I Miss My After-School Nap and Snack

I eat five times a day. It's best for me and my blood sugar. And I try to eat at the same time every day: breakfast at 9 a.m., my mid-morning snack around 10:45, dinner at 7:30, etc. But my afternoon snack time is kicking my butt. It's not about being hungry or needing food, it's about some part of my brain wanting to do nothing but eat from 3 p.m. until about 4:30. What is that all about?!?!

I took a step toward an a-ha moment a couple of weeks ago when I was in a Weight Watchers meeting. Pam was asking people about their triggers: emotions, family gatherings, a certain time of day. A few other people in the room were also having that 3-5ish ravenous feeling, not of hunger, but the need to eat. Pam definitively gave us the reason behind it: the after-school snacks we used to get when we were kids.

Can that be true?!?! Can something that happened daily for several years so many years ago still be affecting the way I eat?!?! And if that's the case, when are we gonna throw a nap back into the mix???

My day in numbers...

Breakfast: 1/2 cup soymilk: 1 point
Rice Krispies with strawberries: 2 points

Mid-morning snack: yogurt smoothie: 1 point

Lunch: Lean Cuisine panini: 7 points
carrots and ranch dip: 1 point

Afternoon snack: Hershey's Snacksters: 2 points

Dinner: flank steak: 6 points
grilled pineapple: 1 point**

**If you've never grilled a freshly sliced pineapple, make plans to do it this weekend. It's such a great summertime side to anything you can prepare. Sprinkle with some cinnamon and a drop of honey, and grill until you're happy.

TOTAL: 21 points. I don't remember the last time I came in under budget.