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what time do you have your meals?

(129 Posts)
Franbern Tue 12-Jan-21 18:14:11

Okay, another thread to see if there is any interest. Anything which takes us away from The News at present!!!!

So, for those of you who are home, retired, when do you have your meals. Obviously, we are no longer governed by going to and getting home from work, and unlikely to have children around us.

Once I retired, I found that without the alarm clock my body-clock woke me around 8.00 am each morning. I get up and have my breakfast immediately, getting showered and dressed much later (between 9.00 and 10.00 am).

I then have a very early, light lunch, soon after midday.

Do have a hot drink (winter), cold one in summer, during the afternoon, but then have my main meal soon after 5 pm. I know this is very early, but I am a long-time ostomist and find that eating early helps me have less interruptions for loo visits during the night.

The only thing I have later is a Green Tea.

My children & g.children find my meal times quite difficult, as it does mean (when we are permitted) that it is difficult to arrange going to a restaurant. When we do, they always try to book the earliest possible sitting - usually around 6 pm. They are all very good about this, but I know find it mildly irritating, that I just will not eat later.

I was surprised today when I phoned someone at midday and they said they would phone me back as they were just having the lunch. Thought it was only me that ate that so early.

Just be interesting to know what other retired people do about mealtimes.

ninathenana Wed 13-Jan-21 13:43:12

DH is usually up before me and will have had his tea and toast by the time I'm eating breckie at 8-8.30.
Lunch is a sandwich at 1pm whilst watching the news.
Cuppa and a cake at 4pm
Dinner between 6.30-7.000pm.
Occasionally DH will have supper at 10ish

kizzykins Wed 13-Jan-21 13:35:59

Eat when hungry
I am not an early bird and not hungry first thing so breakfast is usually 11 ish.
Lunch around 3 and tea at half 7
Bed around 11
I think its nice when you go out for a meal that your family make an effort to comply with your early eating. As someone who always eats later in the day to eat a main meal earlier is hard.

Rosina Wed 13-Jan-21 13:32:43

We have a cup of tea at about nine, a light lunch around 12 - 1 and dinner at about seven. I read that the shortest eating interval possible is best - for example ours is between 12 and 7, and therefore seven hours, but if you breakfast at eight and dine at seven your interval is eleven hours. This is probably another new fad, but is supposedly better for your digestive system.

hicaz46 Wed 13-Jan-21 13:30:19

No breakfast, mid morning cappuccino. Lunch 1.00pm, cup of tea at 3.30 and dinner at 6.00pm. Cup of tea at 9.15pm and bed about 11.45 pm. Over Christmas there were probably snacks and nibbles between these meals, but since Sunday not having anything outside meals.

Notright Wed 13-Jan-21 13:27:55

I eat when I am hungry, always have. My tummy doesn't understand the clock and anyway I might be doing something else when it chimes. I eat healthily, and 2 or 3 times a day.
When I looked after my grandchildren when they were young, they had breakfast, lunch and tea, when they wanted it. ie. Hungry.

twinnytwin Wed 13-Jan-21 13:13:26

I was diagnosed with silent reflux in December so now have our main meal at lunchtime. Try to have our last meal completed before 7pm so that it's at least 3 hours before bedtime. Also given up alcohol since Christmas. All going very well and feeling so much better now with hardly any symptoms.

GrammarGrandma Wed 13-Jan-21 13:06:13

Breakfast at around 8am (I'm always awake by 7 and often at 6am); lunch at around 1pm (late today); dinner at c. 7pm.

Mid-morning coffee and mid-afternoon tea.

Not set in stone but I get antsy if I don't have my coffee close to 11am, as that is my one caffeine shot of the day!

Jillybird Wed 13-Jan-21 13:02:47

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

fuseta Wed 13-Jan-21 13:01:31

Breakfast at about 8.30. Usually muesli and raspberries with oat milk. Sandwich and coffee at 12.30. My favourite is avocado and tomato sandwich. Dinner at 8 with a couple of glasses of wine. Don't usually eat any snacks apart from a bit of chocolate in the evening.

B9exchange Wed 13-Jan-21 13:00:36

Don't have breakfast, though DH has porridge, toast and marmalade, and never puts on weight [cross]

Coffee mid morning, something like home made soup for lunch with pint of water, cup of tea mid afternoon, dinner, minus carbs at around 6ish. I do have yoghurt or fruit for pudding. On that my weight stays stable, any more and I balloon. Only 5' tall and not violently energetic, I suppose I just don't need many calories sad

Juno56 Wed 13-Jan-21 12:51:53

I have a mug of tea when I get up (about 8) and have breakfast of cereal or porridge with fruit between 9 and 10 with more tea. I might have coffee about midday but usually only drink water until a sandwich lunch at about 2. I continue drinking water but have a hot chocolate mid afternoon (I really want to snack on chocolate but a low calorie drink has to do?). We eat our main meal between 8 and 9 and go to bed about midnight. As we eat late I do not generally eat anything during the evening. I think I would probably be looking for a snack if I ate as early as some of you. It's interesting to read of the differences.

Elvis58 Wed 13-Jan-21 12:43:34

Breakfast beteewn 8 and 9, lunch 1 to 2, dinner 6 to 7. Only because we are stuck in!
If we were out and about its fluid as and when.
Life is too short to be too regimented.

Sparky56 Wed 13-Jan-21 12:41:38

Now we’re retired we don’t stick to times but usually -
8-9am tea followed by breakfast and another tea
Hot drink sometimes 11ish
Lunch around 1 but can be later
Mid afternoon - tea and snack
Dinner between 6-7 followed by tea -decaf!
Maybe another cuppa between 8-9 (but sometimes alcohol!!!)
Bed - around 11.00

Jane43 Wed 13-Jan-21 12:29:36

I stopped having breakfast when I started the 16/8 diet a couple of years ago and now find I don’t want it so just have black coffee until lunch around noon. We have our main meal at 5pm and I have a snack such as a yogurt or a couple of biscuits with a cup of tea at 8pm.

GrammaH Wed 13-Jan-21 12:25:29

If I'm here on my own I have breakfast when I get up so any time from 8ish to 10ish. It's usually just a coffee & the current favourite cereal which , at the moment, is Grape nuts. I'd forgotten how good they are! If DH is about, we usually breakfast around 10 and he'll have bacon & egg whereas he just has cereal if he's going out to work. Lunchtime is 1.30 & always has been but nowadays it's a snack of biscuits & cheese or ham - when we were farming, it was a hearty main meal. We eat our evening meal at 7.30 and DH will have a slice of cake or bread & butter at 5ish to keep him going.

Polly4t42 Wed 13-Jan-21 12:23:06

We wake between 6-7 and one of us goes down and makes a cup of tea which we drink in bed, my husband then goes down to get a second cup and goes into the shower. After we both shower we dress and have breakfast, cereal, toast or banana. Coffee at 11 usually with a biscuit.Lunch is around one so my husband can watch the news whilst we eat a sandwich/roll and some fruit. Cup of tea around 4 then dinner around 6. This time of year we usually have a couple of chocolates around 8 pm(Christmas gifts). This changes on Sundays when we have our main meal at lunchtime and Thursdays when we childminder our 1 and 3 yr old grandchildren.

Graygirl Wed 13-Jan-21 12:16:08

Don't get up till 9am, had a auto-immune condition 6 years ago caused extreme fatigue, so had to change meal times. I still wanted to try and live a life
Breakfast 9.30/10.00
Cooked meal 2PM
Soup,small sandwich, crackers &cheese something like that about 7pm
Still have fatigue problems so stayed with this timetable

JaneA Wed 13-Jan-21 12:11:00

Exactly the same as you Franbern

harrigran Wed 13-Jan-21 11:55:07

Cup of tea in bed between 7 and 8am.
Breakfast about 8.30.
Cup of tea at 11am.
Cooked lunch at 1pm.
Cup of tea and a slice of cake or a chocolate at 4pm.
Evening meal about 7.30, usually a sandwich or a bowl of soup.

scrapgran Wed 13-Jan-21 11:54:34

Breakfast around 8.15 usually, lunch at 12.00 and then evening meal about 5.30 p.m. Cup of green tea and a biscuit about 2.30 p.m. to keep me going

HillyN Wed 13-Jan-21 11:52:42

We have lunch around 1pm and evening meal about 7pm, but breakfast is whatever time we wake up (tea and toast in bed). On days when we mind our GD that would be about 8am, other days not until much later.
When my DH was working full-time we used to eat earlier in the evening but then he would start tucking into the cheese and biscuits around 9.30pm. In an effort to cut out the evening snacking we moved the evening meal until later. Doesn't always work, though!

Bijou Wed 13-Jan-21 11:50:04

Up at 8 a.m. Breakfast, porridge (prepared night before) orange juice and tea. Then shower. Lunch 12.30 while watching Bargain Hunt. Cup of tea 4 pm. Dinner 6 pm. Cup of cocoa and biscuit before going to bed around 1 a.m.

Seajaye Wed 13-Jan-21 11:48:20

In an effort to stave off the middle age spread, I try to practice Time Restricted Eating, with a 10 hour eating window, e.g meals between 8am to 6pm. Apparently the night fast raises metabolism, and seems to work. I do cheat on social occasions but there haven't been many of these recently. Eating late at night also often creates sleeping problems for me, so aiming for dinner before 6 is good for me.

JdotJ Wed 13-Jan-21 11:30:17

Breakfast 9am
Lunch, between 12 and 1
Eve meal 6pm

EllanVannin Wed 13-Jan-21 11:29:47

I eat at the times when I'm hungry, which could be any time of the day---except after 6pm. It's worked for me for years. I've never had set times.