Finding time to eat properly

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Does anyone else have a hard time finding the time to eat properly? My life and schedule is very crazy at the moment and will be for the next few months/years. Myself, I wake up @ 5 am, get myself and my son out the door by 6:15, drop him at day care and then head to the office to be in by 7 a.m. Usually I am too slammed at the office to leave to grab something to eat and if I do bring something with me for the most part I just don’t have the time away from my desk to really eat a “lunch”, just a quick snack like a yogurt or piece of fruit. (I work for an extremely busy international company so we stay active 24/7/365 and I am the international division VP so there is a lot of demand for my attention). I usually leave the office anywhere from 4-5 pm and I have to head straight to law school which starts at 6 pm. Those classes run for 3.45 hours with only (1) 10 minute break around 8 pm. By the time I get home its usually well after 10:30 pm and by that time I am too tired to even look at food. This crazy schedule goes on for 5-7 days of my week. My two days out of the office are usually during the week and on those day I am slammed with “daddy duty”, personal & family obligations and social activities. No matter how well I shop for a week in advance and plan out & prepare my daily meals, it never seems to work out well. I know people say I need to make the time and step away from work and other things to make sure I eat the proper way, but my schedule just doesn’t allow for it. Granted I consented to my crazy schedule (It is my belief that it will pay off both professionally and personally in just 3 short years) but I am wondering if anyone else is having this issue and what they are doing to rectify it…

Replies

  • bhankiii
    bhankiii Posts: 217 Member
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    I had a similar problem for the past few years, taking care of a household and a large NASA project. The solution was to blow off other responsibilities and make time for my own health. Amazingly, everything else managed just fine without my constant attention.

    Another possibility is just to put off your health for three years - these are the tradeoffs we sometimes have to make in life.

    Other things to try -

    Cook huge quantities of one thing on the weekend and freeze individual servings for the weeks ahead.

    Keep fruit, nuts, yogurt, bread at your office for lunch.

    There are a variety of "meal" bars out there - I don't eat them but they're certainly better than a lot of things you could eat otherwise.

    Keep enough food with you so you can graze all day while you work or sit in class, thus eliminating the need for meals.
  • ideliver
    ideliver Posts: 114 Member
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    Very much so. Between 12 hour work days and two kids under two, it's very hard, albeit your days sound longer. 4-6 cups of coffee a day help.

    Sounds like meal replacement / protein supplementation may help. Home made granola and yogourt would be something your son may like, too.

    I'm on a diet-only regimen right now. The food scale and tracker are my best friends. When things settle down, I hope to start running again. Being down 30lbs helps me feel like running is a possibility again.
  • ScubyUK
    ScubyUK Posts: 271 Member
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    If you have the means, perhaps using a service like www.goodmeasuremeals.com would be an option?

    I use a similar service here in the UK which has worked wonders for me both in terms of providing the right nutrition and aiding my weight loss.
  • wait_loss
    wait_loss Posts: 117 Member
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    There are a series of Books Cooking for the rushed and Life's on Fire by Sandi Richard. She hosts a program on Food network at one point, at least here in Canada. When we were fostering with four kids I used it to help my meal planning and left overs went into containers for lunches or meals on the go. Many of the meal plans can be prepped for the entire week on one day. They also have ideas for kids and others around the house to make it happen. This stops the going to the food truck and making bad choices. Getting a plug in fridge 12 volt or warmer for the car may also help available at Walmart or the likes. Even good Truck stops. Hope this helps.
    The books I take out from the library and they come with shopping lists for the week. she also has a web site to print off shopping lists.