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Meal Timings


Crastney

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I wake up at 6am, Meal1 before I leave for work at about 7.15, then don't take lunch/Meal 2 till some time between 12 and 2, work till 4.30 (to pick up the boy before 6pm), or 6.30/7 ish, but don't normally eat dinner/Meal 3 till 7.30 or 8pm.

 

Clearly there's large gaps between meals, bigger than the 4 or 5 hours suggested.

any ideas about this?

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Keep the template three main meals, beef them up if you need to and carry a protein/fat mini with you should you need it.  I eat breakfast at 530am and lunch at noon and do just fine.  Some days I'll have a cup of coffee with about 1/2 cup coconut milk if I'm feeling like I can't make it to lunch time.  I'm not necessarily recommending you do this but as you go on your body will become better at accessing your body fat and you won't have to eat at the 4-5 hour mark.  Note that I make this work because I eat a very large breakfast that has at least one serving of fat.  

 

I eat lunch at noon and dinner around 6.  Normally I cannot make it from lunch to dinner without having something at around 4-430pm.  This is because I choose to make my lunches a bit smaller as I struggle with brain fog 24/7 and cannot eat a huge/heavy lunch and still expect not to get fired.  :)  Usually I'll come home and have a small chicken thigh spread with a bit of mayo.  This is plenty to get me to dinner.  

 

Experiment, find what works for you.  Don't go to the "eating every 3 hours" plan that old-wisdom says works.  Eat large meals.  Supplement with small bites if needed.  It gets easier!  

 

:)

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This is something I wonder about also. I eat breakfast usually about 6:45-7 and lunch not til 1:30-2. So a good 6-6.5 hour gap. Generally I do not need to snack between them. I feel I have become fat adapted. But I'm wondering if I should try to close that gap to about 5 hours, if that would be better.

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This is something I wonder about also. I eat breakfast usually about 6:45-7 and lunch not til 1:30-2. So a good 6-6.5 hour gap. Generally I do not need to snack between them. I feel I have become fat adapted. But I'm wondering if I should try to close that gap to about 5 hours, if that would be better.

I don't think so, but do an assessment on yourself.  Are you easily making it between breakfast and lunch or are you forcing it (ie, I'm starving but only 90 more mintutes to lunch, I can make it!)? Are you finding yourself snacky/with cravings at the end of the day after your last meal? Are you cranky/low energy/subdued?  Do you have energy for your workouts? If you are working out and you are eating pre and post workout food, that goes a long way towards helping make it that longer distance between meals too, I find.

 

If you are making it fine between those meals and you have no negative symptoms and you are eating enough food overall for the length of your day and your activity level, carry on.  That's fat adaptation and it's lovely!  Do be aware that some days it may not be as easy to make it that length of time and you should eat sooner or more.  It's not a "failing" that you couldn't make it that day, our needs change all the time.  Also, if you are a woman (sorry, can't tell), know that you could be hungrier leading up to or during your period and you should honor this rather than telling yourself that you can make it so you should suck it up and deal.  

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You would eat a protein/fat based mini meal prior to your workout.  This would be about half the size of a protein serving at a meal time. Then exercise. Then when you are getting changed, a lean protein serving and a starchy veggie serving.  After your shower/get ready, you eat a template breakfast. How you sort that out in your own logistics is up to you.  Maybe you eat in the car on the way to the gym, in the locker room after your workout and pre-prepare your breakfast the night before so you just have to heat and eat in the morning.

 

As far as breakfast ideas, first, you can eat anything at this meal that you would at any other. Leftovers are popular here. Second, do some wandering around the forum. Google "Whole30 breakfast", "Whole30 egg free breakfast", "Whole30 picnic", "Whole30 brown bag" for tonnes of ideas. If you want specifically forum results, instead of "Whole30" in your search bar, type "forum.whole30.com:" and then you'll get the forum results first. (eg: forum.whole30.com: breakfast)

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I cycled to work today, and I prepacked a post workout mini meal to eat after I arrived (it's 10 miles, 1 hour:15 cycle, that counts as a workout for me).

I had a boiled egg, half an avo, and 6 walnut halves.

 

for breakfast I'd had leftovers from last nights dinner - chicken salad.

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I cycled to work today, and I prepacked a post workout mini meal to eat after I arrived (it's 10 miles, 1 hour:15 cycle, that counts as a workout for me).

I had a boiled egg, half an avo, and 6 walnut halves.

 

for breakfast I'd had leftovers from last nights dinner - chicken salad.

I cycled to work today too!  :)

 

Our recommendation for post workout is lean protein and starchy veggie. No added fat as it slows the absorption of the protein in that post-exercise window when it is best possibly absorbed.

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how is 'lean' protein defined?  is a boiled egg ok?

do you just mean if it's meat, then not fatty meat?

 

starchy veg, as in potato?

 

good to know, thanks.

Lean protein: egg whites (no yolk), chicken breast, canned tuna etc.

Starchy veggie: sweet potato, white potato, parsnip, yuca, taro, carrot, beet etc.

 

All this said, in my personal experience and as I am not anywhere near an elite athlete, I have eaten roast beef, chicken thighs (boneless, skinless), salmon cakes and hard boiled eggs as my protein when that's what is available.  The recommendations are for absolute best possible results.  I aim for them but in this regard, sometimes I miss the mark.  What I have noticed is that when I prioritize post workout protein and starch, I recover faster, get injured less and perform better than when I skip it.

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