Missing/Skipping meals

snappyapples

Hey all,

So I work in a bar and most often work the 10-5 or 4-11 shift. With these hours, and no time for breaks, I find myself skipping meals or eating at off times (like... eating dinner at midnight or lunch at dinner time.) When I open the bar up I'll eat breakfast around 9, and then I'm not eating again until 5, and find myself hungry again at 10, and when I work the dinner shift I'll eat lunch at a normal time, an apple or something before work, and I'm FAMISHED by the time I get off so I eat quick, high sodium meals (or I eat at work, and trust me, nothing is healthy. lol). And I tend to work a lot (I'm in the middle of a 9 day power streak and it just gets worse in the summer), so I don't really have the time/energy to preparing meals once a week and eating those when I get off work.

So with that out of the way, I'm leaning towards just skipping meals. Holding off until a regular dinner time when I work the opening shift and just not eating after work when I work at night. I know it's not really healthy to do that, but I'm thinking if I bring in nuts, protein bars/shakes, other clean easily poppable snacks in, it'll be alright. Any thoughts/ideas on the matter?

Thanks!

JTick

There nothing wrong with "skipping meals", nutrient timing is irrelevant. It's about what works for you and your schedule. However, if you're getting so hungry it's causing you to make poor food choices, then I'd look at packing some easy snacks. I've worked in a restaurant and know how hectic it can be...I'd recommend thing like nuts, protein bars, etc, that can sit out and you can grab a bite as you walk by.

lisaabenjamin

Unless you have health complications like diabetes in which case you'd need to make sure you eat regularly to sustain blood sugar levels, I don't see anything wrong with what you propose. I don't think I could do this personally, as I'd be too tempted to snack on unhealthy foods, but as long as you stay within your calorie goal I don;t think it really matters when you eat.

ashleysarvi

find some time somewhere and prepack you meals for a few days. That way you can just grab and go. Something you can munch on while you work thats healthier than your the food made at your work. I dont think skipping is a good idea, only because I notice when i get really hungry and finally get time to eat I eat so much and I dont even care what it is and then I end up way over on calories.

cathaea

I worked in a restaurant for several years and man, those crazy eating schedules caught up with me big-time once I changed fields (hence why I'm starting over!). That being said, the last time I lost a significant amount of weight was while I was working at a bar because I forced myself to menu plan. I tried really hard to avoid eating too much restaurant food or making better choices when I did. I found that if I had a decent sized breakfast, I was able to wait until dinner time to eat again. Or if I was working the evening shift, I ate normal breakfast and lunch and had a smaller meal when I got home. The trick is to plan ahead. If I didn't already have a plan for what I was going to eat, I just ate the first (usually unhealthy) thing I saw when I got home. When you get a morning off, do some prep work for dinner so that you can throw it together easily when you get home. When you get a day off (long stretches are killer), prep up some meals that you can freeze so that you can just dethaw them during the week. This sucked so much when I first started doing it but it got easier and more habit-like.

970Mikaela1

I do not eat breakfast , at least not very often. I like a big lunch and a huge dinner. That way I get the full feeling. I usually eat right before bed.

nosebag1212

there is nothing wrong with it, meal timing is irrelevant, I only eat 2 meals a day in the afternoon/evening

Francl27

It doesn't matter when you eat, but I'd figure out a way of eating healthier things when you do - either pack nuts or protein bars or some fruit to tide you over, or prepare meals at home on your days off that you can just pop in the microwave for a few minutes when you get home, so you don't have to cook.

FindingAmy77

no don't skp eating. when I worked this shift I just changed the time line of my diary to Taiwan setting. I know this seems random but it gave me the proper timeline for my typical day. I then set it up to say what each meal was called. example for you: before work, around five, snack, around nine, ... you know call it what you like. like fourth meal, whatever. now I have my diary set to hawai... with six meals .. the reason is I have a long day and dotn get on the computer before midnight. I also get hungry that many times a day. Just tweek it the best you can. as far as bar food: why not bring your own? at least for the snack times. plan what you would normally eat when you are there and then work your day around it. belive me I know bar food. but aren't there at least salads? or lettuce and tomatoes that normally go on burgers to eat. try a breadless burger and use lettuce leaves instead of bread. don't have fries. it can be done. it will just take tweeking your meals and days. My advice: be strong. its for your life.

just eat when you are feeling hungry and drink your water. I would love to know what they serve there so I cold suggest how to special order some food. something I have done every place I have ever worked. who cares if it ticks the cooks off.

rileysowner

As long as long times between meals does not cause you to eat too many calories, it is not an issue. Meal timing in terms of metabolism or weight loss is irrelevant as long as calories are kept the same.

David_AUS

To echo a few points above. It is total calorie deficit that counts towards weight loss. There are many myths like "Breakfast being the most important meal of the day"; "eat 5 or 6 small meals for weight loss" - Yes you can do these things but that are not hard rules to live by.

The timing of the meals is less critical - you can eat the bulk of your calories in one meal and have a few light snacks along the way. I generally find holding out works for me if I snack I tend to crave more food and the vending machines get too tempting. I no longer eat breakfast and am quite happy have plenty of energy to carry me to midday or 1PM.

My tip is to avoid sugar / energy drinks during the day - if I have coffee I use milk to sweeten it rather than sugar otherwise I may just have it black. Personally I am not a fan of the protein shake drinks either but they work for some people.

Keep hydrated (water) and get good quality sleep are key supplementary elements.