When to eat, when not to.. :(

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kylabolin
kylabolin Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
I haven't logged into MFP for awhile now. I just abruptly stopped, but plan on logging everything again tomorrow.
One of my problems is that I don't know when to eat and not to. I can wake up in the morning and feel fine. I could not eat for the entire day until dinner, but even then I'm not sure if I'm hungry. When I eat, I'm not sure if I'm eating because I'm hungry or if it's because I am bored or because of something emotional. Anyone have any advice on this?

On a lighter more happier note: Looking into getting some running shoes.

Replies

  • kayleeblue
    kayleeblue Posts: 273
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    I could also go until 1:00 2:00 in the afternoon without eating...But! We need to eat. Even if it's just a little something you need to do it. I have to make myself eat. Good Luck add me if you would like.
  • funkyspunky871
    funkyspunky871 Posts: 1,675 Member
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    Start having set times to eat. Maybe eat breakfast within an hour of waking up, have a morning snack at 10am, lunch at 12pm, afternoon snack at 3pm, and dinner around 6 or 7pm. :) Just a suggestion.
  • Munchiemooka
    Munchiemooka Posts: 176 Member
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    I was advised to eat small regular meals to stop you over eathing when you do eat
  • wildeone4
    wildeone4 Posts: 204 Member
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    It is so important to eat! You should be eating within the first hour of waking up! I read on a site that "People who skip breakfast are unlikely to make up their daily requirement for some vitamins and minerals that a simple breakfast would have provided." The reason we eat food is to fuel our bodies! At least eat the three main meals of the day. Some suggest doing 5-6 smaller meals, but typically it's easier to do breakfast, lunch, and dinner and you can do small snacks in between if you need to!
  • Seajolly
    Seajolly Posts: 1,435 Member
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    From personal past experiences, I'd sometimes go until 5pm with nothing to eat just because I wasn't hungry. But then I'd end up bingeing and eating WAY too much at night because the hunger finally caught up to me and I couldn't stop. So now I force myself to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday, and sometimes a few snacks. Your body needs fuel throughout the day to continue to lose weight, so feed it.
  • Indyfferent
    Indyfferent Posts: 6
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    Eat whenever you want. Just as long as you get to your nutrition goals.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
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    Chronic lack of appetite can be a signal of severely decreased metabolism. A couple of threads that may help:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/175241-a-personal-view-on-exercise-cals-and-underfeeding

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/231636-the-eating-when-you-re-not-hungry-dilemma

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/230930-starvation-mode-how-it-works

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/238282-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing-redux

    As for how to increase cals in a healthy way:

    Planning is key. Focus on balanced macros (protein/fat/carbs) in each meal/snack. Start with making sure to eat at least 3 meals a day. Breakfast is important when you're trying to overcome a habit of irregular eating or underfeeding. Once you've adjusted to that, add in snacks. Then, gradually increase the amount of cals in each meal/snack. Just 50 cals more for each meal/snack adds up. If you know you'll be working out, increase cals throughout the day.

    If you're not feeling hungry, a good way to increase cals without much volume is healthy fats from natural oils (olive/canola), nuts and nut butters (almonds, pistachios, walnuts), and avocados. Also, I would stay away from "low cal" or "low fat" options. Partly because you want to increase cals, and partly because those foods are usually processed and not nutrient dense, and the cals or fat they take out is replaced by sugar (real or substitute) and sodium - not a good trade off. A fruit smoothie, protein shake or chocolate milk are good cal boosters, because drinking cals can be easier than eating when you aren't feeling hungry.

    Typically, it may be hard for a few days or a week, but your body will adjust to the increased intake and you'll find it isn't an issue for long. Eating more will truly help your metabolism, and your appetite will increase with it.

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