Struggling with 3 meals

[Lissa Kristine]

I'm on Day 3 and am reallys struggling with 3 meals per day.

To preface this, I'm unemployed which allows me for a lot of flexibility in regards to meal planning. I ended up going to bed before 10pm and was up around 9am. I got up and made breakfast: butternut squash, eggs, bacon, avocado, and green beans. It took me an hour to prep breakfast and it took me FOREVER to actually finish eating. I'm just not used to eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner; many days, I only eat 1 meal per day. 

I'm just wondering what I can do to help me get into the habit of actually eating 3 meals per day. Yesterday, my breakfast was so filling that I wasn't really hungry until after 4pm when I ate a light lunch (sardines, olives, snap peas, cucumber, and an orange). Is having two nice big full meals with a smaller midday meal ok? I know I need to work on this, but eating 3 times a day is a challenge.

(I actually don't snack much, so the issue is not that I'm snacking in between meals. I've just gotten used to only eating 1-2 times per day with nothing in between).

[ShannonM816]

Three meals a day is a recommendation, not a rule, so if you sometimes just have two meals, you won't have broken the rules. But if you want to work on having three meals a day, maybe set timers to remind you to eat every four hours, and eat something when the timer goes off, even if you're not feeling hungry, just to get in the habit of eating at those times. You might also try adjusting the size of your meals. So if the breakfast you described kept you full more than four hours, next time try just having either the bacon or the avocado, or half as much of each, as they're both adding fat to your meal and fat tends to be what keeps you full longer. 

[Lissa Kristine]

3 hours ago, ShannonM816 said:

Three meals a day is a recommendation, not a rule, so if you sometimes just have two meals, you won't have broken the rules. But if you want to work on having three meals a day, maybe set timers to remind you to eat every four hours, and eat something when the timer goes off, even if you're not feeling hungry, just to get in the habit of eating at those times. You might also try adjusting the size of your meals. So if the breakfast you described kept you full more than four hours, next time try just having either the bacon or the avocado, or half as much of each, as they're both adding fat to your meal and fat tends to be what keeps you full longer. 

Thanks. Yesterday,I finished eating breakfast after 11am, so I wasn't really hungry again until closer to 4pm when I was driving and unable to eat (save for a few bites of my lunch). So, I had a really light lunch at 5pm and then ate dinner around 8pm. 

I've always been an eat every 5-6 hours person. For me, 4 hours just never worked. I've never been allowed to snack at work, so if I worked from 8 to 5, I would eat breakfast at 7am, lunch at around 12:30/1pm and dinner would be around 6:30 or so.  The only opportunity to snack would be while driving home, and I dislike eating while driving. Even though timing hasn't been consistent, the concept of only eating during meals and minimizing snacking just stuck with me.

 

[SchrodingersCat]

I tend to only eat 2 meals a day for around half the week, especially on weekends. It was worrying me at the start, but I feel better about it now because I still don't snack.

I like your kitty, btw!

[Aliem999]

Well in all fairness, you are only up for about 12 hours. Your 11 AM until 4 PM stretch is the recommended 4-5 hours between meals. Since your breakfast was around lunch time for most people and your lunch around dinner time, it would make sense you would not be hungry until at least 8-9 PM, which is about when you said you went to bed. Maybe there is something easier you could do for your meal 1 so that you eat earlier. Maybe hard boil eggs the day before and toss some pre-prepped veggies in the pan and top with some already made guac. I have also made huge batches of veggie soup for the mornings, so that all I would have to do is make a protein (usually eggs, which are quick) and then add a fat. I really like making a large batch of fruit tossed with coconut flakes at the beginning of the week.

You could also just try getting up earlier (I know easier said than done) so that you would be on your working schedule, which is like the perfect meal schedule for a Whole30.

[Lissa Kristine]

4 hours ago, Aliem999 said:

Well in all fairness, you are only up for about 12 hours. Your 11 AM until 4 PM stretch is the recommended 4-5 hours between meals. Since your breakfast was around lunch time for most people and your lunch around dinner time, it would make sense you would not be hungry until at least 8-9 PM, which is about when you said you went to bed. Maybe there is something easier you could do for your meal 1 so that you eat earlier. Maybe hard boil eggs the day before and toss some pre-prepped veggies in the pan and top with some already made guac. I have also made huge batches of veggie soup for the mornings, so that all I would have to do is make a protein (usually eggs, which are quick) and then add a fat. I really like making a large batch of fruit tossed with coconut flakes at the beginning of the week.

You could also just try getting up earlier (I know easier said than done) so that you would be on your working schedule, which is like the perfect meal schedule for a Whole30.

I am working on getting up earlier, but I'm also trying to listen to my body as much as possible. I'm actually falling asleep before 3am now, so hopefully getting up earlier will follow.

Breakfast tomorrow is probably going to be leftover chicken and veggies. We ran out of propane, so our stove is out of commission. (I'll use my electric kettle or instant pot to boil a few eggs for lunch), so that'll be a quicker meal than the breakfasts I usually have. 

I found a salad recipe through WW on Saturday (day 1 was Sunday): Cook chopped bacon until crisp and remove from pan. Add halved grape tomatoes to the pan with a splash of apple cider vinegar and some water (and a little salt and pepper to taste). When cooked, remove tomatoes from pan and fry egg(s) to desired likeness. Toss tomatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, and salad greens of choice (I use a spinach/arugula blend) together. Top with fried egg(s) and sprinkle with bacon.

The WW recipe includes making homemade pumpernickle croutons. I decided to add avocado. I suppose I can precook the bacon and tomatoes, but this salad is so perfect when everything comes together fresh that I'm a little afraid to experiment with making things ahead.

I'm also realizing that another issue I'm having is the fact that I'm just not in the mood to eat. It could be a little psychological issue: if I can't have this non-compliant food, then I don't want anything at all. However, I haven't really had any cravings or overwhelming desires for anything non-compliant. (I've also only had up to 1 piece of fruit per day with my meals this week; I've been focusing more on veggies. I also haven't touched my Rx Bars, so I really haven't been feeding my sugar dragon at all). I'm thinking it's more of the fact that I'd rather just sit and do NOTHING than eat. It feels like eating is too much work.