[One of the occasional series of posts about my typical day.]
I’ve debated whether to include the typical sort of food I eat or not. As it happens, I am. But you don’t have to read it if you don’t want to :)
Breakfast is one of those things that I know is important, but I keep running out of time to make and eat it – especially since I’m organizing lunch at the same time. I tend to end up in a rut. Past ruts have included:
- Bagel with peanut butter
- No breakfast
- Get a croissant at the deli to dunk in coffee
- Starbucks drive-thru on the way to work
- Jack-in-the-Box drive-thru
- Luna bar
- Hot pockets
The common thread is that I can eat on the run or at work, if I wish, because I am a Pampered Princess of Convenience. I will note that while these all have different calorie counts, my weight stayed stable regardless of which rut I was in. Oh, and cereal is a total no-go for me – an hour later I’m hungry, plus it’s not portable.
Readers may have noticed I recently read a book called Health at Every Size by Linda Bacon. One chapter includes information on nutrition and how the overall American diet has changed in the past few decades. So far it’s inspired me to make two changes:
- I plan & pack an afternoon snack.
- I’ve added more fiber.
Why? Well, #1 is because I would crash around 3 or 4 and end up having a snack anyway, usually from snacks I have stashed at work (luna bars, popcorn, beef jerky, chocolate) or from the vending machine. Now I just plan it better.
#2 is because one of Bacon’s measures for eating enough fiber is that your blood sugar doesn’t see-saw; fiber helps slow your digestion of carbs, which helps stabilize your blood sugar. I was regularly “crashing” every 2-3 hours, so, why not try adding more fiber?
One easy thing I did was to spend some time reading bread labels, ending up with an organic whole wheat loaf with 3 grams of fiber per slice. My new “standard” breakfast is a slice of toast with crunchy peanut butter and, if I’m feeling extra peckish, a piece of fruit. I don’t get hungry as quickly as I used to, and my blood sugar stays stable longer. :)
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