madanjen's Journal, 23 June 2016

My thoughts? Stop eating at night. Eat a real big breakfast then stop eating. Problem solved. 

Ah my life. Its always a struggle with taste for me as well. My trainer tells me to look at it as fuel and that you cant always make everytime taste like it came from a 5-star restaurant. However I grew up with my dad being a great cook and always made of point of delicious food. Still today I struggle making extra time to make yummy food. My advise? Stick with simple things you like. When I am short on time in the evening I make burgers on a bed of lettuce toped with tomato, fried egg and avacado and a little bit of avacado mayo. Also steaks are easy and fast to cook- I thaw steaks the night before when I know I dont want to cook something major. Steak and make some steamed veggies- all easy and require just 1 pan and 1 pot. As for adding taste? Most good cuts of steak dont require much seasoning. I usually do salt, pepper and rosemary. I pan fry the steak in ghee on both sides in my cast iron skillet then I let it bake in the oven for a few min. I like it medium rare so it doesnt take long. Veggies? Add salt and pepper with a little butter. There is enough favor in that of itself without having to go lengths making fancy sauces etc. Also eggs with bacon bits scrambled in the eggs is my fav. I never get sick of it. I make that in the mornings- but I will also make it at night if I am super lazy. haha hope this helps 

or you can take Monk's advise. I get hungry after work so I have to cook a dinner :) 

Cook something on the weekend and freeze for nights where you work late. They way you get home and can pop it in oven. You can get a few tv dinners and keep them in the freezer for nights you work late.  

@Suzi +1 Preplan and Prep the Week. If I don't, I will ALWAYS end up in the place you just described. 

This implies you have unhealthy stuff in the house ... get rid of it if you can and if you can't e.g. it's not your stuff ... hmmm, wait a minute ... :-) 

Hey, I've got 20 bucks that says Monk can take his own advice! Lol. But I certainly appreciate it because it's very sound. It's just tough to do when you have worked a few long days and you just get lazy. Panigale, I do have mostly good things to eat. Don't have chips and things. I could just eat a couple of apples but I am on a max 15 grams of sugar no more than 100 carb nutrition plan and it amazes me how you do have to plan for things. Milk even has sugar! Good advice about the freezing and I will continue to head Monks advice. Thanks Rikk54, cute. Lol. 

Time bluring by? Yes, I have lost whole months. Losing track of my nutrition? Not for 4 months. That is the one constant in my life now. Time can be added by making my body stronger and healthier. 

Very good Monk. Keep it up my friend.  

Mandeanjen, apologies if that sounded rude. It was not intended to be. I was actually suggesting that. It is exactly what I do EVERY day. I eat one meal. That's it. I wouldn't suggest something I myself do not already do. 

yep... what they said...prep some food. I always have some already cooked food in the fridge i can just grab and eat quickly. I'm LCHF, so I have hard boiled eggs, cooked bacon, avocados, etc. I may or may not have used two pieces of bacon as a spoon to scoop out an avocado for dinner the other night. :O But it was quick, easy and totally filled me up! 

I think the cooking ahead is a great idea. And no you are not the only one with blurring! 

Cooking ahead is a great idea, and a crockpot (slow cooker) is one of the best things invented. You can cook chicken breast in it, for example, and have one hot the first night, then refrigerate or freeze the rest for use on other nights -- cut up for salads, reheat with spaghetti sauce, etc.  

I honestly don't run into this....BUT - I might have, if I hadn't ultimately made food one of my hobbies. I didn't have much of a choice when it's 1300 a day on average for me, that I cook for myself and a bf that's much taller/higher TDEE, we both work full time, he also takes lunch some days, etc. etc. What worked for me was to combine convenience and home cooking in sensible ways, (and as others have said, stuff like a slow cooker or multi-cooker are almost a necessity! I use mine for meats, stews, soups, rice, even made bread and yoghurt in it!) If you get into making food, then you can experiment with traditional recipes to make them more nutritious and filling - be creative, flexible, plan, prep, and pre-log recipes to create a library of meals you can rely on again, and again, for easy cooking AND logging/accountability. As for what recipes - I just use the net - watch videos, hit up good websites for ideas, recipes, mealprep. (I've gotten great recipes from Budgetbytes, Kitchn.com, ProteinChef, and countless others.) We have the advantage of having one gigantic cookbook think-tank (the net) when it comes to approaching these things - use it! As for time - I know none of us have it, but I'll just say that what I may spend 1-2 hrs doing on Sunday translates to 2-3 days of not having to cook or worry about meals for half the week. After all these months, I have a "library" of favourites - already know the cals, already know what's in them, and rotate a few of those in with random things for variety...the nutrition info work is all set, and you just cook, portion out, and enjoy! Usually for me, doing this includes spending a little time on Sundays maybe making a big casserole/dish with such a recipe, making a big bowl of some kind of yummy veg or salad that keeps well (love cabbage/carrot/crunchy stuff). Bodybuilder sites are great for dessert/treat ideas and almost always include nutrient info. Protein Chef's Banana bread is a staple here - makes 8 slices, keeps for days in the fridge - makes for a breakfast, a snack, or a dessert, good macros, and filling as heck! (Even better with PB2 sauce on top). And (while not for everyone), I also took up the hobby of baking homemade sourdough once a week, about a 1lb loaf for 2 people. (sidenote: I do have a huge list of science docs to back up the advantage of sourdough over fast-risen breads if anyone is curious. Proven lower GI/insulin response, lower phytates, higher nutrient bioavailability etc. If you like baking, and nutrition, you owe it to yourself to dig into this subject!) Anyway - even that's only a few minutes time now, I prep the dough on Friday night, it sits overnight in the fridge, then it gets baked Saturday morning. Since it's naturally pretty resistant to mould, the loaf also easily lasts the week. Finally - make your meals work with your schedule and don't stress the rigid ideas of what and when to eat, (everyone will have an opinion on this) but I feel like we didn't evolve that way, we didn't have the luxury of 24-7 availability - and as such, unless smaller meals more often suits you, we needn't eat that way. Do what works for your schedule, what you feel happy sticking with long-term. Other tips: Old but true to keep at least a couple of things around for fast meals - pots of cottage cheese, or nectarines or carrots, Quest bars, if you're keto/lowcarb then adapt as needed - but just something that satiates, that you enjoy. I do keep treats in the house but we have them only as a small dessert, and it's always either counted/calulated in FS; OR it's portionable - instead of big chocolate bars, maybe just a Lindt ball and tea, stuff like that. Sorry for length but hope some of that helps in some way.... it's about being curious about food, interested in it in positive ways - prepping/planning and being a bit flexible/creative. 

It's been a blur and speeding up. Develop some go to foods and keep them on had when times are rough. Search you food diary. You know the foods that work for you. Stock up on similar foods...  

I also used to have this problem as a nurse working 12 hour shifts and being too tired to cook. I used to do several things. One is slow cooker meals prepared on the weekend. Also, there are many recipes for 'dump meals' which have few ingredients. I'm also a breakfast lover so frequently would fall back on a quick omelet for dinner. I also keep a few healthy frozen meals on hand. Don't despair. You do have options.