How to Eat When You Don't Get Lunch

There are a lot of good things about my job, obviously, but one of my favorite things (for many reasons) are our outreach clinics. Since Courtney left last summer I have, unfortunately, been unable to go on outreach very often. I think I have gone three times in about eight months. I used to be able to go three times a week if I wanted too.

Anywho, that's not the point of this entry. The big downside to outreach is that we don't have time for a lunch break. We arrive early, drive to clinic (up to 2.5 hours away), see patients all day and as quickly as possible, then we can eat and come home. Often "lunch" at the end of clinic also means going out, not packing. There is definite potential for a TON of snacking, and I have definitely been guilty of this in the past.

Tomorrow I have the privilege to travel to Panama City with one of the outreach teams, and I'm pumped. But that of course presents the problem of "how do I stick to my diet when I'm starving all day?" The answer is simple, and it's the same strategy I use almost every day, plan ahead!

Here is my plan:
1) Eat a big breakfast! Usually I don't eat a lot in the morning before work, but for outreach an exception can be made, and hopefully it will keep me full longer than my typical breakfast does.

2) Pack my snacks (they're packed!). If I don't pack my own, I end up having to rely on whatever Tom Thumb can supply me, and well, Tom Thumb has a pretty limited supply of healthy (and FRESH) options. Hopefully I packed enough to be snacks as well as "lunch" so that I'm not too hungry by the time I get home.

3) Avoid temptation at the restaurant. This one is probably the easiest for me tomorrow. Panama City means a visit to Tropical Smoothie at the end of the day, and if you've ever looked at the nutrition facts for Tropical Smoothie, you'll know why. I wouldn't mind ordering a smoothie every now and then, but eh.

My mantra since the beginning of the year has been "you can't argue with success". Thankfully I have been successful so far, and that's keeping my willpower strong.

I wish all of you who are also on a weight loss journey continued success!