Don't get too hungry

Plan ahead to avoid bad decisions

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is a reminder to not let yourself get
too hungry. You are more likely to make bad decisions,

(00:24):
and it is usually pretty easy to avoid a problem
with a little planning. I've been on several long plane
flights recently where there's been something of a lack of food,
I mean, not even much available for purchase. On one
particular flight, I had switched bags when packing and accidentally

(00:46):
left my usual stacks at home. Not surprisingly, I found
myself quite agitated, and I was having trouble focusing on
work as I hoped that maybe there was a stash
of peanut butter crackers in my carry on that I'd
forgotten about. Being even mildly hungry is no fun. Of course,

(01:07):
we have to eat, and so our brains become very
fixated on eating when we don't. The issue is that
when we're full, it's hard to imagine being hungry, and
consequently we can under prepare for those moments. That doesn't
really matter. In some cases, my getting a little less
work done on the plane is just no big deal.

(01:30):
But when it does matter, It matters. One famous study
found that judges were more likely to grant parole to
prisoners if they heard the case right after lunch versus before.
A hungry manager might snap at an employee, when a
manager who had a few peanut butter crackers might have

(01:52):
listened to the explanation and calmly suggested a way to
solve the problem. A lack of food food means you
wind up with a demoralized, probably unproductive employee, So keep
snacks in your work bag, keep snacks in your desk drawer.

(02:13):
But beyond that, you might want to even go on
the offensive. Are you going into a very important presentation
or meeting, try to time a small, healthy snack, something
with some protein for about an hour before the meeting.
Not right before so as to avoid tummy gurgles or

(02:33):
the smell of peanut butter lingering on you, but an
hour before should be good to get the energy boost
without the digestive noises. Beyond that, look through each day's
schedule ahead of time. If you can see that it
will be packed with little opportunity to get lunch, then

(02:53):
you need to prepare for that three or four healthy
and substantial snacks could be eaten over the course of
a work day, each in five minutes. While it would
be better to take a lunch break, if that is
not possible, you want to make sure that you are
still fueling yourself, so pack accordingly. I would also suggest

(03:18):
not relying on their being food various places. Often there is,
but in this post covid era, with supply chain and
staffing woes, you never know for sure. I plan to
feed my kids at the airport once before a night flight,
but when we got through security at eight pm, only

(03:39):
one place was still open. You might get on a
flight where somehow they're even out of snack boxes, and
so we need to become like pioneers, bringing our provisions
with us. Perhaps it would be nice to pack lighter,
but being hungry can easily lead to bad decisions. Some

(04:01):
mistakes in life are unavoidable, but this is one that
can be easily solved. Best to do so when we can.
In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
here's to making the most of our time. Hey everybody,

(04:27):
I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod.
That's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast.
At i heeart media dot com that before Breakfast is

(04:50):
spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I
look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a
production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I
heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Yea