Am I Shortchanging Myself With Meals?

[ejulian]

Hello!

I enjoy reading the forum a lot, but I hardly ever post... However, I've found myself in a situation recently where I'd greatly appreciate some guidance. Please forgive me if I make any gaffes!

A quick bit of background- I'm 33, 5'7", 16something lbs (not sure since I haven't weighed myself in a while but I'd like to shed a little bit of fat!), fairly active job (I'm a stagehand), and I'm active outside of work most days too. Went Paleoish in the spring of 2013, completed my first Whole30 in September of last year, started another Whole30 in late March, & though I've finished 30+ days, I haven't had a good reason to go off-roading yet!

My situation is this: some days, I find it difficult to eat more than two meals- not because I'm not hungry, but because of my schedule. Today was something like this:

-I try to eat within an hour of waking, although today was more like an hour and a half-I think I ate M1 around 10am. Chard, peppers, sun-dried tomato, & onion sautéed in coconut oil with 3 eggs scrambled into the mix, along with (compliant) chicken sausage, a good chunk of sweet potato, and a cup of coffee blended with ghee, coconut oil, and cinnamon. This will keep me going a good 4-6 hours or so.

-I left for work around 1130, work from 1230 til 5. Then I have a break & will eat broccoli, cauliflower, and butternut squash roasted in coconut oil, grilled chicken, spinach, and another chunk of sweet potato. I will be hungry & it will taste delicious!

-I go back to work at 630, and work until 11pm. I might drink some home-brewed kombucha on the way home, or at intermission. But that's it. Sometimes I'm hungry at the end of the night, but I drink a glass of water because it's rather late to be eating.

-I drive home, drink some Natural Calm, and scurry to get to bed as soon as possible, or by midnight at the latest.

So you can see my dilemma... I prioritize sleep so I'm getting about 8 hours, so I can't wake up any earlier to eat M1 and 2 before work. I can't really eat while I'm working, except during my break. I'm not unhappy with my situation- I'm satisfied by my first meal, hungry for my second, and recently I haven't been hungry when I'm done with work because it's too close to bedtime (I'm hopeful that this is indicative of balanced hormones!). I'd love to hear about the Whole30-approved manner in which to tackle this set of circumstances!!

Thank you so much for any thoughts!!

[Tom Denham]

I spent a month, maybe three months, eating two meals per day as an experiment with intermittent fasting. I ate lunch and supper only. I typically went to bed at 10 PM, got up at 6 AM and did not eat my first meal until 12:30-1 PM. I found it easy and comfortable to eat just twice per day. I stopped because eating just twice per day made my sleep more restless. When I went back to eating breakfast in the morning, my sleep improved within a week. I concluded that my hormones really need breakfast within an hour of waking to stay on track. 

 

I never tried skipping supper and eating only breakfast and lunch because I was afraid I would be more likely to wake up during the night hungry and need to eat. You seem to be doing it okay.

 

We ask people to eat three meals per day while doing a Whole30 and to avoid intermittent fasting because it can be so hard on hormonal rhythms. I would not recommend the schedule you keep, but you seem to be doing okay with it.