Everyday Systems

Hey No-Sers!

I have a question, what should I do if I don't have time to take a lunch break? I'm a college student and have class non-stop most days, and I work in a lab during lunch hour and am not able to eat a meal. Usually I'll bring almonds and a granola bar or something and eat it on the shuttle to and from the lab (since those foods are portable), but sometimes I end up really hungry and binge later at dinner time.

Any suggestions?

Make sure you eat a decent breakfast. I'd ditch the granola bar (they're usually the equivalent of a candy bar) and have nuts, fruit, chopped vegetables, maybe a hard boiled egg. There are a lot of portable foods that can make an emergency meal. You could even have a pb&j or other kind of sandwich.

Question the idea that you need to binge because you get very hungry. You are an adult and can take your time, savoring your food, no matter how hungry you are. It's not like you're in a concentration camp really starving. You'll find if you force yourself to slow down, a normal or maybe slightly heavier plate of food will be enough even if you have gotten very hungry. And plan an activity for right after the meal so that you don't feel you can keep extending the eating time. The meal should be discrete, even if you are famished.

I hope you'll be able to change your schedule next semester. Planning in time to enjoy your food is part of civility and taking care of yourself. Resist the American inanity. It's part of what got us into this trouble.

I second the suggestions for foods superior to granola bars. Also, given that this is an unusual situation, I would allow myself, if coffee is permitted in the lab, to add a scoop of protein to my regular coffee, which I tend to doctor with cream and stevia anyway, if I could not have a real meal.