Calling all worker bees - Suggestions needed, please help!

loserbaby84
loserbaby84 Posts: 241 Member
edited December 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Hello Everyone,

I have recently picked up a second job to substain my single home income and need help with some food ideas.

My second job is at a delivery service for food so there is plenty of opportunity to eat but not the RIGHT THINGS! I will have to end up "paper bagging it" because as I found out on my first night (tonight), I'm starving if I don't eat a meal at normal "supper" hours!! I definitely do NOT want to scavenge when I get home nor do I want to eat late at night and go right to bed..

I'm hoping there are some people in the same circumstances and can provide some guidence or sugestions on how to tackle my problem...

THANK YOU!!

Replies

  • BelindaDuvessa
    BelindaDuvessa Posts: 1,014 Member
    I delivered pizzas for years, which is how I gained alot of my weight. When I decided to start losing weight, I took my lunch with me. Generally something I could eat without reheating, although there was a microwave I could use if I needed to. I concentrated on fruits, veggies and lean meats. I'd throw in the occasional pasta salad as well. But alot of what I could suggest would really depend on what your diet actually consists of. What I mean is, are there any foods you have/want to stay away from?
  • loserbaby84
    loserbaby84 Posts: 241 Member
    Basically my whole approach is minimum carbs daily (if any), any meats (not processed), veggies, fruit .. I've almost done away with most dairy from my diet other than yogart.
  • sweetsungirl
    sweetsungirl Posts: 94
    My portable staples: protein powder in a shaker cup, small bags of nuts, cheese strings, yogurt cups, fruit cups, sandwiches (make them the night before), 100 calorie snack cups. I hope these suggestions are of some help to you. Good luck :)
  • rachellady
    rachellady Posts: 7
    How many meals are you doing daily? I have found that with my job hours, it is best for me to have 5-6 small meals (breakfast is my biggest meal), which means that my after dinner "meal" is budgeted in my daily calories. I eat breakfast, lunch, 2 snacks, dinner, and an after dinner "meal," which is usually like a dessert.
  • loserbaby84
    loserbaby84 Posts: 241 Member
    Here's how I eat ... But, this needs to change because of the extra hours I'm doing at work now (too hard to eat a "meal" for supper).

    Breakfast: Usually fruit, yogart or a piece of toast - something to that effect.

    Snack: Nuts (only usually 28g)

    Lunch: Full meal (usually protein), salad .. a frozen dinner, I need to cut that out .. too much sodium, or leftovers.

    Snack: Apple

    Supper: Full meal (usually protein), salad and maybe a starch (potatoes or rice)

    Dessert: a spoon of Nutella/Peanutbutter or flavoured rice cake

    Now, my problem lies with supper now because I am going straight to the second job from my first ... Which means no cooking.
  • MouseTmom
    MouseTmom Posts: 201 Member
    I take my breakfast and lunch to work everyday - some things I take are:

    Carl budding turkey (6 slices = 70 calories) on Oroweat sandwich thins (100 calories)
    pretzels
    strawberries, raspberries or banana
    celery (for when I get the munchies)
    baby carrots or sliced zuchini with low fat/fat free ranch dressing
    boiled egg
    kraft fat free cheese slices
    salad with fat free/reduced fat salad dressing
    laughing cow light cheese wedges
    100 calorie pack cookies
    sugar free caramel pudding (or whatever flavor you like)
    yogurt
    peanut butter and sugar free jam on oroweat sandwich thins
  • rachellady
    rachellady Posts: 7
    For me, those meals would not be enough to sustain me from meal to meal over the course of the day. Each of my meals is about 200-350 calories, except for breakfast, which is usually 350. If you're open to it, I suggest bulking up your snacks and slimming down your meals to make sure you're feeding yourself through the day so that you're not scavenging and snacking at the end of the day.

    It's a good idea to eat protein with carbs anyway, so combining some protein with your apple (lunch meat, hard boiled egg or two), would do a lot to keep you full and rev your metabolism. Your supper could be lighter because your snack is fuller. This would work better since you can't cook for your supper--you can cook ahead and pack a meal (chicken breast, veggies, etc.).
  • runningfromzombies
    runningfromzombies Posts: 386 Member
    This was my lunch, I kid you not, every day last semester (I had no break in 7-8 hours of work and classes). Always worked pretty well for me (and I'm a big fan of eating lunch for dinner, breakfast for lunch, dinner for lunch, breakfast for dinner, etcetera--switch meals around at will!). None of it needs to be reheated, and as long as you invest in a $10 lunch-box-container type thing that comes with an ice pack, the refrigerated stuff keeps really well!

    Sandwich (whole wheat bread, mustard, cheese, pile on the lean meat, spinach, tomatoes, and whatever other vegetable you can fit on there)
    1% Milkfat Cottage Cheese or Greek Yogurt
    Baby Carrots or Celery with Peanut Butter, Low-Fat Cream Cheese, or Panera Bread Greek Yogurt Dip
    Piece of Fruit
  • stephaniec78
    stephaniec78 Posts: 76 Member
    What is your daily calorie goal and how many of those do you want to spend on dinner?
  • need2lose12
    need2lose12 Posts: 1
    I work full time and have a lot on generally so find I have to be super organised to make sure I eat properly and appropriately. What I do is this:

    On Sunday night I'll cook a batch of soup (enough to last three days) and then I'll cook a big stir fry (again, 2 or 3 days worth). I stock up my fridge with low fat cheese and fruit. So Monday morning, I'll take a piece of cheese and some fruit in for breakfast, my stir fry for lunch, no rice or anything with it (I need a heavier meal at lunch that sustains me throughout the day and means I can eat a really light dinner), then I'll snack on some fruit in the afternoon. When I get home from work, I hit the gym, and when I'm done I heat up some soup while I shower. A couple of times a week I'll make a big salad for dinner so the leftover soup I can take in for lunch instead.

    The great thing about stir fries is that you can make virtually anything and it's healthy. And you can make a lot of it which saves so much time during the week! I make chicken and mixed vegetables, beef and broccoli, chicken and cabbage, mushroom and kale, etc etc. It's really filling as well and gets you through the day as you're probably not eating bread, rice or pasta.
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