I think it's a habit I picked up in medical school...
I went to medical school at a large academic center in the days where there were no limits on how many hours a person could "work." Some days there was no guarantee on when you might get to eat. I took to the habit of always carrying food with me. Something I could stuff in my mouth in no time flat.
Remember these? I think they first came out in the 1990's.
I always had one and a thermos of coffee with me.
I also developed the habit of eating whenever I had a chance, whether I was hungry or not, if I knew I might get too busy to eat later on. For instance, when I work from 6 am to 3 pm I have to get up at 4 am to be out of the house by 5 am. I am never hungry this early but I make myself eat a full breakfast because I know there is a chance I might not be able to eat again until I get home.
I still always bring food with me when I work. When I work in Bloomington it's a 9 hour shift (that can go longer) plus an hour drive time each way. We have no scheduled breaks so it's eat-on-the-fly all the time. There are days when you don't have time to pee much less sit down and try to eat something or go all the way down to the cafeteria. I always bring food with me so I know it will be there when I get a chance to eat.
Sometimes though, I still don't get to eat. Then by the time I get off work I don't want to sit at work any longer eating, I just want to get in my car and drive home. So, halfway home I drive through Martinsville where there is a McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Arby's, Taco Bell, KFC, White Castle, and Steak'n Shake right off the highway. YUP. Drive thru baby! Never mind the food I have with me. I need a treat for my hard day at work.
My other bad food habit I developed was that I used food as a means of keeping me awake. I'd work a late evening shift and get off anytime between midnight to 4 am. An hour drive is a really long drive when you're sleepy. I had to do something that would keep me actively engaged while I drove - and snacking on food all the way home did the job.
When I work in Martinsville it's not quite as busy. Day shift is 7 am to 7 pm. Again, I always bring my food. However... remember all those fast food joints? Yup, we have time to order out.
Night shift in Martinsville is 7 pm to 7 am. Last night was the first night shift in a row of nights. I can never "pre-sleep" for the first night shift so yesterday I slept in until about 10 am but then I ate a normal breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is no reason I need to eat again until today. However, due to habit, usually I always bring food with me. It's something to do at midnight, 1 am, 2 am...
I started putting the brakes on this eating at night habit in April while I was on the Keto Diet. There was no fourth meal on my meal plan so I didn't eat late at night even if I was up. Physiologically I know my body doesn't need another meal. In fact, a person can go days without eating.
I'm working on getting rid of my food crutch. Last night was a win.
I only got 4.5 hours of sleep today after I came home so no running today but no bad food either. It's back to work tonight.
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