missed meal, aaargh!

[tiina121]

heeellp!

I realise we are NOT supposed to miss meals but today I was out all day doing xmas shopping n a million other things and got home at 4.30 realising i had completely forgot to eat lunch!!!! I didn't eat it at 4.30 because that would make dinner at 9.30. Can anyone tell me what will happen?

cheers!

t

[thenewvee]

Don't worry, nothing too drastic happens. But the reason it is not good to miss a meal is because your body then wants to go into starvation mode and will start holding onto fat instead of burning it up.

I always carry a piece of fruit and crackers with me, and if I'm somehow going to miss a meal, I find something that is cohen friendly and guesstimate the amounts if I don't have anything suitable with me.

Keep drinking the water as well!

You will get the hang of it all soon, and it will be second nature to you!

Vee

[tiina121]

Thanks for the reply Vee I had crackers while I was out and water, it was just the lunch. I feel much better now tho thanx

[Shanara]

Hi Tina

I could be wrong but I do seem to recall Asy saying somewhere in here that it is important to have the meals even if your timing is way off. So eat at 4.30 then eat again at 9 or 9.30.

I think someone on the forum said they had gotten home really late like 11 o'clock and then didn't eat because it was so late and I think Asy said they would have been better to have eaten than to have skipped the meal. Perhaps Asy or one of the more experienced ones can clarify that. I would like to know which way is best if i am ever in a similar situation.

Shanara

[Annabelle Joy]

My understanding is that it is best to have the meal. In a situation like that, if you have the same protein for lunch and for dinner you can reduce the time between meals from five hours to four. However, don't take that as a general rule; it's only to be used in an emergency. Also, if two hours after dinner is really going to be difficult, it's better to reduce that a bit than to skip a meal.

As Vee said, nothing too drastic will happen, so don't stress over it.

AJ

[maria1969yellow]

In my programme it says as long as we give ourselves 2 hours after a meal. So has long has you eat we cant sleep for 2 hours...

Hope that helps.

[Mette]

It is more important that you eat than wait the 2 hours before going to bed. That's why in the program it says: if you are running late you MUST eat the meal! Be really really careful with missing meals. Eating late is better than not eating at all. Your body can't burn fat if it doesn't have protein, and you do risk pushing it in to starvation mode if you skip meals. Short of it is: if it does happen again, have the meal!

[Kristine..]

Hi tiina

As has been said:

You will not lose weight without protein in your system
It is better to eat late / have less than 5 hours between meals than to miss a meal
The '2 hours before sleep' rule is so that we are asleep when the blood sugar level is at it's lowest, as Human Growth Hormone works most efficiently when blood sugar is low


I frequently do not eat Meal 2 until 4.30pm - 6.30pm, and eat Meal 3 quite late in the evening. This suits me as I work late most evenings and if I ate any earlier I would be awake and empty!

If you find yourself caught short again, plan for it by
(a) taking a cheese salad in a small container in your handbag, or
(b) having a Meal 2 or Meal 3 option at Breakfast, and having yoghurt and fruit as Meal 3


Remember that a 'cheese salad' can be as simple as cheese and celery. Take crispbread, water and an apple and you can eat on the run (you can even eat in the car but don't say I said that!)


Above all, don't beat yourself up but Cohen's Take Away is really easy, it just takes a tiny amount of planning in advance

Cheers
Kristine

[tiina121]

Thanks heaps everyone for your input, I'm so glad I asked straight away. This is why we should read our program often, I'd forgotten that bit . Merry Christmas!

[phee]

Hi everyone,
I forgot to have lunch today, lost the track of time busily mowing and gardening. I did grab a piece of fruit when I came in.

After being sick all last week with the flu I am having trouble eating, I am just not hungry. I do eat my 3 meals, water plus my 2 fruits but never feel like the crispbreads.

Is this normal?

I am on Day 13 and have lost 6.2 kilos, my clothes dont feel any different so not sure if I want to measure this week.

Phee

[Jenna]

Hi Phee,

I would not fret too much about it, what's done is done. Of course, you could still have lunch since it's a bit past 3, you just won't be able to eat dinner until 8:15 or 8:30!

I understand the feeling of not being hungry due to illness, I was there a couple of times myself...I only missed one meal and it didn't cause an issue with the scales. It's just not good to make a habit of it, because your body needs all the nutrients it can get since we are eating so little...esp. if you were out gardening - that burns a lot of energy!

If I were you, I would go and eat that lunch now and just eat dinner a bit later today!

Good Luck, hope you feel better soon!

[janzoorah]

Hello Phee
I completely agree with Jenna u should still have ur lunch and then it just means u have ur dinner a little late tonight. It is better not to skip meals all together.
It has happened to me a few times when I have had to have my lunch later than I do which meant my dinner wasnt til 8 or 9 pm but it was ok.
By the way well done on ur 6.2kg weight loss in 13 days that is wonderful and u shouls be so proud of urself!!

[scarlet_]

Hey Phee =)

I agree with the others too. I'm actually just having lunch now myself, after falling asleep on the couch lol. Much Better to have a meal late, than to not have it at all.

Congrats on the weightloss too, 6.2kgs in less than 2 weeks is awesome! and with the measuring, if it were me, I'd do it =) You'll prob get a nice suprise!

<3

[Nel]

I did my program a couple of years ago, but was told that I should never miss a meal. If I has to eat my lunch late, then it was Ok to eat dinner earlier than 5 hours, provided I ate the same protein for lunch and dinner so the protein wasn't mixed. Not sure if that rule still applies, so maybe someone may be able to confirm this.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Nel, that's the best of a bad option. If it can't be helped then it's the best option as it won't cause major issues as the body will still only be required to process a single protein source as the same time. But it not something to do regularly.

sms