Author Topic: Changing my eating schedule  (Read 1719 times)

dodojojo

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Changing my eating schedule
« on: December 28, 2020, 09:06:17 AM »
Reading the December Healthy Eating thread in the Gauntlet section prompted this thread.

Weighed myself recently and found myself at my heaviest weight.  Not that I should be surprised as clothes that used to fit or were loose on me have felt tight for a long time now.  I use the scale at the work gym so I only check a handful of times a year.

First off, yes, too much snacking of junk food.  Also may be need to let go of the sourdough hobby.  I hardly ate bread or flour foods  prior and getting into sourdough has not been kind to my waistline.

Versus the typical American, I'm pretty good with fresh produce and limiting of meat.  I just need to be mindful of the snacking.  So with food selection aside, I'd also like to change my eating schedule.

Typical work from home eating:
8am breakfast
1pm lunch
4-5pm snack
7-8 dinner

I work from home and am usually online from 9-6:30.

Holiday schedule:
9-10am big breakfast
Go out during day for long walks, biking, errands, etc
Maybe a snack during the midday or right after I get home
5-6 Dinner

I'm not counting calories but I feel like I'm not eating as much on my holiday schedule.  Especially on days I do not snack.  I also appreciate my day doesn't revolve around eating and all the cooking/cleaning associated with it.

I'd like to try to eat my holiday schedule going forward but not sure if it's viable during work days.  Eating a big breakfast right as the meat of the work day kicks off?  How about the following food coma?  Being busy outside during the day makes it easy to forget about eating, but will I be able to hold off during the work day to get to dinner?  When I'm working, I feel like I'm just cycling through the hours until the next meal.


Metalcat

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Re: Changing my eating schedule
« Reply #1 on: December 28, 2020, 09:19:13 AM »
Two things:

1: If you are experiencing a "food coma" after you eat, then there might be something up with what you are eating. I only experience lethargy after eating if I eat too much refined carbs, otherwise I'm quite happy to hop back to whatever I was up to.

2: Most bodies will adapt to whatever eating pattern you get them accustom to. So go ahead and try something for a week or two and see how it feels.

My work schedule did not permit eating except at lunch, so my old pattern was a Vega One shake for breakfast at 6am, lunch at noon, dinner at 5pm. Virtually no snacking and no evening eating.

I lost a ton of weight and have maintained a healthy weight for 6 years this way.

remizidae

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Re: Changing my eating schedule
« Reply #2 on: December 28, 2020, 12:17:12 PM »
A "food coma" is not normal. I'd look at whether you are eating too much at once, the wrong kind of food, or just not getting enough sleep.

In my experience, your body will get used to whatever eating schedule you give it. If you're hungry for a few weeks, just deal with it and your body will probably adjust. Coffee helps too (but keep your caffeine tolerance low by not drinking coffee every day if it tends to interfere with your sleep).

Are you eating after dinner at all?

wenchsenior

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Re: Changing my eating schedule
« Reply #3 on: December 28, 2020, 01:46:35 PM »
Two things:

1: If you are experiencing a "food coma" after you eat, then there might be something up with what you are eating. I only experience lethargy after eating if I eat too much refined carbs, otherwise I'm quite happy to hop back to whatever I was up to.

2: Most bodies will adapt to whatever eating pattern you get them accustom to. So go ahead and try something for a week or two and see how it feels.

My work schedule did not permit eating except at lunch, so my old pattern was a Vega One shake for breakfast at 6am, lunch at noon, dinner at 5pm. Virtually no snacking and no evening eating.

I lost a ton of weight and have maintained a healthy weight for 6 years this way.

100% agree.  Extreme sleepiness associated with meals usually indicates that you are getting too much of an insulin spike in response to your meal.  That can mean that 1) your insulin function is fine, but your diet is too heavy in simple carbs/ sugar; or 2) your diet isn't so bad, but you have impaired insulin function (severe hypoglycemia/pre-diabetes/diabetes).  Definitely do not ignore this, b/c if you have too much of number one for too long, it can raise risk of developing number 2.  I really wish I had learned this back in my early 20s, when I persistently ignored my severe narcoleptic sleepiness after carby meals, and it came back to bite hard a few years later.   

Btw I was thin that entire time.  If you are overweight, it's correlated with even higher risk.

SunnyDays

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Re: Changing my eating schedule
« Reply #4 on: December 28, 2020, 02:06:03 PM »
Yup, I third the too many carbs opinion.  Either increase the amount of protein or eat complex carbs, preferably both.  Print out a list of low GI (glycemic index) carbs and cut way down on the high ones and you’ll feel better and lose weight more quickly.  Plus you won’t be hungry.

koziknight

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Re: Changing my eating schedule
« Reply #5 on: December 28, 2020, 02:28:36 PM »
I recently (about 6 weeks ago) started (what I've been calling) a modified intermittent fasting schedule. 3-4 days per week I limit my eating to an 8-hour window (usually 11a-7p). I do typically have coffee (w/ 0.5-1.0 tsp sugar and 1/3 cup milk) prior to that window, which is partly why I call it modified. Also, I found it very difficult to maintain over the weekends. I haven't necessarily lost much weight, but I have been more at more of a plateau than ever before.

But, to answer your question regarding changing the schedule... I found it a little difficult to move my breakfast from 10a to 11a, but after about 2 weeks it was the new normal. As other posters noted, your body will adapt. A suggestion would be to move it 10 minutes at a time every few days until you're used to it.

cool7hand

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Re: Changing my eating schedule
« Reply #6 on: December 28, 2020, 03:21:43 PM »
Given your symptoms, you might want to read Why We Get Fat And What To Do About It, by Gary Taubes.

mozar

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Re: Changing my eating schedule
« Reply #7 on: December 28, 2020, 04:25:17 PM »
Instead of not snacking, switch to nuts, whole fruits and seeds.

Metalcat

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Re: Changing my eating schedule
« Reply #8 on: December 28, 2020, 04:48:18 PM »
Instead of not snacking, switch to nuts, whole fruits and seeds.

Nuts are pretty calorie dense, I don't snack on them because I like the crunch and can mindlessly crunch away on them without noticing I've eaten an extra couple hundred of calories.

It will all come down to OP's particular digestive system and caloric needs, especially if OP is looking to run a consistent deficit.

There are tons of snack options, but that depends on what the snacking is for. For me, if it's genuine hunger from not consuming enough calories, I will eat a hard boiled egg.

If I were to want to snack for the sake of snacking, but without adding too many calories, I would pick low calorie foods like raw veggies. Although, I personally no longer snack because I get enough calories in my meals, so I drink tea when I'm feeling "snacky".


Beach_Stache

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Re: Changing my eating schedule
« Reply #9 on: December 29, 2020, 07:35:17 AM »
I think the biggest thing is your will power and sticking to not snacking (unless that's part of your diet (i.e. 6 meals per day) or something like that).  Every time I've been very specific w/my diet it's helped tremendously, and when I get off of tracking and let 1 cheat day slip to 2 or 3, that's when the weight comes back.  I had a TON of success w/the Tim Ferris 4 hour body diet when I was eating a lot of chicken and eggs, I dropped a ton of weight, but also was eating almost no carbs which did tend to lower my energy, especially as I exercise, but I've neve dropped more weight than I did on that diet, and I got 1 full cheat day where I could go crazy, which was fun!

I went vegan 3 years ago, which was a big change from the 4 hour body plan which I was doing at the time, but it was a "challenge" from DW, and w/in 3 days I noticed significant reduction in swelling in my knee which I've had problems with, so I stuck with it since then and have not looked back.  I dropped weight from going vegan and feel a lot better!

Then about a year ago I started doing intermittent fasting, I started w/eating between the hours of 12PM-8PM and dropped a lot of weight as well.  I thought it would be impossible as I used to eat a huge bowl of oatmeal at 6AM when I woke up.  I found that after the meal time I would normally eat was over, that my body felt like any other time, so after the "growlin" period was over I was just fine.  Initially to adjust I would drink a ton of water which filled me up, but now it's just very normal, and I have cut down my eating window to maybe 7 hours (between 1 or 2PM at 7 or 8PM).

I have cheated a lot during the holidays, so lots of sugar and vegan cookies, so I've put on a few pounds, but I've been successful w/the intermittent fasting, and it works really well for me b/c I don't great will power regarding the portions, so I find that if I'm regimented that it works the best for me.  So I don't call it a "diet" but just the way I eat now. 

When I fall off the wagon and start snacking or eat sugar at night then I gain weight, when I don't snack and stick to the normal meal plan then I drop weight.  I tracked calories for a while when I was trying to cut, and it was actually really cool going to bed and knowing that you would be half a pound lighter in the morning. 

I think it all just depends what works for you as a lifestyle change, for some it's more exercise, better diet, the same meal plan, etc.  For me it's sticking w/the same meal plan for the most part, a schedule and not snacking at night.

centwise

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Re: Changing my eating schedule
« Reply #10 on: December 29, 2020, 08:49:16 AM »
The intermittent fasting -- or time-restricted eating -- that others have mentioned has worked great for me! (with the caveat that it's no magic bullet and I'm right at the top of my healthy weight range and would like it to come down a bit). I've been following the 12-8pm eating schedule on most normal days for about a year and a half. I depart from the schedule for special occasions or social outings. The bottom line is that it helps me in the "will power" area: I have fewer food-related decisions to make and can be satisfied with eating less and I do NOT need to exercise a lot of self discipline. Overall my experience with it has been very positive and I've stayed within my healthy weight range; when the weight drifts upward, it has been pretty easy to lose a few pounds with only very small tweaks to my routine.

Training myself to skip breakfast turned out to be much easier than I expected and made a huge difference. The most important aspect of it is that it "trained" my body NOT to expect snacks every hour or two. It has become much easier for me to distinguish between that feeling of "hmm I could eat something, what is there to snack on?" and the feeling of being actually hungry.

And once I had become accustomed to not eating breakfast I found that I could exercise more comfortably on an empty stomach, so I fit a light morning workout into my routine. The next side effect was surprising: (1) I found that I could easily postpone lunch to 1 or 2PM and (2) was also satisfied with having a light and healthy lunch.

Evenings have always been my downfall with diet. My "will power" really fades in the evening. But when 6:00pm rolls around, if I've eaten lightly all day (a light lunch and a small healthy snack), then I have plenty of "calorie room" left to eat a big satisfying dinner.

I don't "miss" eating breakfast at all; I'm very happy with not eating in the mornings. The hardest part is that on some days I really want junky snacks in the late evening. That's where I have to exercise some discipline. But like I said: there are fewer decisions to make. I know that I can't eat anything after 8:00pm, so I just don't. And I feel MUCH better when I get up in the morning if I have NOT indulged in unhealthy snacks the previous evening.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2020, 01:16:48 PM by centwise »

dodojojo

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Re: Changing my eating schedule
« Reply #11 on: December 29, 2020, 09:01:09 AM »
Thank you all for your advice.  To clarify, the food coma bit was a hyperbole.  Like passing out after Thanksgiving dinner.  But still, after eating a full meal, I like to relax, browse the internet, watch tv, etc.  So I worry if I eat one of my big meals in the mid-morning, I may not be at tip top shape for work.  The logistics are what worry me--that they may not make the schedule work.  Can I have my big breakfast in the mid-morning if I'm working on a deadline?  Giving a presentation?  This may not happen every day, but enough so that I give up?

Last night, I figured out that my eating schedule is basically brunch and dinner.  In any case, I'm off this week and eating my holiday schedule.  I'll try it out with work next week and see how it goes.  I'm still within the average BMI range for my height but I want to put a halt to the horizontal spread.  I'm also biking or walking daily and I'm afraid that may not hold up too with a return to work.  Especially in the winter months.

I was pretty good with junk food snacks but went off the rails the last few months.  Combo of Covid living fatigue and holiday rational.  After Christmas, I've been stricter and telling myself the party's over--back to eating better.

FYI to some of the comments:

Don't drink or take in any caffeine.  Don't drink soda. And I think both stem from my teenage years when I had braces and soda pop was verboten (unlike some of my friends, I listened dutifully to my orthodontist!).  I eat a lot of nuts and seeds, too much maybe.  I tend to buy one snack at a time and do not keep an abundance of it at home.  Problem is I eat the entire bag or package within a day or two.  I tell myself to treat myself and make it last...Maybe I just need to be honest with myself and just return to not buying any junk food at all.  I have ingredients to make some simple desserts and treats, things I grew up eating.  And I'm going to stick to making them from scratch rather than buying packaged snacks and desserts.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!