It was 12:38 and I wasn’t starving, shocking me enough to interrupt my typing. I double checked the clock in my system tray. How bizarre, I thought. I always get hungry by noon. Before I could blame one of my medications for lack of appetite, I realized there was an answer that didn’t involve reuptake inhibitors.
It was Daylight Saving Time.
While my computer clock said it was 12:38, my body clock said it was 11:38, so I got up to eat both earlier and later than usual. It happened again that evening after my short-term memory had cleared my earlier realization and I momentarily was amazed that I hadn’t eaten anything by 7pm.
These tricks with time made me realize how linked my eating is to the clock. I eat breakfast at around 7:30. I have a mid-morning snack, but don’t eat lunch until noon. Then there is the afternoon snack and dinner right when I get home. It’s not timed to the second, but I eat on a regular schedule. I wasn’t entirely conscious of it before, but I evidently glance at the clock to tell me if it’s ok to eat.
Part of me thinks I shouldn’t be tied to a clock. I should eat when I’m hungry. But another part of me thinks the routine helps keep me in check because I know how much I can eat when and not be consuming too much for the day.
How about you guys? Do you look at the watch before you look in the fridge?