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Original poster

Unexpected meals?

33 replies

Fireplacedreamer · 21/01/2024 16:10

Hi all,

A question about eating healthily. I won't put this in the diet group as I want advice relating to what the 'norm' is, rather than seeing this as a diet.

Context.. you go out for a daytime, you take lunch but unfortunately your drink leaks and ruins everything! Forced to eat lunch out. Options are limited, so end up choosing something that is quite high in calories. When you get home, do you still have dinner in the evening? Those people with a healthy relationship with food, what do you do? What is the 'norm'?

Thanks for the advice in advance!

OP posts:
karmakameleon · 21/01/2024 16:23

It would depend on whether I was hungry. If we’ve eaten out I’m more likely to have a light dinner and probably wouldn’t need anything substantial.

Bringonthesunforthewashing · 21/01/2024 16:24

No I wouldn’t.

I would have a much smaller evening meal.

OverTheGrip · 21/01/2024 16:26

I would have a smaller meal
DH wouldn’t

DancefloorAcrobatics · 21/01/2024 16:30

It depends on the lunch... and when I eat it!
So if I scoffed a packet of biscuits or just a sandwich I'd probably be hungry and have a normal dinner.

If I had dinner type food for lunch like pasta, burger or a pizza I'd probably have a small dinner if I felt like I needed something.

katmarie · 21/01/2024 16:31

If I'm honest, it would be on my mind. I would still eat dinner, but might adjust it to something lower calorie if I could, it would depend how hungry I was tbh. If I couldn't change the dinner, because someone else was cooking it, or it was already made, I'd shrug, write the day off food wise, and move on. One less than perfect day isn't the end of the world in the context of losing weight, and isn't a reason to give up either. I've lost nearly 10kg since October, and have about 12kg still to lose, and can see how it's possible to become unhealthily obsessive about what I eat, so I try very hard not to let things like that bother me too much. I would also try and enjoy the unexpected meal out, as a nice treat, rather than feeling guilty about it.

TousBous · 21/01/2024 16:36

It’s 1 day. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t take the calories into account when deciding what to eat for dinner. It would depend on whether I felt hungry or not. TBF, I probably wouldn’t be very hungry if I had been out to lunch.

flannelonthesink · 21/01/2024 16:38

If I'm hungry in the evening I'll eat in the evening. If I've had a big lunch I probably won't be hungry enough for a meal though - so maybe a buttered bagel or toast otherwise it gets to 10/11 and I'm starving Shock

Ontopofthesunset · 21/01/2024 16:46

You say it's not a 'diet' question, but it obviously is. Because if you weren't 'dieting' you would just eat in the evening according to how hungry you were; you wouldn't worry about calories and to be honest if you had never thought about dieting in your life, you wouldn't know about calories (my husband for example has never thought about calories in his life so he would only ever think about whether he was hungry or not).

I've never been someone who isn't hungry again for dinner if I have a biggish lunch, so I would never just have toast for dinner, as that seems really disappointing. But if I were watching my weight I would be conscious of my choice in the evening, but I would never not eat.

suki1964 · 21/01/2024 16:49

Eating healthily is eating a balance. of food over time. I try my best to keep the white carbs down and the protein and fruit and veg up

So if my idea of a perfectly balanced lunch goes by the by and the only option is something processed from a shop, I take it, going hungry is not an option, then look at what Im planning to eat that night. I have to cook for a family, the usual family type meals and Im not cooking separate meals, so I adjust my portion size and up the veg portion

SaladDays2024 · 21/01/2024 16:53

There are things that are high calorie but not very filling and things lower calorie but filling i go by my hunger.

fishfingersandtoes · 21/01/2024 16:56

Unless I was on a diet I'd just have something normal for dinner (eg. Whatever I had planned or fancied). If I was on a diet I'd try to have something low in calories but satisfying and which balanced it out a bit. Eg. If the lunch was a pizza so high carbs & low veg & protein, I'd have something with protein and lots of veg for tea (bit of salmon & a stalk of broccoli with soy sauce or some chicken & vegetable soup but no toast)
I'm always hungry for dinner & yes, I am overweight! BMI 28

Moltenpink · 21/01/2024 16:56

If I’d had a full meal for lunch eg fish & chips, I wouldn’t be very hungry later on. I would still eat but it would be toast or a sandwich

HardcoreLadyType · 21/01/2024 16:57

If I go out for lunch, I wouldn’t normally eat when I got in, or would only have something light.

In the case you are talking about, I would normally try to find something lighter to buy for lunch, if I was expecting to eat dinner when I got in. Obviously that might not be possible, depending on the options available to you, so it’s a matter of being a bit flexible.

SaladDays2024 · 21/01/2024 16:57

Some people's idea of a lunch out is 2 or 3 course, big gastro pub or huge cafe platters that feed 4 and the assumption that you made sure to eat it all because you paid for it.
There have been times when I wasn't that hungry but forced to be out meeting someone over lunch or didn't like the food. Just because I had a paid lunch out doesn't mean I ate a lot.

CrapGoat · 21/01/2024 16:59

If I was really hungry later I'd eat something but probably only something very light. Some crackers and salsa or a salad/something non-carby/fatty.

NewYear24 · 21/01/2024 16:59

I went out for lunch today to Zizzi’s, I ordered a dish that was 750 calories. I’ll make that my main meal of the day and later on will have either a ham salad roll, a couple of eggs with some smoked salmon or a very small potion of cheese and biscuits.
If I have nothing then I’ll eat junk which would be more calories than one of these meals.
What did you eat for lunch OP?

CrapGoat · 21/01/2024 16:59

Should have added I'm not overweight but not especially slim, size 10/12, upper end of BMI but I'm also quite muscular/athletic framed.

SaladDays2024 · 21/01/2024 17:00

If the dinner at home needs cooking eg defrosted chicken but now not hungry enough to eat it due to impromptu big lunch, i would still cook the dinner but leave it in the fridge to eat the next day or just have a smaller plate and put the rest for the next day or even freeze.

Original poster
Fireplacedreamer · 21/01/2024 17:13

Thanks for advice all. I have a very bad relationship with food... think bingeing refusal of food & obsessive behaviours around food etc. I'm currently over weight and trying to be healthier but kinda lost the idea of what are healthy behaviours when it comes to food.

I had a kids portion of chicken breast strips and chips. The chips were fried. I ate all the strips and three quarters of the chips. Washed down with a diet coke.

OP posts:
NewYear24 · 21/01/2024 17:18

In that case OP how about making yourself an omlette with a salad or a large salad with any protein and a small slice of bread?

SiliconHeaven · 21/01/2024 17:22

I’d probably have a sandwich or something on toast in the evening if I’d had a main meal at lunchtime. However a kids portion isn’t a main meal!
don’t beat yourself up about it, the omelette idea is good, or something like beans on toast?

HardcoreLadyType · 21/01/2024 17:35

If I’d had a fried lunch like that, I’d probably have something more vegetable-y for dinner. A Greek salad, or some vegetable soup, perhaps. Or have a small portion of whatever I was making anyway, if I were cooking for others.

NoLostCause · 21/01/2024 17:40

I'd just eat dinner as normal. I wouldn't even give it a second thought to be honest. If I wasn't hungry I'd just serve myself a smaller portion. However, a kids portion (especially one that wasn't even finished) would absolutely not fill me up to the point that I wasn't hungry for the rest of the day.

FinallyHere · 21/01/2024 17:45

Eating low carb has transformed my relationship with good. I used to over eat regularly and would use this kind of a situation to over indulge.

Now, eating low carb if there is nothing I would like to eat, I'd just skip the meal out. If the meal out was lovely, good quality meat and interesting veg, I'd enjoy it and probably wouldn't want much when I got home.

It
Took a week or two of cold turkey on sugar and starchy carbs, then I was really free for the first time in my life. No question it has transformed my life.

CurlsnSunshinetime4tea · 21/01/2024 17:51

agree that with a lunch like that i would aim for something light, colorful and somewhat filling depending on the time. think spinach and beetroot salad with feta and walnuts, or mixed spring greens with some chick peas or a thick minestrone soup.
your lunch choice could have been worse and yes i'd balance the rest of the day more for the sake of vitamins/minerals/fiber etc.