Meal timing question

[Cavegirl56]

Hi! I work at a restaurant, which means I'm on my feet working during traditional meal times. For example, today I had breakfast at 8am, pre-workout meal at 11, worked out at noon, and had lunch at two pm. I need to be at work by 5, which means I need to be out of the house at 4:30. My options for dinner are either to eat super early at 4 pm, or to eat after my shift at midnight, by which time I'll be ready to knaw off my own arm. How would you all handle this? Eating during my shift is not an option.

[missmary]

I was in kind of a similar situation last summer, when I did an evening tumbling class: I couldn't eat too close to class, and it was late when I was done. I ended up having a small meal as an early dinner, then another small meal when I got home. It's not ideal, but sometimes compromises have to be made. You might want to try a trick Physibeth taught me:

 

Dish up a plate with a full template meal at your early dinner (a palm of protein, thumb of fat, 2-3 cups of vegetables), then eat evenly around the plate until you are full. Cover the remainder and refrigerate until you get back from work. Finish the plate as your late-night snack.

 

I don't know how flexible your day is prior to work, but if you can, it might help to move the workout earlier so you can have a longer break between 2pm lunch and 4pm dinner.