Planning

Hey guys,

How are your efforts paying off so far?
I am getting quite used to my plan now with what I used to call “rabbit food” now forming the base of my menu and the televised thread mill – my new BFF. Like most of you, I was on leave till last week, but despite today being my 6th day in the office – I am still struggling with fitting my meals into my work day. And by the looks of today – it is only going to get tougher. 2009 will definitely by a kick-ass year!
The problems I experienced today was, in retrospect, caused by lack of foresight and contingency planning. I have gotten used to my five meals a day and the split amongst them and the scheduling and the so forth. But what happens when you feel a bit hungrier than usual or the afternoon meeting gets a bit longer than expected and you have no “back up meals” in your bag? You have two choices – either starve (bad in the grand scheme of things) or eat something that you shouldn’t (equally undesirable). I was in such a situation today and chose, what I considered, an amicable in-between solution.

So, what happened is: I had my breakfast (oats, yoghurt and fruit) and hit the gym before work. When I got to the office I had my “second meal” – protein bar and then – my carefully packed lunch around 12. (Ostrich meat balls and green salad with reduced fat feta cheese.) Mid-afternoon, I had my meal replacement shake and was ready to go home to cook my delicious (slimming) dinner around 5. Unfortunately, it was not to be. I was stuck in a meeting till 6:30 and seemed like I was going to get a “homework assignment” to bring to the office in the morning. My solution was to sneak in a slice of toast during a “bio break” from the meeting around 4 o’clock, which kept me alive (figuratively and literally speaking) till I could get to dinner – skinless chicken & peas.

Now, I have to go work…
Good night!

Mel

Jeni:
Mel put it down so perfectly… I am not sure if there is anything more to say!
Having a slice of toast when you are in “crunch time” at the office, really was a marvellous solution. While your muscles, heart and organs can use carbs & fat or protein for energy (although they prefer carbs), the brain cannot use protein. Thus, if you are involved in a highly cognitive activity (e.g. brainstorming, business meeting, etc.) the added carbs (from the bread) will go straight to fuel the brain’s activity with no negative consequences to your waist line.
Just remember that the brain only needs 100-150 calories at the time, so stick to one slice of toast.

Ciao!
Jeni