Eat even if I'm not hungry

ElizabethNJ

Most of the time I don't get hungry until noon/lunch time. If I do eat a breakfast, which would usually be eggs, or veggie omelet, or oatmeal, I stay full during lunch. I don't want to skip meals but when I make myself eat, even if it's small like oatmeal, a small soup or salad, then I feel stuffed like I ate too much.

Should I eat breakfast even I'm not hungry in the morning or should I just go with when my body is hungry?

47Jacqueline

I don't believe in meal replacements, but you could try a protein bar. I also don't know how new you are, but if you can keep this up for a long time, you should check with a therapist.

Asherah29

If you're not hungry I see no reason to stuff yourself as long as you are consuming enough calories throughout the day.

jstout365

Personally, I would listen to your body, just make sure you are getting enough calories in during the day to support your current goals.

greenminimalist

I say eat when you are hungry. Your body metabolize different food at different rates. More fiber and protein, the longer it will take to metabolize.

numinousnymph

You should keep your caloric intake at the very minimum that is recommended, which is usually around 1200. Try to eat calorie-dense foods like nuts, avocado, or nut butter, which may not make you feel as full but give you enough calories? A meal replacement shake or protein bar is a feasible option too, if they don't make you feel too full. They do have a bit more volume than nuts/nut butter.

Liftng4Lis

Nope, eat your first meal when you're hungry.

ElizabethNJ

Ok, thanks for all the input. At work I take my lunch break at about 12:30, and have my tea with a small snack, usually nuts around 3pm, then dinner after I get home about 6:30. If I'm hungry in the morning I do eat, but otherwise, I'll just listen to when my body tells me to feed it. If I had done that in the first place years ago I probably wouldn't need to lose weight lol.

esjones12

I have found I can train my body when to be hungry by eating consistently and at the same times. I never used to eat breakfast but now I wake up starving. I do some 5:30am workouts though so I find it imperative to eat a good breakfast after that.

As long as you are eating a balanced diet (calorie and nutrition wise) and not eating breakfast isn't causing you to overeat later - you should be just fine.

JosieRawr

I don't eat breakfast. Even on days when I eat 3500 calories the most I have in the morning is a cup of milk with my vitamins. If I'm hungry or having an issue with my calorie balance for the week I'll have a protein shake with a meal.

Amanda4change

Ever since I was pregnant with my oldest child I don't do well with food before noon. However I'm hypoglycemic so I have to eat or my sugar levels are to low. The compromise that I made was protein shakes in the morning. However I don't think that it is necessary for most people to eat on a schedule, as long as you are getting enough calories (to meet your goal) it doesn't matter when you get those calories.

concordancia

As you can see, it depends.

For some people, if they wait until they actually feel hungry, they might make poor choices and overeat.

For others, skipping a meal can help them control their total calorie intake.

As long as you are meeting your goals, do what feels comfortable for you.

jgnatca

I've had experts admonish me for years not to skip breakfast. First of all, diabetics can't skip. The goal is even blood sugars all day. But here's a study that backs you up.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/277728.php

concordancia

Medical issues aside, most of the studies supporting eating breakfast for weight loss did not actually study weight loss. They polled large populations and most of the normal weight people ate breakfast, so breakfast was deemed to have an important role in weight control.

ETA: I am a breakfast eater, or at least a morning snack (both, if I get up early enough), I am just laying out the facts.

panzerduff

Eat when you're hungry. Your body doesn't *kitten* you.

silentKayak

You don't need to eat breakfast if you're not hungry.

tigersword

panzerduff wrote: »

Eat when you're hungry. Your body doesn't *kitten* you.

Actually, it does. Hunger Is a trained response that's based on hormones and your specific eating habit. It's why most people tend to feel hungry about the time they normally eat. This is why "feeling hungry" is a terrible method of determining appropriate food intake.

nicsflyingcircus

I eat two meals a day, generally mid-day and supper. If my work schedule is weird (start between 10am and 12pm) I will eat before I go, because it's physically demanding (lots of walking, climbing ladders, lifting and lowering bikes, etc).

Vailara

tigersword wrote: »

panzerduff wrote: »

Eat when you're hungry. Your body doesn't *kitten* you.

Actually, it does. Hunger Is a trained response that's based on hormones and your specific eating habit. It's why most people tend to feel hungry about the time they normally eat. This is why "feeling hungry" is a terrible method of determining appropriate food intake.

Yes! This was a revelation to me, and has been very important for me to know in controlling my weight.

OP, as others have said, I think it depends. I know slim people who don't eat breakfast. Personally, I prefer to eat at mealtimes, hungry or not, and that seems to work for me. (I have days when I seem to be hungry all the time, and other days, where I don't have much appetite at all, so going by what I feel just doesn't seem to work).

ThePhoenixIsRising

As long as it isn't negatively impacting your day, or stopping you from eating enough food to support your health, when you break your fast doesn't matter.

Iwishyouwell

Eat when you want. Unlike many here state, I've always found that my actual hunger cues (vs cravings) don't lead me astray.

Smallest I ever was in my entire adult life was back when I typically ate when I was hungry. Didn't even realize what I was doing. I don't get hungry at the same time every day.

PeterSedesse

I guess I disagree with many people here.

You should eat calorie dense foods for breakfast, even if you aren´t hungry. It is a mistake to wait until you are hungry to eat, because that can lead to eating too fast, and over-eating.

This isn´t about weight-loss, but your body needs calories throughout the day and you will have minor symptoms if you aren´t getting calories until lunch. Things like problems concentrating or fatigue. There are so many minor symptoms that we experience that we dont´attribute to poor nutrition.

For simple tricks like counting calories for weight loss, there is no difference if you get 1500 in 12 hours, or 1500 in 8 hours. But for quality of life, you are much better off spreading your calories throughout the day, and if possible front-loading as much as possible so you have the energy available when you are awake and working. I think you will find that you have much more energy for exercise if you get more of your calories earlier in the day.

TimothyFish

I agree with what PeteSede says. If you're trying to fuel your activities, it makes more sense to eat before you need the energy than to eat afterward. Your body is going to use just as much of your existing fat either way, but if you eat before exertion, your body can use the food more directly, without first converting it to fat.

ThePhoenixIsRising

PeteSede wrote: »

I guess I disagree with many people here.

You should eat calorie dense foods for breakfast, even if you aren´t hungry. It is a mistake to wait until you are hungry to eat, because that can lead to eating too fast, and over-eating.

This isn´t about weight-loss, but your body needs calories throughout the day and you will have minor symptoms if you aren´t getting calories until lunch. Things like problems concentrating or fatigue. There are so many minor symptoms that we experience that we dont´attribute to poor nutrition.

For simple tricks like counting calories for weight loss, there is no difference if you get 1500 in 12 hours, or 1500 in 8 hours. But for quality of life, you are much better off spreading your calories throughout the day, and if possible front-loading as much as possible so you have the energy available when you are awake and working. I think you will find that you have much more energy for exercise if you get more of your calories earlier in the day.

Just because it can lead to these things, doesn't mean it will lead to them. In fact many people, myself included find early morning eating to be nauseating.

As far as cal needs through out the day, your body has access to all the cals you eat and the ones stored as fat, so why does it matter when you eat them, as long as you don't feel a negative impact in Your daily activities?

KarenE86

Just eat when you're hungry.

ElizabethNJ

ThePhoenixIsRising wrote: »

PeteSede wrote: »

I guess I disagree with many people here.

Just because it can lead to these things, doesn't mean it will lead to them. In fact many people, myself included find early morning eating to be nauseating.

As far as cal needs through out the day, your body has access to all the cals you eat and the ones stored as fat, so why does it matter when you eat them, as long as you don't feel a negative impact in Your daily activities?

That's what happens to me. If I make myself eat in the morning when I don't really want to, even if it's not big, I feel gross. By noon that nauseated feeling goes away, but I'm still full from breakfast. Now, that's not to say it's every morning, but it is most of the time. I never wait until I'm starving (unless I can't help it for work reasons like an unannounced meeting). I just always hear people saying how important breakfast is, but I just could never get on board with it. On weekends I'll fix my first meal around 11-ish and I've always been ok with that, then lunch at about 2pm. It's only at work that I don't since I take lunch at about noon anyway, then have a small snack at about 3pm.

Iwishyouwell

PeteSede wrote: »

I guess I disagree with many people here.

You should eat calorie dense foods for breakfast, even if you aren´t hungry. It is a mistake to wait until you are hungry to eat, because that can lead to eating too fast, and over-eating.

This isn´t about weight-loss, but your body needs calories throughout the day and you will have minor symptoms if you aren´t getting calories until lunch. Things like problems concentrating or fatigue. There are so many minor symptoms that we experience that we dont´attribute to poor nutrition.

For simple tricks like counting calories for weight loss, there is no difference if you get 1500 in 12 hours, or 1500 in 8 hours. But for quality of life, you are much better off spreading your calories throughout the day, and if possible front-loading as much as possible so you have the energy available when you are awake and working. I think you will find that you have much more energy for exercise if you get more of your calories earlier in the day.

tigersword

PeteSede wrote: »

I guess I disagree with many people here.

You should eat calorie dense foods for breakfast, even if you aren´t hungry. It is a mistake to wait until you are hungry to eat, because that can lead to eating too fast, and over-eating.

This isn´t about weight-loss, but your body needs calories throughout the day and you will have minor symptoms if you aren´t getting calories until lunch. Things like problems concentrating or fatigue. There are so many minor symptoms that we experience that we dont´attribute to poor nutrition.

For simple tricks like counting calories for weight loss, there is no difference if you get 1500 in 12 hours, or 1500 in 8 hours. But for quality of life, you are much better off spreading your calories throughout the day, and if possible front-loading as much as possible so you have the energy available when you are awake and working. I think you will find that you have much more energy for exercise if you get more of your calories earlier in the day.

Not true. Humans evolved eating once every few days and gorging on calories at eating times. Waiting an extra 3 hours to eat later in the morning or early in the afternoon has no effect on health provided overall calorie intake is appropriate.

FatFreeFrolicking

Eat when you are hungry. I'm a hypoglycemic which forces me to eat when I am not hungry in order to keep my blood sugar up. It often results in extreme discomfort. It's not fun