​What and When Should You Eat When Working Long Hours?

Work can be tough, stressful and very time consuming. Some people find it very hard to get time to make meals or even eat at all! This could lead to you gaining weight, not having enough energy and making training sessions go to waste. So let's look into what you should eat when working long hours, when, and why!

So Why is it bad?

Wether you want to lose weight, gain muscle or remain healthy, not eating for long periods of time won't help do any of these things. Your body needs nutrients in order to grow, but also to keep your internal organs functioning properly, which is obviously a high priority to us all. So when you don't eat, not only does it affect muscle mass but how your body functions too. In terms of muscle, our bodies are either anabolic (building/maintaining) or catabolic (losing muscle) there is no inbetween, in order to stay in an anabolic state, we need regular feedings of protein hence why people suggest to eat meals every 2-4 hours. This isn't possible for everyone, but ideally is great to keep hold of any muscle you've been working hard for.

Can not eating make you put on weight?

Yes. This is because each individual has a certain amount of calories they need to consume on a daily basis, if you're not giving your body what it needs, it still needs to make your body function. Your body will consequently hold onto what food you do give it in order to allow your body to function properly. This is where stubborn fat can arise, that's your bodies stored fuel and energy which is used to survive as you're not giving it what it needs. Train more, eat properly and this will start to reverse the situation.

Pre made meals

Doing meal prep will help as it will be more efficient if you are very busy with work, you don't have to leave work, your meal is already made and you can even eat as you work. Take a day where you have some time to cook a big bulk of food and split it into 5 days of lunches. Take one every day so you have food on the go which is good for you!
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Eggs

​Eggs are high in protein and fats, and are extremely quick to cook and beneficial for any goal you may have. Wether you like omelette, scrambled or poached, eggs are a great snack at anytime in the day and are so quick to cook, theres no excuse not to cook them. If you are moving / exercising more swell you don't need to worry so much about the amount of cholesterol in them.

Protein shakes / bars

​If you really find it hard to prepare or grab food during work, I'd suggest shakes or bars. Simply so you can have some sort of nutrients delivered to your body. I'd usually only suggest supplements when someone's diet is great but in this case if you need nutrients and can't eat, a shake or bar is quick, easy and better than nothing.
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Does it matter when you eat it?

Surprisingly no! Think of it this way, an average man needs 2000kcals to give it enough energy per day and for an average woman needs 1800kcals. If you've only eaten 1000 calories, do you really think your body is going to care if you eat dinner at 10pm or later? NO! It needs energy! You've been working all day and now you need to refuel your body with all the energy you've been using! It's better to get in more calories and nutrients late in the day than nothing at all because you're leaving your body even longer without the energy and nutrients it needs! Especially if you're trying to build muscle you need to give your body protein to keep it growing. The longer you leave it the more it's struggling to stay full. This doesn't necessarily mean you should go home and eat 1500 calories of rubbish, this will cause all sorts of confusion in your body, but just eat your normal meal you'd eat for dinner.

Summary

Try to eat as often as you can, be pro active to prepare meals or supplements to give your body what it needs to help you reach your goals. Even if this means planning out roughly what to eat and when or getting up a little earlier to fit in a extra meal, do what you need to do.
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​Thanks for reading! 

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