I was wondering if what I've been doing could be deterimental to my weight loss efforts.
For the past 3 weeks I've been consuming my caloric intake just through breakfast and dinner. From about 10am-10pm I never get hungry and don't eat it. I think I'm eating enough calories during the two big meals, but I'm worried that not eating for 12 hours could mess with my metabolism?
Just some background:
Part of the reason this has happened is because I've been extrodinarily busy lately. My entire life whenever I was very stressed or busy I've forgotten to eat and just not felt hungry (It's the times when I have nothing to do but lie around the house that I eat tons of unhealthy stuff). This wasn't really a big issue at all until about 3 weeks ago, because my life was pretty low key. But now I've started taking a full load of college classes and I'm working full time. I don't feel stressed in a negative way- just very happily busy, but being busy = not hungry to me. Another factor is medication I am on, Adderall. One of the side effects is appetite suppression. I have reeeeally bad ADD that interferes with my daily life if I'm not some form of medication. I tried other kinds of ADD meds but none worked, and after talking on my doctor we decided it was best if I stay on this and just try to make myself eat.
The two factors on their own never really amounted to anything worth worrying about, but being on adderall AND being busy has really changed my eating pattern. I tried making myself eat but it didnt work. It seems very unappealing just because I'm NOT hungry.
I don't know if my answer is true or not, but it's just what I have heard. Frequent meals = faster weight loss. On the other hand, you have people who eat almost nothing (anorexic) and lose tons of weight, but this ends up being extremely unhealthy (but you already knew that). Not eating for 12 hours straight probably messes with your metabolism so that when you do eat, your body wants to hang on to every single calorie. But, if you're losing weight and you don't feel lethargic, then maybe that works for you. If you want to speed things up, you might want to just force yourself to eat a few portable snacks thourhgout the day. You could have some string cheese and crackers and maybe a banana with peanut butter, just to see what happens. However, if you really can't stand the thought of any food and you're losing weight and don't feel ill, then maybe that's just how your body functions. We're all different and all the advice is general and there are exceptions. I just worry that you don't know what your body wants given the fact that the meds are making you lose your appetite. Just my own opinion. I'm sure you'll get some great words of wisdom.
Hey! All we can give you are our opinions--and it's not medical advice, of course.
It sounds to me like what you're doing is starving/binging on a very short turnaround time!
I would say, get yourself some South Beach Living high-protein cereal bars. A six-pack is not expensive. Put yourself on a schedule, so that you eat one of these bars at noon, at three, and at six. They are only 140 cals each. You can lower your calories at breakfast and dinner easily to accommodate them.
The purpose is to keep your metabolism going all day. The fact that you don't feel hungry is artificial--you probably don't know what hungry feels like because you've been suppressing it for so long.
Also, I'd try to move your dinner up earlier than 10 p.m. It's sometimes not so good to go to sleep after a very big dinner...
Try it and see! And of course, if you don't like the bars, you can substitute things like an apple, a handful of almonds, and so on. The bars are mostly convenient to carry around wherever you go.
Jay- I don't think it's starvation because I still consume a lot of calories, I just eat them in two meals instead of spaced out. I do have a history of bingeing, but it's because I get ravenously hungry and then eating a ton, it happens when I'm bored. And it's not that i never feel hungry, I just don't feel that way during the day.
luckymomma- thanks! I tend to forget we all work differently and freak out if I'm not with 'the norm'.
If I AM slowing my metabolism down by doing this, is there a way to speed it up without making myself eat tons? If I had a handful of grapes or watermelon pieces would that help? I think I could manage fruit because it's light and sweet. Would just putting a tiny bit of light food really speed up my metabolism?
I mean..is there an actual point where my metabolism slows down during the 12 hours? and/or an amount of calories I should consume to keep it up? I may just be naive but it seems weird that a couple extra hours of not eating or a hundred calories would make an overall difference on how fast or slow it works.
Hey again! 10 am to 10 pm without eating is not "a couple of extra hours," is it?
It sounds to me like you're resistant to changing what you're doing--so, don't! No need to take anyone else's word for things.
You might want to read YOU: ON A DIET by Drs. Oz and Roizen, a book that explains about hunger, satiety, blood glucose levels, and so on. This might answer your questions better than 3FC members can.
Thanks jay! Sorry if I came off as defensive, so not intended! I think I need to learn more about metabolism and diet and how it effects weight loss, I'm just frustrated because it seems so complicated! heh.
I don't think that everyone needs to do the "6 meal a day" thing, but I do think waiting 12 hours between meals is a bad thing. It can lead to binging, as she said.
I also think that you may have messed up your hunger receptors by suppressing them - and you may not be registering real hunger/satiety signals.
But as Jay said, we're not doctors. And we also don't know any more than what you posted ... so we could be way off base.
You're not going to throw yourself into starvation mode, but you do affect your blood sugars when you don't eat for long periods of time, which has other detrimental effects on your health. So I don't think it would affect your weight loss per say, but I'm betting you're not dieting just to get skinny, you're probably wanting to be healthy as well. And in that aspect, going that long without eating may be problematic.
I'd suggesting putting a snack or two in there somewhere, even if it's just a protein bar or a banana or something. It'll give your body something to work on while you're going about your day.
Lots of fitness gurus agree that eating a little something will kickstart your metabolism. The old 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day' thing, ya know. Who's the 'Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle' guy?
Sure, a handful of grapes is better than nothing! A fruit, yogurt and a few whole wheat crackers would be better.
What comes to my mind as I read this thread is that 'not eating' is not the same as 'not taking in any calories'. Soda, candy, sugar based gum, coffee with cream and sugar, juice .... No accusations, just a thought.
Not eating for 12 hours
All we can give you are our opinions--and it's not medical advice, of course. 
