Timing My Meals

[janer1114]

I'm trying to figure out the right times to eat.  

 

I usually leave for work around 8:30am, and I am at work until 5pm with a 1 hour commute.  My boyfriend and I eat rather late usually, so I know I am going to have to start eating dinner earlier anyway.

 

I can't see myself eating dinner before 7pm, 8pm would be more realistic....

 

But to eat within an hour of waking up I have to eat before leaving for work (at the moment I'm eating breakfast once I get to work, but I am already awake about 2-2.5 hours at that point)

 

Maybe I can do this:

M1 - 8am

M2 - 2pm

M3 - 8pm

 

Can I hope to have 6 hours between each meal and be ok?

 

I do want to avoid snacking like the plan suggests, but I also think that planning approximate meal times may help me with discipline and tracking my hunger better....

 

What are your thoughts? How have you dealt with this in your busy lives?

 

[ShannonM816]

Eat your first meal within an hour of waking up. If you can't stomach a whole meal then to start with, at least eat part of it and take the rest with you to finish at work. This is really important to get your hormones working the way they're supposed to, plus it will help you not be hungry all day, which helps avoid cravings and mindless eating, and it will even help you wind down at night to sleep better.

 

It is ideal to have three meals a day, but if you have a really long day where you're having to go more than 5 hours between meals, it would be okay to have a mini meal somewhere in there instead, just make sure it includes protein, fat, and vegetables, and treat it like a meal -- not something you munch on mindlessly all afternoon. So if you eat breakfast within an hour of waking, plan lunch 4-5 hours after that, and a mini-meal 4-5 hours after that, and then dinner when you get home, does that sound more doable?