How does one "forget/not want to" eat?

bribucks

bribucks wrote: »

Please excuse my poor attempt at dark humor.

For a real answer, when I am depressed & anxious, I don’t “forget” to eat but I simply can’t bring myself to do it.

When I am really busy, I sometimes DO forget to eat, at least within a time window. Sometimes I’ll be so caught up on something at work that 2:30 will roll around before I realize I hadn’t eaten lunch yet.

On the reverse, there are days where I am so bored that I can think of nothing other than stuffing food in my face!

mrslcoop

Different people have different personalities. I'm the kind of person that when I get wrapped up in something I will forget to eat. I lost 10 lbs in grad school because I was so busy. I used to have a high stress job so fitting it in wasn't easy and I'd get home in time to go to bed and get 5 hours sleep so I didn't make it up that night. Now I have invisalign and it's too much work to snack.

workinonit1956

I don’t think I’ve ever forgotten to eat.

Running_and_Coffee

This is the only reason why I am doing keto--it appears to turn off the part of my brain that eats out of boredom. I mainly work from home, and while I've always been a very calorie-conscious person, I found myself justifying an extra apple here, a few bites of leftover kid sandwich there, because it didn't add up to much and I exercise a lot. I would even chew tons of gum because sitting in front of a laptop all day made me want to chew something! Switching to keto, I don't get cravings and sometimes forget to eat and am reminded that I am hungry by literally hearing my stomach growl.

But until this...no, I ate like clockwork.

The "naturally thin" people I know often forget to eat. But I am not one of them.

kshama2001

ceiswyn wrote: »

Meelisv wrote: »

I don't have an answer for you, but I have always wondered the same thing. What also baffles me, is that the same people who say that they forget to eat or simply aren't hungry or say that they struggle to eat 1000 kcal per day, have somehow found their way here, because they need to or want to lose weight. People don't get to a point where they want to lose weight by barely eating 1000 calories per day. Still it's a story that repeats itself over and over again.

I used to eat over 3000 calories a day and be constantly hungry. Then I completely changed my attitude to food and found myself struggling to get to 1000 calories some days. It seems that a drastic change in eating habits messes with your hunger and satiety signals. This shouldn’t be as difficult for people to comprehend as apparently it is.

Yes, whenever someone starts a thread indicating their hunger cues are off, the first thing that comes to my mind is that they went from calorie dense, hyper-palatable food to high protein/fiber/volume.

But we are clearly in the minority.

tbright1965

- 1994 18 weeks of chemotherapy. Even the smell of food made me sick. Lived on starlight mints and cola to get the metal chemo taste out of my mouth. My sense of smell was heightened and I could smell the last dozen or so meals served under the plastic covers used by the hospital. Once released after a week of chemo, I'd eat mints and cola for about a week. Then moved to chili with about 1/2 bottle of hot sauce so I'd taste something other than metal.
- 2003 Ex wife left, having an affair. Didn't want to do anything, eating included.
- Many occasions I'll be working and realize I've not eaten in the past 12 hours. This is usually bad news as I'll then eat a literal crap-ton of junk.

Evamutt

Personally, I think it's great to eat every couple hours, keeps your blood sugar more level. I'm a person who doesn't LOVE food, my husband does tho. I used to eat twice a day before mfp, then I started eating several small meals a day but kept going back to only wanting 2 meals/day, so I found my "normal" I eat brunch, have a small snack halfway to dinner & snack in evening. it's hard for me to snack, we're all different. Find whats best for you & don't force yourself to be something you're not, but modify some things that are better for you. My question ( if it hasn't already been answered) is are you eating enough? Asking because you said you were hungry. I cook in the late mornings for the day. I always worked PM shift so I'm able to do that. I can't imagine cooking in the evening when I'm already sleepy & tired

SeptemberFeyre

I think the people are either super busy, don't have low blood sugar issues, eating low-carb, or are smoking. That's just a guess. The most I can usually go between meals is five hours. If I'm exercising regularly it's less than that, and I feel super hungry.
Edited to add some medical conditions can cause one not to be hungry like thyroid trouble or depression, ect.

RenaTX

My husband is the type that forgets to eat or gets too busy to eat. He doesn't like to eat any breakfast, and says it gives him heartburn if he eats too early. Then he ends up getting too busy for lunch but will eat a large meal for dinner.

I can't do it. I can usually skip breakfast but then I want lunch. I tend to eat more in the afternoons too for some reason. Like right now. I want my afternoon snack but I'm forcing myself to hold off a hour to eat it or I may want something more later. Plus I'm not exactly hungry, I just want to eat.

quebot

I don't love eating. I think I gained weight in the past making lazy food choices (high calorie foods). I'd eyeball portions, and that was it. I would just say "oh it's time to eat, what can I cram in my mouth to get this out of the way?" I'm so busy and eating is just another thing on my to do list. Now that I'm making better food choices and quit drinking my calories, it can take a lot of effort to eat enough food. I've never had a huge appetite and I have always been satisfied with 1 to 2 meals a day and a small snack. Everyone's different. You don't have to love food to get fat. Not paying any attention will do it.

endermako

If I have a busy day I will forget to eat. But i try to make my next meal make up for the missed calories.

Angierae75

I will forget to eat if I'm busy. Often on the weekends, my husband, who works nights, will get up around noon or 1pm and ask if I want lunch, and I'll realize I hadn't eaten all day other than my morning coffee.

I got fat because when I did eat, I made poor choices. Not that I ate too often.

T1DCarnivoreRunner

My appetite is enormous, but I've had times where I did not eat at regular time. Almost always, it is because there is something important that I must get done. Recently, I "ate" nothing but coffee and water for about 42 hours to accomplish a medical test. So I know it can be done. In all honesty, my appetite is not even close to being as enormous since I've been eating very low carb... and my appetite used to be so enormous that many people simply can't even fathom how much I could eat.

JeromeBarry1

I don't seem to experience hunger as people describe it. I eat because I know I should. Sometimes I eat too much because IDGAF. That's how I got very obese. It was not difficult to figure out how much to eat to lose weight, so then I did. Myfitnesspal had that handy food diary that helps remind me when I need more protein.

Kst76

I dont have have huge hunger feelings either. I got over weight because ilike the taste of food. Hungry or not. This is still a problem for me.
I envy people who dont get this way. My bff. For instance, she likes food but she doesnt love it. She could easly not eat if her stomach wasn't growling. She just dont care that much for food of any sort..

OceanAddict

If I am really stressed or unhappy, I just cannot eat. Thankfully those times are not often

Isn't it funny how some of us are wired to overeat when emotional, and some of us to not eat at all? Neither option seems particularly healthy or useful as an evolutionary advantage.

Chunkahlunkah

When I’m engrossed in a project, especially when I’m on a deadline, it’s my norm to forget to eat. I get in the flow of the work and don’t register feelings of hunger until they’re really strong, which is usually 8+ hours later.

Even then when I finally “remember” to eat, if I’m not yet done or want to finish a specific part before I take a break to eat, I’ll ignore the hunger signal to finish.

Part of this is I’m not in the habit of snacking, and physiologically I seem prone to eating less frequently than other people. I notice this when I travel with someone else or spend a whole day in someone’s company. The other person typically wants more frequent eating than I do. Meanwhile, I’m good on two big meals a day. It’s not that I necessarily eat less than them, just less often.

Some people have mentioned having a meal and already thinking about what they’ll eat at their next meal. That’s really foreign to me! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE food. I appreciate food, enjoy my meal as I’m having it, and like picking out restaurants to try/recipes to make. I find food an interesting academic subject too, learning about nutrition and different cultures’ cuisines and food history. So I do think about food probably much more than the average person bc it’s a hobby I enjoy and value. I don’t have eating on the brain much though, usually just when I’m getting hungry. Eating next is the last thing on my mind as I’m finishing up a current meal because my hunger is gone.

Christine_72

One of the highlights of my day is filling out my food diary first thing every morning. I'm always thinking about my next meal, not particularly because of hunger but the thought of the forthcoming deliciousness...

TrishSeren

The only time I couldn't eat was when I first started on antidepressants and they made me feel sick. That went away after a month though.

I have workmates who "are too busy to eat" and I don't get it. As soon as I get slightly hungry my entire body refuses to work properly. To me, eating and sleeping are basic human needs that you should never be "too busy" for.

Danp

A while ago found myself 'forgetting' to have lunch. I'd be swamped at work and it would get to 3 or 4 pm and I'd be heading home and realise that I'd not had anything since my coffee at about 9am.

What the real surprise to me was that I didn't feel terrible when this happened, so I started to skip lunch deliberately. If I'm busy I work through but if not I get out of the office and go for a 30-60 minute walk instead of eating.

I also often skip breakfast on weekends as I like to have a sleep in so don't get up till 10-11am, so just wait an hour or three and eat at lunch.

This presented me with the problem of gaps in my food diary. When I'd look back I couldn't tell if I'd skipped that meal or if I'd just forgotten to log it. So, I created a 0 calorie recipe called 'Skipped Meal' and enter that so I have a complete diary.

PokeyBug

I'm an at-home, homeschooling mom. I just get busy with stuff and I forget to eat constantly. Sounds great, but when I finally get hungry, it's not normal, have-a-turkey-sandwich-and-you're-okay hungry. Nooo, I get voracious. I can out-eat my 6'3", 225 lb. husband when I get that hungry. So, being able to go without food is really not a good thing.

Archcurl

I used to always be hungry every 2 hours. That was when I worked out a lot. Like, 3-5 hours daily.
Not doing thhag anymore helped me but what mostly helped was stretching eating just half an hour longer. And then have a tiny snack.
Currently I am in the position of (almost) forgetting to eat but I need to take my medication with food during/after breakfast and lunch. I know I will feel like crap if I don’t take them so I remember

frankiesgirlie

I was the girl who would forget to eat. I never liked food when I woke up, so my parents battled with me to eat fruity pebbles, LOL for years before going to school. Eating after waking up made me feel sick. In high school I have a vivid memory of waking up one day, skipping breakfast, as usual, then being in school all day, and then running straight to my after school job. Working until 11pm. Going home and falling into bed and sleeping, then getting up and repeating the same day again. Except on the second night at work, I suddenly felt super weak and dizzy, and realized I hadn’t eaten in 2 days. It’s not that food didn’t cross my mind, I was just way too busy to stop and eat.
I don’t have that problem 40 years later, as food just seems to taste so much better. LOL. But I do use that ability to go long periods without food by using intermittent fasting to help me create a deficit by condensing my eating time.

WanderingRivers

For me, its depression, ADHD, or both in a magnificent feedback loop that will rob me of my appetite at different times. I've even been on meds for them that has caused lack of appetite to be a thing. Its not like i am actively not trying to eat some days, its that my neurodivergent brain gets in the darn way.

DragonHasTheSapphire

Sometimes when I get emotional, I will turn food away. As a female that has PMDD, it can be a struggle FEEL like eating sometimes. I have to force myself to eat something, because if I don't I'll just become weak and dizzy the next day. Sometimes I forget to eat meals from being too busy (which is usually lunch), so I'll rearrange my logging and have a huge dinner.

drisley77

I'm a intermittent faster. I eat from 4pm to midnight, and it really is the best but your body takes a few week to adapt. I'm rarely hungry ever until 4pm (sometimes later) Also working out keeps the appetite down. Another thing is to drink carbonated water, lots of it.

Unknown

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xmissxamyx

I don't generally eat breakfast or lunch I normally eat food for the first time each day in the late afternoon about 4 is when I'll eat my first meal then maybe have a late dinner. I could easily go 24 hours without eating tbh as long as I can drink coffee I'm all good.
I mean figuratively speaking im all good, obviously not eating is just as bad as over eating.

Hanatastic

When I’m anxious or extremely depressed