While breakfast and lunch are often consumed alone or on the go, dinner is the most likely to be a group activity. That means it's very often more fraught with social conventions, family patterns, end-of-day exhaustion and other distractions than any other mealtime. But it's also a really important meal to get right.


As part of our ongoing series on meal mistakes we all make (see also: snacks and brunch), we asked nutrition experts Lawrence J. Cheskin, M.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center and Melissa Lanz, founder of The Fresh 20 to share their top advice for avoiding the biggest mistakes we make when we do dinner.


1. Making it the biggest meal


"Think of when you need the calories," says Cheskin, adding that it's most certainly earlier in the day when you're expending more energy. The USDA counsels that dinner should add up to about 450 and 625 calories, based on a diet of 1,800 to 2,300 daily calories for women and 2,000 to 2,500 calories for men. But some nutritionists and experts think it can be much less than that -- as little as 20 to 25 percent of daily calories.


"Nutritionally, dinner should be a light, well-portioned meal that is under 500 calories," says Lanz. "Unfortunately, most Americans use dinner as their main source of food for the entire day and over indulge."


2. Placing serving dishes on the table


"It encourages over-eating," says Lanz. "Portion your plates at the stove and wait at least 10 minutes before you go for a second helping. Often, the diversion of talking together after dinner can reduce loading up in a second plate."


3. Grazing in front of the TV


Many diners don't make their mistake at the dinner table, but on the couch: Post-dinner snacking or snacking in place of eating a complete meal can be perilous if accompanied by mindless activities like watching TV or surfing the web.


Cheskin says this is the biggest problem he sees in clinic. "[It's] the mindless eating while attached to a screen of some sort. I like to get people to separate the eating from other activities."


4. Keeping salt on the table


Having the seasoning around could lead to a sodium overload. Instead, stock your table with other, flavorful spices. "Try fresh black pepper and other dried herbs instead. A sprinkle of dried oregano or thyme can flavor a meal without added sodium," says Lanz.


5. Going out to eat too much


"I recommend no more than once a week," counsels Cheskin. Restaurant meals tend to be higher in calories, with hidden salts, fats and sugar. Fast food, Cheskin adds, is out of the question.


6. Grabbing that dessert


Routinely finishing with a sugary dessert is a way to add excess calories for tradition's sake, not for satiety. What's more, that spike in blood sugar could keep you wired -- or even wake you up in the night.






  • Hot Dogs


    Karen Ansel, MS, RD, CDN, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and coauthor of <em>The Calendar Diet: A Month by Month Guide to Losing Weight While Living Your Life</em> "As for what I wouldn't eat: hot dogs, without a doubt. Even if they're nitrate-free, they're still made up of too many parts and pieces, which is just unnatural."




  • Bugs


    Elisa Zied, MS, RD, CDN, author of<em> Nutrition at Your Fingertips</em> and fellow Eat + Run blogger "I would not eat brains, frog legs or bugs. Otherwise, no foods are off limits, as I think all foods can fit into a healthful and balanced diet. And when I want something that I don't think of as healthy -- like a hot dog, pastrami, French fries, Doritos or a Hostess cupcake -- I have it, but keep the portion small."




  • Soda


    Patricia Bannan, MS, RD, author of <em>Eat Right When Time is Tight</em> "<a href="http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2012/10/11/soda-calories-and-a-full-accounting">Sugary soda</a>. Not only does it taste overly-sweet, it's such a waste of calories. A 12-ounce can of soda has almost 40 grams of sugar, and research shows excess sugar can lead to excess pounds and a myriad of health issues. If you do love a soda, limit it to once or twice a month, and get used to other options like citrus-infused water or non-sugared iced tea."




  • Artifical Ingredients


    Jackie Newgent, RD, culinary nutritionist and author of <em>1</em><em>,000 Low-Calorie Recipes</em> "I won't eat anything that's neon! Basically, if a food or beverage is a color that you can't find in nature -- like electric blue or glow-in-the-dark orange -- I won't go near it. It's one indicator of an artificial ingredient. I always keep it real."




  • Diet Foods


    Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, author of <em><a href="http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/flexitarian-diet">The Flexitarian Diet</a></em> "Spray butter, whipped topping and other similar 'diet foods.' My food philosophy is to eat real food with simple ingredient lists. I'd rather enjoy my food with smart amounts of real butter, oil, sea salt or whipped cream rather than artificial flavors and chemicals."




  • Alive


    Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA, RD, CDN, author of <em>Read It Before You Eat It </em>and fellow Eat + Run blogger "I don't like to eat anything that looks like it did when it was alive! Whether it's a cornish hen or a whole fish, I'd rather not see my food in that 'whole' state. I was a strict vegetarian for years, not eating any meat, fish, or poultry, and although I slowly added some of those foods back into my diet, certain animal products are still tough for me to swallow."




  • Diet Soda


    Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, author of <em>S.A.S.S! Yourself Slim: Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds and Lose Inches</em> "Diet soda. It doesn't offer any nutrients, and my rule of thumb is: If it's artificial, it's not going into my body. Also, some research has linked diet soda consumption to an increased risk of stroke, heart attack and depression. Plus, one analysis found that, on average, diet soda drinkers weigh more than regular soda drinkers."




  • Hydrogenated Oils


    Rachel Begun, MS, RD, spokesperson for The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics "I avoid all foods that contain hydrogenated oils. There is absolutely no need for them in our diet, and nowadays, it's easy to find foods that don't contain them."




  • Meat


    Andrea N. Giancoli, MPH, RD, spokesperson for The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics "By preference, I'm mostly <a href="http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/vegetarian-diet">vegetarian</a>. I wouldn't eat bacon, hot dogs, chicken, hamburgers, steak, soup made with animal broth or anything cooked in lard."