I always need a project. I get pretty depressed if I don't have one. I don't always choose them. Sometimes they find me. That's what happened here. I noticed that my eating habits have become quite bad. Before I knew it, fixing my diet was my project.
Without any structure or rules, my natural diet is eating an entire package of Oreos in a single sitting. A couple decades ago, this was sustainable. Not any longer. Over the last 18 months or so, my diet had become increasingly lax. Snuck up on me. I started filling any and all downtime with snacking. Just something to do when I'm bored. And because of my work schedule, I had been eating my biggest meals, lunch and dinner, quite close together. I would be so hungry for lunch, I'd overeat. I just eat a lot in general. I needed new rules.
The new rules
- Actually eat breakfast
- Stick to predefined foods
- Stop eating by 7pm
The goal is to reduce thinking. When I don't have to think, there's less opportunity to eat an entire box of something. Also by spreading out my bigger meals, I feel less gross at the end of the day. I want to know what I'm eating before I eat it. My wife typically plans dinner, so I need to come up with everything else. I want a somewhat balanced diet. It also needs to be quick and cheap.
For breakfast, I'm eating a slice of whole grain toast topped with baked beans and a fried egg, and a glass of kefir. It's a good amount of protein and fiber. I can prepare it in about five minutes. It involves more dishes than I'd like, but it's not too bad. Imported beans from the UK have less sugar, but are more expensive. Might look into making my own.
My first snack is apple or banana and peanut butter. Simple.
My second snack is Wasa crispbread with hummus or cottage cheese and everything bagel seasoning. Wasa crispbread is new to me. It's not bad if you add something with flavor on top. That's why the everything bagel seasoning. I picked it because it had more fiber and protein per calorie than something like Triscuits.
Then dinner is whatever my wife has planned. It is always delicious and is hard for me to not dive in for seconds or thirds. Leftovers is a problem for me. I feel obligated to eat leftovers and I usually eat more than I should just to get rid of stuff.
All this gives me a pretty good amount of protein and fiber and stuff during the week and leaves me some headroom for the weekends which are a little more loose. Sometimes I'm still full from breakfast that I don't eat both snacks.
These rules are working for me so far. I feel better during the day and am up less at night with a tummy ache. Being an adult is awesome.
If you have any suggestions, let me know. Remember, cheap, easy, and mostly nutritious. I'm sure I'll get bored of this stuff, but the trick will be having good things to swap out with.