinner (7-8pm): b/w 400-650 cals

Dessert/Evening snack (9:30pm): (sometimes i leave this out depending, but usually i'm under cals so I go for it)

Sugar Free Jello w/ Light Redi Whip dab on top  30 cal (i think)

       &nb sp;               &nb sp;      OR

Skinny cow Ice Cream Sandwich 140

       &nb sp;               &nb sp;    OR

Sugar Free Popsicle  15

This all seems to work out well for me... I am def VERY hungry around lunch and dinner time though I know that.  But I'm not starving myself in any way and I'm eating relatively healthy as well. soo, i don't really think on it. 

I also drink water ALL day long @ work.  it helps fill me up.  I have one 16.9 bottle of 0 calorie Green Iced Tea daily at work.  In the evening at home I drink 0 calorie Iced Tea or Water usually....

Best of luck to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!