Everyday Systems

Seems like I am living at the grocery store these days, and the schedule is all over the clock and breaks are irregular and unpredictable. I am having a lot of trouble staying with my regular three plates a day.

Yesterday, I worked from 3:30 to 8:30, although there is an additional half hour on each end of that for transportation. So I ate breakfast at 8 a.m., then lunch at noon. No problem. But I didn't know when my 15-minute dinner break would be, so I ate something at about 2:00. Break didn't come until 7 pm, so I ate then, too, because it had been five hours and I was starved. But there wasn't time to finish what I had brought, and I was hungry when I got home at 9 pm, so I finished off what I had started at 7. All together, I ate 5 times yesterday! Today I am there from 11 am to 6 pm, and will have 2 breaks. We are not allowed to have water or juice at our register so I can't fall back on that. I am having enough trouble learning the register system as it is, I don't need plunging blood sugar levels and general hunger to make my life more difficult.

I am at least eating only moderate amounts of healthy foods...no junk! Vegan has gone by the wayside, since it is just too difficult to make three different family dinners. But that's okay for now, so long as I continue to eat nutritious food...gotta get those fruits and veggies! It's the three meal pattern that's driving me a little nuts right now.


Anybody have any ideas?

Ok, here's today's food.

Breakfast, at 7 am: lite toast with lite butter; one egg; orange juice
Morning snack: small (100 calories) yogurt; half a small apple
Break #1 at work: half a ham sandwich (lite bread, lite mayo, turkey ham); some green beans
Break #2 at work: rest of the sandwich and veggie
After work, tonight: ??? maybe a bowl of oatmeal and raisins?

This is all nutritious and moderate in calories (I'm maintaining my weight, not trying to lose). Can this be grouped into three no-s meals?

I think it looks alright to me. It would definately all fit on 3 of my platefuls.
C.

Hi Jan,

Sorry to hear about your tough new schedule, Jan. That does really sound like a challange, and not just on the diet front.

On the bright side, you have such good habits coming into this, that I'm optimistic you'll be able to cope.

The amount of food you list sounds fine, I think the trick is, how do you regulate it without driving yourself crazy. 5 meals, as small as what you describe, isn't bad in itself, but it might be hard to keep contained. Do you think you could swing 4, with a solid regular breakfast and dinner, and two "half-meals" in between? That might be better in terms of clarity.

Let us know how it goes, what you wind up doing, and if you need us to wrack our brains further. Above all, I hope things settle down a bit so you can go back to a less stessful three.

Best,

Reinhard

I have a day off tomorrow and, therefore, I only have to eat 3 meals.

No-S must be very well entrenched, when I look forward to "only 3 meals" as much as I used to look forward to S-day treats!

Talk about a meal-unfriendly schedule...

I think I have a way to visualize my broken-up meals:

I drew three circles on a piece of scratch paper. These are my three plates for the day.

I divided each circle into three sections. These are my portion compartments (I try to balance each meal into protein, veggie/fruit, starch).

I wrote what I ate into the little compartments:

Circle #1: egg, toast, juice

Circle #2: yogurt, apple, empty space

Circle #3: bread, ham, green beans

Since Circle #2 wasn't filled in completely (we were out of oatmeal and raisins), I not only was no-s okay for the day, but actually came in a little under.

Does this make sense?