Eating when hungry

ketchup2go
ketchup2go Posts: 6 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Do I absolutely have to eat even if i don't feel hungry? I've been forcing myself to eat because i know i need the nutrients, etc but sometimes i can go a large part of the day with no food.

Replies

  • ketchup2go
    ketchup2go Posts: 6 Member
    And oh yeah I do make sure to drink water.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    How many calories are you eating, and how are you measuring your portions?
  • ketchup2go
    ketchup2go Posts: 6 Member
    Well, I'm eating about 1800 as my MFP advises me to, but if i just go with my hunger level, i think i would be under 1200.
  • ajaysharma316
    ajaysharma316 Posts: 104 Member
    Even I feel the same, I have to eat 2100 calories daily but I feel I can sometimes skip meals and cut down on calories and I did that for two days, however those two days the weight loss was slower than the days I eat my full calorie intake. Not sure about the science behind it though.
  • momo_t90
    momo_t90 Posts: 288 Member
    edited March 2016
    ketchup2go wrote: »
    Well, I'm eating about 1800 as my MFP advises me to, but if i just go with my hunger level, i think i would be under 1200.

    I would say eat when you feel hungry as long as you meet AT LEAST 1200 calories. If you can't meet that from eating only when hungry, then I would eat a bit extra so you do meet that goal. Just my two cents.
  • cajuntank
    cajuntank Posts: 924 Member
    edited March 2016
    Depends on the context of your goals. From purely a weight loss perspective, get enough calories from whole food to meet your nutritional needs for the day (so in your case, might be fewer meals to correlate to your hunger level) so that your weight-loss is not too aggressive (unless under Dr. supervision). If that goal involves body recomposition (i.e... losing weight, but conscious of that weight loss being more fat and retaining as much muscle or maybe even building a little), then eating a protein rich meal every couple of hours (along with appropriate training stimulus), will be a more optimal approach (not that eating less meals will not work ((see intermittent fasting)), it's just not as optimal). If your goal is to gain weight, then again, eating meals every few hours will probably be easier than 1 or 2 larger meals to get enough calories in to meet that goal (not impossible, just a little easier for most).

    Also, there is something to be said about retraining your mind/body to follow hunger queues better as opposed to purely following a "schedule" (especially if this has led to becoming overweight). See info about homeostatic vs hedonic eating for more detail.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2714382/
  • canadianmom1975
    canadianmom1975 Posts: 23 Member
    I do intermittent fasting and love it...its when you only eat your calories in an 8 hours window and the other 16 hours you only drink water...so i eat 12 noon to 8pm everyday. ..theres alot of health benifits it IF..do a search in mfp and google...theres also groups on facebook that have great info on it...dr. sara solomen from toronto is great aswell
  • FitnessPrincess9
    FitnessPrincess9 Posts: 27 Member
    If you're not hungry don't eat, that is called feeding a food addiction. Your body will tell you when it needs food, don't force it, it's unhealthy.
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
    If you're struggling to get to 1200 calories, add in some healthy fats. Nuts, nut butters, cook with oil, full fat dairy, etc.

    Are you weighing your food?

    ~Lyssa
  • ketchup2go
    ketchup2go Posts: 6 Member
    Thank you everyone. You're all really helpful. And yes i weigh my food. Thank you for all the tips

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