What do you eat for...the meal..the time...or your body?

I never have to force myself to eat to meet calories!

lorrpb wrote: »

I never have to force myself to eat to meet calories!

You are lucky! When you have super high cals it can get exhausting. The first few days are ok.. then you realize you have to do this everyday... day in, day out..

I eat when I'm hungry but it's usually a meal time anyway. Sometimes i get hungry before the said mealtime, then i will try to have an earlier meal, because if i snack, then eat, i will definitely overdo it. I eat way too much for premeal snacks, grabbing at everything in sight. And then there are times, when I'm so busy that i completely forget about food. I also always have protein/ carb combo before i go on my bike rides, unless it's after a meal. Nothing worse than getting dizzy and disoriented while cycling, hehe. And this way i avoid being all shaky when I'm back home from the ride.

_AshLynn wrote: »

WinoGelato wrote: »

_AshLynn wrote: »

No I am pretty consistent. My issue is my appetite goes away with stress...so I will have a few days of being negative by 500 ish (sometimes more or less). But on normal days I will be +/- 200 calories of 1600.

I think it just gets me thinking because I don't want to get in the habit of being in a huge deficit. Example Last week my grandmother passed (I'm ok ...all is ok, not saying this for attention) but I didn't eat much and I started getting in the BMI category "under weight" and I don't want to be there because its just not healthy for me in my mind.

So the peanut butter tip is probably a great suggestion and will be easy enough to fit in when I start to worry about eating when I'm not hungry.

What are your overall goals OP? If you are already under weight, is your goal to gain? What calorie target are you aiming for? Do you exercise? And if so do you eat back some of those calories?

Maybe someone can post the link to the "a list of calorie dense foods" thread so OP has a few other ideas on how to get calories up fairly easily.

To your original question I eat because food is delicious, and because it fuels my body. I eat on a pretty consistent schedule: work out in the morning then eat breakfast when I get to the office around 8:30, eat lunch at the office at my desk b/w 11:30-1:00 and try to fit in a walk as well. Snack in the afternoon around 3, and then dinner is either around 7 if we are eating as a family or if it's a super busy night I often feed my kids something quick before activities and then I will eat after they go to bed around 9 pm.

Sorry about your grandma.

My overall goal is to maintain. I don't really stick to the calorie count on MFP sometimes way less and sometimes way more! I am not underweight but if I have a few days of under eating I am underweight. I am right at the border. I exercise when I can...not on a routine schedule though, and I don't eat those calories back unless I really am hungry.

Especially if you are bordering on underweight, with potential implications for your overall health, I encourage you to eat back exercise calories and to try to be more consistent with your intake to keep your weight above that border line. Chronically undereating and under fueling your body can have lasting impacts on your health, your appearance, your energy levels, and eventually, your metabolism.

TonyB0588 wrote: »

Doesn't anybody eat based on family meal times anymore? Breakfast, lunch, and dinner? or Breakfast, Dinner, and Supper? Most of the responses above seem to be "I" responses and not "We".

I eat breakfast alone most days I eat lunch with my daughter usually. I eat dinner with my husband and daughter usually. I eat snacks when I feel I need them. If my family is eating or not eating with me I am still eating at the same times of day.

_AshLynn wrote: »

What makes you guys eat?

Is it the time of day that you just go ahead and make lunch because you have work to do shortly after?

Is it that you are actually physically hungry?

Is it to meet calories?

It's a combination for me. I eat 3 meals a day, as a rule. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Time of day is usually dictated on whether I am off that day or working as to when I eat those meals. If I am physically hungry, I will have 1, 2 or 3 snack periods throughout the day. But, only if I am hungry. If I need the calories, that is what dictates what snack I chose. At work, I have an entire grocery store to chose snacks from - I keep some in a locker in our break room for easy access during my breaks.

I eat because it's "time" to eat. During the week I have a pretty rigid schedule: Coffee on my way to work, quick breakfast before my morning meeting, lunch at noon, small snack around 2:30pm, gym at 4:30pm, and then home to dinner. If I have calories left over I'll have another snack around 8:30 and start winding down for the night.

On weekends that schedule gets messed up - especially on race days, and I eat at more random times for all types of reasons.

I eat when hungry, though that is generally at the same times on week days. On the weekends it depends on many factors, of which hunger is only one.

I eat meals according to a schedule with (usually) pre-planned foods. Snacks are more open. I include my morning latte as a snack, for example, and drink it anytime in a 4-hour time frame. I am ALWAYS hungry, so if I listened to my body I'd be a lot bigger than I am, lol. I eat most meals alone because of my work schedule. Those who eat with me usually eat according to my schedule because I'm the only one in my immediate and extended family who has a job.

TonyB0588 wrote: »

Doesn't anybody eat based on family meal times anymore? Breakfast, lunch, and dinner? or Breakfast, Dinner, and Supper? Most of the responses above seem to be "I" responses and not "We".

I live alone, so there.

TonyB0588 wrote: »

Doesn't anybody eat based on family meal times anymore? Breakfast, lunch, and dinner? or Breakfast, Dinner, and Supper? Most of the responses above seem to be "I" responses and not "We".

Only on weekends...I have an hour commute each way to work which means I'm out the door shortly after the kids get up and they're having their breakfast...I eat my breakfast at work...as well as my lunch (kids eat their lunch at school). My kids get out of school at 3:30 and my wife works 3/4 time so she picks them up around 4:00...the kids eat their dinner around 5 at which point I'm just leaving the office if I'm lucky. On a good day I can be home at 6, but it can often be 6:30 or 7:00.

When I get home, they're already fed and have done their homework, so it's play time for us...throw the ball around in the backyard, play cards, stuff like that...that has been a better bonding experience than trying to get everyone at the dinner table. My wife and I eat around 8:30 after the kids are in bed, so it's our quiet time and one of the only times of the day that we can actually have a conversation.

We typically eat together on Saturdays and Sundays...sometimes Friday nights if we're doing pizza night.

I feel as if I'm always hungry... I actually have to make myself drink water in between meals to wait longer to eat ! I used to eat for enjoyment along with hunger, but I also wasn't watching what I ate, or counting calories and the worst would be at 11pm. So I am continually battling late night snacking... I am still just as hungry as I was before, or MORE now that I have gone vegan and I'm not putting meat, dairy or animal byproducts in my body.

All of the above kind of works together. I eat when I'm hungry, but I also judge whether or not it's been long enough since my last meal. I used to snack all the time, now I allow myself to eat about every 3 hours. This morning I thought it must be about lunch time but looked at the clock, and it had only been a little over one hour since breakfast. So I waited until the full three hours. I got busy and forgot all about being "hungry". I also drank a large, plain tea.