IF at work. Any tips?

[scorxn]

Tomorrow will be my first major grocery day since starting simplefit, so I'm trying to plan for the weeks ahead. I was just wondering how everyone else is managing IF during the workday. Right now, my window is 12-6, but I want to shift it to 10-4, so I don't have to worry about overtime or long commutes pushing back dinner.

So, how do you do it? Do you pack all your meals each day? Do you bring in ingredients and try to make 'em at work? Have certain meals proven more practical than others?

[Admin]

People often find they are more likely to succeed and adhere to a program when they plan stuff out ahead. Packing food helps success and usually saves money.

Here is a very abstract simple meal

1 piece of meat
1 piece if fruit
as much non starchy vegetables as you want

Specific examples of this are

chicken breast
apple
streamed broccoli
hand full of almonds

another

4 oz of lean top round beef (grass fed)
2 tangerine
spinach salad with olive oil and lemon dressing
small hand full of cashews

another

6 oz shrimp
cabbage salad ( canola mayo apple sider vinegar and stevia dressing)
cup frozen blue berries
small hand full walnuts

eating like this will really pull the fat of fast and is totally healthy

[scorxn]

Then the key is getting in the habit of preparing meals the night before. Maybe cooking for an entire week and refrigerating, too. Sorry if this was obvious to most people. I'm trying to redeem my lazy bachelor, leftover pizza-dependent ways :)

[Admin]

Great question and I think it will benefit many, thanks for asking it.

[scumdogg]

I usually take a salad and include either sliced chicken or beef from the night before or mix in some tuna or cottage cheese. There's lots of different things you can include in your salads to keep things interesting: you can use regular greens like lettuce, spinach, or arugula, or you can use shredded cabbage, or make a broccoli salad. You can include olives, carrot, cucumber, canned beans like kidney or chickpeas, etc. You can also vary the flavour by using different dressings. There are lots of recipes available for healthy dressings.

I prepare the greens the night before and in the morning add the extras like meat or beans, and pack some dressing in a separate container.

[samjackson]

I don't even worry about eating during the day. I eat when I get home (I have an hour commute), usually after working out. Many days my fast is as long as 22 hours. If I think of it, I'll munch on a hand full of almonds on during the drive home, after work. Weekends aren't even a problem, though if you want you can steal from the Body-for-Life plan and take a free day once a week, during the weekend or when it suits you.

I'm into my sixth week of IF, following the Fast Five plan. Duringt the first 2-3 weeks, I was almost obsessed with not eating, and then eating again. Those feeling have all left. I eat when I get to it, some days more, some days less. I feel free from worrying about what to eat for breakfast and lunch. I already know; nothing.

I was down 9lbs. on the scale this morning, which means nothing, really. My bodyfat% is decreasing and I'm getting stronger. Thats all that really matters to me, at this point.

My own view is eat and drink what you want, sensibly, within a five hour eating window. And don't worry about the rest. Your body will take care of it for you. IMHO

[ryan]

my window is 12-5. i still get hunger pains from about 11am to noontime but im still new to the program so thats normal. i usually make a big meal the night before and split it up when i am at work. for example i make a lot of tuna salad, i eat 1/3 at noon with a fruit, eat 1/3 2 hrs later with another fruit, then eat the rest at 5 with something else. works out pretty well.

[Admin]

Ryan that sounds like solid advice.

[fitnatic]

I am trying the Zone Diet because of the workouts I do and the hours I spend training and running that I am eating more carbs than protein, so far and I've only been doing it for 2 days already and I am not as hungry as I was but I don't want to gain weight so I'm a little leary about it. I bring a small blender and made a smootie with the Isopure vanilla creme powder, with strawberries/pineapples, 1 cup of skim milk and a tiny chunk of banana for taste. It was great, then for lunch I have a turkey burger or tuna fillet and a fruit of some sort. I love my fruits and veggies I just need to add protein. I like the tuna burger recipe will have to try it out.

[Admin]

The Zone is very good stuff, if you like you can combine its macro nutrient ratios with paleo food quality, many crossfit people including myself do this.