Eating only when hungry

kittykomp
kittykomp Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, I was wondering if anyone follows this or if they just eat at regular times?

I’m debating it to improve weight loss.

Thanks
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Replies

  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,027 Member
    If I ate only when hungry I'd be under-eating more often than not. It's not always a good strategy.
  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,371 Member
    You'd have to make sure you were prepared, had food prepared / ready to go if out and about, otherwise waiting until hungry my lead to making choices you'd rather not and/or overeating.
  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 1,205 Member
    This doesn't work for me because I have a skewed interpretation of "hungry." For many of us, not being full feels like hungry. Grazing (like 6 mini meals) also didn't work for me because I honestly was always thinking about how long to put off the next snack. If I eat a lot three times a day instead, I do better, and I ignore that "dang I want to eat something right now" feeling in between and at night. It's the only way I keep my weight off.
  • emmamcgarity
    emmamcgarity Posts: 1,594 Member
    I think this is more of an individual thing. Some people do well with larger meals and a smaller eating window (i.e. intermittent fasting). Other people do well with smaller meals more frequently. In an interview with Yoni Freedhoff he mentioned advising some of his patients to eat smaller meals more frequently in an effort to keep them from getting so hungry that they would binge. This is me. Especially at the end of the workday. I generally have a fiber bar or fruit and cheese within an hour of getting to the end of my work day. It keeps me from being ravenous and making poor decisions on my commute home. It may take some experimentation to determine what strategies work best for you. Meal frequency in itself doesn’t change your weight loss if the overall calories are the same.
  • lalalacroix
    lalalacroix Posts: 834 Member
    Somewhat. I do try to listen to my hunger cues. So I don't wake up and eat unless I'm hungry and sometimes I skip lunch. Or sometimes my lunch ends up being late so I'll skip dinner. And my diet is super satiating for me so I'll easily stay full for hours after eating.

    But I'm also very active so there are times that I'll eat when I'm not hungry so I can fuel my long hike or my run/workout. The last thing I want is to feel unwell because I haven't eaten.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,743 Member
    I had some success with that in the past. I tend to eat when I'm not hungry, out of habit (i.e. dessert) or because the clock says it is time to eat. The problem with that was I needed to have a schedule that was flexible, which mine wasn't. I had long commutes and couldn't eat at my desk so a belated breakfast or early dinner wasn't an option. So I ate when I got up, whether I was hungry or not, and ate at lunch hour, because I didn't want to wait 6 more hours to eat. And if cooking for a family, meals need to be on a fairly reliable schedule.
  • vanityy99
    vanityy99 Posts: 2,583 Member
    edited May 2019

    I’m one who eats only when I feel hungry and some days well very rarely actually for whatever reason If I don’t have much of an appetite and don’t eat much, the next day i will feel it and make up for it. I don’t count calories I pretty much just get a bit of cardio in and listen to my body. It works for me.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    Same boat as @spiriteagle99 in that it’s a schedule thing. My work days are jammed, so I schedule in lunch at noon. Then hubs wants to have supper together around 7. But I love the idea.
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
    Ehat s great idea - eating only when hungry. Believe it’s tremendously effective if your hunger signal isn’t dysfunctional by a mind having an unhealthy desire to eat without regard to hunger.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    edited May 2019
    For me it’s much better to eat before I get hungry. For two reasons, one which applies to most people and another which applies primarily to diabetics. First, if I wait until I’m hungry, I tend to overeat. Second, hunger causes cortisol, a stress hormone, to rise, and cortisol blocks the action of insulin, which causes a rise in blood sugar. This is why many diabetics have high sugar levels first thing in the morning after fasting all night. Eating on a regular schedule is better for my glucose control.

    I can also see a potential third reason, which is that eating as soon as you get hungry may not always be feasible, which means that a skipped meal could lead to staying hungry until you get a chance to eat again. That doesn’t sound fun.
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    Hunger cues aren't always in sync with your body's actual needs. sometimes people can be too hungry for their body's calorie needs of not hungry enough. So if you are in sync with your body's needs, then it could work. But if you are not, then you could go too far in either direction.

    That being said, I am not too strict on meal timings or number of meals. Some days I eat 2 meals, others I eat 5 plus a snack. 4 meals is probably the norm for me. However regardless of the number of meals or the timing, I am conscious of my goals and always try to eat close to my calorie goal (save for special occasions), without consistently going too high of too low below it.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    I tried that.

    So my experience was that, yeah, I could eat less. But then I ended up eating more because starving. And I made poor food choices because I waited too long to eat and I really needed to eat. So, ice cream.

    Regular meals work best for me, and pre-planning the day works even better.

    This is me too. In the past I would have a ridiculously low calorie day just because I didn't feel hungry and I was busy working. The next day I might skip breakfast and lunch again and then at 3pm or so I would eat enough calories for probably 3 days.

    I have accepted that low calorie days are normal for me but I have a minimum calorie amount I won't allow myself to go under unless it is a very unusual situation. If I feel the same way on a second consecutive day I don't allow myself to go much under my normal goal. I manage myself with a running 7 day average to make sure I eat the right amount because my individual days can be very inconsistent (some low and some high).
  • piddings1951
    piddings1951 Posts: 27 Member
    I graze extensively when I’m at work. I feel like I’m constantly eating. It seems easy. I go as far as cutting bananas in half. At home I eat regular meals. I feel like it’s a lot harder at night to stay within calorie goals. I try not to eat anything until dinner. I get hungry a lot at night and I worry about going over.
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
    Eating when hungry has helped me rein in mindless snacking and emotional/stress eating. I do eat three meals a day and sometimes a snack or two. Not having an appetite has never been an issue for me. I have learned to listen to my body’s signals and it has helped me a lot.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    I more or less eat when I'm hungry, but I also count calories. I'm not hungry all the time and, thankfully, I don't always have to remind myself to eat. I definitely don't have a specific times when I eat though, save for when my breakfast is more or less dictated by my schedule.

    For example, today I ate lunch at around 1pm. Tomorrow I might eat lunch at 2 or 2:30. My window for dinner is anywhere from 5-8:30pm.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    Phirrgus wrote: »
    NovusDies wrote: »
    aes1219 wrote: »
    NovusDies wrote: »
    aes1219 wrote: »
    This is exactly what I do. I eat when I'm hungry. I have lose 54 lbs so far since the end of December (postpartum) and am almost to my ultimate goal weight of 125 lbs at 5'5. I do not count calories, but I am mindful of what I eat and I exercise a lot. Yesterday I ate breakfast and then ate at 3pm and wasn't hungry the rest of the day.

    You should not be doing it. You have lost weight at an unhealthy rate (over 2.5 pounds per week). You need to be eating more.

    Actually, you are wrong. I think your post meant well but it is wrong. I am postpartum, I lost 20 lbs in less than a week from the weight of the baby and water weight. Another 10 lbs came off over the following week. My weightloss has significantly slowed down, my doctors (primary care, cardiologist, and OBGYN are very happy with my weight loss and I am as healthy as can be).

    I see. I thought your starting weight was after delivery.

    I am glad you found something that works for you then.

    Lots of water weight is lost postpartum. I know this...daughters spitting out grandkids all over the place lol.

    You made me spit out my wine.

    Sniggering, h.

    Need warning notices for humour.
  • quebooboo
    quebooboo Posts: 13 Member
    Stress and hormones affect my appetite, which is why I use mfp. My appetite never seems to match my actual needs. I'm either never hungry or starving. I'm currently 3 weeks postpartum, breastfeeding, and can eat everything in the pantry in one sitting. I count my calories to stay in a heavy range.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »
    If I ate only when hungry I'd be under-eating more often than not. It's not always a good strategy.

    And I'd eat all the time. That's how I got 40 lbs overweight. The whole hunger/ satiety thing is very individual. For some people it can work for weight loss but most of us need some kind of game plan and measurement method.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited May 2019
    I only do it for breakfast, I wait to eat it until I'm a little bit hungry. For the rest of my meals, it wouldn't work. I would feel deprived if I had the calories and wanted something and didn't spend them on it, which leads to rebound overeating. I also tend to need more food and it takes longer for me to feel full if I let myself get too hungry. I eat when I'm hungry, when it's meal time, when I'm craving something, when I'm socializing, and when I just feel like munching on something. Doing it any other way would make it feel too restrictive and joyless (which never works out in my favor).

    It's a balancing act and it works best for me. If I'm having a hungry day I focus on satisfying that hunger and tell my other needs "later" Sometimes I even plan a maintenance day and even that barely satisfies my hunger. If I'm having a low hunger day I eat for more than hunger and eat more hedonically, or save the calories for another day if it also happens to be a low appetite day and it would feel like a waste of calories to force myself to eat.
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