Eating when not hungry.

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slimmin_down
slimmin_down Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
If I have eaten very little should I eat dinner even if I'm not hungry? Or just skip meals?

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  • sunshine_gem
    sunshine_gem Posts: 390 Member
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    Depends if it's happening every day. Is there a reason you aren't hungry? If it's just ocassionally then it shouldn't be a problem but I would be worried if it was a common occurrence.
  • Anna800
    Anna800 Posts: 637 Member
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    You need to eat a minimum of 1200 calories a day.
  • sunshine_gem
    sunshine_gem Posts: 390 Member
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    You need to eat a minimum of 1200 calories a day.

    No, you don't. There are many days I do just fine on 1000. There are plenty of other people who live just fine on that too. I'm not saying it's a long term solution because it's not. But for now, it's fine. If you're eating way less than 1000 every day, then it becomes a problem and could be a symptom of something else.
  • Lina4Lina
    Lina4Lina Posts: 712 Member
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    If I'm not hungry, I will have something light like a smoothie. Basically, I'm trying to keep my body fueled and skipping meals for me could possibly result in a binge later.
  • jcpmoore
    jcpmoore Posts: 796 Member
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    Eat when you're hungry. If you're not hungry, then your body really doesn't need food.* If you're finding, however, that you regularly are not hungry enough to eat 1200 cals per day, then you need to look at what's going on.

    First, make sure that you're tracking accurately. Are your portion sizes accurate? (IOW, is that really 1 ounce of nuts or is it 2?) That sort of thing. Analyze your portions closely for a few days and make sure that you are getting them right. You might find that you've been eating more than you know and everything is actually just fine.
    If that turns out to be accurate already, then move on to two.

    Second, look at your settings. Is your lifestyle set accurately? If it's set to sedentary, is that true? Think carefully about these things. You want to make sure your goals are set accurately for you so MFP isn't telling you to eat more than you need.

    Third, are you exercising? Are you trying to eat back exercise calories? Make sure you are getting your calories burned accurately. If you can afford it, a simple HRM is a great tool here. Mine only cost $25 on Amazon and it's been great.

    If you're still concerned after these measures, check with a registered dietitian. They can help you analyze your food diary.

    * The exception- there are some medications that can make your appetite do a disappearing act. If you're on any, find out if yours is one of them. You can look up drug side effects on Webmd.com under Drugs. In this case, things might be different and a call to your medical provider would be a good idea.

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