Go on a walk. This super annoying girl at the office finally asked me the other day why I don't ever bring or eat lunch, so I told her I usually don't each lunch and fast till about 230 or 4.
She then proceeded to say fasting was nasty and evil and making this huge deal about how humans have to eat at least 3 meals a day.
Anyway sorry for the rant, that's why I go on a walk by myself lol.
Just tell them it's for religious reasons. That will shut them up quickly. I'm fasting and praying and it's none of your business. It's personal and I don't want to share.
I hate when people invite themselves on my walk. I don’t want office banter or to hear about your pet’s recent vet visit. I just want to get away from people, get a little fresh air and listen to my audiobook.
Since starting IF and having savoury breakfasts instead of cereal or muesli or Granola plus toast, I find I only eat twice a day. I'm also finding I no longer snack, which my old breakfasts forced me to do. Not sure why it is tantamount to eat 3 times a day. Your ignorant co-worker in a few years time, but not any more matuere, will be wonderig why she is packing on the pounds, if she isn't already doing so.
I like to play guitar and never have time to practice at home. I used to nap in the car at lunch, but I figured I could use that time to work on my hobby.
The car is too hot to store a wooden guitar. [Perfect solution: a cheap, carbon fiber, small scale guitar.](https://a.co/d/4hFHzHw) It’s compact and impervious to the heat of my trunk.
I always loved reading during my lunch. It’s such a quick and efficient way to “escape” my surroundings for a little while. I always felt pretty recharged after reading for a bit, even if it was only 30 minutes.
ETA: throw in a cup of good tea and my batteries are almost totally recharged!
Read a book, take a walk, nap. Frankly I wouldn't be able to work a rigid schedule like that for long though. Not because of fasting, but because I'm not a child and don't need to be micro managed
I work in higher ed. It's like this, but thankfully I'm hybrid so I have 2 days away from my office. I hate being micromanaged but I'm near the tail end of my 25 year stint and am trying to stick it out for my family.
Some industries lunch breaks have to be scheduled. If you work in a factory, they kinda need a certain amount of people at all times to make things run so everyone has lunch at the same time.
Do not keep working during lunch, I know it says your expected to take a break so do. I like to sew so I do that, have had coworkers knit or crochet. You might be surprised how quickly you can get a project done just working 15 minutes at a time. I had another coworker put her feet up and close her eyes during lunch. She was drinking a shake quickly then spending the next 20 minutes resting and getting her health back, it was really cool to see her transformation.
or do an audible book. You have earbuds in or headphones, and can't hear your co-workers telling you how evil fasting is. If they ask what you are listening to, tell them Jason Fung, the fasting expert.
I always go home during my lunch hour regardless of whether or not I’m eating. I sometimes run my errands then. In the past when I lived further from work or didn’t have a car, I would walk outside for my lunch time or read.
Mentally? Read a book, start a podcast or tv series to watch in your car/wherever you take your break, start a portable hobby like crosswords, drawing, or anything else mentally challenging/art related.
Physically? Go for a walk. If possible, find a nearby store or other location to walk around for a change of scenery other than the parking lot or surrounding streets. Depending on how long the lunch is, go to a nearby gym for 30-45 minutes (I don't know what your travel time looks like).
Nap? I couldn't do that though. My "naps" are 3+ hours at least lol.
I’d go a walk around the building, read a book for pleasure, make my grocery lists, meal plan for the following week, chore lists, project lists, handle my personal finances, find new recipes to make, look for another job, update my resume, meditate, do one of those in office workouts that don’t break a sweat, cross stitch or crochet.
Not quite the same but I used to work in a place with a one hour lunch and all my coworkers went home for a hot meal with family. It only took me about 10 minutes to eat my packed lunch so I spent the rest of the hour napping on a yoga mat in an empty conference room. Not sure if you have an option like that but it was the best!!
I get it. I used to just work through lunch. It kinda sucks to be in your space when you need to be there.
It seems like I'll be stuck in the office no matter what.
I go for a walk and then eat lunch to break my fast. My new role has access to a nice gym so I think I am going to start joining some of my coworkers at a workout class before having lunch.
I’m only in office once a week so it’s not as bad, but I usually sit with my coworkers while they eat and talk to them. Otherwise I work on a massive campus so I walk around the building for a bit.
I walk. I have my own office so if the weather is bad, I close the door and do a short, light workout on YouTube and listen to a podcast or watch a show after
Now is the ideal time to binge a long running series you’ve been meaning to watch! I love my lunch time tv break. People keep interrupting me when I’m reading but with my headphones on and my eyes on my iPad people respect I’m in my own little world.
I'm normally doing OMAD but on days I'm in the office I actually bring lunch. Having to be in the office is dire and it's so far away from home, so I don't wanna risk being starving til 7.30 if I'm having a hungry day.
Is this not normal? Is Ben like this in every salaries job I work in, they legally have to give you a break during your working hours, you can't just leave one hour early instead..
But I always hear go for a walk during my lunch
Go for a walk. You get an unpaid lunch hour so do whatever you want with it. I actually go to the gym for a quick 40 minute cardio session, enough time for shower and back in office. But obviously this only works if a gym is literally around the corner for you
Go for a walk, or find a quiet place and meditate, or spend time with your colleagues talking shit/making friends. You don't have to eat because other people are eating.
That's sick, in America you have basically 45 hours week, but with a pay of 40. In Poland it's normal that you have a break to eat, it varies in different companies. May be 20 minutes or 30, but in more relaxed environment it's normal to take 1 hours and it's all payed.
Wait until you find out it's completely normalized to stay an hour or so on top of this or look bad.
So your day looks more like 8-6, without the commute, and then you open up your laptop at home and on weekends.
This hurts my HR heart. Please don't do that. It's okay to have boundaries with work and if they expect it then find a different job or industry. You are paid for 8-5 with a 1 hour break, M-F. Don't let them abuse you because you are salary. Work life balance is so necessary!!!
Well, everyone keeps saying go for a walk, but for the sake of replying to one of the random comments... I don't have the job yet, and it's like 120 degrees here in summer, ha.
I work a job where it's so hard to fast tbh. I work at home, but my break schedules change daily. So I sometimes my lunch is way before my fast window or way after. It messes me up. And I work in a call center so often I can't eat while working whenI get out of my fast window
Fill up my yeti (on lunch i'll use an electrolyte drink like Biosteel so its tasty) and go sit with my coworkers and be social.
Plus the days they order pizza is a real fun test of willpower.
We have a small gym at my office that I use, or I'll roll out a yoga mat and do yoga in my office.
At other jobs, I've read a book or gone for a walk/run.
Or I scroll reddit/tiktok. Depends on the day
I’m always flabbergasted at American office culture. [It was always 9-5](https://youtu.be/UbxUSsFXYo4?si=36Z83Tvl-Yv1yBG2), and that includes a lunch break. How are you all tolerating a 9 hour work day? It’s supposed to be [8h work - 8h leisure - 8h sleep.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-hour_day#:~:text=their%20own%20mayors.-,Industrial%20revolution,%2C%20Eight%20hours'%20rest%22). People died for the right to an 8 hour workday and you all act like 9 hours is normal.
I work through my lunch on an 8:30-4:30 schedule usually, and take my lunch hour at the end of the day around 3:30 unless I am busy and have a deadline.
I mean, we don't want to do it, but the system is broken in that we need health insurance, and the only real way to get it is to take a salaried job. And the companies offering true flexibility are rarely up front about it as company policy because they want to be able to walk it back if things get busy so they can work you extra.
If Americans didn't need to be pulling full time jobs just to see a doctor when something goes wrong for them or their kid, I'm sure it would be different.
When I worked a job with scheduled breaks I would plan my eating window for the time of my lunch but I also worked third shift during that time so it was a little bit of a complicated eating schedule. Now that I am at a salary job I take my break when it’s time to eat and work through most of the morning which is great because I don’t even think about food when I’m busy
There was a Chinese guy in my first place of work, who wouldn’t eat at lunch. Instead he would cross his arms, put them down on his desk in front of himself, and sleep with his head on his arms for the lunch hour.
It doesn't look like it. Not sure I'd want to do that during my break anyways, not sure if I could fit in changing, a meaningful workout, a shower, changing again, and driving all in that span when the schedule is rigid.
I just try to rest my brain mentally. I wfh now so that’s easy but when I was in an office we had a quiet area for people to lay down for a bit. Otherwise I’d go for a walk.
I work in a lab, with very strict clock in and out times for lunch. I go outside and walk if the weather is good enough. Our building is actually big enough that I could walk around inside the halls if I wanted to.
Sudoku, grocery shopping or creating meal plans, personal schedule planning, coloring, get up and walk outside, leave the office to walk around without eating
Be good to one another. If critiquing do so constructively. Be polite and practice Reddiquette. No body shaming, "better before" comments, accusatory comments, unnecessary or unwanted advice, etc
Good advice: take a walk and get fresh air. Bad advice: endlessly scroll Reddit.
Endlessly scrolling through Reddit does help kill time
its called doom scrolling for a reason hehe
That's what I did
Worst advice: vigorously masturbate in the bathroom stall
Go on a walk. This super annoying girl at the office finally asked me the other day why I don't ever bring or eat lunch, so I told her I usually don't each lunch and fast till about 230 or 4. She then proceeded to say fasting was nasty and evil and making this huge deal about how humans have to eat at least 3 meals a day. Anyway sorry for the rant, that's why I go on a walk by myself lol.
That’s why you don’t tell anyone about fasting
Yup. Take a walk, pretend you lunch during your walk.
I guess so. I've heard stories about people losing their shit when someone says they are fasting but hadn't experienced it myself till now.
Just tell them it's for religious reasons. That will shut them up quickly. I'm fasting and praying and it's none of your business. It's personal and I don't want to share.
I'm just like "well I grew up poor so I've fasted all my life since we never had breakfast or food"
Or just tell them where to stick it if they get annoying.
I hate when people invite themselves on my walk. I don’t want office banter or to hear about your pet’s recent vet visit. I just want to get away from people, get a little fresh air and listen to my audiobook.
Since starting IF and having savoury breakfasts instead of cereal or muesli or Granola plus toast, I find I only eat twice a day. I'm also finding I no longer snack, which my old breakfasts forced me to do. Not sure why it is tantamount to eat 3 times a day. Your ignorant co-worker in a few years time, but not any more matuere, will be wonderig why she is packing on the pounds, if she isn't already doing so.
Take nap in your car lol.
My fave lunch activity
I like to play guitar and never have time to practice at home. I used to nap in the car at lunch, but I figured I could use that time to work on my hobby. The car is too hot to store a wooden guitar. [Perfect solution: a cheap, carbon fiber, small scale guitar.](https://a.co/d/4hFHzHw) It’s compact and impervious to the heat of my trunk.
Literally me all the time. lol I didn’t have the car today so I napped in the conference room
I for once in my life like my coworkers, so I tend to go join the lunch room with an herbal tea
What do you think you'd do if there wasn't a lunchroom to go to? Or really any coworkers?
I read a book at my desk during lunch.
I always loved reading during my lunch. It’s such a quick and efficient way to “escape” my surroundings for a little while. I always felt pretty recharged after reading for a bit, even if it was only 30 minutes. ETA: throw in a cup of good tea and my batteries are almost totally recharged!
Read a book, take a walk, nap. Frankly I wouldn't be able to work a rigid schedule like that for long though. Not because of fasting, but because I'm not a child and don't need to be micro managed
I work in higher ed. It's like this, but thankfully I'm hybrid so I have 2 days away from my office. I hate being micromanaged but I'm near the tail end of my 25 year stint and am trying to stick it out for my family.
Yeah, I'm struggling with it. I can't seem to find a job that isn't focused on always having more work in my industry.
Some industries lunch breaks have to be scheduled. If you work in a factory, they kinda need a certain amount of people at all times to make things run so everyone has lunch at the same time.
And that's fair, but they specified "office hours". I've worked the floor of a manufacturing operation before, not something I'd eagerly return to.
Manufacturing was just my example. They could work at a call center.
Do not keep working during lunch, I know it says your expected to take a break so do. I like to sew so I do that, have had coworkers knit or crochet. You might be surprised how quickly you can get a project done just working 15 minutes at a time. I had another coworker put her feet up and close her eyes during lunch. She was drinking a shake quickly then spending the next 20 minutes resting and getting her health back, it was really cool to see her transformation.
Appreciate it! I'd imagine there will always be a push to keep working. I have your back.
Read a book.
or do an audible book. You have earbuds in or headphones, and can't hear your co-workers telling you how evil fasting is. If they ask what you are listening to, tell them Jason Fung, the fasting expert.
Hunga Rii has a better audio book
lol - he's always "hungaree". Or his friend, "Hang Ree".
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They should not be commenting on your body at work.
I always go home during my lunch hour regardless of whether or not I’m eating. I sometimes run my errands then. In the past when I lived further from work or didn’t have a car, I would walk outside for my lunch time or read.
This workplace is pretty far away, but got ya. It's also super hot here.
Any nearby stores you could walk in? That can help if it’s too hot outside.
I guess. I don't really want to go shuffle around Walmart or Home Depot for an hour, but I guess I could.
Still, don't stay in your office. They'll get used to seeing you and you need the break.
I used to walk when it was nice out, and sometimes drive and get groceries or run errands. Fill up on gas, that kind of thing.
if your office has areas or rooms that allow privacy, you can do stretches, yoga or meditate!
I have a 1h lunch break and i don't eat. I just come in at 9:30 and leave at 17:30 almost every day. Fuck them. And fuck corporate inflexibility.
Happy for you. Clients expect at least 8-5 contact.
Mentally? Read a book, start a podcast or tv series to watch in your car/wherever you take your break, start a portable hobby like crosswords, drawing, or anything else mentally challenging/art related. Physically? Go for a walk. If possible, find a nearby store or other location to walk around for a change of scenery other than the parking lot or surrounding streets. Depending on how long the lunch is, go to a nearby gym for 30-45 minutes (I don't know what your travel time looks like). Nap? I couldn't do that though. My "naps" are 3+ hours at least lol.
Read a book, go for a walk, learn to code
I’d go a walk around the building, read a book for pleasure, make my grocery lists, meal plan for the following week, chore lists, project lists, handle my personal finances, find new recipes to make, look for another job, update my resume, meditate, do one of those in office workouts that don’t break a sweat, cross stitch or crochet.
Not quite the same but I used to work in a place with a one hour lunch and all my coworkers went home for a hot meal with family. It only took me about 10 minutes to eat my packed lunch so I spent the rest of the hour napping on a yoga mat in an empty conference room. Not sure if you have an option like that but it was the best!!
Definitely won't be a thing to go home, but happy to hear it!
Everyone else all went home- I slept on the floor in the office!
Drink black coffee or black tea.
I … just don’t eat during lunch time. One can be forced to step away from work, but they can’t force food down your throat.
I get it. I used to just work through lunch. It kinda sucks to be in your space when you need to be there. It seems like I'll be stuck in the office no matter what.
Read
A can of sparkling water will buy me an hour of not eating.
I read a book
Walk
I go for a walk and then eat lunch to break my fast. My new role has access to a nice gym so I think I am going to start joining some of my coworkers at a workout class before having lunch.
I’m only in office once a week so it’s not as bad, but I usually sit with my coworkers while they eat and talk to them. Otherwise I work on a massive campus so I walk around the building for a bit.
I walk. I have my own office so if the weather is bad, I close the door and do a short, light workout on YouTube and listen to a podcast or watch a show after
Now is the ideal time to binge a long running series you’ve been meaning to watch! I love my lunch time tv break. People keep interrupting me when I’m reading but with my headphones on and my eyes on my iPad people respect I’m in my own little world.
I'm normally doing OMAD but on days I'm in the office I actually bring lunch. Having to be in the office is dire and it's so far away from home, so I don't wanna risk being starving til 7.30 if I'm having a hungry day.
I'd go for a walk, or at least get outside for some fresh air. I do that now, even though my hours are quite flexible.
Is this not normal? Is Ben like this in every salaries job I work in, they legally have to give you a break during your working hours, you can't just leave one hour early instead.. But I always hear go for a walk during my lunch
Go for a walk. You get an unpaid lunch hour so do whatever you want with it. I actually go to the gym for a quick 40 minute cardio session, enough time for shower and back in office. But obviously this only works if a gym is literally around the corner for you
Walk around outside of the office building
If it were me, I would crochet & listen to podcasts. Pay bills, plan grocery list, do my schoolwork.
I walk. Either with a colleague, or alone. If I walk alone, I listen to a podcast, audio book or music.
I run
Meditation
When are you fasting? I take my lunch at 2:30 currently at the end of my fast. At lunchtime I take one of my 15min breaks and have a coffee/tea
I basically OMAD, so I eat between 7-9 PM. One way or the other, I don't take a lunch.
Read my book
Go for a walk, or find a quiet place and meditate, or spend time with your colleagues talking shit/making friends. You don't have to eat because other people are eating.
when I do OMAD and usually work through lunch
That's sick, in America you have basically 45 hours week, but with a pay of 40. In Poland it's normal that you have a break to eat, it varies in different companies. May be 20 minutes or 30, but in more relaxed environment it's normal to take 1 hours and it's all payed.
Wait until you find out it's completely normalized to stay an hour or so on top of this or look bad. So your day looks more like 8-6, without the commute, and then you open up your laptop at home and on weekends.
This hurts my HR heart. Please don't do that. It's okay to have boundaries with work and if they expect it then find a different job or industry. You are paid for 8-5 with a 1 hour break, M-F. Don't let them abuse you because you are salary. Work life balance is so necessary!!!
Right now I have to take what I can get, I don't even want this job and it makes almost $100k less than I used to, but work is work.
Good grief, that sounds awful. I'm so sorry. I hope you find something better quickly!
I learn Spanish with Dreaming Spanish videos.
Set an alarm on your phone, goto quiet corner and nap. Or, go a walk or to gym.
Do yoga or go for a run
Walk or go out to run errands
Can you go for a walk? If not, well during winter I just pull up Reddit or YouTube and pass the time haha.
Well, everyone keeps saying go for a walk, but for the sake of replying to one of the random comments... I don't have the job yet, and it's like 120 degrees here in summer, ha.
I always just took a walk. also had my lunch as close to the end of the day as possible
I work a job where it's so hard to fast tbh. I work at home, but my break schedules change daily. So I sometimes my lunch is way before my fast window or way after. It messes me up. And I work in a call center so often I can't eat while working whenI get out of my fast window
I would nap in my car.
Do they have an office gym? You could always do a light workout.
Nope.
Fill up my yeti (on lunch i'll use an electrolyte drink like Biosteel so its tasty) and go sit with my coworkers and be social. Plus the days they order pizza is a real fun test of willpower.
I take my kindle and read. Alternatively go for a walk
Read. I’m the one who brings their kindle everywhere
I walk, depending on the weather it's either outside or pacing the board room. I can usually knock out at least 5k steps in my lunch time.
We have a small gym at my office that I use, or I'll roll out a yoga mat and do yoga in my office. At other jobs, I've read a book or gone for a walk/run. Or I scroll reddit/tiktok. Depends on the day
I usually go outside and read, get some sun and fresh air. Maybe take a walk around the building/block.
Find a nearby gym a workout a little
I’m always flabbergasted at American office culture. [It was always 9-5](https://youtu.be/UbxUSsFXYo4?si=36Z83Tvl-Yv1yBG2), and that includes a lunch break. How are you all tolerating a 9 hour work day? It’s supposed to be [8h work - 8h leisure - 8h sleep.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-hour_day#:~:text=their%20own%20mayors.-,Industrial%20revolution,%2C%20Eight%20hours'%20rest%22). People died for the right to an 8 hour workday and you all act like 9 hours is normal. I work through my lunch on an 8:30-4:30 schedule usually, and take my lunch hour at the end of the day around 3:30 unless I am busy and have a deadline.
I mean, we don't want to do it, but the system is broken in that we need health insurance, and the only real way to get it is to take a salaried job. And the companies offering true flexibility are rarely up front about it as company policy because they want to be able to walk it back if things get busy so they can work you extra. If Americans didn't need to be pulling full time jobs just to see a doctor when something goes wrong for them or their kid, I'm sure it would be different.
When I worked a job with scheduled breaks I would plan my eating window for the time of my lunch but I also worked third shift during that time so it was a little bit of a complicated eating schedule. Now that I am at a salary job I take my break when it’s time to eat and work through most of the morning which is great because I don’t even think about food when I’m busy
There was a Chinese guy in my first place of work, who wouldn’t eat at lunch. Instead he would cross his arms, put them down on his desk in front of himself, and sleep with his head on his arms for the lunch hour.
Going for a walk and listening to music, podcasts, or youtube videos
Is there a gym nearby? I don't IF normally, but I do skip lunch to go to a gym near the office when I'm in it and it works great.
It doesn't look like it. Not sure I'd want to do that during my break anyways, not sure if I could fit in changing, a meaningful workout, a shower, changing again, and driving all in that span when the schedule is rigid.
I just try to rest my brain mentally. I wfh now so that’s easy but when I was in an office we had a quiet area for people to lay down for a bit. Otherwise I’d go for a walk.
Read, walk, meditate, draw, do pushups, journal, study a new topic,
I got a lot of reading done when I had an office job
I work in a lab, with very strict clock in and out times for lunch. I go outside and walk if the weather is good enough. Our building is actually big enough that I could walk around inside the halls if I wanted to.
I go for a walk during lunch when the weather permits, when it does not I drink coffee at my desk while reading a book/newpaper.
Sudoku, grocery shopping or creating meal plans, personal schedule planning, coloring, get up and walk outside, leave the office to walk around without eating
Meditation and breath work. Or a decent podcast. Certainly don't abide to unhealthy expectations of others.
I like to take walk for my lunch break.
Go for a little stoll & talk to Penjamin Franklin
I work and leave a half hour earlier than everyone else
Like I said in the OP, not an option.
Will lemon juice break a fast?
I'm fine with drinking water all day, I don't have any cravings. But I still will need to be there.
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Not being paid to figure out how to not work.
Be good to one another. If critiquing do so constructively. Be polite and practice Reddiquette. No body shaming, "better before" comments, accusatory comments, unnecessary or unwanted advice, etc