A mess-up day? But not like you'd think..
 

My diet requires eating about 4 times a day, healthy meals and all. But today I messed it up... Bad.
I woke up and started off with a small healthy breakfast, like my diet requires me. My boss then calls me into work, but tells me I'll just be there a second[I work at a pancake house, sooo nothings okay on the menu]. So I don't pack a lunch and I don't stop to get anything. While I'm there, a server calls off and I'm forced to work the eight-hour shift.
While working, I denied myself chocolate chips and waffles. I said no to all the sausage and bacon.
So now the day is over, it's 11:30 at night, and I haven't eaten anything all day [except 2 hard boiled eggs for breakfast]

I'm so hungry but I'm scared to eat cause it's close to bed time. Should I skip a day eating or eat right before bed?? Seems like a lose-lose situation.

Yioy nade tge best choice for the situation,. Life throws us curves. If you fast for the day, it might give you a wieght loss bump. if you eat something, eat something that is on track, except for time - eat as light as your breakfast, just to put down the tummy rumbles till tommorrow. focus on tommorrow and move on.

Eat before bed!

There is no evidence that eating before bed is worse for your metabolism than eating earlier in the day. Most of the common advice about not eating before bed is really just because people tend to eat *extra* calories at night (think munching while you watch TV), not eating the planned calories from a meal.

If you don't eat tonight, you'll likely set yourself up to overeat tomorrow. Make yourself some food and enjoy!

I'm thinking it wont hurt if I make a small portion of an egg white and spinach omelette [no salt or butter]? uhghh it's so late. And I have to be back to work at 9AM

I agree, eat! I always eat later because of my schedule and don't have a problem losing weight as long as I stay within my calories.

ACTUALLY, I think I read that somewhere. Are you positive?? I'm going to do research on that topic.

It's one of the most pervasive weight loss myths out there, but research has debunked it.

http://www.bidmc.org/YourHealth/Ther...ChunkID=156995

http://www.everwell.com/food/healthy...ght-eating.php

I proved this true for me, at least, with my weight loss. I ate nearly right before bed, and it didn't stop me from reaching my goal. Now, if you're a late night snacker and find that once you start late at night, you can't stop, that's one thing (and in that case, it can help to keep your calorie levels under control if you define a "cutoff time" for yourself after which you don't eat), but the time of day you eat doesn't really matter if the number of calories you eat in a day is controlled.

There HAVE been studies that show trends...namely, that people who snack at night tend to gain more weight. But when you separate the TIMING of the food from the CALORIES in the food, as was done in more controlled studies (for example, feeding someone 1500 calories in 5 meals before 8pm, and another subject 1500 calories in 2 meals, one at midnight), there's no increase in weight solely from eating late.

EAT SOMETHING!

That old myth that eating before bed somehow magically causes weight gain is just that. A myth.

Due to circumstances beyond your control you were unable to eat all day. Have something light now so that it won't disturb your sleep, but also so that you won't feel awful in the morning.

Wow. I did not know that. Everyone I know has told me to never eat before bed. I really appreciate you showing me this, you have no idea. Right now I'm eating a small egg-white omelette and an avocado slice. Nothing more. With a lot of water, this should fill me.

Thanks for your help and forgive my ignorance, I guess my question is invalid now!

And thanks to all the other ladies with your helpful advice!!

My nutritionist encourages a bedtime snack, and honestly I've never slept better. You need to have the appropriate number of calories in order to sleep soundly.

At the pancake house, do they have other breakfast foods? I always find breakfast to be the absolute easiest to order at a restaurant. Do they have omelettes on the menu?

Another option is to plan ahead. The day before, I typically plan out my meals for the following day. I often cook/freeze and prep foods on non-working days so they're easy for me to grab if needed, and I work from that.

I portion out/pack up my snacks with my lunch the night before and put them into the fridge. If I needed to run out in the morning, I already have food to grab because I packed it the night before or thawed out a meal the night before.

I also have an arsenal of easy to make foods - wraps, quesadillas, pizzas, salads, stir fry, noodle bowls, etc. and I do this by buying easy ingredients like instant brown rice, frozen veggies, broth, pre-washed salad or baby spinach, and pre-sliced mushrooms, and mixing them with things that I've already cooked: homemade tomato sauce, homemade hummus, zucchini/turkey meatballs, pre-cut cheese into serving sizes.

It takes a little bit of extra time when I have it, and saves me when I don't!