Over the course of a six month dietbet, and in life in general, I reboot my diet plan from time to time. When I lose focus, I need a new meal plan or workout to get me excited again. I call my most recent reboot The Hobbit Diet.
The Hobbit Diet is inspired by Pippin's ideal meal plan as described in the Lord of the Rings. It includes six or seven meals a day. Although my actual diet differs considerably from what I imagine a real hobbit would like to eat, planning seven "meals" a day averaging 200 calories each is an easy way for me to approach meal planning. And calling a "hobbit diet" makes it a lot more fun!
I try to stick with the Hobbit Diet five days a week. This is what my basic Hobbit Diet plan looks like:
breakfast:
plain (greek) yogurt, seasonal fruit
second breakfast:
cucumber, boiled egg, coffee
elevensies:
about 10 nuts, green tea
lunch:
[I eat school lunch with my students, which averages about 500 calories]
tea:
30-100 calories worth of dark chocolate, tea obviously
dinner:
protein and veggies (roasted/baked, stir fried, etc.)
supper:
One of the following:
greek yogurt with fruit OR
greek yogurt with ground (powdered) sesame OR
veggies with greek yogurt "dip" OR
homemade "cottage cheese" (paneer)
In reality, I don't actually eat seven meals a day. I work at a school and it's not very practical to leave first period and go eat Second Breakfast! I usually combine the first two "meals" and eat them before I leave the house at 7:30am. The above plan is just a sample of course... Sometimes I slice up the morning cucumber into the yogurt instead of fruit, and eat a banana and an egg separately... and other wildness. Sometimes I eat toast at breakfast, rice at lunch, or pasta at dinner. And my Elevensies is always at 10:15!
But all in all, breaking my weekday meals into a series of simple 200 calorie snacks and a series of tea breaks is a great way for me to stay on track. I no longer have ot live in fear of the tiny delicious snacks my coworkers leave on my desk sometimes. I don't have to stockpile them for Cheat Day. I can just enjoy them and save my healthy nuts or dark chocolate for the next day. The small "meals" work for me because by the time I get hungry, I know I'll get to eat within the next hour or so. My hobbit diet is healthy, fun to think about, and fun to do... and anyway, I've always liked hobbits.