One of the reasons for my weight gain of late is that I don’t eat enough.
Whoa…I hear you say, how can I, howmanymiles, gain weight by not eating enough? Am I some sort of freak of nature who defies the principle of calories in vs calories out?
Well, let me expand (much like my waist). Recently, I dropped some hours at work. Not to become a full-time blogger or even to allow me more gym time. It was to help me manage my caring responsibilities. I look forward each day to welcoming the boys home from school and unfortunately, I have also become accustomed to looking forward to my 3-4pm feeding hour. Which sometimes drifts on to 5pm and even 6pm as I make and taste dinner for the family.
Despite my best efforts, I am not going to bed earlier and I am certainly not getting up earlier in the morning. Each day, it is a mad scramble to get washed, dressed and out to work. No time for breakfast and no time to prepare lunch.
Not that I actually get one. I only work five hours a day and wait until I come home after 3pm to feast. So, to more accurately explain my weight gain, I should say that I don’t eat enough in the morning. I certainly make up for it later and then, when full, I often struggle to do a workout.
And with an Ironman (you did read my Man V Fat post, didn’t you?) to prepare for, I need to find ways to find time to eat in the morning and at lunch.
So, when the good folks at the meeting software provider GoToMeeting sent me their 15 Snacks to Boost Energy and Productivity Blog to read and share, I was instantly drawn to the information and the infographic it contained.
According to the author, Wendy MacAuliffe, part of the reason for my 3pm munchies is due to my circadian rhythm. She states that:
Our circadian rhythms (which influence our sleeping patterns) can also be responsible for creating the munchies. That’s why just as the afternoon slump hits, we go to make ourselves a cup of tea, and reach for the chocolate digestives!
It all starts to make sense. It isn’t that I am a glutton or have a really, really sweet tooth, it is because of that pesky circadian rhythm.
Listed, in the infographic, were 15 protein and fat packed energy boosting snacks that I could sit on my desk and tuck into while working. Not only, would they help me avoid snacking on unhealthier foods later, they would provide me with a much needed energy boost. Something that both my Ironman aspirations and my boss might appreciate.
Admittedly, some of them don’t excite me, but I have to admit, it has been too long since I last ate hummus ( I once lived on it while living on a Kibbutz)
Have a look at GoToMeeting’s suggested energy boosting snacks below and let me know if any of these end of on your desk . I would love to see tubs of nuts, bean and kale crisps replace the almost endless supply of cakes and biscuits in my workplace. And hey, you can still have chocolate, just the dark stuff.
This post was sponsored by GoToMeeting and for posting it, I was paid a fee. As part of my Ironman challenge is to raise awareness and funds for Cancer Research, I am donating the said fee (might need to get a tax adviser to advise on all my blog fee donations) to them