The "This Might Be A Stupid Question, But...." Thread

[mbbored]

How do people manage to go to the gym after work then cook dinner without starving to death or eating super late?

If I head straight to the gym from work, I get there at 5:30. Work out for an hour then get home around 7. By the time I walk the dog (I live in a condo, no yard) and cook dinner, it's almost 8. And by then I'm going crazy with hunger. Most evenings if I don't have leftovers, I end up eating scrambled eggs for dinner.

[Luci]

Can I piggy back on kherbert05's question with a related one? (Actually I already am so I guess that question is answered  )

Do environmental factors affect the incidence of tonsillitis? I lived for three years in a town where tonsillitis was MUCH more common that I have experienced elsewhere. I'm certain that it wasn't just a misdiagnosing doctor for many reasons, one of which being my own symptoms (and I've never had tonsillitis at any other time in my life, but twice in this town), but there are many more.

I've always wondered if it could be environmental conditions. My own particular suspect was the water supply, which was a unique water supply exclusively used by this town, but that's based on nothing but its uniqueness.

Two anecdotal comments on this.

My brother had allergies but never had tonsillitis. I would get it 3 times a year, sometimes more. I never had a cold that didn't go into it.

My friend, several states away and years later, had 4 children. Only one of them was prone to the disease.

kherberto5, my husband at 69 has been a lifelong asthmatic and his tonsils are healthy and intact. He did not take steroids regularly for it, however. I don't know what he used, but it was nonsteroidal inhalers.

[MrsJWine]

How do people manage to go to the gym after work then cook dinner without starving to death or eating super late?

If I head straight to the gym from work, I get there at 5:30. Work out for an hour then get home around 7. By the time I walk the dog (I live in a condo, no yard) and cook dinner, it's almost 8. And by then I'm going crazy with hunger. Most evenings if I don't have leftovers, I end up eating scrambled eggs for dinner.

It's not quite the same thing, but when I was on sports teams in high school, with 2+ hour practices (so, home around 6:30 after showering, etc), I would bring a snack to eat right after school. This was especially important the year I had first lunch at 11:30 instead of 12:30.

[WillyNilly]

How do people manage to go to the gym after work then cook dinner without starving to death or eating super late?

If I head straight to the gym from work, I get there at 5:30. Work out for an hour then get home around 7. By the time I walk the dog (I live in a condo, no yard) and cook dinner, it's almost 8. And by then I'm going crazy with hunger. Most evenings if I don't have leftovers, I end up eating scrambled eggs for dinner.

Well not everyone has a dog. Or minds eggs for dinner.

To me a worknight dinner is pretty typically 8pm-ish. So really that's pretty on the spot for timing. And why I've always thought noon was a bizarre lunch time, 2 or 3 pm has always been my preference. And an apple or some pre-made snack is great too as soon as you come home to take the edge off. And after dinner, do the prep for tomorrow's so then when you do get home its quicker to whip somthing up.

[Dindrane]

How do people manage to go to the gym after work then cook dinner without starving to death or eating super late?

If I head straight to the gym from work, I get there at 5:30. Work out for an hour then get home around 7. By the time I walk the dog (I live in a condo, no yard) and cook dinner, it's almost 8. And by then I'm going crazy with hunger. Most evenings if I don't have leftovers, I end up eating scrambled eggs for dinner.

I have always wondered this as well (and I don't have a dog to worry about). I occasionally have to run errands after work, and it always leaves me crazy hungry before I can get dinner, and usually has me staying up too late.

I would imagine that the answer is, as MrsJWine said, snacks. And either very simple dinners, or someone else doing the cooking.

Personally, my answer is that I go to the gym in the morning. It means having to wake up before 5 (so I go to bed at or before 9 most nights), but at least I have energy and am not about to gnaw my own arm off. For whatever reason, I'm fine not eating breakfast for a couple hours after waking up, but if I don't get my dinner by 6:30 or so, I'm starving. Even though I almost never eat lunch before 1:00.

[Mental Magpie]

I am what people refer to as a grazer.  I don't often eat full meals but rather graze throughout the day.  What does this mean for me?  It means that I tend to not over-stuff myself (a bad habit I finally learned to stop doing!) nor tend to feel so hungry I can't stand it.  It took some rearranging, unintentionally, but I managed it.

I no longer eat actual meals but rather "snack" for most of the day.  Every few hours I have a small snack, so even when I get home from an 8 hour workday, I can work out for 1-2 hours without having just eaten and without being achingly hungry.  I would say, on average, I eat about 6-8 times a day.  Granted, the meals are small and would probably be referred to as "snacks", but it works for me.  Please feel free to PM if you would like to know more, even if it is just pure curiosity about how I do it.

[that_one_girl]

How do people manage to go to the gym after work then cook dinner without starving to death or eating super late?

If I head straight to the gym from work, I get there at 5:30. Work out for an hour then get home around 7. By the time I walk the dog (I live in a condo, no yard) and cook dinner, it's almost 8. And by then I'm going crazy with hunger. Most evenings if I don't have leftovers, I end up eating scrambled eggs for dinner.

Snacks  
Also I tend to get a lot of frozen meals as well as making up large batches of things like burritos, meatballs, stuffed potatos, and shepherd's pie.  Those things pretty much take around 30  mins to heat up, so it's a huge time-saver.

[Mental Magpie]

That reminds me, I eat generally healthy snacks.  Do I sometimes indulge and down half a bag of Flamos Doritos?  Sure, but I also find myself eating a bunch of applesauce, too.

[Luci]

How do people manage to go to the gym after work then cook dinner without starving to death or eating super late?

If I head straight to the gym from work, I get there at 5:30. Work out for an hour then get home around 7. By the time I walk the dog (I live in a condo, no yard) and cook dinner, it's almost 8. And by then I'm going crazy with hunger. Most evenings if I don't have leftovers, I end up eating scrambled eggs for dinner.

Snacks  
Also I tend to get a lot of frozen meals as well as making up large batches of things like burritos, meatballs, stuffed potatos, and shepherd's pie.  Those things pretty much take around 30  mins to heat up, so it's a huge time-saver.

30 minutes is a long time when I'm really hungry. Cold cheese is good!

[Dazi]

How do people manage to go to the gym after work then cook dinner without starving to death or eating super late?

If I head straight to the gym from work, I get there at 5:30. Work out for an hour then get home around 7. By the time I walk the dog (I live in a condo, no yard) and cook dinner, it's almost 8. And by then I'm going crazy with hunger. Most evenings if I don't have leftovers, I end up eating scrambled eggs for dinner.

On gym days, I take an extra snack to eat just before I leave work.  It's usually cheese and some fruit, but for me it really can be anything that is high protein and a bit of natural sugar.  If for some reason I forget the snack, I drink a high protein shake the minute I hit home and then worry about cooking dinner.  Also, I try to have chicken or tuna salad in the fridge for an emergency quick dinner or if I just don't feel like cooking.

[JoW]

How do people manage to go to the gym after work then cook dinner without starving to death or eating super late?....

I eat at one of the fast food places near the gym, or I get take out.  If the weather is threatening I'll go home and make a grilled cheese sandwich.  Other people in my class have spouses who cook dinner.   

[Vall]

How do people manage to go to the gym after work then cook dinner without starving to death or eating super late?

If I head straight to the gym from work, I get there at 5:30. Work out for an hour then get home around 7. By the time I walk the dog (I live in a condo, no yard) and cook dinner, it's almost 8. And by then I'm going crazy with hunger. Most evenings if I don't have leftovers, I end up eating scrambled eggs for dinner.

I've never belonged to a gym and my DH does all of our cooking.  But on days when he has errands after work or thinks he may have to work late, he just throws some stuff in the crock pot before he leaves for work.  When he gets home, dinner is hot and ready.  He loves the convenience of our slow cooker which has a setting so it will automatically switch to "warm" when the timer goes off.

[LazyDaisy]

It can also depend on when people eat their lunch. I have a late lunch around 2 pm so even without going to the gym, I still don't eat dinner until about 7. There are plenty of sports drinks too that provide sugar and carbs while working out. Those would help stave off hunger.

[mandycorn]

Based on the wrappers I picked up from around the treadmill before I started my workout yesterday (grumble) Snickers bars are good too.

I'm running into this same issue, but I'm mostly balancing it by cooking a lot on non-gym days so I have reasonably healthy leftovers to heat up on gym days.

It was so much easier when I lived with my folks because my mom would time it to have dinner ready just as my Dad and I got home from the gym. Not having anyone else to cook for me is definitely my least favorite part of living alone.

[KenveeB]

Based on the wrappers I picked up from around the treadmill before I started my workout yesterday (grumble) Snickers bars are good too.

I'm running into this same issue, but I'm mostly balancing it by cooking a lot on non-gym days so I have reasonably healthy leftovers to heat up on gym days.

It was so much easier when I lived with my folks because my mom would time it to have dinner ready just as my Dad and I got home from the gym. Not having anyone else to cook for me is definitely my least favorite part of living alone.

Amen to that! I tend to cook once a week and one or two things that has 4-8 servings. I portion it into individual servings and put it in the fridge. I also prepare all my salad ingredients in advance and have them in ziplock baggies -- pre-torn lettuce, grape tomatoes, cucumber slices, etc. That way I just reheat the leftovers, pull together a salad while it's in the microwave, and have a good meal in no time.