Eating a low (unsafe) amount of calories.

bwalker1316
bwalker1316 Posts: 10 Member
edited November 20 in Food and Nutrition
Hello!

Thank you for reading my first ever forum post!

I have an issue, I work a desk job in sales, which is very mentally taxing and demanding. It fills up my time. I barely ever get a lunch break. I also don't eat much in the morning.

I usually have a diet whey protein shake in the morning, but due to my job, I end up having nothing else to eat until about 7:30pm. At the end of my day, MyFitnessPal tells me I am having man unsafe amount of calories.

How can I help this? I want to keep my weight loss goals going, but physically have no time to eat!

Thoughts anyone?

Regards,

Brian
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Replies

  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • bwalker1316
    bwalker1316 Posts: 10 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    So don't have a diet whey protein shake then!

    Have a really big meal at 7:30pm.

    Prep food and eat at your desk while working.

    Buy food on your way to work and eat while working.

    Diet whey because it digests better for me. Having a big meal could work but it would have to be 1500 calories...

    I can't eat at my desk sadly I work face to face with the public.

    Thanks for your response
  • bwalker1316
    bwalker1316 Posts: 10 Member
    ccruz985 wrote: »
    Can you snack during the day, like a yogurt and nuts or something? I like to use graze, they have prepackaged healthy snacks that you can toss right in your bag. I add them to yogurts or an apple and a cheese stick, depending on what it is.

    I work face to face with the public sadly I cannot snack throughout the day, as much as I would love to!

    Thanks for your response
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    Can you take a couple small pocket size snacks you can eat on the way to the bathroom? What do you add to your diet shake? You can certainly boost cals with peanut butter and banana.
  • bwalker1316
    bwalker1316 Posts: 10 Member
    manderson27 wrote: »
    You are entitled to a lunch break. Ensure you take it so you can eat. You will be much more productive if your body and brain are fuelled. I know it is too easy to fall into that trap of thinking you are too busy to stop. But it has been proven that productivity is better if people take breaks. You are not doing yourself any favours health wise by missing breaks.

    I know I am guilty of just working through it all, I also do too much overtime. When a lot of money comes from sales and we are busy all day it always seems foolish to me to take a break and risk not making the money.
  • bwalker1316
    bwalker1316 Posts: 10 Member
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    Can you take a couple small pocket size snacks you can eat on the way to the bathroom? What do you add to your diet shake? You can certainly boost cals with peanut butter and banana.

    Definitely worth a go, thanks for that!

    I add nothing to it, my shake is abnormally thick, it's just the brand I use at the moment. Usually it's smooth and I can add something to it if needs be, this one is Belgian chocolate flavoured and I'm using it just to get rid of it basically.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    What are your goals? If you are trying to lose weight, did something change that changed your ability to have time to eat?

    It shouldn't be that tough to get in 1500-2000 calories in 2 meals if you really can't have lunch. You don't need to stuff yourself in the morning -- just have some more calories than you currently are.
  • amtyrell
    amtyrell Posts: 1,447 Member
    Bring a lunchbag
  • bwalker1316
    bwalker1316 Posts: 10 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    What are your goals? If you are trying to lose weight, did something change that changed your ability to have time to eat?

    It shouldn't be that tough to get in 1500-2000 calories in 2 meals if you really can't have lunch. You don't need to stuff yourself in the morning -- just have some more calories than you currently are.

    I am looking to lose 56 lbs. I have made a good start at this by losing 7-8lbs already.

    Basically when I did get time I'd have a Burger King. I don't have time at the moment and won't have for 3 months as it is our busiest time of year.

    Also when I was coming home I was just binge eating to compensate. Takeaways, big bags of Doritos, multiple chocolate bars etc.
  • bwalker1316
    bwalker1316 Posts: 10 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    Have a sandwich after work before travelling home - there's 500 cals straight away.
    50g snack on peanuts before or after work - there's about 300 cals.

    Drink some calories, you must be able to drink while facing the public.

    Great ideas, thank you very much for these. Almost like having a pre dinner sandwich. Do you know if this would aid my weight loss though or am I just eating for the sake of it at this point? Does this count as binge eating if I am eating pre dinner?

    Drinks could be an idea. Only really drink water.

  • TorStar80
    TorStar80 Posts: 252 Member
    I'm guilty of also working through breaks and lunches, however I am able to eat at my desk. I say, have a substantial breakfast, at least an egg and some fruits if possible, maybe some cheese, YES to get calories and nutrition! Take a 5 during the day and have something, a shake or some veggies, there a lots of things you can eat relatively quickly. I know money is important, I get that... but so is your health :) you can still stay well within your calories and be healthy.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited July 2017
    bwalker1316 wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    Have a sandwich after work before travelling home - there's 500 cals straight away.
    50g snack on peanuts before or after work - there's about 300 cals.

    Drink some calories, you must be able to drink while facing the public.

    Great ideas, thank you very much for these. Almost like having a pre dinner sandwich. Do you know if this would aid my weight loss though or am I just eating for the sake of it at this point? Does this count as binge eating if I am eating pre dinner?

    Drinks could be an idea. Only really drink water.

    Eating something planned after work is what I was going to suggest too.

    Why would it be binge eating? It's basically an extra late lunch.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Oh, do you have co-workers with similar jobs? You could ask them what they do.

    When I first decided I needed to take charge of my fitness I had a super stressful job that was very long hours and I'd usually eat dinner at work (they paid if you did that). I thought I had no ability to work out/exercise, but when I thought about it I realized my co-workers (or some of them) did, and just prioritized it. I observed what they did and talked to them about it, and that was useful.
  • bruby28
    bruby28 Posts: 4,123 Member
    If you absolutely cannot get away I would keep snacks in my pockets or a bag and eat on the way to the bathroom . That sucks you can't even have a lunch , you should be able to get one or demand for one ! Anyway I would keep almonds in my pocket and quick snacks if u can get away for 5 min and go around a corner or bathroom . Try string cheese or cliff bars /banana . And yes def eat a bigger bfast! Some eggs and oatmeal , something to keep you fuller longer !
  • charlieaulert
    charlieaulert Posts: 127 Member
    I'm sorry but from the morning to 7:30pm, it would be illegal for you not to get some sort of break during the day...
  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • kwtilbury
    kwtilbury Posts: 1,234 Member
    Eat a really big meal at the end of the day (the "Gladiator" diet).

    Get a new job that doesn't require to damage your body on a daily basis.
  • OliveGirl128
    OliveGirl128 Posts: 801 Member
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    Can you take a couple small pocket size snacks you can eat on the way to the bathroom? What do you add to your diet shake? You can certainly boost cals with peanut butter and banana.

    This.

    Bring a baggie full of nuts and eat on way to bathroom-easy way to get in 200-300 calories right there. Otherwise, it's not that hard to fit in a lot of calories in one meal-use real butter/oil, full calorie dressings/condiments etc etc. Heck-one frozen pizza is over 1,000 calories and not a big deal to eat the whole thing, or Marie Calendar potpies come in at close to 1,200 calories and I used to eat those along with a side of chips :p
  • tweedledee16
    tweedledee16 Posts: 58 Member
    Customer facing or not, you can try to stash some berries, or nuts or apple or veggie slices or some quick finger food to munch on throughout the day. I always have more success and stability when I eat little things throughout the day, rather than skip calories during the work day and binge at night. Best of luck, desk jobs can be so challenging to work around with weight loss.
  • OliveGirl128
    OliveGirl128 Posts: 801 Member
    tweedledee16 wrote: »
    Customer facing or not, you can try to stash some berries, or nuts or apple or veggie slices or some quick finger food to munch on throughout the day. I always have more success and stability when I eat little things throughout the day, rather than skip calories during the work day and binge at night. Best of luck, desk jobs can be so challenging to work around with weight loss.

    Fitting in most of your daily calories into one meal is not bingeing. Look up OMAD-it's a form of IF.

  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    edited July 2017
    charlieaulert wrote: »
    I'm sorry but from the morning to 7:30pm, it would be illegal for you not to get some sort of break during the day...

    It doesn't sound like the employer is preventing him from taking a lunch break, rather that he's choosing not to get up and leave his position for the 10-15 min it would take to eat...

    OP, What kind of sales position is this where the flow of customers is so constant that you are unable to risk being away from your post because you don't want to miss the opportunity for commission? I'm a few years out of my sales days but if there's a product that is in that high of demand then I'm thinking I may want to reconsider....

    Edited... realized OP is male.
  • brockhampton
    brockhampton Posts: 211 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    charlieaulert wrote: »
    I'm sorry but from the morning to 7:30pm, it would be illegal for you not to get some sort of break during the day...

    It doesn't sound like the employer is preventing her from taking a lunch break, rather that she's choosing not to get up and leave her position for the 10-15 min it would take to eat...

    OP, What kind of sales position is this where the flow of customers is so constant that you are unable to risk being away from your post because you don't want to miss the opportunity for commission? I'm a few years out of my sales days but if there's a product that is in that high of demand then I'm thinking I may want to reconsider....

    Are you in markets? If that is the case, your desk should have an intern who's usually in charge of going out to grab food for everyone during lunch? Even if that's not the case, there should be somebody on your desk who'd be able to cover your clients/products for at least 5-10 minutes at a time so you could eat a protein bar in the washroom?
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    bodwomon wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    charlieaulert wrote: »
    I'm sorry but from the morning to 7:30pm, it would be illegal for you not to get some sort of break during the day...

    It doesn't sound like the employer is preventing her from taking a lunch break, rather that she's choosing not to get up and leave her position for the 10-15 min it would take to eat...

    OP, What kind of sales position is this where the flow of customers is so constant that you are unable to risk being away from your post because you don't want to miss the opportunity for commission? I'm a few years out of my sales days but if there's a product that is in that high of demand then I'm thinking I may want to reconsider....

    Are you in markets? If that is the case, your desk should have an intern who's usually in charge of going out to grab food for everyone during lunch? Even if that's not the case, there should be somebody on your desk who'd be able to cover your clients/products for at least 5-10 minutes at a time so you could eat a protein bar in the washroom?

    Not all companies are going to be big enough to have interns. OP said nothing about the size of the company he works for. And even if said intern grabbed him some food, he's not been taking a break to eat it.
  • brockhampton
    brockhampton Posts: 211 Member
    edited July 2017
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    bodwomon wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    charlieaulert wrote: »
    I'm sorry but from the morning to 7:30pm, it would be illegal for you not to get some sort of break during the day...

    It doesn't sound like the employer is preventing her from taking a lunch break, rather that she's choosing not to get up and leave her position for the 10-15 min it would take to eat...

    OP, What kind of sales position is this where the flow of customers is so constant that you are unable to risk being away from your post because you don't want to miss the opportunity for commission? I'm a few years out of my sales days but if there's a product that is in that high of demand then I'm thinking I may want to reconsider....

    Are you in markets? If that is the case, your desk should have an intern who's usually in charge of going out to grab food for everyone during lunch? Even if that's not the case, there should be somebody on your desk who'd be able to cover your clients/products for at least 5-10 minutes at a time so you could eat a protein bar in the washroom?

    Not all companies are going to be big enough to have interns. OP said nothing about the size of the company he works for. And even if said intern grabbed him some food, he's not been taking a break to eat it.

    That's why I asked if he was in markets and then gave suggestions upon the assumption he is. Obviously if he is not, then my suggestions are probably invalid.

    EDIT: obviously brian is a he derp darwin award
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