Merciful Monday
August 13th, 2007
This weekend I answered the question, “What should I drink?” with “the world.” I am not at my sharpest this morning, my friends. So I leave it to you. What’s going on out there? What’s the news from the front lines? What’s the news from the fatosphere that’s passed me by? What do you guys want to talk about? Consider this an open thread. My last open thread was an abject failure, but I have high hopes for this one. And by “high hopes” I mean “a hangover.” Help.
Posted by mo pie
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Well, I have a question for anyone who wants to answer or has some ideas about this problem I have. When I first get up for the day (not a morning person, used to working second shift, so it’s usually around 10 am or so), I’m not hungry. I get busy, then when I get hungry, if I’m still busy, I’ll get distracted, forget about the hunger, it goes away. When I finally remember to eat, I feel like I’m starving. I’m trying to eat when I’m hungry, eat till I’m satisfied, but how do I handle the distraction? I’m one of those people who concentrate on what I’m doing to the exclusion of what’s going on around me, so I’m having a really hard time with this. And sometimes it’s not feasible to just drop everything and go grab something to eat, especially at work.
I hate to say it, but you probably shouldn’t wait until you feel hungry to eat breakfast. Make breakfast simple and small if you want, but have something. Then bring easy snacks to work. This does mean some planning ahead, but the previously mentioned nuts are a good example. Also, a piece of fruit or two always comes in handy for me.
The temptation is not to eat breakfast sometimes, but what it leads to is the shaky hunger and that is just not good because your body doesn’t know when you are satisfied.
I have to contribute to my own open thread to say Kate Winslet is so gorgeous. That’s an ONTD link, so beware.
And also, I have problems eating breakfast, too. I kind of hope a latte counts as breakfast. Protein?
at the risk of sounding cliche, breakfast really is vital. if not for any other reason to help you jumpstart your metabolism. the reason you are probably not hungry is not just because you wish you were still sleeping but because you probably ate like 2 big meals at the end of the day and your metabolism slowed to a grinding halt. start out the day with carbs like fruit or oatmeal and eat small meals, and bring some small prepared meals with you to work so you can just run and get them and not worry too much about getting distracted.
This is what I’ve been doing for breakie lately and it’s made it so I can get through lunch without rummaging for the cookies.
On Sunday night I make a big pot of steelcut oatmeal. I toss in a grated apple and some splenda. Toss it in a tupperware and stick it in the fridge. I wake up at 5am and I toss on some walnuts and nuke it. I eat it right away while I’m sorting email and making coffee and figuring out how to open my eyes. And then at 9am, I’ll make a smoothie with yogurt, soy milk and random frozen fruit. And then I don’t even think about food again until past noon. Which is a miracle for me.
My husband recently sent me this story: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/20212332/ which really made my blood boil: some company in Indiana is trying to segue from giving financial rewards for “good” health behaviour, to penalizing people for “bad” behaviour or for being overweight.
The level of intrusion of bigotry and intrusion of privacy that would be involved in this just makes me boggle.
Lack of morning hunger can be a sign that you’re taking in too many calories in the evening. You might want to see if eating less after 6 p.m. increases your appetite in the mornings.
La Wade, my night time eating habits actually have the opposite effect. If I don’t eat much at night I wake up less hungry than if I stuff myself on late night snacks. When I do that I always wake up really hungry and then it’s a vicious circle!
Thanks, I’ll try the oatmeal, I love it with apples and cinnamon, and maybe toss in some nuts too. I usually keep nuts and fruit in my desk at work (I do data entry, and they let us keep snacks there). It’s just that I concentrate so hard on the keying and researching I do that I forget to take my breaks on time and end up running a break with my lunch. I try not to eat before bed, not always successful with that tho.
Yes – I’d back up what the others say about breakfast being vital. But I’d also say that I find it helpful to get a little protein as well as carbs. It really makes a difference to my morning stamina.
For me, that’s usually a small pot (or a few dessertspoonfuls) of low-fat plain yoghurt (plain only because I don’t fancy fruit that early). I also have a small portion (less than a cup) of oaty muesli with plenty of skimmed milk. It’s not a lot of food, but it makes a big difference.
I wish I could get up around 10am. I’m not a morning person either.
Breakfast is the most important blah, blah, blah.
If you’re not hungry, don’t eat. It’s one of those lessons we’re supposed to be learning about having a healthy relationship to food.
you can change your body’s reaction to food (and your body, if you so choose) by eating a certain way. if you eat whatever and whenever you want you take the risk of making bad choices, consuming too many calories and possibly heartburn (personal experience). if you want to feel healthy you have to follow certain guidelines and understand the science-y stuff. communication and mutual respect are the touchstones of a good relationship.