Breakfast, anyone?

Breakfast is served

The problem of not eating breakfast, for me, isn’t actually about breakfast. The fact is, I’m usually pretty good about meal planning, mostly because I’m something of a food snob (read: Italian – see previous blogpost). I usually remember to pack my lunch (or have already decided to eat somewhere else that day). I got better about breakfasts after I realized what an impact not having breakfast had on my migraine count. I tend to go in cycles, I’ll drink protein shakes for a week or two, then eat eggs for a few days, sometimes I just have brown rice. Recently I discovered a love for apples and so have been having them for breakfast on and off for the last…hmmm…couple of months, I guess.

I've eaten about this many honeycrisps this year

So, if those are all the ways I’m good about breakfast, then where’s the problem? The problem comes in when I get thrown off my schedule. If I plan to run in the morning, I don’t eat breakfast till I get home. Except if for some reason I don’t manage my run (issues with the dog, emergencies that arise during the night, some new errand) I will look up and discover it’s 2 pm and I haven’t eaten a thing. This is generally bad news for my migraine count. And it isn’t just on running days. A sharp disruption in my schedule – even a non-physical, emotional disruption – can throw off all my great planning skills.

On a day when I get distracted enough to forget my breakfast, I get home and I’m not just hungry. I’m hungry AND I feel deprived. So when I start for my late lunch, I’m not just thinking about eating, I’m also thinking about soothing that poor, deprived me.

I started my day today in something of a panic, racing about, trying to get things done before I had to head in to work. Once I was at work, I had to work (obviously) and didn’t even think about eating. When I got home today I wasn’t even hungry, but I knew I needed to eat, so I started water for pasta. Pasta is a favorite of mine, so in order to keep myself from going overboard, I did two things. First, I only cooked one serving. My usual tendency is to make enough for 2 servings, ostensibly so that there is enough to eat the next day, but if I’m having a rough day, I’m just as likely to eat them both. The second thing I did was fill my bowl half way with broccoli before I even added the pasta.

Mmmm...broccoli

I’m not saying that I didn’t overeat – I probably still ate too much for one sitting. But do I think I saved myself from that way-too-full feeling AND the residual guilt that would have accompanied it. Part of what helped me was the Reinvention Project that I am participating in this month. Even though it’s all happening virtually, knowing that there are a bunch of other people out there trying to make positive changes in their lives kept me thinking about my choices as I got my meal together. Thanks, everyone!

I love tortellini.