Eating meals but not even hungry...wrong or right?

IdcShrimp · May 2014

I've been maintaining my weight fairly well for a while now, but recently (and only recently) I've come to a weird feeling where I'm not really hungry like I used to be at meal times.

For instance, I always used to wake up at 5:15 AM and eat breakfast at 5:30. I wasn't 'hungry.' But I would not have access to food again until 11:30 AM and by that time I would be STARVING. So, I ate and commuted to school. It worked out ok, I fueled my body to get me through the morning, and then I was hungry at 12:00 PM anyway and I would eat lunch, getting comfortably hungry for dinner at 6 PM-ish.

But as of late I'm waking up not hungry at all. Now that I'm out of school, I wake up at 9 AM. So, you would think I'd be hungrier, since it would have been hours past my normal waking time. But no, not at all, I wake up completely full for no reason. My dinners are not bigger, later, or different. I just wake up and don't want food. But in a force of habit, I push myself to eat a 300 calorie minimum breakfast every day. I find that if i don't, I overeat lunch and feel nasty.

But my question is, is this wrong? My body doesn't really "know," I guess, how I've been sleeping so many hours and in turn ready to eat another meal...I think...but today is where the problem is...I woke up at 9, completely full, but thirsty as hell, so I drank water and ate an apple for the H20 content in it. That turned into a yogurt, some angel food cake (i'm serious, don't hassle me on this, it's fine and like a pastry for breakfast plus I'm not overeating it), & some whipped topping.

I felt like a moron. i just ate a 300 cal breakfast and I was never hungry to begin with.

Then a few hours passed. At 12 I looked at my cabinet, and was compelled to have some popcorn. Figuring I was a bit hungry (I could feel stomach growling so it was real, but I was not yet 'starving') i had a sandwich, nuts, two peach cups, a pastry, and some whip cream on top. That was only a 400 calorie lunch, anyways, but I felt like an IDIOT after, because I wasn't truly starving when I started eating it.

I guess my problem is, I feel like a glutton if I'm not keeling over hungry every time I go to have a snack or something. I feel like it is 'wrong' to eat when you aren't 'hungry' in the traditional sense (total headache, feeling weak, etc.). Is this the wrong way to think? Sometimes, in life, is it ok to eat a meal because you are PREVENTING the soon-to-be starving feeling? Like, if you are 50% hungry but could wait a bit, is it wrong to eat because it is, per say, lunchtime, and you want to eat lunch? I'm scared this is the wrong way to be, I never overeat my calories for the day either way, but feeling full all day is weird to me. Is it weird to be satisfied all day and not feel hunger? What do you think?

nvpixie · May 2014

I hate waiting to eat until I'm totally hungry. I find it's better for me to eat when I'm not feeling major hunger pangs. I make better food choices.

Francl27 · May 2014

For me it makes no difference as long as I'm under my calories at the end of the day.

liekewheeless · May 2014

As long as you are eating balanced and healthy I don't see a problem with eating on a set schedule without actually being hungry. If you wait till you are starving you're much more likely to over eat.

And cake can be part of a balanced diet.

thavoice · May 2014

When you eat isnt a huge issue, as long as you eat within calories.

We are so programmed that we "have" to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and that isnt the case.

Many times people eat because the clock says they are supposed to.

emartin949 · May 2014

I usually try to eat in the stages when I'm either starting to get hungry or just entered into the hungry phase. I feel like it allows me to eat more slowly and really enjoy my food. It also keeps me from eating too much like I would if I was starving... it takes my stomach a bit longer to process the idea that there's already food in my stomach and turn off the hunger pains. I also don't eat according to a schedule -- I try to eat before class and between classes but won't force it if I'm not feeling it.

HerbertNenenger · May 2014

I honestly think that dieters have been told so often how to eat, what to eat, when to eat, that we've completely overridden our natural urges to the point that we can't recognize what we want anymore. I would def not worry that you're not hungry when you wake up, or when your mind thinks you "should" be eating. Listen to your gut, literally. It seems like you're still keeping your meals small so it's not like you're having binges or anything, either. If you're anxious about your newly developed habit of continuing to eat when you're really not hungry, try to stay more in tune with yourself and, before you pick up the next item to add to your plate, if you can stop there as opposed to continuing. Sounds like your schedule, and therefore your eating habits have changed and doesn't sounds like any reason to worry.

rm33064 · May 2014

If you truly feel like you need to have a splitting headache, feel weak, and be keeling over before you put food into your body then you are experiencing symptoms of an eating disorder. Please understand that this is neither normal or healthy behavior regardless of your current weight or caloric intake. I encourage you to visit this website http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org for a wealth of information about what you are dealing with as well as the help and support you may need.

Eating meals but not even hungry...wrong or right?

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