I have a major problem, one I am going to fix after work tomorrow, but I want your suggestions.

I work weekdays from 11-4, so I eat breakfast around 10. I don't get a break, and I dont like to eat lunch until after I workout, so by then it's around 6 (Unless I get a salad on my way home, in which case I wait till later to workout, but still!). Starting at like 2 at work, I start getting really hungry, and the croutons and cookies both look really tempting, and by the time I get home I'm starved! So I am planning to go to K-Mart tomorrow after work (skipping my workout, since I need to get some other things as well, and also deposit my check) and get some sort of low-cal snack bar or something, something to hold me over until I can get something more substantial in my system.

Have you guys tried anything really good! Not too many calories.. I like to save as many as I can until dinner, but this isn't healthy.. and my tummy protests!

Hmm..whether I workout in the morning or at night, I like to have 1/2 or a whole balance bar 30 minutes or an hour before I start working out (depending on how much of the balance bar i'm eating and what time of day it is). I find that they keep me full throughout my workout and don't upset my tummy when I'm running. I really like the Yogurt Honey Peanut and Mint Cookie kinds. They are about 200 calories for a whole bar.

I like Luna Bars (smore flavor yum) they are about 180 cals I think...another good snack, but not a bar...28 honey roasted almonds (for the sweet/salty/crunchy cravings) is 160 cals and loaded with protein

Fruit is excellent snack, I carry a playmate cooler with me every where I go and keep it full of Chicken, Tuna, Fruit. Protein Bars, Protein Drink (Powder) and some good ole H2o.

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They have these cookies called Thisations and they make Oreo and Chips Ahoy and Graham, they are 100 calories for a little bag and there are maybe 30 or so little cookies in the bag, I love em!

Another thing I like is Beef Jerkey, just check the package some is MUCH lower in calories then others and has protien to help keep you full!

If you can...snack on nuts throughout that day.

It isnt really all that beneficial to eat twice a day - the body responds better if you eat (or graze) throughout.

Not knowing what kind of work you're doing makes it harder to know what to suggest as a snack...but nuts and dried fruit are small and very portable and very good for you.

I eat breakfast at 6:30 and am starving hungry by 10:30 when I have a few corn cakes with vegemite. Lunch is at 12:00 - usually soup, and then I snack again at 3:30 (generally a piece of fruit and/or nuts) and then dinner is at around 6:30-7:00pm after I've been running. I'll have another snack at 8:30pm if I need it...usually a piece of toast.

I don't know about there, but here if you work a 5 hour shift you *must* be given a 10 minute break.

Livi

thanks for the suggestions! they sound good.. i'l have to see what i can find. I may end up getting a few things!

Lyria - I eat actually 3 times a day.. I have dinner with my boyfriend around 10, but I know what you mean. And I have no idea about the 10 minute break, I just moved here! As for what I do, believe it or not I work at a Schlotzsky's - a fast-food deli chain. I could have a sandwich, and I do on the weekends, since I open and I usually finish the opening work before we actually open, so I have a chance to sit and eat, but on my mid-shifts I really don't have the time.. so I just need something simple to hold me through till I can actually eat again!

I like luna, pria, and zone perfect bars. I think they are all like 200 calories or less and they are pretty easy to eat before a work out. I have a finicky stomach, so those are a life saver for me.
Fruit and those 100-calorie packs are good too, but when I know I`m not going to be eating for a while I need protein.

I like my snacks to be less than 200 cals...the baggies of 100 treats are perfect

I know what you mean - previous jobs when I was in Uni were in cafe's and bakeries so there was food all around but generally you're working your butt off and don't have the time to nibble at anything (even if that was allowed lol)

I had one job that was similiar - a cafe job that started at 10 and went through till 3pm - right over lunch. But there are laws here which mean you are given a 10 minute break for a snack sometime within that 5 hour shift...which is why I asked.

I'm in Australia though so it might be different over there however it could be worth enquiring about because some employers wont disclose these things in the hope that the employee just wont think to ask or believes they have no right to ask when in fact you actually do. Remember its your health at stake!

Anyway...I stand by my original suggestion of nuts. Small, completely natural and you only need a few to hold the hunger at bay because they're high in natural good fats and proteins.

Good luck!

Livi

I started working in a bakery this summer and it has been complete ****. Aside from being around all that food (which I was never tempted to eat UNTIL I started working there) my hours are generally 12:30 to 9:30. And my manager has been making my lunch hour at 2:30 becuase she has to go home and there is no one else working with me after 3:30 or 4pm. that means from 4-9:30 I am the only person working and i am not even hungry when I have my lunch break, so i am starving during work. I have no breaks, but I can sneak in the back for a snack, but I have been killing myself to try to figure out an eating schedule.

How about snacking in the bathroom...?

If you can't grab a few minutes to pee, what's a gal to do?

You could safely snack on a few peanuts and raisins in there (they'll fit in your pocket).

My thought was maybe some dried fruit for a change. That might be a good thing to carry around in a little snack baggie. I love dried fruit! But, you can't eat as much dried as you can of the regular fruit because it concentrates the calories...just find something you like.

Something as substantial as possible would help best. You need something that's going to get you through your shift, but doesn't pack a ton of calories. I don't know how you feel about produce, but if I'm in the middle of a busy shift, sometimes it's all I can do to get and apple or something down. I will also have a baggy of veggie slices handy (celery, carrots, bell pepper slices, snap peas, whatever your poison...). I find that stuff to be very filling. Also, if I have a little more time (5+ minutes), I will make some instant oatmeal (between 120-160 calories depending on the brand) and I find that to fill me up for an extended period if I need.

Also, peanuts are great, but you have to watch those as they can have a lot of calories.

Thanks everyone! I ended up getting 100 calorie packs of cheez-its and goldfish.. the selection wasn't that great and I was in a hurry, due to the fact that I don't drive and it looks like its about to storm! =x. Anyway, we'll see how these work. If they don't, maybe I can pack up some veggies and keep then in the cooler until I need them? Hmm.. oh the possibilities!