Eat Like a Queen for Breakfast, a Princess for Lunch, and a Pauper for Dinner

Many dieters (and non-dieters, too) have developed a bad habit from years of yo-yo diets; eating light throughout the day until 4pm when they are starving and make up for all the missed calories from the day, and then some.   Although it is hard, allow yourself to eat a filling breakfast and lunch.  In the long run, you will consume less calories later in the day (and evening), and will actually take in fewer calories, overall.

I know some are afraid to do this, because they are in the habit of eating a lot at night, and fear that having more calories at breakfast and lunch will just add to the normal calories.  This is NOT true (well, it doesn't have to be).  If you are not hungry throughout the day, you will be less likely to have night cravings or overeat,... really.  If you allow yourself to eat during the day, you won't treat 6pm like its your last meal. 

My suggestion if you are trying to lose weight is to keep a food journal, try MyNetDiary which is online and an iPad app, and monitor your daytime calories.  If you are too low early in the day, make yourself eat more (yes, really).  For example, assume you need to take in 1800 calories to lose a pound per week.  If you only had 200 for breakfast and 300 for lunch, you have made it through half the day on only 500 calories, leaving 1300 for the last meal!  Not good.  Try to re-distribute the calories so that maybe breakfast is around 400, lunch is 400, snacks are 100-200 each, and leave 600 for the remainder of the day.  Or something to that effect.

It will be a hard habit to break at first, but you will be much better off following the old nutritional saying, "Eat like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch and a pauper for dinner".