When you guys get close to your goal caloric intake for the day (if you have one, that is) before dinner, do you go over your limit or do you skip supper?

I'm trying to stay on the low end of my caloric intake range (1,480 according to SparkPeople) and I'm already up to 986. I also have had my share of fats for the day, but I know my roomie is making supper and will probably cook something in oil. I know dinner will probably be low-cal though since it'll be mostly straight vegetables.

Should I a) eat a piece of fruit now so I will eat less at dinner, but still make a plate? b) just eat dinner normally, skip a snack since I'm not hungry right now, and be more careful tomorrow? or c) just try to work in a little more exercise this evening to make up for it?

I have a slow metabolism, so I'm trying to eat smaller, more frequent meals.

Hmm... are you sure your calorie intake isn't a bit low?
Just judging on your weight from your ticker. 'Cause I'm a 5'6" female weighing 167 and I just calculated mine to be just over 1600 calories.
I just started using My Daily Plate ( The Daily Plate on LIVESTRONG.COM - Calorie Counter, Weight Loss, Food Calorie Counter, Nutrition Facts | LIVESTRONG.COM ) and have already started realizing a lot of things about what I'm eating! It's a really useful site!

But as for your actual question. I would -not- skip dinner. You'll end up starving later at night and way more likely to eat something "bad." Drinking water before and with your meal can help make you feel more full. But if your roommate is cooking a mostly low-cal dinner with a lot of veggies I don't see you having much of a problem. Even if your daily calorie intake is 1480 and you've eaten 986 that's nearly 500 calories left for dinner!
If you usually have a snack after dinner, but you don't have enough calories left, maybe try some herbal tea. I really love herbal tea at night... no calories and no caffeine and because it's hot you get to slowly sip it. *shrugs* might work for you! ^_^

Hope at least some of that helped...

It probably is, I was going by SparkPeople's recommendation and after keeping track of my calories before, 1,480 does seem very low. I realize that before, I was working out quite a bit, and now I am much more sedentary, but I think I should check a different generator for a second opinion...I will check out The Daily Plate!

I think I'll be okay to eat dinner, and I just won't eat my afternoon snack since I am not hungry at all right now (or eat it later while we're cooking). I also think we have a bunch of different green teas stuck up in the cabinets that I plan to replace my coffee with tomorrow morning, so I'll definitely pull 'em out for an after-dinner pick-me-up.

Thanks for the tips Mei!

Update: I just calculated my BMR and maintenance caloric intake, which is 2289, not 1480. I'd say SparkPeople is a little off in that regard...so my goal caloric intake is closer to 1,790. Good to know that I'm not going to starve to death, lol...

Yeah... much better with the higher calories.

For future reference though, I tend to try very hard to not skip meals becuase I find that sets me up for hunger later. Here's what I'd do.

If I'm not hungry, I'll skip my afternoon snack. (If I am hungry, I'll go ahead and eat it ... becuase if I skip it then I'll just be hungrier for dinner and I'll overeat anyway).

I'll adjust my dinner to be fewer calories. If I'm eating from my meal plan, that might mean fixing something off plan (like some scrambled eggs or an omelet maybe) or having a big green salad and some chicken.

Or, if you really can't change what's for dinner, I might just eat less.

But honestly if I happen to go over one day, I don't freak out about it or try to make up calories the next day either by eating or exercise. I just make a note to be more careful in the future.

I find that if you start getting caught up in having to play makeup for calories, it's a slippery slope to becoming obsessed with it ... and then you can wind up really messed up.

I'm not saying you should be sloppy every day, but one day, once in a while isn't that big a deal.

If I find myself closer to my limit earlier in the day, I re-assess dinner: either I plan to have something else instead (like an apple and slice of cheese) or I figure out how many calories I can eat, and measure the food accordingly.

This has been a struggle for me (and lately I've been doing ok!!) - previously I would have just thought "to heck with it" and filled my plate. Then I would have thought "well there's today down the drain" and I would have raided the cupboard. These days, however, I'm more likely to google calories counts and grab the measuring cups instead

Well I had occasion to follow my own advice yesterday. So in my real world, this is what happens:

We had a "tailgate" office party yesterday with hamburgers and hotdogs and all the good things that go with. I ate carefully, but those are high calorie foods and very rich. Even though I avoided thins like chips and dessert, I still ate a lot of calories.

Also by the time I got home I wasn't really hungry for dinner and I felt a little queasy because I'd eaten so much rich food.

So for dinner last night I had a cup of yogurt with a little honey, and a TON of water.

I was still over my calories, but I feel much better this morning and best of all, my weight is still stable.