Home from work food suggestions. Getting fat after starting a long commute

[NellietheNumpty]

I started a new job a month ago and have put on 3lbs. I can’t seems to get my meals right.
So far I have breakfast just after 6am porridge and fruit.
Lunch 12 usually left overs today it was a small portion of shepherds pie and cabbage.
When I arrive home I am so hungry. I am having almost another meal today it was grapes, baby bel and a slice of toast.
However, I then need to cook and sit down with the others for a meal around 7.30pm.
I maintained a steady weight that I was happy with before the new job/commute
Any thought?

Everyone is different but if it was me (in normal times, I have a long commute), 6am is too early for breakfast. I’d take breakfast with you and eat when you get there if possible. I realise not everyone has a desk job though where they can eat as they work. I also often have two snacks during the day. Try something healthy like fruit and nuts, cheese and some dried fruit, hummus and crackers. Then lunch and dinner as normal. You are probably eating more than you realise because you’re hungry going so long between meals.

Are you walking/exercising less? That’s what happened to me when my commute and my working hours increased.
As a pp suggested maybe try to delay breakfast.
Or sometimes I have a larger lunch which reduces the need for afternoon snack. If you have a larger lunch then have a smaller portion at the family meal. When I do this I might serve the usual meal (pasta or whatever) to the family. I will have lots of the veg/salad with some lighter protein e.g. small omelette or sliced chicken.

What I do is cook tomorrow's dinner today, and leave it almost ready. So I have a healthy dinner ready when I get from work, as it is the time I am the hungriest.
Then I cook my family's dinner and mine for next day. And packed lunch.
It is not so good not to have dinner with them, but it would not wirk for me otherwise, and they do have slightly different timetables. You can still sit with them, sipping a cup of tea.

I agree, take your breakfast with you and eat it in the office rather than at 6am. I couldn’t last 6 hours before lunch! And maybe take a small piece of cheese to eat mid morning and a boiled egg to eat mid afternoon to keep you going.

I would make a really low calorie, vegetable soup that you could heat up when you get in to tide you over til dinner.

Second the suggestion to cook later in the evening for the next day.

If practical I would take breakfast and lunch to work and make that the bulk of my food for the day. I prefer to eat like that anyway and it doesn't make any sense to eat little all day in anticipation of a big dinner in the evening.

So a sandwich or fruit, muesli and yogurt for breakfast and then a proper meal at lunchtime like your shepherds pie and cabbage. Is this practical with your work and commute, eg car and access to microwave?

If you need something in the afternoon a small healthy snack like nuts, cheese, fruit etc. Then when you come home you aren't that hungry and don't need a meal so just have something small like your grapes and babybel or a small portion of whatever you are cooking for others. Just because you are eating meal food doesn't mean you have to eat a meal size portion of it.

Are there other adults or teens in the house who could do some of the cooking? You'll probably eat less if you're not having to cook yourself.

7.30pm is too late to eat a big meal and your body doesn't need it, clearly. I echo what a pp said, try to eat salad/veg for this meal. Eat a bigger lunch and take healthy snacks for work such as fruit, carrot sticks, celery sticks, pieces of red pepper, homemade (lower calories) hummus. Eat breakfast when you get to work, or have a banana before you set off and eat the porridge at work.

Later breakfast, keep the fruit from your porridge as a snack for the 3 pm slump. Lunch time up your salad and veg, watch your portion size of your leftovers. Have your tea earlier and cut out the snacking and chose your ingredients carefully eg lower calorie options.

Drink plenty and snack on carrots, celery, salad etc if your starving.

If I ate at those times I'd be starving and would eat way more than what you said OP.
Try to snack on fruit rather than toast.

We have our evening meal quite early for this reason.
We were all so hungry/ tired after work that we ended up eating almost a meal!
Just go with it

Thanks
@mindutopia. I hadn’t thought about breakfast at work. There is a decent kitchen with a microwave. Sadly, the kitchen that my work bubble is using is in a different building. I am thinking about taking a sandwich for breakfast though. I don’t have the opportunity for a mid morning snack.
@onepieceoflollipop. That is an excellent thought. The commute and the gym closure have made a difference. I am upping my weekend exercise though.
@BarbaraofSeville Yes I will cook ahead. I used to batch cook when the children were little and could start again.
These are all food for thought.

I really empathise with this, I have been doing it myself. I think I am actually thirsty not hungry. When I am at home I drink a lot more than at work. I am determined to try to drink more during the day, I get home and for about 15 minutes I'm like a wild animal raiding the cupboards.

The stupid thing is I have been doing a very strict paleo diet so on the one hand I'm super strong willed, eating only 'compliant' foods and on the other hand I'm eating like you say a full extra meal of nuts, dried fruit etc. And then eating my dinner!

I don't think some grapes, or a babybel,or even a slice of toast is that awful. Maybe try and have just one rather than all of them...though I am the worst for picking from the fridge! Imagine your mother saying 'you'll ruin your dinner!!!', when you go back to the fridge.

The main issue is probably the leftovers for lunch. It's really cost saving but I really struggle when I'm dieting with them. Say dinner is 700 calories, I've then dished a similar size portion for lunch, and essentially have 2 dinners. So either forgo the left overs or change them in some way, so if you have chicken curry, instead of having rice, take some veg, like cauliflower. Or if you're baking anything, shove a plain or lightly sauced chicken breast in at the same time.

Changing timings is hard, and sometimes having a bigger or later lunch doesn't help. For me, there was a big 'reward' almost in having something as soon as I got in. Some days it was actual hunger, tiredness but mostly it was a habit. So change the reward for when you're home, have a nice coffee or tea that you only have when you get in, or have the snack planned out rather than rooting in the fridge.

As advice above, 7.30 is too late to eat an evening meal

Have breakfast at 9! Banana and slice of malt loaf can be eaten at desk. Or buy a porridge pot from Pret. Then lunch 1.30 ish and dinner 7. Protein heavy lunch should keep you going.

Thanks again
@thenewaveragebear1983 I think thirst is a problem. As I said the kitchen is in another building and no hot drinks allowed in my area. I am very thirsty. I definitely recognise the wild animal routine. The new job is fun but very intense. Perhaps a bit of the hunger is delayed stress.
@titchy That would work well but it isn’t a desk job. Something like young offenders institute. There is no chance of a hot drink or snack until 12 and it is safe to have those things. I could drink more water though.

I'm in a new job too and I literally don't stop all day. I only had one coffee today between 9 and 3, then came home and ate about 400 calories of nuts! So I'm definitely going to try to drink more tomorrow consistently through the day

I also used to work in HMPS so I understand the limitations as well. Plus you can't drink too much because you can't always get to a loo if you need one. You could take an extra water bottle to drink in the car on the way home?

Bring a small bag of nuts (a portion size is 10 almonds) or a boiled egg to eat at about 3pm, or on the train home.