How can I eat healthier with a busy college/work schedule?

Do you have access to a microwave at work or school? Make your meals a week in advance on the weekends, then you can either freeze or refigerate them and pop them into the microwave to heat when you take your meal breaks.

It sounds like a decent meal plan, if a bit too minimalist to realistically stick to. However, if the timing of dinner is what the biggest problem is, consider simply taking a extra of those snacks with you and simply eating dinner after nine.

Start simple then get vivid. I start a diet by eating bananas because I like them and they are a constant. When I start getting a little tired of bananas I start eating oranges. I’ve progressed to this week where I’ve eaten oranges, bananas, jackfruit, strawberries sugar cane (drink), mangosteens, and some crazy fruit from Taiwan. The variety is exciting and tasty.

@WestRiverrat Yeah, I have access to a microwave at work. That’s why lunch isn’t an issue. However, I leave work at around 5:30 and have to be at school in class by 6:00. There isn’t enough time for me to pop something in the microwave and sit and eat it off of a plate. In the end, I’ll probably have more like 10 minutes to shovel something in my mouth while sitting in my car before sprinting to class. See the dilemma? :)

@Smashley That’s always an option, but I thought eating after 7 or 8 was kind of taboo because you go right to sleep and don’t have the opportunity to work it off. If it won’t cause me to keep the weight on, I can consider it.

@jlelandg I’m not quite sure which part of my question you answered. I wasn’t asking about variety. And I sure hope you’re not only eating bananas throughout the entire day. That’s not even kind of healthy. I appreciate the idea of switching things up, nonetheless. However, I’m not interested in a “diet”, per say. Diets don’t work. Been there, done that. I need to totally reconstruct the way I eat forever.

breakfast burritos in bulk

@jlelandg Ah, so you live in one of those states with fresh produce. Soo jealous!

You don’t need to work it off right away. Going to sleep right after eating can cause some really weird dreams and night sweats because your body is busy working at digesting instead of resting, though.

@lbwhite89 – Well “work it off” doesn’t exactly exist. Most of the calories you use in your life are used up simply by being alive. Consider the hours between the times you normally eat dinner and the time you eat breakfast. Isn’t most of it sleeping anyway? I really don’t see what a couple of hours is going to do differently. Especially since those hours are some of the least active of your day anyway. I’m sure it makes little difference if you are conscious or not.

Consider making it so dinner is not your primary calorie source of the day. When I’m hiking or in training, I tend to eat a lean, nutritious breakfast, then throughout the rest of the day, I just snack (in a controlled, measured, way) on things I like. Nuts (unsalted) tend to be my primary daily source of calories, and I just eat them through the day, along with dried fruit, dry meats, crackers, a bit of dark chocolate, peanut butter, salad (bit of O/V for dressing, no bacon bits or ranch). Dinner often comes late, but is usually just enough of something small to keep me from feeling hungry until the morning. Rice and beans works nicely. Roasted squash, yams, quinoa, lentils, and whatever’s-in-the-pantry-flavored-pasta, work well also. This will help you from feeling that evening bloat when you take a huge, high calorie, high fat, meal before you sleep. Eat just enough to be comfortable, drink plenty of water through the day, and good luck!

@Smashley O/V?

Here’s a good video, almost in direct response to your question:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRQxIcbIT3A

@Smashley Oil and vinegar.

What about using a crock pot to cook meals? It sounds like you don’t have time to run home to eat lunch/dinner, but you could cook a meal a day ahead and take it with you to work. There are lots of healthy (and delicious) slow cooker recipes, and they’re usually super easy. Just throw it all in the crock pot, turn it on low, and come back 8 hours later when it’s done.

@Disc2021 – There are a lot of much better, healthier, tastier, less insane meal plans out there. Despite what Mr. Shirtless is saying, good food can taste good, and some of his mantras are crazy. If you’re healthy and your kidneys work, you don’t have to pretend like salt is the devil, for instance.