Programming, Diet and you.

Kris Gray — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 07:49:59 +0000

So like many, I have a New Years resolution to get healthier this year. Being a programmer who sits on his butt all day and my only joy (other then my glorious job!) is a social hour with good food and great company. I can’t state enough how much fun it is to wander down to the International District during lunch to get some authentic Japanese food. But, now I have to put all that in the past, this year I’m eating to live, not living to eat. Here are my plans.

Bring food into the office.
Besides saving a butt-load of money, this allow me to continue to work uninterrupted during the middle of the day.
Small Portions
I’m looking to be able to take breaks every other hour, and eat a little something. The most important thing I can do is to avoid that one large meal at 12, and to constantly have my system processing. I don’t want long breaks either, getting my food, some water sitting down, and eating should take 10 minutes, at which point I would imagine being back to work.
Nothing Complex
The more attention I have to pay to something, the less attention I can pay to something else. Or of course, the less likely I am to do it, which is even worse. So what I’m looking for this year, is a simple solution that I can just throw together, and don’t have to plan to far in advance for. I’m definitely looking to avoid spending all night cooking, even if it is one night a week for the whole week.

So with that in mind, here is a breakdown of a typical day and the meals I expect.

Light breakfast
- Odwalla Super Protein Vanilla Al’mondo – Best drink ever, can drink it any day.
- Plain Oatmeal w/ splenda – Super cheap, light, healthy.
Lunch – Every 3 hours
- Protein
- 3-4 Slices of Turkey/Ham from the Deli
- Cottage Cheese
- Leftovers from some meal I had earlier
- Carb
- Fruit, Salad, or Yogurt
- Healthy Fats
- Walnuts
Constantly throughout the day
- Water
- Snacking on Walnuts
- Green tea

I’m adding walnuts to my diet because it was on this list of superfoods I read. The hardest part of this, is saying no to my co-workers when they want to go out. I kinda feel bad, its not that I don’t want to, I just have terrible discipline when it comes to saying no to a menu.

On top of this, I’m going to keep doing my usually extra curricular activities after work, which include Karate, Soccer, Flag Football, Softball, and Running with my Girlfriend.

How do you deal with eating healthy while being a programmer? Got any suggestions, please share.

Kris "Justise" Gray » food

Programming, Diet and you.