Help me keep my metabolism from dropping!!

[musicgal28]

So, I started this job in May. I do home visits and work with infants for an hour and then move on. Some days I see 5 kids back to back, and most of the time I get 15 minutes in between sessions to transport me from one place to another.

Lately, I've been having this eating issue. I want to keep food in my car that won't go bad from sitting out all day. But I also want a food that will not kill my diet. I also know that if I don't eat all day my metabolism will drop and therefore I will not be burning fat as efficiently (correct me if I am wrong please!).

Usually I have breakfast before I leave for the day. Its either cereal, yogurt, toast, fruit or whatever I feel like eating. During the day I keep an apple in my car and a carb (like a small bag of goldfish). I usually don't eat anything else during the day.

When I come home I try to eat a substantial dinner like a salad and protein.

I think part of my problem is that I am not eating enough during the day. Although I know that in order to lose weight I need to cut calories. I also know that I need to increase exercise (which I am doing). But if I cut out a whole meal during the day, how is that beneficial?

My question to you guys is what can I or should I do? What can I eat that will tie me over during the day, and not rot in my car. Anyone else have this issue? I appreciate any and all advice! Thanks!!!

[Raindrop]

I have clients such as yourself, that move from place to place and feel like they have no time to eat healthfully, or at all. However, I have the same issues since I do in-home training and I suggest the old addage, "Fail to plan, plan to fail". In a nutshell, buy a small cooler and some of the cooler packs that you revitalize in your freezer overnight. Then, on the weekend, or whenever you have free time, BBQ a bunch of chicken breasts, or some salmon, tuna, even lean beef....enough to take you through most of the week. Then package it up into individual meals along with some nuts (no refrigeration needed), fruits and vegetables that you can throw in the cooler (clean, slice and prepare them so they're readily available) and put in your water for the day.

Eating small meals every few hours is the way to satiate hunger, keep your metabolism going, and if you are careful about the portions...will allow you to reach your health goals.

The coolers and the cooler packs are really inexpensive and will last practically forever. Once you get into preparing your meals ahead of time, you'll eliminate a lot of stress and you'll feel better throughout your day because your body will be on an even keel.

I hope this helps a little bit.

[musicgal28]

Yes it does help. It was actually something I was thinking of doing. I probably will end up doing. I just have to get the motivation to go hit all those end of the summer sales and buy the cooler!

[SpinBob]

I second the cooler idea, I have an Igloo brand cooler that I use for a lunch box. In addition to having a zipper to keep the lid closed, there is a hatch in the top that is velcroed. That way you can open and close it quickly and not lose the cold.

One of the success I've had with controlling my weight is planning. I figure out what I'm going to eat for the entire day, in the morning when I get up, and then I try to stick to my plan. I'm not 100% at sticking to the plan every day, but enough days to make it work.

[Moonsavvy]

Your eating goldfish and your how old? ;)

Just kidding I eat goldfish too. However I think if your eating an apple you need something that will balance out the sugar, such as some almonds or a cheese stick. An apple needs a protein or a fat to combine with it rather than a carb. I would get a glycemic index if I were you and choose foods that are low on the index level.


Beef jerky is a good protein that will last in your car, almonds are also lower glycemic. I also love the cereal bars that are advertised as the south beach diet peanut butter bars. They are well balanced and taste great!

Good luck and I am thinking about a training buddie thread, maybe I'll see ya over there. :D

[Escandalosa]

You should be eating 5-6 small meals a day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2-3 snacks throughout the day. All meals should have a protein, a carb and a fat.

Skipping meals will do nothing but make your metabolism slow down. The cooler idea above is a good one. Look into it :)

[musicgal28]

Your eating goldfish and your how old? ;)

Just kidding I eat goldfish too. However I think if your eating an apple you need something that will balance out the sugar, such as some almonds or a cheese stick. An apple needs a protein or a fat to combine with it rather than a carb. I would get a glycemic index if I were you and choose foods that are low on the index level.


To answer your first question, almost 22.

I was also thinking about looking into the glycemic index for ideas on which foods are higher or lower in sugars. Any book reccomendations?

Sometimes I do stick almonds in the car or a nature valley granola bar.

I should go to Target and get a cooler...hmmmm

[Kathleen H]

Musicgal:

I third or fourth the cooler idea. Not only do you keep up your energy level throughout the day with smaller meals and snacks; it helps with that growling tummy feeling and usually prevents a person from overeating when their next meal is available.
There are two fruit and nut bars available from Nutrigrain that I highly recommend and while they are better kept in a cooler, you can toss one in a bag to eat whenever you have the time.

While I love food planning and ideas, keep in mind to drink plenty of fluids as well and the cooler definitely comes in handy there as well.

Have a groovy week. K

[Moonsavvy]

To answer your first question, almost 22.

I was also thinking about looking into the glycemic index for ideas on which foods are higher or lower in sugars. Any book reccomendations?

Sometimes I do stick almonds in the car or a nature valley granola bar.

I should go to Target and get a cooler...hmmmm
Yes 40/30/30 is an excellent book, easy to read and includes many recipes.

[veespin]

So, I started this job in May. I do home visits and work with infants for an hour and then move on. Some days I see 5 kids back to back, and most of the time I get 15 minutes in between sessions to transport me from one place to another....

My question to you guys is what can I or should I do?


Seems to me that your question...and subsequent answers..... revolve around how to eat when you have no time to eat, correct?

There's really no "good" answer to this....really. Energy bars and coolers in the car don't address the real issue in that your day is poorly structured with regard to civilised eating...whether it's by your design or by an employer.

Who schedules your workday?

If this is your own business, I can see why you're working like this in order to build (done it myself) but I can tell you, it's probably not sustainable. My rule of thumb for eating is...can I wash my hands before, sit down during, brush my teeth afterwards. If I can't do any of the above with some degree of regularity, something has to change.

If you're having this imposed on you by an employer....think hard about allowing it to continue.

On the go eating as a way of life is a poor way to long term health and weight management. The issue is less about *what* to eat as *why* you're eating this way.

Vivienne....who never eats "on the go" unless it's by choice or a real emergency.

[veespin]

I also know that if I don't eat all day my metabolism will drop and therefore I will not be burning fat as efficiently (correct me if I am wrong please!).

You don't have it quite right, musicgal.

The idea that you need to eat throughout the day to "keep your metabolism up" is a bit of a misinterpretation/misunderstanding of what the thermic effects of food actually mean as part of your overall metabolic rate.

Your daily calorie expenditure consists of

...your resting metabolic rate...which is the energy required to fuel all those bodily systems that keep you alive.....heart beat, cell pumps working, enzymes systems going, thinking, temp regulation etc. etc. Generally accounts for about 70-75% or so of daily calorie expenditure.

...energy required by working muscles used in activities/exercise....about 20%

...thermic effects of food....this is a function of the energy it takes to digest and utilize whatever you eat.

Although this is measurable it's actually a pretty small number as compared to your RMR. So, frequent meals throughout the day do result in an increase in energy expenditure....but this is purely related to that fact that you've eaten....it's not a "boost" as such to your RMR. And, since, in order to burn these calories, you've actually ingested calories you end up with a net calorie gain for whatever you've eaten. Although you'll see a lot of foods touted as being fat burners, I don't think there's any valid evidence that such magical food exist (not counting caffeine or amphetamines here.....and these aren't really metabolism "boosters" they just make you fidgety so you burn calories through non-exercise activity thermogenisis)


In reality, there's very little wiggle room for adjustments downward in your RMR since there are so few non-essential systems that are supported by it in human adults. Eating just twice a day isn't likely to cause a significant reduction in RMR .......the "decreased metabolism" you read about with lo-cal diets results mainly from a reduction in voluntary exercise because of too little fuel to support activity. I don't think it's a particularly good strategy, though since, by the time your evening meal comes around, you're likely to be so starving hungry that you overeat.

Vivienne