eating enough

marydrohan52

hi guys..i have a question. I'm curious how others deal with these situations, i'm sure i'm not alone..whenever i go to my son's house, i'm usually chasing after my 4 yr old granddaughter. my daughter in law is pregnant and doesn't get around well. anyway, i can usually manage coffee in the am, but i end up missing lunch. I get so busy with the baby, she's a 'grazer' and eats sporadically (usually fruit). By the time i realize i missed lunch, it's 3pm and too close to dinner...what does everyone else do during these times? i keep getting "didn't eat enough"...

jennywren93

It's ok to fast, I usually eat one meal a day, but I strictly craft it to make sure I'm getting the minimum protein/fat I'm trying to hit. If you have time to eat at 3, eat a small high protein snack before dinner. Make sure dinner is filling enough that you can last until 3 the next day. Sounds like you are doing great, really. How do you feel? Do you feel weak throughout the day? Are you trying to lose weight? Are you losing what you perceive as "too fast"? Keep up the great work, really!

mtaratoot

@marydrohan52

Where are you getting "Didn't eat enough?"

If you have days when your schedule gets a little off, that's not really a big deal. If you go over there every day, then you'll need to develop some strategies to make sure you fuel your body appropriately. You want to get enough nutrition and not get so hungry you eat things you didn't really want to. Been there, done that, and I'll do it again. Not proud, just honest.

Maybe you could take a snack/lunch with you and set an alarm on your watch or phone and then make sure to eat it when the alarm goes off or soon thereafter.

Are you cooking dinner for just yourself or for others? If just for you, then you can adjust what or how much you make if you have a late lunch. That's mostly what I do, but I don't cook for anyone else. Well - sort of. I give away some of the food I cook to a friend who often shares vegetables from their CSA. It works for both of us. They don't like to cook, and aren't that good at it. I love to cook. They have excess produce, and I can turn it into tasty things.

You can also take a step back and look at calories as a weekly average. Try to meet your target every day, but be sure to get really close on a weekly basis.

Corina1143

Learn to snack when grandchild snacks. Make sure to include protein in your snacks.
Before you go, log breakfast and prelog supper. Subtract the calories from your goal calories. Divide the answer by the number of snacks you will have to get goal calories for each snack. As always in life, learn and adjust.

As to what would I do in the situation you described above, I would have a big snack, probably a smaller supper than planned, fewer calories but adequate protein (by grams, not percentage) for the day. My hunger is very protein driven, and I'd want to avoid HUNGER tomorrow. 🙃

annstebbing

mtaratoot wrote: »

@marydrohan52

Where are you getting "Didn't eat enough?"

If you have days when your schedule gets a little off, that's not really a big deal. If you go over there every day, then you'll need to develop some strategies to make sure you fuel your body appropriately. You want to get enough nutrition and not get so hungry you eat things you didn't really want to. Been there, done that, and I'll do it again. Not proud, just honest.

Maybe you could take a snack/lunch with you and set an alarm on your watch or phone and then make sure to eat it when the alarm goes off or soon thereafter.

Are you cooking dinner for just yourself or for others? If just for you, then you can adjust what or how much you make if you have a late lunch. That's mostly what I do, but I don't cook for anyone else. Well - sort of. I give away some of the food I cook to a friend who often shares vegetables from their CSA. It works for both of us. They don't like to cook, and aren't that good at it. I love to cook. They have excess produce, and I can turn it into tasty things.

You can also take a step back and look at calories as a weekly average. Try to meet your target every day, but be sure to get really close on a weekly basis.

When I select complete diary at the end of the day instead of the 'if you continue lile this in 5 weeks you will weigh' info you will get a note saying you are likely not eating enough. I have an allowance of 1200, don't know if that's relevant.

sandrasprague

I manage on busy days to prep two cups Greek yogurt with two scoops of protein powder and 2 tbs of peanut power to get a filling healthy meal

sollyn23l2

sandrasprague wrote: »

I manage on busy days to prep two cups Greek yogurt with two scoops of protein powder and 2 tbs of peanut power to get a filling healthy meal

I like this idea. And if you threw a few berries in there, even better.

SouthernShay

This is not a problem, it’s a blessing. Just have a snack when your grandbaby having hers.

AnnPT77

annstebbing wrote: »

mtaratoot wrote: »

@marydrohan52

Where are you getting "Didn't eat enough?"

If you have days when your schedule gets a little off, that's not really a big deal. If you go over there every day, then you'll need to develop some strategies to make sure you fuel your body appropriately. You want to get enough nutrition and not get so hungry you eat things you didn't really want to. Been there, done that, and I'll do it again. Not proud, just honest.

Maybe you could take a snack/lunch with you and set an alarm on your watch or phone and then make sure to eat it when the alarm goes off or soon thereafter.

Are you cooking dinner for just yourself or for others? If just for you, then you can adjust what or how much you make if you have a late lunch. That's mostly what I do, but I don't cook for anyone else. Well - sort of. I give away some of the food I cook to a friend who often shares vegetables from their CSA. It works for both of us. They don't like to cook, and aren't that good at it. I love to cook. They have excess produce, and I can turn it into tasty things.

You can also take a step back and look at calories as a weekly average. Try to meet your target every day, but be sure to get really close on a weekly basis.

When I select complete diary at the end of the day instead of the 'if you continue lile this in 5 weeks you will weigh' info you will get a note saying you are likely not eating enough. I have an allowance of 1200, don't know if that's relevant.

Don't eat below the 1200, and that will probably get rid of the message. (MFP means us to eat our whole calorie goal, not way under.) Or don't close your diary, and you won't see the message. (Closing your diary just posts a message to your MFP timeline and gives you the "in 5 weeks" or "too few calories" message. Not closing your diary doesn't make anything else not work.)

In quite a few cases, getting a 1200 calorie goal implies that a person is trying to lose weight faster than in sensible for current situation. Typically, people who legit get a 1200 goal (not trying to lose too aggressively fast) are female, older, not very active, quite petite. As a rough rule of thumb, I'd suggest not trying to lose faster than 0.5-1% of current weight per week, with a bias toward 0.5% unless so severely obese that weight itself is a health threat, and the person is under close medical supervision for deficiencies or other complications.

There's no getting adequate nutrition on too-few calories. Also, fast loss increases health risks and can backfire in the long run because it's less likely to train in sustainable, new, healthier habits that can continue long term. A slow loss rate can sometimes get us to goal weight in less calendar time than attempting an aggressive loss rate that causes deprivation-triggered over-eating, breaks in the action, or giving up altogether because it's Just Too Hard.

In general, you'll get more personalized advice here if you post your own thread, rather than piggybacking on a thread from someone else with a slightly different question.

Best wishes!

liwo81

Make a plan and stick to it. Set a timer if you need to. I babysit my busy 1 & 3 year old grands at their house about once a week and we eat breakfast and lunch together. I make them whatever they’re going to have and make something else for myself. I go prepared with a plan and make sure I have what I need.

AdahPotatah2024

I try not to go that long w/o food because it makes me feel anxious.. maybe low blood sugar? When I'm busy I eat something easy, sandwiches or soup, around 11 or so. Today, I had a peanut butter fold over on my first break, and then some cottage cheese on my second break. Waiting on a healthy dinner with veggies to cook! A salad would probably be a good addition!:)

marie19781

Hi. I’m trying to change my eating habits to lower cholesterol and glucose. I see to be eating more protein than fiber 😳 Definitely not good for lower Gi. Need to increase water intake. Any suggestions and questions for my PCP as I have an appointment tomorrow. Thanks.

sollyn23l2

marie19781 wrote: »

Hi. I’m trying to change my eating habits to lower cholesterol and glucose. I see to be eating more protein than fiber 😳 Definitely not good for lower Gi. Need to increase water intake. Any suggestions and questions for my PCP as I have an appointment tomorrow. Thanks.

Ask your doctor what they think about your macros, since you'll see him/her tomorrow.

MargaretYakoda

marydrohan52 wrote: »

hi guys..i have a question. I'm curious how others deal with these situations, i'm sure i'm not alone..whenever i go to my son's house, i'm usually chasing after my 4 yr old granddaughter. my daughter in law is pregnant and doesn't get around well. anyway, i can usually manage coffee in the am, but i end up missing lunch. I get so busy with the baby, she's a 'grazer' and eats sporadically (usually fruit). By the time i realize i missed lunch, it's 3pm and too close to dinner...what does everyone else do during these times? i keep getting "didn't eat enough"...

sollyn23l2 wrote: »

sandrasprague wrote: »

I manage on busy days to prep two cups Greek yogurt with two scoops of protein powder and 2 tbs of peanut power to get a filling healthy meal

I like this idea. And if you threw a few berries in there, even better.

marie19781 wrote: »

Hi. I’m trying to change my eating habits to lower cholesterol and glucose. I see to be eating more protein than fiber 😳 Definitely not good for lower Gi. Need to increase water intake. Any suggestions and questions for my PCP as I have an appointment tomorrow. Thanks.

Refrigerator oatmeal is a potential option.

You can prepare a week’s worth ahead of time in 8 oz mason jars or similar. Store it in the fridge and just grab it in the morning for a quick healthy breakfast. You can eat it cold or microwave for a few seconds to warm it up.
There’s lots of recipes online.
Try one with berries and yoghurt.
Oats are great for lowering cholesterol.

Also for a quick snack when chasing a preschooler I like protein shakes. Glucerna is great for a diabetic.
Walmart has a version under their Equate brand which is less expensive and fundamentally the same.

Tlc0309

Someone may have already said this, but the only way you're going to eat is if you have it available to you. That means you're going to have to pack your own lunch. And eat when the baby eats so instead of her being a grazer which can lead to problems later maybe offer her a meal when you're eating lunch. Especially if you're going over there every day. Pack a little sandwich or a tuna packet and crackers whatever fits in your macros. I would also pack a snack because if you're there past lunch you're probably haven't eaten at all.