With two dinner shifts and two kids, there was one habit I had to break

2026-10-07 1575 views 2 posts

Not a tidy story over here. Our dinners run in two shifts — one kid eats at 5:15 before soccer, the other picks at noodles around 7 — and I used to eat a full meal off their leftovers both times. Three bites here, half a quesadilla there, and by 8 I'd had an extra dinner without noticing.

The change was boringly small: I plate my own food and sit down with it before I hand anything out. Feels strict, but it broke the habit of eating their scraps while I'm still on my feet. If I'm hungry after my plate, I wait 20 minutes, then fruit or yogurt. That pause did more than any pep talk.

The hardest window is still the hour before dinner, while I cook and pick. I keep a bowl of cucumber and cheese out so my hands have somewhere to go. 27 pounds since February. Slow, but it's holding.

Anyone else cooking for kids and somehow eating two dinners?

Curious how the second shift works now. I had the same setup and the fix was deciding one shift is my actual dinner and the other is just company.

I eat my plated meal at 5:15 with the first kid, then at 7 I sit with the second but only have tea or a measured Greek yogurt if I’m genuinely hungry. Leftovers get packed for tomorrow’s lunch immediately, not left on the counter.

Logging those “few bites” once showed me they were basically a second dinner, which stalled my recomp. Are you eating at both shifts or just sitting at one?