Everyday Systems

I am having a problem with the timing of my meals on N days. Maybe someone can help. I start work at 9:00 and my lunch is at 11:30. If I eat breakfast I am not hungry at 11:30. If I skip lunch then I am crazy hungry by the time I get home(3:00). There is no time during my work day to eat anything aside from lunch time. Even if I eat a light breakfast then have lunch it is still another 6 hours until dinner and again I am crazy hungry. How would you handle this? I did not handle this well today and started snacking and that led to "well, I may as well just eat the rest of the day away" I know NoS will break me of that habit if I can get a handle on my meal timings. Hope this all makes sense!

Can you give a little more detail?

What time is breakfast? What time is dinner? Is there any other time to eat at work (breaks, or can you eat at the job - some people can, some can't)?

There will be a way to work around this, don't worry.

joab: I recommend making sure you have a full stomach by the time you are at work, maybe an hour or so before? That way you'll have time to perhaps get hungry in time for lunch. Try some nice oatmeal or yogurt.

maybe you could eat first at your lunchtime ... which is kind of early at 11:30, second after you get home, did you say that is 3? and then third dinner at 7-ish?

Blueskighs

Here's what I think I would do: Have an early (and very light) breakfast. Eat lunch at 11:30 so I can enjoy it without feeling rushed and I know it's "a real meal." Have a glass of milk (not the skim, watery, blue stuff) later in the day to ward off the hunger before dinner. Have dinner planned or maybe even prepared ahead of time so there's no having to figure out, "what am I going to eat?"

Good luck, and welcome to No-S-ing!

I agree with Jill, but is there any way to move that lunch to say, 1:00 or 2? I eat all my meals at my desk. I get to work at 9:30 and have breakfast at 10, lunch at 1, and because my schedule is weird, dinner at about 5.

f

What has worked for me lately when I work 3pm-11pm is

breakfast 9am
lunch 3pm
dinner 9pm
with a latte thrown in there somewhere. (perhaps at your "lunch break")

since your workday appears to be 9-3, you might be able to try the same.

jena

I like Blueskigh's and JillyBean's suggestions. Make sure you eat enough at lunch, too.

Beyond that, something occurred to me while I was reading The Blue Zone: THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING HUNGRY. With just a few health-related exceptions, being hungry doesn't mean we have to eat. We've been taught to eat every time we feel the least bit of hunger -- which may have a lot to do with why we're doing No-S now! Eating every time you feel hungry isn't necessary and may not even be "normal".

Wow! Thanks everyone for the great ideas! Unfortunately I don't have any other options for eating a meal at work (unless I snack!!). I think I will try eating my first meal at my lunch time then eat another meal after work then dinner with family. Thanks for that idea, Blueskighs.

I think I will try just a glass of milk in the morning (thanks Jill, I forget about drinking to get through). This seems like the best option for me since I can't change my lunch time!

Wosnes-Imagine that!! It's okay to be hungry Never thought of that! I will remember that today, thanks!

I open my shop at 9am, so I try and eat breakfast between 8:30-8:45
Lunch is at 2pm-if I get too hungry before I drink a glass of whole milk and then because hubby has a hour drive home from one of my 2 other shops, supper is between 7-8pm-again if hunger is a problem I drink another glass of milk. I don't know your work situation, do you have to take your meals at a certain time? You may want either milk or protein drinks to hold you over until meal time. God BLess.

Another option is to "virtual plate" - but be very, very careful, because it's easy to let that one get out of control.

How it might work: Figure what you'd normally eat for lunch, and divide that into two portions. Eat one at 11:30. Eat the other when you get off work. Count as one meal.

The catch: It's really, really easy to let those become two full-fledged meals, and sabotage your weight loss.

However, when I exercise on my lunch hour, I sometimes do that - I eat the fruit from my lunch before class (so I won't fall over!) and the rest after. I can do that pretty safely because my lunch ALWAYS follows the same pattern so I know I'm not cheating. (My lunch pattern = 2 veg/fruit, main dish with protein/carbs - usually leftovers, but not always. Today was PB&J on whole wheat, leftover broccoli, and strawberries.) OTOH, I avoid virtual plating my dinner, because I mess up when I try.

The other ideas - milk, etc. - are also good. I bet if you experiment you'll find something that works for you.

Wosnes - what's the Blue Zone ... i googled it but i'm not sure i got the right hit.

The Blue Zone: Lesssons for Living Longer from the People Who've Lived the Longest by Dan Buettner. There's a web site, but I've not looked at it too much:

http://www.bluezones.com/

The press section is interesting. I first read about it a couple of years ago in National Geographic:
http://quest.bluezones.com/images/stori ... gevity.pdf

There's a video, too:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0 ... index.html

Joab,

Now that I know you're a teacher too, your schedule makes sense. I have had a terrible time with lunch on no-s because my schedule is different every day. Some days lunch is at 11:00 (way too early), and sometimes I don't have a break until 2:00 (way too late). And it's really hard to get into any kind of rhythm, which, I think, is necessary for habit to really kick in.

Plus, though some may say it's a crutch, I feel like when I dont eat till 2 I am not really "on" in the classroom. I get muddled and distracted.

So what I've done is rely on milk, which fills me up for about 1-2 hours, to bridge the gap. If I have an early lunch, I drink a glass after school. If I have a late lunch, I drink a glass mid morning.

Have a good summer vacation,

Betty