Everyday Systems

Does anyone have opinions on interrupted meals and how they fit into the 3 meals paradigm.

At my company, the culture is such that almost everyone works through lunch. Most days I am able to start and finish it in one sitting. But sometimes (once or twice a week) I am called away mid-meal to attend a meeting or to attend to some other priority. When I have put out the fire, I return to finish my meal.

I have been counting this as one meal, since it was one plate, and the intent was to finish it at one sitting. But I can see how this might be construed as two meals, or a meal and a snack.

I don't recall anything specific about this in the book, so I think of it as "funny stuff" , like virtual plating, that doesn't rise to the occasion of "failure", but should be avoided if possible.

Has anyone else experienced interrupted meals? How do you record them?

I used to have the same problem. As long as it was set out as one meal -- it was one meal. Over thinking it just complicated the issue and I'm all for simplicity. Don't over think it and do what works best for you. There's no law that says this can't or shouldn't count as one meal.

I play this by ear, after once experimenting with not finishing the meal. I found I felt satisfied for a few hours, but got hungrier a lot earlier. I can choose to decide when I get interrupted that I will give myself permission to eat an early dinner, if necessary, or I will finish the lunch when I have time, but I don't put it off any longer than I have to. I like to have at least 4 hours between lunch and dinner.

Thanks for the comments. I sometimes tend to swing between being too leglistic/rigid and too lenient on myself. So it is nice to gain some perspective that supports being flexible on this issue.