I work from 5:30 AM to 2:00 pm M-F. I LOVE it. Nothing better than getting off at 2:00 pm. It's like having a day off every day!
The problem is... I do really well with eating and staying on plan while I'm at work, but my schedule puts me on the loose RIGHT during my danger zone.... late afternoon. If i worked until 5 or 6, I could keep sailing through my day at work and then just fix dinner as soon as I got home, but with this schedule I have 3-4 hours to fight through.
I get my lunch break at work at around 10 AM. I don't have the opportunity to change that, so I try to just have a snack, usually yogurt and walnuts, at that time and take a little walk. Then I eat my lunch on my break at 12.
Without fail, I will snack out of control between work and dinnertime. I feel like I've tried everything. I go to the gym after work, I come home and snack. I try to stay busy around the house, I find a way to snack. I just don't understand why I can't get this under control! I'll literally be saying to myself "I don't want to do this. This isn't on my plan" while stuffing my face. If i don't have any snack food in the house, I make some. If that doesn't work, I overeat on the healthy snacks in my house.
How long are you waiting until eating dinner? I ask because some people when they mean dinner they mean 5 or 6pm while others meal 7, 8, or even 9 pm? Have you thought about eating 5 or 6 small meals a day rather than your typical breakfast lunch and dinner? When you're snacking in the afternoons is it anything in particular that you are craving? Salty snacks versus sweet snacks? I'm a snacker so I totally get where you are coming from. For me I go through these spurts where one snack just isn't enough (even though it really is). This usually happens to me when I'm trying to get back on a plan after being off a plan for awhile. Its hard. And it takes me several weeks to get to the point that I can actually control myself. What sort of plan are you following? I just count calories, but what has helped me in the past is to not go cold turkey and cut my calories way back, but to do it gradually.
I try to get dinner on the table by 6, but it can swing an hour or two either way. I'm up at 4 AM so i try to be in bed by 8:30, but I'm a single mom of two busy teens so I just plain have to be flexible.
I go for mostly salty snacks, actually it's more like lunch food. I tend to eat leftovers from dinner, hard boiled eggs, lunch meat, whatever is in the fridge.
I'm on Weight Watchers, so i'm certainly not deprived of food by any means. I think i may try your suggestion and lighten up my breakfast and lunch and just plan some substantial snacks for the afternoon, effectively creating smaller meals.
Unfortunately it's just all going to come down to willpower. It drives me crazy. I'm a meticulous planner, I'm on top of EVERYTHING, always in control of my life but I can NOT get control of eating.
Maybe you can portion out your snacks so you don't open the bag and dive in...at least it limits you from getting out of control. As soon as we get home from the grocery store, I portion out all my snacks into single servings....If I don't, I know I'll mindlessly eat without knowing how bad I've slipped.
I'm a planner too, this is the only way I've been able to get a handle on my snacking too.
i suggest bagging out individual serving sizes of your go to snacks.
Make yourself a chart to show that you are completing your goals of eating when you are scheduled to.
i was taught that if you go to snacking or you think you are hungry tell yourself you can have vegetables. so if you actually are hungry. you'll eat them. if you don't want them, you aren't hungry.
Putting everything right into little bags is a good idea. I might try that for things like cereal... I freakin' love breakfast cereal and it's just all sugar and carbs. I like the idea of having everything portioned.
I eat at around 6 am, 10 am, and 12 pm while at work. usually a protein shake for breakfast, nuts and yogurt for snack, and a salad or leftovers for lunch and some fruit here and there. Today I measured out a portion of chocolate candy and ate it through the day. So it's not quite every 3 hours but close.
Now it's 12:45, I'm not the slightest bit hungry, but I'm already getting nervous because I just know I'm going to blow it when I get home. It's like a self-fulfilling prophecy. I know I'm going to screw up, so it's like I'm giving myself permission to screw up because I don't think it's possible for me to NOT screw up.
Maybe, have a protein shake when you get home from work. Or a small serving of cheese or some other protein. You could try eating supper at 4:00 p.m. or a little earlier since you go to bed so early. I try to eat 5 times a day around 3 hours apart. Sometime I have an early supper and a protein drink 3 hours later. Good Luck, on your diet.
I've also read that you need to have a 12hr fast between your last meal of the day and the first meal of the next day so your body has a chance to burn off all the carbs and tap into your fat reserves. So your last meal should be at 4-430pm if you waking up at 4am....assuming you eat first thing. Might be something to consider....and then "close the kitchen" after the last meal and the only time we go back in there is to fill up our water cups!
Good luck! Snacking is tough...you might have to remove some items off the grocery list so you aren't tempted. We don't buy cereal anymore. My 2yr old son has actually never had cereal, ever. It's not a habit I want him to start!
I do "munching" throughout the day. Shift work just doesn't give you much choice.
You sound like a salt/crunch fiend like me. My snacks now are veggies, like red bell pepper "sticks". I LOVE pumpkin seeds, but I actually stick to the recommended portion, pre bagged as another suggested. If I'm going to have a snack it's either: hardboiled egg with mayo/mustard and mashed up. I eat it with celery sticks. Or I take a high quality sliced turkey breast and roll it around avocado with some mustard. I'll make two of those my snack. I always try drinking water first to just see if I'm thirsty.
I understand the shift struggle. I'm 3p to 1130p and I have all day in the morning before I go to work. I usually eat twice before I go to work, but I've tried to cut it down to once.
Good luck with the different suggestions and hope you find something that works for you!
"but I'm already getting nervous because I just know I'm going to blow it when I get home. It's like a self-fulfilling prophecy. I know I'm going to screw up, so it's like I'm giving myself permission to screw up because I don't think it's possible for me to NOT screw up."
OK, lets get beyond what you eat- I love all the ideas above- and look at why you eat and what you are saying to your self. When you tell your body and inner self "I know I'm going to screw up " It listens and hears does indeed fulfill what you said will happen. Try visualizing getting off work and being "in the flow" for the rest of your day. "seeing yourself only having that one snack. Also look up online EFT (Emotional freedom technique) or Tapping if you will. It will help you get to the why's and help with cravings. It has helped me lose 85 pounds so far. There are lots of online free help with it . I learned it from Jessica Ortner's " The Tapping Solution for Weight loss." But others teach it as well- it's very easy to do.
This happens to me if I eat too small a lunch, and especially if it's not a good, sustaining lunch, or if I feel like I didn't get a proper meal. Complex carbs, especially wholegrains, and protein really help for me.
What's working for me right now is planning out my snacks and the time I am going to have them around my main meals. I still obsess over food and constantly worry about what and when I am going to eat. Just that little reminder that at 3:30, I have a handful of pumpkin seeds waiting for me gets me through, or a cup of strawberries at 2:00, or a piece of string cheese at 4:30 or whatever the plan is for the day. This has been helping me a lot...believe me I still usually want more, but it's one way for me to cope with that need to constantly snack. Best of luck to you!
I really appreciate all of the ideas and suggestions. I have a solid plan in place for today. Everything meticulously planned, and a backup plan in case things go awry (they do that sometimes).
My work schedule is not helping!
