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

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.

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