I wanted to try not snacking between meals today, it's something that all the Paleo / primal / low carb books agree you shouldn't need to do once you stop the blood sugar rollercoaster of a high carb diet and also - you may noticed - something that I have a problem controlling. So I deliberately had a larger, effectively 2 course breakfast with plenty of fat and protein to see if it would get me through to lunchtime. I think one reason I struggle with morning snacking in particular is that I breakfast so early - I eat at around 5:30 - 6:00, so even if I eat again at 12:00, which I don't on days when I go out walking or shopping at lunch, it's a long gap. Perhaps I'd do better to wait till I reach work to eat breakfast, maybe 7am, but then I've been up for longer than I like before breakfast. Plus if I want scrambled eggs they have to be microwaved at work and I'm so, so, so much better at scrambled eggs cooked on the hob. Decisions, decisions. I could probably tolerate the micro-eggs if I felt more confident of the sticking power of the breakfast. So how did it go? Well, I was definitely satisfied by the breakfast when I finished it, and still not hungry 3 hours later (which isn't always the case), in fact I wasn't hungry most of the morning... But. Why is there always a but? But the morning seemed to stretch on forever, I think because food at work qualifies as entertainment as well as nourishment. Let's be honest, work is boring. My work is anyway, maybe you're lucky enough to love what you do but my job? I test software. It's boring. It defines boring. Often it's so boring that I fantasize about walking out, getting into my car, and just driving 200 miles in any direction that could be defined as 'away'. Breaking up the morning by snacking breaks up that interminable stretch of time into manageable chunks, and eating a big enough breakfast to theoretically last till lunchtime leaves me lacking the spare calories to snack. I don't really want to think of food as entertainment (unless I'm eating at an expensive restaurant) or distraction because for me that seems to be a triggering feeling that justifies splurging or bingeing if the day is going really slowly... But on the other hand it stops me doing something that might lead to me sitting home alone all day whingeing about the terrible job market, and its hard to see that as healthier or more productive. Today I settled for a large mug of beef bouillon when the boredom got too much - by this point I'd had 1,234,567 mugs of herbal tea plus water and 2 coffees, and really wanted a different flavour.
I did I confess eat lunch early, around 11:30. I still wasn't feeling terribly hungry, but didn't feel like I wanted to wait till after my lunchtime walk either. It was a fairly successful first attempt though, and one worth repeating I think. Apart from the bit where I was suddenly ravenous at 15:53 precisely... I guess my lunch didn't have enough fat & protein for the whole afternoon... At lunchtime I walked in the opposite direction from all the shops so I couldn't give in to the undeniable temptation to buy pork rinds / Babybels / cashew nuts. I walked to a little local park and then walked around the lake in the centre of the park. It was really peaceful - I don't think there was anyone else there the whole time - apart from the weird and wonderful 'songs' of various ducks, geese & wood pigeons. And because I didn't waste any time on shopping I walked almost 3 miles rather than just over 2, so win win!
I declared this evening rest day and didn't train this evening. I did snack though - 11:30am to 6:45pm proved too long between meals :-(
Food today:
Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, 2 rashers bacon, and a portion of carob avocado pudding (literally just avocado blended with carob powder)
Lunch: beef, tomato & spinach soup - homemade (I just added chicken stock and frozen spinach to leftover Bolognese sauce - but it was fairly souplike, tasting a bit like spicier oxtail soup)
Dinner: pork kebabs (from a recipe in a newly purchased cookbook called Beyond Bacon - all the recipes involve pigs in some form) and salad
Snacks: cheese, cashew butter
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