Eating One Meal a Day and Not Exercising

Wearing my HRM and having it synced to my phone will drain my phone's battery like crazy, so I'm not sure how well that will work, but I guess I can try it. I'm definitely not just guessing as to how active I am though. I'm using a Fitbit since most of my activity is step-based.

I do work in retail, but there are days when it is too busy to take a break. Some days, I can take one- at the END of my shift. If I have time- or I packed a lunch/snack, I sometimes will take my 15 minute break(s) at the end of my shift before clocking out. However, I do have a tiny shred remaining of what is known as a "life" outside of work, and I don't always have time to sit around for 15 minutes to take a break when I COULD just leave.

Now, that's not saying that if I skip my break, I can leave 15 minutes early. But there are days when I am finally free to leave at, say, 6pm (when I was scheduled to get off at 4... but someone didn't show up, so I'm covering for them). I COULD stay an extra 15 minutes to get my break in, but why bother?

My breakfasts and lunches aren't really meals. You are absolutely right about that, but dinners are. Tuesday night, I had a couple leftover fajitas (steak, onions, cheese) and jambalaya (the leftovers were from Monday night). One of my favorite meals to make at home is roasted carrots, sauteed greens (in olive and coconut oils respectively) and some protein. I love lamb, but I usually go for chicken drumsticks (I make a sauce out of honey, mustard, and a little lemon juice). I also love roasted sweet potatoes or other root veggies in place of the carrots (beets are up there), but I've become a bit of a carrot-addict lately.

It isn't that I'm necessarily trying to eat one meal a day to lose weight. It's more that this is what my current schedule/lifestyle is pushing me towards, so I'm wondering if I should just go with it rather than fight it. Does that make sense to anyone?

My best friend has been fairly successful within the past few months eating around 400-500 calories between breakfast and lunch and then eating whatever he wants for dinner. I think his normal breakfast and lunch on a work day would be something like a Quest Bar and 3 Thin and Trim Chicken Sausages. Obviously, I don't know if doing something like this would work for me, but it might. (Though, I'd probably eat more things like cheese, nuts, fruits, and vegetables if I eat before my one main meal of the day).

I do wonder how I'm expected to plan ahead when I have no way of knowing from day to day which meals I get to eat. I can pack a lunch for work, but I might not get to eat it until after I get off at 8pm. At that point, there's no use in eating the dinner I planned because I won't be hungry enough. Plus, over these past few weeks, I've been called into work on my days off. I'm actually surprised I got my day off today.

msalamun wrote: »

As for losing weight, all physical activity helps. The real anwer to losing weight is burning more calories than you are consuming that day. And while you are not eating very much, you are also not burning as many calories either. Yes, walking that many steps per day is a lot of activity, but that by itself and not supplemented with more exercise will probably not help you realize the results you want as quickly as you may want them.

What do you suggest I do for additional physical activity? I have Leslie Sansone walking DVDs, but there are days when I'm so sore after work (my foot especially) that I can barely walk without limping. I'm in pain and I'm physically worn out. I just don't know what I'm supposed to do at that point. Do I just continue to walk for another 30 minutes to an hour after a 6-8 hour shift on my feet?

I really don't understand why people tell me to "find a new job" as if I can just go out and find a new job overnight. It doesn't quite work that way. I was unemployed for nearly a year before I found this job (and I actually only got this job because I knew the person who did the hiring- the SECOND time I interviewed). I've looked at other positions- ones that may have more stable hours, etc. However, I am in a bit of a bind. While I would absolutely love a daycare position that would give me a Monday-Friday schedule, working in retail is actually a good thing for me right now. Eventually, I'll have my student teaching. I won't be able to work a traditional Monday-Friday job. Technically, I probably won't be able to work on weekends either, but I need to give myself the chance since I can't go 3-4 months without working. So, as much as this job is driving me insane, it really is the best place for me right now.

I used to drink smoothies more often. They were made with milk, greek yogurt, fruit, and vegetables. I had access to a fridge in my department where I could keep my smoothie until I was ready to drink it. Now, that's not really an option since the policies have changed (after a few people in my department were fired for shoplifting.) I already have a gallon jug of water and a water bottle that I keep in my cart with me. Adding a smoothie is just a bit much. It was a lot easier when I could keep the gallon of water in the fridge.

When it's slow(er), I try to take a break. There are just some days when it's pretty much impossible. Lately, those days are fairly frequent. Mondays, I often don't get a chance to take a break- and I usually work late. To complicate things, I don't eat after noon or drink anything after 2pm on Mondays because I have my weigh-in at 5, so even if I get a break, I almost never eat. It doesn't phase me anymore. If I weighed in during the mornings, I would stop eating and drinking by midnight or 10pm or something. It's just for consistency.

I've been at this job for almost 8 months now, but things have gotten busier during that time, so I haven't "adjusted" physically. I'm used to being on my feet all day, and I feel weird when I'm not, but it comes at a price. I have some issues with my feet if I stand for an extended period of time. It DOES improve when I get new shoes (my shoes are wearing out quickly), but it doesn't solve everything.

jamieben1824 wrote: »

Even getting hungry can be something you may have to more less force yourself esp in the morning.

Is it weird that I don't necessarily want to train myself to be hungry in the mornings?

A lot of the time, I skip breakfast if I suspect it's going to be a crazy day at work. Why? Because If I eat breakfast at, say, 9-10am, then I'm often hungry between noon and 2 at the LATEST (and this holds true whether breakfast is leftover chicken drumsticks or a bowl of cereal). However, I don't feel hungry until closer to 4pm if I skip breakfast.

Currently, there is a severe lack of balance when it comes to scheduling. Yesterday, I was scheduled to work 11-6, so I got a lunch break. Early in my shift, things were actually ahead, so I went on my 30 minute lunch break around 1pm. However, there was a point between 3pm and 5pm where there were only three people in my department. We started to fall behind at that point, and one of my co-workers even stayed an extra 30 minutes until the person who was scheduled to come in at 5pm came in JUST because if he left, I would have been the only shopper there (the other person was in charge of managing the computer aspect of the department- she wasn't shopping at the time).

I ended up taking my break at 6:15- just because I'm entitled to a break according to the union contract, and I do get paid for my 15 minute breaks. Unfortunately, I don't always have the time to take a break after work.. though if I do have the time, I'm going to start taking it so I can get paid for a extra 15 minutes while I get my things together to leave.

The way things work for me, I generally only get one break. There's definitely a better chance of me being able to take one earlier in my shift, but I really hate doing that. I don't feel like I need a rest after only one order. Plus, there is usually only a very short window of time between when I've worked at least two hours and that 2 hour span where I'm often the ONLY person in my department shopping. Sometimes, timing the shopping down to the point where I can squeeze in a break within that time is nearly impossible (assuming there is even that span). By the time more people come in, I'm usually either at the end of my shift, or things have started to fall behind because (unlike what my boss SEEMS to think based on the way she schedules) I'm not able to do the work of 3-4 other people in addition to myself.

Yesterday, however, I did eat something before work. Then, when I went to eat my lunch, I could barely eat half of it. I'm just not used to eating at work- especially that early.