[KatieKat88]

Ok, first thing I should tell you is that I live with my mom. We eat together as much as we can, but we have different tastes(?). She likes potatoes, vegetables, and a little meat while I prefer meat, bread, and a little vegetable.

Now, that being said, here's why I need help. I think that I could benefit from a schedule, but work makes it very hard to set one since my hours tend to vary.

Examples:
5-10 eat lunch before (4:00) supper after
4-10 eat lunch before (3:00) supper after
3-10 eat lunch anywhere from 6-7:30 supper after

As you can see, I can schedule my breakfast and supper, but lunch is all over the place. So, should I try a set schedule, and, if so, what time should I set lunch for? Also, what kind of diet/eating plan should I follow?

CAN ANYONE HELP ME? Please & thank you

[lemonthyme]

I think if you put yourself on a fairly close in time lunch schedule that may help you out. I seem to recall recently in the news that they are indicating eating dinner later into the evening may not be best for metabolism or weight loss. I know - unavoidable if you are working a quasi-second shift job if I read your post correctly. I worked second shift once and I had better luck eating at about the same time every day if I could help it, however as the night progressed I was apt to snack more, part tiredness, part boredom (though I was busy), part trying to stay awake.

As for food - my doctors have always suggested slaying the low hanging fruit to cut some calories in your diet - your bread (butter) might be one of those to start cutting back on, and though you aren't one that put veg first - try adding more to your intake daily. In fact you can find you will fill up more with adding more of that in. Just remember not to doctor too much with fats/sauces. There are lots of ways to prep it - from fresh to steamed. Experiment and add flavoring if you like w/spices. With those simple changes you might see your weight begin to move off, not huge amounts but small ones you will notice. Also keep your meats/proteins more in the lean category if you can. I tend to go up if I have beef products even if leaner, especially the day after. For me it just is.

Good luck!

[toastedsmoke]

I don't think you have to set a rigid schedule for when you eat lunch unless you maybe have blood sugar issues or are the sort to forget to eat if you don't have lunch scheduled. I think what you eat is and planning around that, is actually more important that when you eat, especially when it comes to eating at exactly the same time of day everyday. So I don't think you need to worry too much about that. Just plan what you're going to eat and start with your proposed schedule, your body will probably tell you pretty quickly what makes sense.

Regarding what kind of eating plan you should follow, personally, I lost my weight counting calories because I can be all over the place with my eating. These days, I mostly eat paleo-ish which is mostly meat/fish/animal protein-based and vegetables or roots (sweet potatoes, yams, I eat potatoes even though they're not widely accepted as paleo) and it mostly limits grains (so no conventional bread, rice, oats etc). I don't think you have to eat this way but if you like meat, it's definitely something to consider. Bread is not the greatest for a weight loss eating plan mostly because it's not the most filling, it's not the most nutritious, it's pretty calorie dense and it tends to be easy to overeat. I know this, I love bread- especially still warm and fresh-baked. So, if you want to keep bread in your eating plan, then you'll need to be mindful of serving sizes and portions at least when it comes to bread.

If you want to be able to eat whatever you like, I'd consider calorie counting which is a technical way of saying portion control. The downside is that it can be a bit tedious when you get started- I'd definitely recommend getting a free app like My Fitness Pal to log your food if you're going to do this. If you don't want to think to much about things, I'd say maybe looking into a sort of diet that limits carbs and focuses on (animal) protein and vegetables (there are all sorts of ways to mask the inherent vegetableness of vegetables- check the Veggie Challenged sub-forum on here. I think it's in the Food section). If you're feeling a little like you want to put less thought into things and don't mind being restrictive about the types of foods you can eat, you can consider a lchf diet like the keto diet where you eat a moderate amount of protein, a lot of fat (think everything bulletproof with butter, cream and good mayo) and very low carb (you won't have to do too many vegetables here). Something else you can consider IF you don't have a history of an eating disorder is some kind of fasting sort of diet like Intermittent Fasting where you only have an 8 hour window each day to eat and fast 16 hours a day (which include the 8 or so hours you're sleeping at night). This IF protocol tends to mean that you generally only eat 2 or so meals a day for many people because of time. However, as a woman, if you're going to do Intermittent Fasting (IF), definitely Google IF protocols for women so that you don't throw your hormones off. A less intense fasting protocol might be something like a 5:2 or 4:3 diet, where you eat normally (within reason) for 5 days a week (or 4 days if you're doing 4:3) and only eat about 500 calories a day for 2 days (3 days if you're doing 4:3).

I know I've thrown a lot of options at you, but only you can decide what eating plan you should follow, usually by what is feasible to you and by good old trial and error. If it helps, when I first started, I followed some of those free diet plans in magazines- you know the ones that say "Lose 8lbs in 2 weeks diet" or whatever in Shape or Oxygen magazines or online. They're usually a little silly and filled with things you don't have at home nor want to buy, but they're good way of getting your head in the game. Otherwise protein and vergetables and a serving size of carbs (usually a cup) or a couple of slices of bread is a good start. Good luck!!!