2 months into this and I am still fighting the clock.

I haven't figured out how to eat when I am hungry....verses when the clock tells me to.

I am still thinking I "have" to eat lunch at 1200 but I just had breakfast at 8ish.

So....what's your daily routine???

When do you eat?

How do you retrain your brain?

I'm two months out, too--and if I ate when hungry,I'd find myself eating ..well, all the time! (I'm only just beginning to approach restriction.)

I eat at scheduled times. Eating when hungry has never worked for me in the past, so I'm tackling it in a new way. (That is not to say that, if I'm starving between meals, I won't grab a Babybel...) I find that, when I factor in getting all my fluid and exercise, the mealtimes sort of fall into place.

I am tighter in the morning now, so I have a warm drink soon after getting up. Then I take vitamins, meds, etc. After an hour and a half or two (during which I drink my first liter of water for the day), I have breakfast. Since I'm not supposed to drink for 90 minutes after eating, I do my exercise after breakfast. When I get home, I drink another half-liter of water before lunch---by then, it's at least 12:00.

Lather, rinse, repeat---after 90 minutes, I work on the second half of my second liter for the day, then start dinner.

If I'm hungry later in the evening, I have a warm protein drink (especially if my protein grams are on the low side for the day).

It's kind of regimented, but it seems to be doing the trick.

Good pointers BestyB - I've been wondering how I'm going to eat post-surgery. As it stands now, I'm never hungry when I first get up - so coffee's it for me until about 10am. Since my husband and I don't have kids we tend to eat later - so lunch my be at 2:30pm and dinner around 8pm or later. I already food log - am working on designing a new doc to track my new nutritional needs - so I'll have to create a more structured plan for myself.

I eat on roughly the following schedule:

Meal 1: 5 am Whey protein in eggs or oatmeal

Meal 2: 9 am Yogurt with Whey protein

Meal 3: 12 noon 8oz Chicken or Salmon

Meal 4: 4 pm Turkey Chill

Gym

Meal 5: 8 pm 8oz Chicken or Salmon

It depends on work and such, but I think what Betsy said is a really good way to do it.

If you follow the clock, your body will start being hungry at those times. Follow those times on days off work too. This helps me so I'm not hungry at strange times during my work days when I can't stop to eat.

Coffee @ 5 a.m.

Bf around 9-10 a.m.

Lunch Noon

Pre-workout snack 4:30

Dinner - 7:30 - 8 pm

Snack - 9-10 p.m

This is my M-F schedule - I work so I have to eat at noon and gotta say most days I am hungry by then..

Weekends are a whole nother subject - then I eat when hungry - gotta say most weekend I don't do bf or lunch - especially if I am busy doing something maybe a late afternoon snack/lunch - but I ALWAYS eat dinner.

Coffee 6:30am

B-fast: 7:30am -always egg and bacon, all protein in the morning keeps me fuller longer

Lunch: I try to hold out as long a I can - 1:30-2 if I can make it. If I eat too early then I'm ravenous before dinner. I keep a protein shake at work for emergencies. Snacking mid afternoon gets me in trouble.

Dinner: 6:30-7ish

Post-dinner: If I feel the need, and can afford it :smile2:.....either a handful of dark chocolate covered almonds or a homemade protein smoothie.

I like schedules :smile2: So I try to stick to one M-F and have a little freedom on the weekends. Unlike some of the other bandsters, I don't stick to 3 square meals. I add 1-2 high protein or veggie snacks in if I need to.

Breakfast: 9:00am -protein shake made w. fresh fruit to add fullness.

Lunch: 12:30pm or 1pm - 1/2 cup some sort of protein, tuna, salmon, or veggie burger over a little greens

Protein snack: 4:30pm or 5pm - Though, I'm 9-5, overtime until 7pm or so is becoming the norm. So I must have a low-cal snack. low-fat cheese stick, cottage cheese, or hummus

Dinner: 7pm - 8pm or so - 1/2 cup protein of course: grilled chicken, veggie patty, fish, etc.

Dessert (2x a week) 1/2 cup greek yogurt w/ flaxseeds

Best,

Lauren