Results from Eat lunch, skip dinner. New experiment: Meetings and internet for emergency only.

Each week I’ll run an experiment and post the results here. My goals are to try new things, get to know myself, and live a smarter and more satisfying life.

Results of Week 2 (1/10/2016 to 1/16/2016): Eat lunch, skip dinner.

Hypothesis #1: Eating lunch every day will make me happier and more effective.

Correct, with caveats.

• Eating lunch makes me happier. I love connecting with friends over a hot meal. And our office is a 10 minute walk from the best Chinese restaurant in Seattle, Sichuanese Cuisine. It’s spicy, cheap, and delicious — try the boiled fish! — and eating there more often is a joy.
• Eating lunch makes me more effective at night. I get home at 6:30, and we put Boone to bed around 8. When I skip lunch I walk in the door starving and am useless until I eat, which means less rest for Anna and little time with Boone. Eating lunch lets me come home full, give Anna a break, and connect with Boone immediately. Hearing “Daddy, will you play trains with me?” every night is amazing. He hugs me more and seeks me out on the weekend. And knowing that I’m “done” with meals when I get home makes the rest of the night feel wide open.
• Eating lunch may or may not make me more effective at work. Breaking the trance at lunchtime keeps me present and productive. But I spend ~50% of my work day in meetings and need dedicated time to get things done. Lunch turns out to be the ideal time to work through because people rarely schedule lunch meetings. This points to a bigger problem, which I will explore in this week’s experiment.

Hypothesis #2: Skipping dinner and eating raw foods only after 4PM will improve my health.

Correct.

• I’ve lost 10 pounds so far this year. Eating light at night is a big part of why. I have no idea if my body processes calories differently throughout the day. But I weigh less in the morning if I don’t eat at night, which lets me see consistent progress that inspires me to keep going.
• A shorter mealtime equals less calories. So does drinking water and paying for my food. Heavy dinner means I graze for 30 minutes on “free” food while deciding what to cook and cooking, then eat a big meal with a glass or two of wine, and finish hours later with a snack. Heavy lunch means I buy and eat a big meal at noon with water before going back to work around 1.
• I’m sleeping and waking up better too. I have no problem going to sleep hungry. Eating is off the list of ways I can delay going to bed. And breakfast tastes better when I skip dinner, so I wake up excited about it, which means I wake up excited about my day.

Hypothesis #3: Being hungry at night will improve my mental clarity.

Incorrect.

• A bit of hunger keeps my head clear in the early evening. Skipping dinner means no food comas and less choices to make. I can focus my decision energies on after-work activities and projects.
• But over the course of the night, this hypothesis is revealed as wishful thinking. I stay up for >10 hours after lunch. By bedtime I’m hungry to the point of distraction.

What else I learned

• Healthy living is a series of connected choices. Fugue state is the home of my worst decisions: “Why not have more pizza? I’ve barely been sleeping, and I’m working really hard.” The opposite perspective is just as real: “Why the hell would I eat that? I went to sleep at 11 and woke up early to work out.” When I’m taking care of myself, I’m taking care of myself.
• Excess is not inherently more fun. Eating and drinking too much is gross and it makes me feel bad. As someone who has had and satisfied big appetites my whole life, I feel more certain than ever that the celebration of excess is a marketing ploy to sell food and liquor.
• Lunch is much cheaper than dinner. I don’t have data on this, but after controlling for meal size and quality, there seems to be a “dinner tax” on non-happy-hour night eating. Imagining that Big Restaurant wants me to eat dinner motivates me to skip it.
• My social life improved. Most of us work during the day and can only connect at night. Not eating dinner means I can use that time to make phone calls, take walks, and see family and friends. If they’re eating, they don’t care if I eat too.

What’s next

Week 3 (1/17/2016 to 1/23/2016): Meetings and internet for emergency only.

My definition of emergency-only: “For use as a last resort to answer specific and time-sensitive questions.”

Hypothesis #1: Limiting internet browsing to “emergency only” will make my life more satisfying.
Hypothesis #2: Limiting internet browsing to “emergency only” will make me more effective at home and at work.
Hypothesis #3: Limiting meetings to “emergency only” will make my work more satisfying.
Hypothesis #4: Limiting meetings to “emergency only” will make me more effective at work.