I leave snacks where I already am

The most useful change I made for my eating did not involve a plan or new discipline. I started leaving food where I already spend time. Nuts, dried fruit, and protein bars are in three places:

• My bag, so I have something to eat with me wherever I go
• The car, for the stretches between one place and the next
• My desk at work, where I spend most of my hours

That is the whole setup.

I took a long time to understand how much of my under-eating came down to logistics. On a low-energy day, getting up to find food is a real cost, even when it sounds small. Building the energy to go get something was often the step where I stopped eating enough. I had not decided against eating. I simply did not have enough energy left to find food.

With the food already within reach, that step is gone. I do not have to decide to go eat. I just eat. I open the protein bar because it is on the desk. I eat the nuts in passing without gathering energy first. There is one less step between me and the calories I need.

I am the same person with the same amount of energy. I eat noticeably more now because the food is already there.

At the start I wondered whether keeping food in several places would feel anxious, as if I were preparing for an emergency. In practice it just removes friction from something I need to do. Most days I eat the snacks, which is what I wanted.