What do you eat for...the meal..the time...or your body?
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I only really have one proper meal a day which is my dinner and so I eat for that. I have a range of times when I might eat it depending on what else I am doing but I always have that meal. The rest of the time I will have something small if I am hungry or lacking in energy like an egg or some cheese or maybe a few biscuits. Most of my food intake is in the evening though so I have my main meal and then regular things I snack on afterwards. Admittedly I tend to ignore hunger quite a lot as I just don’t like eating during the daytime and I have my routine, probably from having done IF in the past.0
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WinoGelato wrote: »No I am pretty consistent. My issue is my appetite goes away with stress...so I will have a few days of being negative by 500 ish (sometimes more or less). But on normal days I will be +/- 200 calories of 1600.
I think it just gets me thinking because I don't want to get in the habit of being in a huge deficit. Example Last week my grandmother passed (I'm ok ...all is ok, not saying this for attention) but I didn't eat much and I started getting in the BMI category "under weight" and I don't want to be there because its just not healthy for me in my mind.
So the peanut butter tip is probably a great suggestion and will be easy enough to fit in when I start to worry about eating when I'm not hungry.
What are your overall goals OP? If you are already under weight, is your goal to gain? What calorie target are you aiming for? Do you exercise? And if so do you eat back some of those calories?
Maybe someone can post the link to the "a list of calorie dense foods" thread so OP has a few other ideas on how to get calories up fairly easily.
To your original question I eat because food is delicious, and because it fuels my body. I eat on a pretty consistent schedule: work out in the morning then eat breakfast when I get to the office around 8:30, eat lunch at the office at my desk b/w 11:30-1:00 and try to fit in a walk as well. Snack in the afternoon around 3, and then dinner is either around 7 if we are eating as a family or if it's a super busy night I often feed my kids something quick before activities and then I will eat after they go to bed around 9 pm.
Sorry about your grandma.
My overall goal is to maintain. I don't really stick to the calorie count on MFP sometimes way less and sometimes way more! I am not underweight but if I have a few days of under eating I am underweight. I am right at the border. I exercise when I can...not on a routine schedule though, and I don't eat those calories back unless I really am hungry.
Especially if you are bordering on underweight, with potential implications for your overall health, I encourage you to eat back exercise calories and to try to be more consistent with your intake to keep your weight above that border line. Chronically undereating and under fueling your body can have lasting impacts on your health, your appearance, your energy levels, and eventually, your metabolism.0 -
What makes you guys eat?
Is it the time of day that you just go ahead and make lunch because you have work to do shortly after?
Is it that you are actually physically hungry?
Is it to meet calories?
I eat at the same times most days. It is helpful for me and my family to have a schedule and routine.
I get hungry about every 3-5 hours. If I got used to eating only once a day that might change.
I eat at normal/traditional times of day that people in my life/culture would eat meals.
I plan my eating in the morning and prelog my food for the day. I split calories up based on when I get hungriest and use more calories for my shared meals.
Breakfast-8 AM 150-300 calories
Lunch- noon about 400 calories
Snack- 3-4 pm
Dinner- 6 pm about 500 calories
Snack- 9 pm0 -
Doesn't anybody eat based on family meal times anymore? Breakfast, lunch, and dinner? or Breakfast, Dinner, and Supper? Most of the responses above seem to be "I" responses and not "We".
I eat breakfast alone most days I eat lunch with my daughter usually. I eat dinner with my husband and daughter usually. I eat snacks when I feel I need them. If my family is eating or not eating with me I am still eating at the same times of day.0 -
i eat so i don't get hangry in meetings and scare co-workers (it wasn't pretty last time that happened)2
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What makes you guys eat?
Is it the time of day that you just go ahead and make lunch because you have work to do shortly after?
Is it that you are actually physically hungry?
Is it to meet calories?
It's a combination for me. I eat 3 meals a day, as a rule. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Time of day is usually dictated on whether I am off that day or working as to when I eat those meals. If I am physically hungry, I will have 1, 2 or 3 snack periods throughout the day. But, only if I am hungry. If I need the calories, that is what dictates what snack I chose. At work, I have an entire grocery store to chose snacks from - I keep some in a locker in our break room for easy access during my breaks.0 -
Doesn't anybody eat based on family meal times anymore? Breakfast, lunch, and dinner? or Breakfast, Dinner, and Supper? Most of the responses above seem to be "I" responses and not "We".
I do, but I don't have a family. It's what we did growing up and I've continued it throughout my life so far.0 -
I eat because it's "time" to eat. During the week I have a pretty rigid schedule: Coffee on my way to work, quick breakfast before my morning meeting, lunch at noon, small snack around 2:30pm, gym at 4:30pm, and then home to dinner. If I have calories left over I'll have another snack around 8:30 and start winding down for the night.
On weekends that schedule gets messed up - especially on race days, and I eat at more random times for all types of reasons.0 -
I pretty much eat to a schedule for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Snacks are more appetite/hunger specific. I eat a lot of snacks, especially when my running volume is high.0
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I eat when hungry, though that is generally at the same times on week days. On the weekends it depends on many factors, of which hunger is only one.0
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I eat meals according to a schedule with (usually) pre-planned foods. Snacks are more open. I include my morning latte as a snack, for example, and drink it anytime in a 4-hour time frame. I am ALWAYS hungry, so if I listened to my body I'd be a lot bigger than I am, lol. I eat most meals alone because of my work schedule. Those who eat with me usually eat according to my schedule because I'm the only one in my immediate and extended family who has a job.0
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I had bariatric surgery, so I have to eat periodically even if I'm not hungry now. I physically can't eat enough to sustain myself if I wait until I am hungry (which only happens like once a day now). Before surgery, though, I did better when I ate regularly even if I wasn't hungry. I've always been bad about forgetting to eat and then eating way too much in one sitting!0
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That is interesting to me. I typically do too, but tend to go through periods where I wouldn't feel hungry until maybe 3 or 4 p.m. and then it throws off my calories!
^^This.^^ If I don't eat breakfast/lunch because I just wasn't hungry for them I am ravenous that evening and eat with the brakes off. I need to always eat my nice, heavy, fat laden breakfast of eggs scrambled with cheese and cream even if I don't get it in until noon or so after coffee drinking and paper reading (I'm retired).0 -
Doesn't anybody eat based on family meal times anymore? Breakfast, lunch, and dinner? or Breakfast, Dinner, and Supper? Most of the responses above seem to be "I" responses and not "We".
Only on weekends...I have an hour commute each way to work which means I'm out the door shortly after the kids get up and they're having their breakfast...I eat my breakfast at work...as well as my lunch (kids eat their lunch at school). My kids get out of school at 3:30 and my wife works 3/4 time so she picks them up around 4:00...the kids eat their dinner around 5 at which point I'm just leaving the office if I'm lucky. On a good day I can be home at 6, but it can often be 6:30 or 7:00.
When I get home, they're already fed and have done their homework, so it's play time for us...throw the ball around in the backyard, play cards, stuff like that...that has been a better bonding experience than trying to get everyone at the dinner table. My wife and I eat around 8:30 after the kids are in bed, so it's our quiet time and one of the only times of the day that we can actually have a conversation.
We typically eat together on Saturdays and Sundays...sometimes Friday nights if we're doing pizza night.3 -
I'm responsible for feeding a large family with various dietary needs, so I do tend to cook meals around the same time every day. I find I always start feeling a bit hungry about an hour early, so sometimes speed things up a bit otherwise I over snack.0
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I feel as if I'm always hungry... I actually have to make myself drink water in between meals to wait longer to eat ! I used to eat for enjoyment along with hunger, but I also wasn't watching what I ate, or counting calories and the worst would be at 11pm. So I am continually battling late night snacking... I am still just as hungry as I was before, or MORE now that I have gone vegan and I'm not putting meat, dairy or animal byproducts in my body.0
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On weekdays I eat at the same consistent times. Breakfast, protein shake, lunch, snack, a second snack if I'm working a 12 hour day, then dinner when I get home. Weekends are absolute mayhem though, my eating schedule is lawless.0
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All of the above kind of works together. I eat when I'm hungry, but I also judge whether or not it's been long enough since my last meal. I used to snack all the time, now I allow myself to eat about every 3 hours. This morning I thought it must be about lunch time but looked at the clock, and it had only been a little over one hour since breakfast. So I waited until the full three hours. I got busy and forgot all about being "hungry". I also drank a large, plain tea.1
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