Everyday Systems

I wonder if any of you have dealt with this ... Three meals a day has suited me very well for the past couple of years. I have had quite ordered days, eating my meals at much the same time every day with the same gap between them (5 - 6 hours).

However, recently there have been changes and I'm not able to have a regular routine, particularly for the evening meal. I find that the three meals a day don't suit me nearly so well, if I can't eat them at scheduled times. I don't feel good if I go hours and hours without eating. And often, now, I don't know when I'm going to have the next meal, so it's not like I can space them out, or eat more at an earlier meal in preparation.

In the old days, I'd just have eaten a small snack if I was really hungry between meals, but obviously that doesn't fit with No S.

How do you manage?

Hi Dale,
Sorry you're having a hard time with your current meal schedule. It would be helpful to know more about your situation. Where are you, at your normal meal times? In the car, or on public transportation commuting home from work? Is it a life or death situation if you would take an eating break, like a doctor on a busy floor?
For me, I find I do better to carry something along if I am going to be away from home when I want to eat. That is often something which isn't so temperature sensitive, and can be made in advance preparation. It is also important for me to trade out eating earlier than I might prefer, rather than later.
A favorite carried meal has been a salad with both cooked and raw vegetables, with a yogurt dressing or topped with cheese and blue cheese dressing. Another is a bed of grated carrots, a pile of sauteed eggplant and cottage cheese. If you insist on having a piping hot meal, or having something that requires
preparation just before you eat, you will wind up making it harder on yourself. That's just my $.02.

My routine changed significantly when I went back to work, and even now it is widely different on work days compared with days at home. On work days I have staggered my breakfast later, and have basic supplies to make oatmeal and sandwiches at my office, in case I am stuck. I go for things that don't need to be refrigerated or heated, so I can just grab and go. I'm in a weird patch now because I'm sick, but before that I was in a rhythm where I essentially ate breakfast a few hours after I got up, lunch 4 or 5 hours after that, dinner 4 or 5 hours after that. If still awake long after dinner and hungry, I include a hot, milky drink.

I don't know what your situation is, but it sounds like you have a very punishing routine if you can't take a 20 minute break every 5 or 6 hours to eat a cold meal. Is there anything you can do to make your days a bit more flexible?

Oh, it's not that I don't get time to eat, it's more about trying to eat socially with somebody who is often home late. One of the reasons I chose No S was that I think it's (usually) a great social diet - you get to eat your meals with everybody else, so I don't want to give that up.

Work days are usually OK - I usually have lunch at the same time, and on the days when I can't eat between, say, 11am and 3pm, I'll split it and have half in the morning and half in the afternoon (I know that's cheating, but it saves me going such a long time without eating). It's mainly the evenings (although some other days too). I used to have my lunch at 12.30 and then evening meal by 18.30. Now it might be 20.30 some days, and I'm struggling with waiting. I do like to have a freshly cooked meal in the evenings too (preparing it isn't really an issue - it's the waiting!).

Hi Dale,
Thanks for the update. For me personally, I would go nuts having to wait until 8:30p to eat supper. I've had some luck with drinking herbal tea with someone while they are eating, and have some social time. But that's just me.
I wonder if you can push your other meals later. Like have a milky coffee drink when you wake up and eat breakfast at 8:30 or later, and then lunch at 2:30 or later. Then it would only be 6 hours until 8:30p, which is within your normal parameters.

I agree with Sonya. If that doesn't work, have a planned mini meal in between lunch and dinner, and just make your lunch and dinner a little smaller. 8 hours between meals is too long, for most people (I know i can't wait that long between meals!).

I can't usually change the breakfast or lunch times, unfortunately. But thank you - it's reassuring to know that I'm not the only one who finds long gaps difficult! I'll try the hot drink/mini-meal suggestions when I have to eat really late in the evening - that might be just enough to stop me feeling so bad. Thank you!

I fast til late morning (or I have a tablespoon of coconut oil around 7)--usually 10 or 11--which moves my lunch to 2 and dinner to 7--i find morning fasting allows me to tweak my schedule so I am only eating 3 times a day. The afternoon window is too long for me otherwise and bad for my mood and energy. Maybe you could try delaying your eating?

The trouble is that I'd find it just as hard to postpone breakfast to lunchtime (12.30 would normally be the earliest I could eat it on work days) as I'm finding it to postpone the evening meal! I'm just not very good at this.

Dale wrote: I'm just not very good at this.

Actually, your "problem solving approach" begs to differ. It may take a while to figure it out - it always does for me when I have a dramatic schedule change - but if you try and tweak, you'll eventually find a solution that works for YOU.

The ideas you've gotten - to recap
- Split your normal lunch into two mini-meals, and eat one later so you aren't as hungry in the evening. (Caveat: be careful to keep total amount constant.)
- Move other meals around so the gap is shorter
- Have a hot milky drink or tea when you get home, to hold you until dinner

And I'll add...
- If you're really hungry, go ahead and eat at your normal time in the evening, and drink tea while you socialize with the late eater in your life. The socialization doesn't have to depend on food. (This is what I do when DH has to work late, because kiddo can't wait that long to eat.)

Try different things, until you find the solution that works best for you.

Marianna wrote:I fast til late morning...usually 10 or 11--which moves my lunch to 2 and dinner to 7--i find morning fasting allows me to tweak my schedule so I am only eating 3 times a day...

Marianna, sounds great; I'm glad you found your way
For myself, I still have a lot of weight to lose and wonder whether a similar meal schedule could work for me also, or if I should keep up with my 2 meals (lately seem to detect a slight sense of deprivation - dangerous).

Can I ask you, are you maintaining or losing weight with the 3 meals, and - are you usually hungry before the meals, since the hours between are relatively short?
Hope you don't mind me asking about your weight.
TX! for your time.