I’m not eating between meals and I’m not going to take seconds. Just Today. And I’m going to try this for a year to see what happens.
One unexpected benefit of not eating between meals is how much I appreciate dinner. For years food has been something I eat whenever I think of it. And I don’t think I went many afternoons without eating a snack of some sort. But now. . .
I’ve really started to understand the impact of the saying ‘Don’t spoil your dinner.’ The cook works hard — from thinking about what to make through preparing it. Then it’s served to a bunch of people who take it for granted. Because if they were really hungry, they’d just get something out of the cupboard — sometimes even a few minutes before the meal! So what’s an elaborate meal worth?
But if the cook is serving a family of people who haven’t eaten since lunch? Just think how that would feel to everyone.
When you don’t eat between meals, you don’t spoil your dinner. And that’s like getting a present everyday. I mean me — I can only speak for myself.
Has not eating between meals changed your feelings about meals?
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I don’t think it is one size fits all. Your argument is good, that the cook has worked hard, and how can people appreciate it if they have just had a sandwich and a snack cake, as opposed to not having had anything since lunch.
On the other hand, if they are TOO hungry, they will also not appreciate the cook’s artistry because they will wolf it down hardly aware of what it is, and not appreciate the subtle flavors.
So my view would be for moderation. Having an apple or some crackers or whatever works for you in the afternoon will not “spoil your dinner,” but eating a heavy snack shortly before dinner might, and so might eating nothing.
As always the key is to what extent you are planning and controlling it.
I’m glad you clarified that — I keep forgetting to build into my discussion that while I happen to be a 3 meals a day person, this does not work for everyone.
And (I think) what you call an afternoon snack, is what I would call a planned mini-meal. Or a food-related emergency.
When I talk about not eating between meals, I am talking about thoughtless, idle, unnecessary grazing.
One of the things I have learned from you is that the key is planning, and putting yourself in control of the food, instead of the other way around. And for some people, the grazing works, but not thoughtless and idle. Especially some older people or people who want to lose weight, find that PLANNED grazing is better for them.
This does not mean, however, for the benefit of lurkers whose eyes just lit up, that one grazes on black forest cake and pizza.
You figure out which foods are best for you, and graze on those, and if you want to lose weight your grazing will be on things like those little grape tomatoes or a bit of yogurt or sunflower seeds, with balanced and low calorie larger meals seamlessly itegrated, but even the larger meals will be smaller for a grazer. I think it would be very difficult to plan a grazing diet, but there are people who swear by them.
You bring back some pleasant memories of when I was married to a cattle rancher. (We never lived on the ranch, but were there a lot.) When it came time for cattle work, the men would troop into the kitchen of the ranch manager’s wife where she would have been cooking up a storm of steaks and green beans and mashed potatoes and cherry pie all morning. The men, and now and then a girl or woman hand, would politely remove their cow crap encrusted boots in the “mud room,” and then come into the house in their stocking feet. They would have also removed their cowboy hats, so every head would have plastered-down, sweaty hair, and every forehead would have that funny tan line that cowboys get, where all of their face is dark except for the part where the sun don’t shine.
She (and I) would have made up every table surface we could find with silverware, pitchers of iced tea, etc., and the cow hands would pull out their chairs and sit down and start chowing down with the deeply grateful appreciation of people who had been working outside for hours.
I loved those noon time meals, and I loved those guys.
And then came the washing up.
kansas, I love this memory of yours. It makes me want to go downstairs and checkout a Western novel.
And you make me wish I could read Lonesome Dove all over again for the first time.
Oh my God, YES! (as I slide into a fond daydream)
My fond daydream would feature Gus prominently.
If I don’t watch out, I’ll have to change the name to Read 4 Today and do a whole new design change.
I love reading the fond memory too. It makes me want a steak and some cherry pie. And sweet tea. I would even sacrifice the mashed potatoes if I could have those 3 things.
But I am being back on track. And must do like kbird and ask “is it time for you to eat?” To which I must confess that, well, no, it is not.
And if it were, it would not be time for me to eat steak and cherry pie and sweet tea, even if the first two were present, which they are not, and I have Renounced sweet tea.
But I want some. And a steak. And a very large piece of cherry pie, possibly two. And since I can’t have any of them, I also secretly want the mashed potatoes.
Luckily, you don’t have to give them up forever. Just Today. (sigh) Which won’t be any comfort when tomorrow comes and it’s today.
That vacation from diabetes sounds better everyday. Except that I’m kind of having fun figuring it out with you, Ductape. I’d miss that.
Don’t even think of trying to take one. It is not fun. You don’t really dare to do really bad things. Just slightly bad things that give you a 112 in the morning.
It is kind of like when I had the orange juice right after an envelope-pushing meal and got a 186. All I did was think about all the things much more sinful and delicious than orange juice that I could have had for a 186.
testing:
This is a heartbreaking story. (And did anyone else notice that the preview displays UNDER the textbox as you type?
I’ll have to see if I can move it.
Was I mean to talk about steak and cherry pie? Let’s pretend the steak was rawhide tough and the cherry pie had a soggy crust!
No, kansas, I already tried imagining that, and it did not help. I wanted to eat it all anyway.