Thesis writing diet...

fits

At the moment I'm spending an average of 13 hours a day in my office writing up my thesis, I'm tired all the time, and I'm living on a small amount of money. I've lost a bit of weight (unintentionally) over the last few weeks, simply because I'm not eating as much as I probably should.

Mornings and lunchtimes are usually fine (porridge and wraps/sandwiches) its usually around the late afternoon that is the problem. Can anyone suggest some good, cheap and easily available foods for the evenings?

I know I should be preparing food at home... but I dont think I will realistically. I'm always wrecked by the time I get home at nine and dive straight into bed, getting up again around 6.30 am.

r3nu4l

I wrote my PhD thesis in 6 weeks (I had a serious deadline...my examiner was retiring!).

So, how did I manage? I cooked dinners at the weekend and froze them. Cook up some veg, freeze it in portion sizes in freezer bags. Cook up a bacon joint on a Sunday, slice it and store it in the fridge, it'll last three days.

Potatoes can be microwaved in their jackets and stored in the fridge for two days.

Cook up some bolognese or curries and freeze them

If you don't cook enough food at the weekend.

Kippers and mackerel fillets can be microwaved in 2-3 minutes, add mcrowaved kidney beans or peas to that and you're laughing.
If you must have a lot of carbs with that then try some cous cous...again easily microwaved. - total - 15 mins max

What about an omlette? Two eggs, small amount of olive oil, ground pepper, crushed garlic, some chilli or sliced bell peppers, chunks of tomato...mmm delicious. - 10 minutes max (including preparation)

Scrambled eggs, beans, wholemeal bread - 10 mins max

fits

Del Griffith wrote:

I wrote my PhD thesis in 6 weeks (I had a serious deadline...my examiner was retiring!).

eek! I have six weeks left.. you give me hope

So, how did I manage? I cooked dinners at the weekend and froze them. Cook up some veg, freeze it in portion sizes in freezer bags. Cook up a bacon joint on a Sunday, slice it and store it in the fridge, it'll last three days.

Potatoes can be microwaved in their jackets and stored in the fridge for two days.

Cook up some bolognese or curries and freeze them

If you don't cook enough food at the weekend.

Guess you're right, I'm going to have to prepare better at the weekend.

Kippers and mackerel fillets can be microwaved in 2-3 minutes, add mcrowaved kidney beans or peas to that and you're laughing.
If you must have a lot of carbs with that then try some cous cous...again easily microwaved. - total - 15 mins max

What about an omlette? Two eggs, small amount of olive oil, ground pepper, crushed garlic, some chilli or sliced bell peppers, chunks of tomato...mmm delicious. - 10 minutes max (including preparation)

Scrambled eggs, beans, wholemeal bread - 10 mins max

All good suggestions, but I dont like eating really late, and I've nowhere to prepare food in my office (I have a microwave, a toaster and a fridge). I love tinned sardines and kippers though.

Dragan

fits wrote:

All good suggestions, but I dont like eating really late, and I've nowhere to prepare food in my office (I have a microwave, a toaster and a fridge). I love tinned sardines and kippers though.

So maybe pick up a salad in the local shop and have some tinned fish to go with that in the evenings?

It's pretty tough for a shop to mess up a salad! Hint for the day would be to have a bottle of something like avacado oil in work, add it to the salad to improve flavour and get some healthy fats in!

fits

Dragan wrote:

So maybe pick up a salad in the local shop and have some tinned fish to go with that in the evenings?

It's pretty tough for a shop to mess up a salad! Hint for the day would be to have a bottle of something like avacado oil in work, add it to the salad to improve flavour and get some healthy fats in!

yup thats a goer... I've never tried avocado oil, but it sounds nice.

Dragan

fits wrote:

yup thats a goer... I've never tried avocado oil, but it sounds nice.

Walnut oil is pretty tasty as well!

neuro-praxis

All great ideas here.

Bearing in mind your small budget and limited ways of cooking things, porridge is a very cheap, filling and easy to prepare meal for the odd evening. Just bring some oats with you and buy a small carton of milk. If you can afford it, get some fruit to put on top - anything will do - apples, oranges, kiwi, berries.

Don't forget that you can quickly cook rice, pasta and regular noodles in the microwave. Bring in a tin of tuna (or other fish - you seem to like canned fish), maybe some chopped veg or canned sweetcorn, and toss it with your pasta, rice or noodles with either a vinaigrette, some soy or some mayo.

Another option would be to pick up some falafel (spiced balls made from chickpeas) or frikadellen (spicy pork patties/balls) from your local Aldi/Lidl, heat in the microwave and eat with pitta breads and a bit of salad. Very cheap and tasty.

Best of luck with your work!

dudara

It was tough writing my thesis, but it was worse at weekends. Any of the regular places I would go to for sarnies and the like would be closed. I used to make salads and bring them in. Tins of tuna were great for quick fixes.

Just get yourself into the habit of bulk cooking once every so often, or learn some quick and easy recipes that you can make the night before.

Good luck with the write up. Eventually I got sick of being in an airless lab and I switched to writing at home.

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

Interesting topic fits!

When i was writing up the PhD at the very end I was working very long days like yourself and would often only realise about midnight that i'd forgotten to eat all day.

I found that, for my very limited budget, the tesco value chocolate bars were great for snacks. You can get about 500 calories for about 44 cents, and you don't have to prepare anything.

Not ideal from a nutrition point of view, obviously, but great for a quick imput of calories and perfect from a cost perspective.

Other things were getting noodles from a chinese shop and then adding a fried egg and maybe a bit of meat to it. Really quick, filling, and cheap!

Also, Centra sell most of their prepared food at half price after about 5pm...

Good luck with finishing your thesis!

ali.c

Been in writing mode myself submitting my minor thesis on friday. i have found that eating regularly really improves my concentration. Also eating 6-7 snack size meals a day means that there is not a lot lot of preparation involved. Big players in my diet at the minute are, porridge for breaky, omelletes, natural yogurts, scrambled eggs, sliced meats (on its own), and beans on wholemeal toast. I have cheated a little and used a whey protein shake as the odd meal replacer when i am under pressure time wise.

Good luck with the thesis writing!!

fits

ali.c wrote:

Been in writing mode myself submitting my minor thesis on friday. i have found that eating regularly really improves my concentration.

I agree. I tend to eat little and often, although I'm always really hungry in the mornings. Think I'm going to have to go out and get a sandwich or something now actually.


All good suggestions so far. Keep em coming

justsomebloke

I would advise against things like chocolate and other such things due to the sugar content in them which will just give you sugar crashes which aren't ideal for concentration.

If you have access to a fridge and a microwave, scambled eggs on something like mccambridge bread (i.e. something low GI) will give you sustained energy and help maintain your concentration levels and is piss easy to make.

However Low GI is probably the best thing to keep in mind

CathyMoran

I used to eat a lot of fish writing mine - sardines were my best friend, though you can also get tuna meals now for a reasonable price (they do smell a bit though). Will be writing another one in 2 years time so I feel for you.

fits

jsb wrote:

I would advise against things like chocolate and other such things due to the sugar content in them which will just give you sugar crashes which aren't ideal for concentration.

Actually I'm not a huge fan of chocolate or anything sugary really at the moment (maybe the odd nestea or kombucha which are pretty sugary I know).

Its refined carbs which are probably my greatest downfall. I'm currently munching on a white pasta salad with cherry tomatoes, basil leaves, pine nuts and pesto, and a third of a buttered white baguette (which I'll finish later with the other half of the salad). I dont really eat a lot in one sitting though...

Imposter

ali.c wrote:

sliced meats (on its own)

What sliced meats are you eating? I've been avoiding (or at least cutting down) these as I thought they were quite heavily processed.

ali.c

Imposter wrote:

What sliced meats are you eating? I've been avoiding (or at least cutting down) these as I thought they were quite heavily processed.

Eh, sliced chicken breast and also good quality ham. It may not be ideal but it keeps me going throughout the day.

Imposter

ali.c wrote:

Eh, sliced chicken breast and also good quality ham. It may not be ideal but it keeps me going throughout the day.

Ah ok, I didn't think you meant sliced chicken breasts and the like in that! I thought you meant more the packaged sliced meats.

Sangre

Unsalted/roasted nuts are great for snacking on during the day. Full of protein and good fats. Full of much needed energy and really filling.

McGinty

If you are close to a Lidl supermarket, they do lovely smoked salmon or trout and bags of salad, basically you can open both and throw them together and they are delicious. I also make myself veg soups that last for two days, or stews are another good one, basically frying an onion, some meat, a pint of stock, tin of tomatoes and a lot of veg and let it simmer for an hour or two until the meat is tender. Again the bigger the pot the longer it will last and you can just help yourself as and when.

fits

McGinty wrote:

I also make myself veg soups that last for two days, or stews are another good one, basically frying an onion, some meat, a pint of stock, tin of tomatoes and a lot of veg and let it simmer for an hour or two until the meat is tender. Again the bigger the pot the longer it will last and you can just help yourself as and when.

Just what I did last night... Although it was more of a chicken and vegetable broth thing. Ate the chicken last night, and have the lovely soup leftovers for today. Other half is away this week, and I'm find the cooking choices so much easier when he's away. He's way too fussy.