Regulating Biorhythm and Eating

[SiouzQ.]

It was hard to come up with a title for my thread but I need help and suggestions with something. I probably mentioned it before in other threads but I have gained all the weight back I had lost when I was working at Wholefoods a few years back. Probably close to 15 lbs now. I don't "look" fat (at least my boyfriend says I don't) but I don't like how it feels. It just more weight that I have to haul around so I don't feel lithe and sprightly like I used to.

There are so many reasons for all this: I drink a lot more alcohol than I used to, I don't move around nearly as much because I live and work in the same building, grocery shopping is harder due to the distance involved with having fresh vegetables, cooking is harder in my tiny kitchen, I often trade cooking duties and meals with my boyfriend so I have less control, plus all the traumas of the past year, which include my daughter's death and the two surgeries, plus ongoing issues with my hip and glut muscles. And I am smack dab in the middle of my menopause year.

So, after I get back from Florida (leaving tomorrow morning and staying six days) I really want to focus on getting better organized with my shopping, cooking and eating habits. I think the biggest problem I have is that my kitchen (and refrigerator) are literally steps away from where I live and work all day. I find that I do really well in the morning with good intentions of eating a decent breakfast (usually oatmeal with an apple, some walnuts and raisins), a pretty good lunch (either leftovers or a salad) but by 3 o'clock my biorhythm takes a plummet and I get really sleepy/almost cranky. If it is a slow day in the gallery I can lie down on my bed (and listen for the bell on the door to ring), but it also seems like between 3 and 5:30 is when I CRAVE eating and that is when I start randomly snarfing things. Mostly it is healthy stuff, like a Larabar, or pickles, or a WASA cracker ( and cheese, if I happen to have some. I try not to buy it on a regular basis) but once I start it is really hard to stop snacking. If it is a particularly bad day I lock the door to the shop and go up to the general store and grab some kind of snack. Lately it has been a pack of Peanut Butter M&M's...

We don't usually eat dinner until 7pm, so I am trying to figure out a way to stay away from the cupboards or refrigerator from 3 to 7pm. Since it is slowly starting to get warmer, at least when I close the shop at 5pm I can start going for a hike for an hour or so before I start dinner. But to stay away from snacking before that is the hard part.

Any suggestions? It is hard for me to eat at exact certain times because when the gallery is busy during the day it is actually hard to know when I'll be able to even go in the back and get something for lunch. In the summer I have to be well organized about it and pretty much have it made before hand so I can just grab it. Heck, sometimes it is so busy that I can't even take a bathroom break!

I should add, I would really like to get down to around 160 lbs (I'm 5'9"). So we are talking about 8 - 10lbs.

[SteveinMN]

I find that I do really well in the morning with good intentions of eating a decent breakfast (usually oatmeal with an apple, some walnuts and raisins), a pretty good lunch (either leftovers or a salad) but by 3 o'clock my biorhythm takes a plummet and I get really sleepy/almost cranky. If it is a slow day in the gallery I can lie down on my bed (and listen for the bell on the door to ring), but it also seems like between 3 and 5:30 is when I CRAVE eating and that is when I start randomly snarfing things. Mostly it is healthy stuff, like a Larabar, or pickles, or a WASA cracker ( and cheese, if I happen to have some. I try not to buy it on a regular basis) but once I start it is really hard to stop snacking. If it is a particularly bad day I lock the door to the shop and go up to the general store and grab some kind of snack. Lately it has been a pack of Peanut Butter M&M's...

My suggestion is to exchange some carbohydrates for protein and good fats. The oatmeal, the apple, the raisins, salad vegetables,... "some" walnuts aside, I don't see any protein or fat. Pickles and WASA crackers fall into the same category -- no fat or protein to satiate. Your body has nothing to do but react to carbohydrates you're eating and your insulin levels probably are swinging up and down (the "hangry") in response to what you're eating.

The cheese is a good idea and I'm not sure why you're trying to avoid it unless lactose tolerance is an issue. Eating more protein and just enough fat to keep you going likely would ease the hunger issues and even the crash and can do so independent of your exercise level that day. Grab and go foods could include hardboiled eggs, celery sticks or apples/pears with peanut butter or cream cheese, a handful of nuts, avocados, chunks of cheese, ...

What are your thoughts?

[JaneV2.0]

I'm probably not the one to weigh in on weight loss, seeing as how I'm losing something like three pounds a year, but my advice would be 1) take Steve's advice, and 2) avoid grazing and limit your eating to a couple of meals a day. Food intake--especially high carb/low fat/low nutrition food--causes your body to release insulin, resulting in the cycle Steve talks about: blood sugar swings and hunger, over and over.

[SiouzQ.]

Steve: Thanks for reminding me about the protein - last summer when it got hot I used to eat a hard-boiled egg and drink turmeric almond milk for breakfast while watching my hummingbirds on the deck. At least in the hot dry summer weather my appetite goes down quite a bit. I try not to eat too much cheese because of the fat content. I need to research some more cold bean salad or cold lentil salad ideas for the summer that I can use for my lunches. I can't eat the kale salads the way I used to when I was back in Michigan; I simply can't digest that kind of roughage anymore.

I know a lot of the weight problem is due to the increased alcohol intake, but in a drinking town, that is a hard one...My solution is to take a hike at least three or four times a week after work to prevent me from going to too many Happy Hours. It'll save me money too. I'm not going to cut that out entirely because it is a lot of fun to sit on the deck and listen to music with everyone in the nice weather!

And stop with the M&M's! And ice cream! Or at least, make it a once-a-month treat or something.

[rosarugosa]

SQ: I lost 8 lbs this past year without too much conscious effort, and I attribute it to:
Cutting back on sugar (My sister is a sugar junkie and she lost 20 lbs in a few months by totally swearing off sugar. I just kind of cut back by association).
Decreasing my wine intake (Once retired, it was easy to increase my wine intake since it is never ever a "work night." I found it beneficial to reel that in for a few reasons).
Being totally committed to getting at least 10,000 steps a day (I haven't missed since 9/29/18. I know I have an advantage with this one because I am retired and can make it a top priority. I also have no lower extremity issues to stop me from walking).
I have been trying to shift to a healthier stock of snacks, and almonds, pumpkin seeds and olives are some of my current favorites. I find it's best to measure a 1/4 cup serving, put it in a little bowl and graze from that, since these aren't low calorie, and eating them without restraint wouldn't be the best idea.
I didn't really need to lose pounds, but now my pants fit better. I weighed 98 most of my adult life, had gone up to 108, and now I'm at 100 which feels good for me. (Any time I gain weight, it is in the waistline. I would have been fine with a weight gain more evenly distributed). I'm only 5'2".

[Gardnr]

I have the same afternoon challenge! And yes, menopause doesn't help at all Plan an afternoon snack between 3-30. Fruit and lowfat cheese stick. 1/4c nuts and cheese or hardboiled egg. I also like a rykrisp with 2 laughing cow cheese.

A nutritionist, at a presentation said, a snack should be at least 125 calories and be 2 items: 1 fruit, 1 protein. She said wait 15m and if you're not full have another. Always the combo though.

[Lainey]

I'm in sympathy. Menopause put 10 lbs. on me that never left. My only suggestion is what about limiting eating hours? It's one of the "intermittent fasting" tricks. 7pm seems like a late hour for dinner. My .02.

[JaneV2.0]

I'm in sympathy. Menopause put 10 lbs. on me that never left. My only suggestion is what about limiting eating hours? It's one of the "intermittent fasting" tricks. 7pm seems like a late hour for dinner. My .02.

Yeah--that's why I advised avoiding grazing and limiting meals to a couple a day. This allows for more autophagy and less hunger. I'd cut back on the alcohol, too. I wouldn't avoid healthy fats (like saturated ones) that feed your brain and keep you full.

[SteveinMN]

I know a lot of the weight problem is due to the increased alcohol intake, but in a drinking town, that is a hard one...

There's alcohol and there's alcohol. Beer and wine have lots of sugars (dry reds a little less so); distilled spirits less so (the body handles alcohol differently from carbs). You'd pull fewer carbs and calories out of whiskey (an acquired taste, I know) or a gin & tonic or a vodka & diet cola (not orange juice and not sugared pop). But there is the matter of enjoying the taste of it. Just presenting possible alternatives.

[merince]

Can you try a few stretches/maybe even yoga at 3? A cup of tea? Something to get your mind off of snacking and wake you up a bit?