The Programmer

I’d like to introduce my current meal plan. You can say it’s a low carb-high fat alternative that befits the occasion, a novel approach, or simply an example of how to adapt diet to lifestyle and not the other way around. 

Most people do it ass backwards and that’s why they’re always dieting. They're stuck in old says of thinking and change does not come naturally among those who eat by the clock.

It’s certainly not what I’d recommend to a first-timer. Look at the ingredients.  The fact that more than a quarter of the calorie intake comes from fluids should raise an eyebrow or two. 

That said, hunger isn’t a problem, finding the time to eat is. Here’s how the setup goes:

- Meal 1: These items are dispensed throughout the day and according to needs, hunger and time. First meal is eaten when hunger strikes at around 4-6 hours after rising. I pour a litre of coconut milk into a big bowl, mix in 2.5 decilitre of casein powder. This makes for a grainy kind of sludge which is what I prefer but the texture is not to everyone’s liking. Sometimes I eat another half portion, it all depends on how hungry or needy I am. I slurp it up in a minute or two most times. Other times, I eat it like a soup while reading the latest scientific article of interest. (Who am I kidding, I watch Jake Paul vlogs.)

- Depending on my schedule and appetite, items from Meal 1 are usually left at the end of the day. I have whatever remains together with the Meal 2. Separately, of course.

10 minutes spent on food prep and maybe 15-20 minutes spent on food in total per day,  I’ve turned into a lazy son of a bitch. I expect that to change if I ever need to cut - and so will my choice of meal plan. That said…

• I’ve been on this plan for months and even though the intake is sufficient, it's not enough. If anything, the meal plan underestimates my actual intake as I occasionally indulge when the moment presents itself, and there's probably another 150 kcal not accounted for in the milk I use for coffee.  
• The implication being that hunger is not a problem even if the composition leaves much to desired. Drinking 2/3 of your calorie budget sounds very unwise 'on paper' and for most people it is.  
• ...But for a select few, it’s ideal. In my case, it’s probably what kept me from losing more weight when stress and BS reached an apex a few months ago. 
• It’s a very liberating way of approaching your diet when you're parked in front of the computer working all day. That's where the name comes from. First time I used this was with a client who was a programmer working a cutthroat schedule. By the looks of him, an ectomorph, so in order to gain weight, I knew the standard stuff wouldn't work.

Consider this something worth trying if you’re ever in a spot where your mind is elsewhere (e.g. a lot of work) and if you’re concerned about hunger, don’t worry. I thought it would be a problem until I tried it and found the opposite to be the case. 

But do consider it one day, some day, if what you’re doing isn’t working, or if life or work calls for it. 

We have cognitive constructs about our diet, a certain 'template' that can be hard to break out of. Conscious or unconscious it's there. I have none because this is what I do and I've done it long enough to know.

It can also work to reset your thinking, how you think about food, and how you place yourself in relation to food, etc. It's a bit abstract this part, let me know if I'm making zero sense. 

Lastly, it will teach you to rely on hunger as your guide, and your diet as your…map? Ah fuck it, let's just say it’s damn liberating to know what needs eating and then take care of it as you please.