Losing resolve late in the day

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Tambookie
Tambookie Posts: 20 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm doing really well eating well and getting a bit of exercise in during the day, but at night it's a whole different story. At the end of the day, I'm just wiped out. I keep wondering when I'm going to start feeling more energized. After a full day of work and then taking care of my 15-month-old in the evening, the last thing I want to do is figure out what to make and eat for dinner.

In the past two weeks, my husband and I have had this scenario three times:

It's between 6:30 and 8PM. We've finally gotten DD either asleep or settled down enough that we can eat dinner.

Him: "What do you want for dinner?"
Me: "I don't care, I'm just really hungry."
Him: "Me too."
*looks through a few cupboards and the fridge*
Him: "How about pizza (Chinese, subs, etc. basically any kind of take-out)?"
Me: "Okay."

The thing is, it doesn't even taste good to me anymore, and my stomach definitely can't handle that kind of food anymore. So why do I do it?

Anyway, I guess I'm looking for advice on how to get through this dinner dilemma every night.

Replies

  • mirandamayhem
    mirandamayhem Posts: 772
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    Plan ahead. You know this scenario happens, so get food in ready. Just because you have to cook it doesn't mean it can't be fast food? How about jacket potato with baked beans/tuna/egg mayo and salad?
    or a stir fry of some sort?

    My problem the last week has been getting so hungry i don't know what I want and then make bad choices.
    Do you have a slow cooker? You could set something cooking in the morning and it be ready for the evening?
  • kathicooks
    kathicooks Posts: 81 Member
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    Plan. Plan dinners at least several days in advance, and if you can plan the entire week, it will make grocery shopping easy. I try to plan one or two dinners that have chicken as the protein, one that is beef, another that has pork, and finally one that has seafood. That gives me 5 dinners planned out, I also include the sides, and then if we decide to eat out or leftovers one night of the week, one of these dinners rolls over into the weekend. Planning your sides helps you get in all the veggies you should be eating.

    Planning is the key to taking control of what you put in your mouth, and it takes the drama out of making the decision every night.
  • stephyj528
    stephyj528 Posts: 93 Member
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    i am very very similar..i do so awesome during the day but nights can kick my *kitten* when i let it. just be patient you already lost 15lbs and thats something to be proud of and proof that you can do this. theres nothing wrong with pizza/chinese just plan for it or only have 1 or 2 slices or only get veggie (ik its full of fat and sodium and all that but better than noodles) and rice. to me the night is emotional, its the time when we wind down and all our emotional stuff catches up with us. be patient and nice to yourself.
  • Nikiki
    Nikiki Posts: 993
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    Crock pot!!!! Toss everything in there in the morning and when you get to that "I'm too tired to think about cooking" moment it's already done :) I live on crock potted meals especially over winter, I've done whole chickens, chili, pot roast, shredded BBQ chicken or pork, soup. Plus the house smells delicious :)
  • Tambookie
    Tambookie Posts: 20 Member
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    Thanks guys. It looks like crockpot (and perhaps frozen meals) are the way to go. I'll sit down with my husband tonight to figure out some recipes and go grocery shopping.

    It will be so nice not to have to worry about what to make. And it will be a godsend to not have to slave over the stove with a toddler climbing up my legs.
  • Nikiki
    Nikiki Posts: 993
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    Also having frozen pizzas in the house help a lot too, when my husband and I used to order delivery a lot we'd easily polish of a large plus bread sticks and coke, plus more for breakfast the next day. Now when we want pizza we pop a frozen one in the oven, it's high in sodium but otherwise not too bad and much easier to control the serving size! (cheaper too!)
  • TinaBasinger
    TinaBasinger Posts: 15
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    Great advice from everyone! Crockpot meals, plan ahead. My daughter uses a chalkboard (which she's framed and hung in her kitchen) and writes the menu on it every week. It's not only a cute decoration, but you get much more disciplined if you write it down. Plus, you can leave your hubby little love notes. :)
  • CJ_Holmes
    CJ_Holmes Posts: 759 Member
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    I've actually started cooking AFTER eating dinner recently to solve this problem. For dinner I eat something snacky like fruit and string cheese, then cook a bunch of stuff for the next few days. Last night at 9 I had broccoli steaming, eggplant roasting, and turkey burgers on the stove. I bring the food for lunch the next day and freeze meals for emergency dinners. I find if eat a good dinner-like meal for lunch I'm not as crazy hungry at dinner time. You could also take a day where you have some time, maybe Sunday, and bake a bunch of chicken and veggies. I also second the crockpot plan! I make huge soups on Sunday in the winter and eat them all week.

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