Eat When Not Hungry? Yes OR No?

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JustynaJustice
JustynaJustice Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
If meal time comes along, do you still eat if you're not hungry? Yes or no? Why or why not?

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  • Reaverie
    Reaverie Posts: 405 Member
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    No. Why would I eat if I feel sated? That can lead to problems with food addiction down the road. Now, if you are SERIOUSLY malnourished and dont feel hungry, therapy is needed. Its one thing to not eat back your exercise calories or just have a day where you arent as hungry, but its another all together if this is an ongoing issue and you are severely underweight. I can eat 2000 calories one day, 1200 another, 1800, then have like 600 and ans skip the rest of the day. So long as the overall trend is healthy, who cares? If you arent a morning person and breakfast just makes you feel bloated and uncomfortable (it does me) then skip it, unless you need to eat before a test.
  • WickAndArtoo
    WickAndArtoo Posts: 773 Member
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    Yes, because I know that if I don't eat then I will become ravenous very soon after. I also have low blood sugar so it's best if I can keep my blood sugar stable.
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
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    I still eat to hunger levels and track alongside. Often when I'm full but have calories left I wake up in the middle of the night remembering some snack I'd forgotten to log. IOW, my appetite is often better than my memory.
  • dwulet130
    dwulet130 Posts: 108 Member
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    I don't. I prefer to have two large meals that I enjoy, and maybe a snack or some wine if I have calories left over. I'm not going to waste those sweet sweet calories eating if I'm not in the mood: if you don't enjoy your meal plan it won't stick.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    Yes.
  • lost_work7
    lost_work7 Posts: 41 Member
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    I do. Often toward the end of the day I'm not so hungry, but if I don't eat I wake up ravenous and breakfast won't satisfy.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    I tend not to eat when I'm not hungry, but I think if you are finding that you are sated and not hungry, but well under your calorie goal, you need to look at the make-up of your meals and start adding in some more calorie dense foods. Not necessarily more food by volume, but more calories per meal.
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
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    This is very rare for me so no but if it were happening all the time I would probably say yes. If it's an occasional thing then just bank the calories for a splurge on a weekend or a meal out or when you are feeling a little hungrier. Consistently under eating isn't a good idea though and will lead to issues long term. If you're struggling to get calories in then try incorporating more calorie and nutrient dense foods into your diet is a good idea.
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
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    Eating when I wasn't hungry is what put the weight on for me. I am trying to learn the hunger cue again. So I try not to eat unless I feel hunger...sometimes it even works.
  • brittalexmoore
    brittalexmoore Posts: 15 Member
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    I find myself eating when I'm not hungry just because I pre-log things. So I'll see that its lunch time so I'll eat the lunch I planned even if I'm not hungry. I try not to though. I've got a lot of weight to lose so not eating when I'm not hungry every now and then is no big deal.
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
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    Reaverie wrote: »
    No. Why would I eat if I feel sated? That can lead to problems with food addiction down the road. Now, if you are SERIOUSLY malnourished and dont feel hungry, therapy is needed. Its one thing to not eat back your exercise calories or just have a day where you arent as hungry, but its another all together if this is an ongoing issue and you are severely underweight. I can eat 2000 calories one day, 1200 another, 1800, then have like 600 and ans skip the rest of the day. So long as the overall trend is healthy, who cares? If you arent a morning person and breakfast just makes you feel bloated and uncomfortable (it does me) then skip it, unless you need to eat before a test.

    Awesome.

    I don't eat or eat very little when I'm not hungry and I feel fine. Most people should be able to tell if their body feels fine. It's doubly assuring if you have eaten in the last 8 hours. In fact on my fasting day I like to leave my body a bit empty or neutral.

    The whole darn challenge of losing weight comes from keeping from not eating too much. It's never eating too little anyway.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    Depends. If I know I'm about to go torch a bunch of calories, I'll eat before hand even if I'm not hungry. If I'm not doing much and I'm not hungry I'll hold off eating. But it is unusual for me to reach mealtime and not be hungry.
  • mactaffy428
    mactaffy428 Posts: 61 Member
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    I don't see the point in eating if you are not hungry. Doesn't make too much sense to me. But you know your body better than anyone. Go with your instincts.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    JustynaJustice wrote: »
    If meal time comes along, do you still eat if you're not hungry? Yes or no? Why or why not?

    It has never happened that I was not hungry at a meal time unless I was sick. I eat to my calorie goal every day.

    I think the question is have you eaten enough calories for the day? Have you met your nutritional needs? Is your calorie goal correct or have you overestimated your activity level? Do you have something going on like an illness, a medication or a history of eating disorders that is impacting your hunger cues?
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,675 Member
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    I don't usually wake up hungry, but when I was working, I had to eat breakfast or not eat anything for 5-6 hours. By then, I'd be so hungry I'd eat too much. So I ate breakfast whether I was hungry or not.

    I don't live alone, so having meals on a semi-regular schedule is a courtesy to my husband, who shouldn't have to wait for meals until I feel the urge to eat. Sometimes he'll fix himself lunch, if I'm out, but mostly he waits for me to get hungry and do something about it. Dinner he never fixes on his own, so I try to have meals at a predictable time. Usually I'm hungry, but sometimes I just fix a meal to get it over with so I don't have to think about it later.

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