Skipping meals - Good or Bad?

LosingWeight4Good
LosingWeight4Good Posts: 156 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Dang! Why didn't I come with an owner's manual. LOL

Can't I skip a meal here and there no big deal? Isn't my body telling me I don't need to eat right now when I don't feel like eating? I just mentioned I sometimes skip meals to someone I consider healthy, and his head spun around like the Exorcist! He was practically foaming at the mouth as he said,"NEVER SKIP A MEAL."

I don't know what to think. I feel ok if I skip and the scale and NSV rewards me for occassionally skipping, but I don't want to end the world or anything. LOL I need help with this one. THANKS!

Replies

  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    Dang! Why didn't I come with an owner's manual. LOL

    Can't I skip a meal here and there no big deal? Isn't my body telling me I don't need to eat right now when I don't feel like eating? I just mentioned I sometimes skip meals to someone I consider healthy, and his head spun around like the Exorcist! He was practically foaming at the mouth as he said,"NEVER SKIP A MEAL."

    I don't know what to think. I feel ok if I skip and the scale and NSV rewards me for occassionally skipping, but I don't want to end the world or anything. LOL I need help with this one. THANKS!

    First of all it is very likely that you'll get some answers telling you that your metabolism will slow down. This is false, but a lot of people haven't let go of this concept.

    Short answer: Totally fine provided you feel fine and provided you don't have any issues with overeating later in the day. You should focus on total daily calories and macronutrients, so for example if you skip lunch you would then eat a larger dinner and be fine.

    Longer answer: See here for a detailed post regarding diet induced thermogenesis:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/529002-a-compliation-on-meal-frequency
  • Shag79
    Shag79 Posts: 16 Member
    I have learned the hard way that skipping meals always backfires on me. Why? Because I'm that much more hungry later.. then I overeat. Once in a while this isn't terrible, but daily, isn't good. When in doubt, don't skip. :)
  • rlmadrid
    rlmadrid Posts: 694 Member
    Dang! Why didn't I come with an owner's manual. LOL

    Can't I skip a meal here and there no big deal? Isn't my body telling me I don't need to eat right now when I don't feel like eating? I just mentioned I sometimes skip meals to someone I consider healthy, and his head spun around like the Exorcist! He was practically foaming at the mouth as he said,"NEVER SKIP A MEAL."

    I don't know what to think. I feel ok if I skip and the scale and NSV rewards me for occassionally skipping, but I don't want to end the world or anything. LOL I need help with this one. THANKS!

    First of all it is very likely that you'll get some answers telling you that your metabolism will slow down. This is false, but a lot of people haven't let go of this concept.

    Short answer: Totally fine provided you feel fine and provided you don't have any issues with overeating later in the day. You should focus on total daily calories and macronutrients, so for example if you skip lunch you would then eat a larger dinner and be fine.

    Longer answer: See here for a detailed post regarding diet induced thermogenesis:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/529002-a-compliation-on-meal-frequency

    /endthread
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,749 Member
    If I'm not hungry then I don't eat. No reason to force myself to have a meal just because "THEY" say I need to.

    Also if I know that I'm going out some where and there will be lots of food and drink I'll purposely skip a meal to save my calories for the event.
  • joshuamhort
    joshuamhort Posts: 81
    My problem is that I will be hungry, but nothing sound appetizing. Not in the mood for sweet, salty, bitter, savory, nothing. So I will go for some water, but that just makes me feel worse. Sometimes in these instances I skip a meal, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I force myself to eat something depending on what I had to eat the rest of the day and how many calories I am sitting at.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Dang! Why didn't I come with an owner's manual. LOL

    Can't I skip a meal here and there no big deal? Isn't my body telling me I don't need to eat right now when I don't feel like eating? I just mentioned I sometimes skip meals to someone I consider healthy, and his head spun around like the Exorcist! He was practically foaming at the mouth as he said,"NEVER SKIP A MEAL."

    I don't know what to think. I feel ok if I skip and the scale and NSV rewards me for occassionally skipping, but I don't want to end the world or anything. LOL I need help with this one. THANKS!

    First of all it is very likely that you'll get some answers telling you that your metabolism will slow down. This is false, but a lot of people haven't let go of this concept.

    Short answer: Totally fine provided you feel fine and provided you don't have any issues with overeating later in the day. You should focus on total daily calories and macronutrients, so for example if you skip lunch you would then eat a larger dinner and be fine.

    Longer answer: See here for a detailed post regarding diet induced thermogenesis:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/529002-a-compliation-on-meal-frequency

    /endthread

    Agree
  • billyh333
    billyh333 Posts: 213
    The truth is this…it is daily calories that matter, not whether you eat those calories in 10 tiny meals or one large meal. If anything, there are slightly better benefits to eating less often. I know this is a hard one to swallow, but I had a feeling this was the case long before these studies came out. You see, people who eat frequently almost always eat more calories throughout the day then people who eat less often. The weird thing about food is that the more you eat, the more you crave. This is especially true with sweets.

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