Do you still eat when you're not hungry?

aerome
aerome Posts: 171 Member
edited November 9 in Food and Nutrition
My calories are set to 1,300 and I figured if I feel that's not enough I'll up it. I've already lost 7 pounds (mostly probably water weight, but I'll take it!). Sometimes it's time to eat and I'm just not hungry. I eat a small breakfast (2 hard boiled eggs and 1 turkey sausage patty) because I'm not very hungry in the morning, then a smoothie mid-morning, lunch, very small snack (like a cheese stick) in the afternoon, and then dinner. Lunch and dinner are usually 8 oz of chicken and half a bag of steamed green beans (sub fish or other veg, too, but just for example) I put off eating lunch because I wasn't hungry. Now it's getting on snack time, still not feeling too hungry. Should I still eat for the sake of nutrition, or should I only eat when I'm actually hungry?
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Replies

  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    If I were you and I weren't hungry (or tired) I'd save the calories and maybe have a treat after dinner :)
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    Eat when you're hungry, but make sure you aren't eating too few calories altogether. I agree with VeryKatie that eating a treat or something is fine too if you aren't hungry during meal times. Or just eat your meals whenever. You also might not be hungry since your food is very boring. Do you enjoy eating meat and vegetables exclusively for a meal?
  • turtlez23
    turtlez23 Posts: 156 Member
    Last week I wasn't hungry and was only making it to about 800 or 900 calories when my goal is 1430. I forced myself to eat some peanut butter or banana because I was scared that feeling of not being hungry would go away and I would start craving bad foods. So yes- I do eat when I am not hungry for fear of getting hungry and then eating *kitten* food. lol
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    edited December 2014
    No, but I'm like a starving Hulk. I'm always hungry.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Nope unless I'm craving a treat, but typically I know it won't last so I'm saving calories for days when I'll be hungrier.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    Only when I'm bulking and I'm REALLY short on calories.

    I'm almost always hungry though- so it's rarely a problem.
  • Listen to your body. If it's not saying "I'm hungry," then don't eat. BUT don't NOT eat for so long that you're starving because then you're more likely to binge eat (or at least thats how it is for me!)
  • definitely eat...your body will go into starvation mode and your matabalism will screech to a halt...
  • kristen6350
    kristen6350 Posts: 1,094 Member
    I eat every 2-3hrs no matter what. I know if I don't my blood sugars so all wacky and I'll be super hungry later and not care what I'm eating. I feel better when I eat 5-6 small meals over 2-3 big meals spread out. So, that's what I do, but there's not science behind it. Get your calories in your day in 24 hours.
  • rungirl1973
    rungirl1973 Posts: 2,559 Member
    As long as I don't feel full, yes I eat when I'm not hungry. I know myself.
    If I let myself get really hungry during the day, there's a big risk of a binge when I get home from work.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    johnseitz wrote: »
    definitely eat...your body will go into starvation mode and your matabalism will screech to a halt...

    sigh.

    no. that's just not how that works.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I'm always hungry...
  • I do make myself eat breakfast before work even when I'm not hungry but I'm most always hunger in the morning. After that I just eat when I'm hungry. Breakfast at 5 am and if I haven't eaten by 1 or 2 pm but not hungry I'll have an apple. Usually that happen when I'm too busy to think about being hungry.
  • aerome
    aerome Posts: 171 Member
    I decided to eat. One of my habits is to not eat all day and then eat one huge meal. And now I'm fat. So I think something is off with whatever tells my brain that I'm hungry. Started eating and then I felt hungry.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    I haven't had a problem with not feeling hungry.
    If you are usually getting 1200 calories at least then I would not stress about eating if you were not hungry. If you are ending up below 1200 pretty often I would say to eat or drink a smoothie or something at least. You might look at switching to more nutrient dense foods if the amount you eat is small.
  • aerome
    aerome Posts: 171 Member
    I'm not really sure how I could make my diet more nutrient dense than it already is. Suggestions?
  • aerome
    aerome Posts: 171 Member
    I forgot in my OP, I do have a TBS of coconut oil every day, too.
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
    really? Eating when you're not hungry makes no sense. Most people probably got over weight for that exact reason. EAT SMART is my moto. I'm not huge on breakfast, so I eat AFTER my morning workout. I shoot for high protein. Skipping meals is also not good, it tends to make you over eat and not make good choices.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Looks like you've answered your own question, but I'm rarely especially hungry (or especially not hungry), so I always wonder what people mean by hunger in these questions. Do you mean "do you eat when you feel full or when the thought of eating is unpleasant"? If so, no, never, but if I frequently felt that way at normal meal times when eating 1300 calories I'd wonder if something was wrong or change my schedule so I wasn't eating so often (I eat 3 main meals, occasionally a later afternoon snack depending on my workout schedule and/or how late I eat dinner).

    If you mean "do you eat when you aren't feeling like you must or that you will bite off someone's hand or faint" then, yes, of course, but I never feel that hungry for actual physical reasons anyway, not even when I've fasted. When I smell something delicious or am otherwise anticipating something or have gone on some huge hike with the plan to eat after or some such, then I might.

    On the whole, I have trouble sometimes separating hunger signals from other kinds of signals (I'm stressed or want a break or am bored signals can be among them), so I don't eat to hunger much. I eat to "it's mealtime," and on the whole my body now tends to feel hungry enough when it's mealtime and not particularly hungry when it's not. Similarly, I don't eat until I'm full, I eat until I've eaten a reasonable amount of food as planned, although I might stop sooner if I've misjudged how filling something is or if I don't happen to like it after all.
  • Skipping meals is also not good, it tends to make you over eat and not make good choices.

    ^^^^^ MHM!!!
    Been there, done that!
  • tibby531
    tibby531 Posts: 717 Member
    I have to stay fueled. I get "hangry" if I miss my food times, so I try to get them in, even if I'm not really feeling hungry, for the sake of others and my employment status. and I tend to stay away from the office treats if I'm chalked full of nutrients.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    Not usually.

    If I need to take a pill that has to be taken with food, I'll have some. Otherwise, I eat when I'm hungry and don't when I'm not. :)
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    I don't eat when I'm not hungry as a rule. I also lose my appetite when I'm angry, stressed out or depressed. Sometimes if I'm procrastinating or bored I do find myself perusing the refrigerator and cabinets, though.
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
    I do eat when I'm not hungry - I'd never meet my goals otherwise. I'm bad at recognizing hunger cues.
  • Kimberly_Harper
    Kimberly_Harper Posts: 409 Member
    I usually am not hungry in the middle of the day, but I do make myself eat something healthy by 3:30-ish (I bring my lunch) so that I won't be dog-tired when I get home. I don't panic though if I forget. I just make sure that when I do eat, it is food that is healthy for my own system.
  • RosieWest8
    RosieWest8 Posts: 185 Member
    When I first started tracking calories I did eat even though I wasn't hungry in order to reach my calorie goal....if I would have only eaten when I was hungry I would have netted like ~800 cals/day. After I got through the initial transition of exercising regularly and eating better regularly my appetite evened out and I was hungry when it was time to eat --- so now I usually eat when I'm hungry and don't if I'm not. But if you've just started you may want to make sure you are meeting your calorie goal (more or less) until your body adjusts.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    I would skip the snack if I wasn't hungry. I would know that sooner or later I will have a day when I want to eat a little more. It's not necessary to eat the same number of calories every day.

    If I wasn't hungry for it on a regular basis I would take a step back and think because it would not be natural for most people to never be hungry on < 1300 calories per day.
  • Chaotic_Weevil
    Chaotic_Weevil Posts: 199 Member
    edited December 2014
    I often go through days where I have no interest in anything beyond breakfast and may only eat 600 or so calories for the day, but after a couple days of that I will have a few where I'm ravenous and it all evens out. If you are similar then I think it's ok to not eat when you're not hungry. But if you don't see yourself making it up later in the week then maybe try to have something.
  • goddessofawesome
    goddessofawesome Posts: 563 Member
    I've been trying to eat a bit more during the day so that I'm not starving by time my meals come around so right now I'm eating some meals when I am not hungry.
  • Roxiegirl2008
    Roxiegirl2008 Posts: 756 Member
    I will typically eat (something small like carrots or apple) if I am not hungry simply because I don't want to feel light headed when I am going to work out. That is just my body though.
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