Not Hungry. Should I Force Myself To Eat????

nikeelee
nikeelee Posts: 8
edited October 7 in Introduce Yourself
Logically my mind tells me "If you eat too much you gain weight. If you don't eat you lose weight." I've been told that if you don't eat your body will go into starvation mode and store your fat. My problem is that I have been busier than normal lately and I've gone whole days without eating anything. I don't feel hungry and I don't miss food, should I force myself to eat the amount of calories I'm allowed? I really don't want to sabotage any progress I may have made but I'm just not hungry! P.S. I'm pretty new and could still use motivation buddies. Feel free to friend me :happy:

Replies

  • VryIrishGirl76
    VryIrishGirl76 Posts: 1,167 Member
    I would say yes, I've heard the same thing as well.
    Not eating kinda "breaks" your metabolism so to speak.
    This is something I struggle with as well....
  • Yes, even eating a small snack (I always have a banana) will help keep you body working and will also help make it so you are not starving later. I will send you a friend request.
  • Yes, eat! Food is fuel, you may feel fine initially, but over time this habit will get the better of you. Without food, your body is burning away lean muscle mass, which in turn will lower your metabolism and have the opposite effect of what you desire.
  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
    you have to feed the machine.

    it's like your car wouldn't function right if you didn't put gas in it.

    Starting your day with like a 250 calorie breakfast gets your metabolism going again. If you don't eat, in the short term you may lose a few pounds, but your body will start conserving the calories you do give it. It is NOT acceptable to go a whole day without eating - it's in fact very unhealthy. if you have a busy few days coming up, preportion things you can take with you -- i.e. yogurt, nuts, fruit, veggies, etc. Do you not hydrate yourself? if you make yourself drink water when you're not thirsty (which you should do because by the time you're thirsty you're already dehydrated) then you can make yourself eat. Your metabolism is running at a slower pace so it's not telling your body to eat -- it doesn't need to, it's not burning any calories any way because you're not feeding it.

    I lost 96 pounds last year (from january 1 to December 2011) I hit plateaus twice (and am just breaking another one right now) - the first time I was eating around 1300-1400 calories, upped it to 1500-1600 - started dropping weight again -- plateaued again after a while -- upped to 1800 -- started dropping weight again....

    re-think the not eating thing.

    (PS. it's a very common misconception that if you eat you gain weight, and if you don't you'll lose -- just doesn't work like that. you have to make the right food choices and EAT)
  • emmyvera
    emmyvera Posts: 599 Member
    Yes, do eat. Please. :wink:

    Your body needs the fuel to keep up those tasks in your life.

    An energy bar, a piece of fruit, protein shake. Something healthy and fast. Make a list of a few healthy items that
    are grab and go. Keep them out on your counter, prepare them in advance, keep in your car, purse, etc. You can do this. :smile:

    It's easy to get distracted and not eat. I'm not really like that, I love to eat. But I have a very good friend that is the same way. She can go an entire day and not eat - Simply because she is running here and yonder. I'd rip someone's head off with my teeth, if I didn't eat at least 3 or 4 times a day. :laugh: As a side note: She is also having a hard time losing weight because of these bad habits..... just some food for thought. :wink:
  • Thank you all for the support. I will make myself eat. Thanks to you guys I see that I don't have to eat a "meal" just something that will fuel the machine lol. I think I'll look up some recipes today and go from there!
  • 21Anna
    21Anna Posts: 1
    Hi My friend and I are doing this together we are both the same in associating food to being fat... I never feel hungry... and when I make myself eat I gag... and feel its all going to come up.. my friend feels the same yesturday it took me an hour to eat chicken and salad and my friend the same to eat the chilli for dinner.. its so hard to change your eatten patterens or the phycology around food. I ve spoken to loads of health advicers with regards to dieting and thye all say that you need to eat less and exersize more... without asking what your eatting patterns are. Which just instill the poor food relationship.

    I have 700 cals left and feel so so sick the thought of eatting again fills me with dread.. I was crying in the car on the way home at the thought... Any ideas...
  • UncleMac
    UncleMac Posts: 13,850 Member
    I'm seeing a dietician and the advice I was given is this: never be hungry. Plan your meals and snacks in advance, including the time, rather than waiting for hunger since you're more likely to make a healthy food choice (content & portion) if you're not hungry.
  • hamiltonba
    hamiltonba Posts: 474 Member
    I see that you state in your profile that you struggle w/portion control. This might be because on your busy days you don't eat so the following day or day after that, you are ravenous and over eat. Part of the issues might be this inconsistant food consumption.
  • Elf_Princess1210
    Elf_Princess1210 Posts: 895 Member
    Bump

    I'm bad about eating when busy too.
  • Csitri
    Csitri Posts: 132 Member
    I say eat a little each day and add to eat every few days. Eventually you will be eating your calories.
    Some days I feel like not eating but then I eat something like soup which is mostly liquid. It helps.

    Friend request on the way.
  • You should try to eat at least 1000 calories a day if possible. Your body could go into starvation mode and if that happens your body will eat its 3 day supply of glycogen then it will eat your muscle and lastly will eat your fat stores.
  • HotAshMess
    HotAshMess Posts: 382 Member
    I don't encourage anyone to "force" eating. When I get crazy busy, I find I don't eat as much either. What I would recommend you do is some seriously light snacking. And while I normally am "afraid" of liquid calories, perhaps a breakfast shake or a protein shake in the morning would work for you. Sometimes it is easier to sip something than chew it. But you should kind of work some little things into your day so that you don't lose control later after not eating all day and you have fuel for your body to run on.
  • wickedestgyal
    wickedestgyal Posts: 2 Member
    sory I posted in the wrong feed , had to edit it out thanks
  • krystyleee
    krystyleee Posts: 219
    If you don't find yourself eating a lot, eat things that are good for you with higher fat/calories.

    Bananas
    Peanutbutter
    Almonds
    Greek yogurt
    Cheese
    Wheat breads
    Wheat pastas
    Granola with milk

    If you like milk (i love milk), then drink a glass of milk! Small snack things would be good for you.
  • InaChristensen
    InaChristensen Posts: 1 Member
    To keep your body from going into 'starvation' mode, you should eat something, even if it's a piece of fruit. Your metabolism needs to stay level so that it doesn't slow down because you haven't eaten anything. Your body IS probably hungry even though you may not feel it, especiall since you are so busy. Take a moment, have a healthy snack or even a meal replacement drink and you will still lose weight. Your body will thank you!
  • missa526
    missa526 Posts: 103 Member
    I have this problem a lot, especially when I have migraines. your best bet is to try to eat a little somthing every 3-4 hours, set an alarm if you have to! make minimeals I eat half sandwiches alot, I take them with me places. or a protein bar or even just a granola bar. when you do have time to actually eat make sure you have protien, carbs and a little fat (not a ton!). But even if you start slow with breakfast and 3 mini-meals your body will thank you.:flowerforyou:
  • FireBrand80
    FireBrand80 Posts: 378 Member
    Logically my mind tells me "If you eat too much you gain weight. If you don't eat you lose weight." I've been told that if you don't eat your body will go into starvation mode and store your fat.

    You were told wrong. If you don't eat, you would eventually starve to death.
  • I'd never force myself to eat if I'm not hungry! But then again my calorie minimum is set to 1500. The way I see it is if you aren't genuinely hungry, don't force yourself to eat.
    But that's just my thoughts if you feel the need to eat and you really do have alot of calories left over then find something small but calorific to make up those calories.

    Feel free to add me and I hope this is helpful for you and I apologise that I could not give more information.
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
    Hi My friend and I are doing this together we are both the same in associating food to being fat... I never feel hungry... and when I make myself eat I gag... and feel its all going to come up.. my friend feels the same yesturday it took me an hour to eat chicken and salad and my friend the same to eat the chilli for dinner.. its so hard to change your eatten patterens or the phycology around food. I ve spoken to loads of health advicers with regards to dieting and thye all say that you need to eat less and exersize more... without asking what your eatting patterns are. Which just instill the poor food relationship.

    I have 700 cals left and feel so so sick the thought of eatting again fills me with dread.. I was crying in the car on the way home at the thought... Any ideas...

    I may be waaaay off base but, this sounds a bit like an eating disorder. Perhaps a counselor could help.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    You can only trust your hunger signals if you are used to eating the right amount of food.
  • You should try to eat at least 1000 calories a day if possible. Your body could go into starvation mode and if that happens your body will eat its 3 day supply of glycogen then it will eat your muscle and lastly will eat your fat stores.

    And this is a load of BS you need a hell of a lot more than this to survive!!! The supposed minimum is actually 1200 but I personally think that's horse *kitten*!
  • pinthin87
    pinthin87 Posts: 296 Member
    Never force yourself to eat. Your body knows what it is doing, and it sends cues for TRUE hunger. I say if you do not feel hungry do not eat. Simple as that.
  • hillm12345
    hillm12345 Posts: 313 Member
    When I went from only eating 1200 to 1400-1600 a day I found that initially I was forcing myself to eat. As my body got used to eating more I found myself able to space out my cals a little better so I didn't have those HUGE amounts left at the end of the day. I also noticed that after a few days of making myself eat.. and getting all 1600 of those cals that I would wake up ravenous!! my first week of actual "eating" I dropped 3 lbs.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    You can only trust your hunger signals if you are used to eating the right amount of food.

    This.

    OP, you have admitted that the big reason for your lack of hunger is psychological - Your brain is trained to relate "less food" with "success". While it's ok to be slightly under sometimes, equating hunger with weight loss is really not the course you want to take long-term. I would suggest keeping something with significant calories and health benefits like plain, roasted almonds around so that you can eat them if you are really under your calorie intake for the day. It won't make you feel overly full.
  • HopefulLeigh
    HopefulLeigh Posts: 363 Member
    I would normally say, "If you aren't hungry, don't eat." This is different, though. If you are going full days without eating then you really do need to eat something. If this happens a lot, you may want to see a doctor. Not eating at all is not good for you and will not help you lose weight.
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
    You can only trust your hunger signals if you are used to eating the right amount of food.

    ^^This

    When I decided to change when and how I ate, I found myself feeling more full all day, however, I still get "hungry" when I stay up a little too late at night because that's when I used to snack. Now I want to snack, not because I'm actually hungry, but because it's a habit I got myself into. I can be perfectly fine not eating anything, even though I still have some calories "left" for the day.

    Planning meals and snacks, as others have suggested, have helped me a lot. I'm having to retrain my mind to let my stomach know when I'm actually hungry as opposed to just wanting to have a bowl of Sugar Smacks at 1am or those 9 chocolate chip cookies and milk. If I'm actually hungry, I have more healthy choices to nibble on these days.
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