Good evening ladies,

Ahhh, what a day! I had my first glass of wine in over 2 weeks and it was delish (and well deserved after my day at work)!

I have been wondering what to do when I am not hungry...do I have to eat? Today was one of those days. I was not hungry at breakfast but at about 9am, I made myself eat an egg and a slice of ham. I also was not hungry for my afternoon snack and skipped it. And finally for dinner tonight I am not really hungry. What do I do??? Do I make myself eat??? Also, I have heard that you should eat your breakfast less than an hour after you wake up...anyone else heard this?

Suggestions, advise??? Thanks in advance

I'm not a nutritionist by any means, but I have suffered in the past from a lack of weight loss as a result of 'not-eating-enough'.

The general consensus among experts is that in order to keep your metabolism effectively burning all day, the best possible thing is to eat mini-meals throughout the day... Whether or not you're hungry. I'm sure that's why even SBD emphasizes incorporating snacks.

Everyone's body - and metabolism - is different, so I'm sure there's no one solution that fits all. That being said, I've heard over and over from experts that breakfast is CRUCIAL and that it should be ideally eaten within 30 minutes of waking (and like you heard, no more than an hour afterwards).

I would suggest having something very light when you're just not feeling those hunger cravings. On Phase I, perhaps just a string cheese or a few cashews and maybe a piece of fruit on Phase II.

I would just hate for your body, unbeknownst to you, to go into starvation mode and impede your weight loss.

Hope that helps!

i have the same issue. Im just not hungry these days...skipping meals here and there without noticing...just too tired or too emotional or too bored..

I've been skipping meals lately too, especially in the morning. However, I'm keeping a log of what I do eat and I'm seeing a pattern. On the days that I'm skipping breakfast or lunch or even morning snack, I see that I'm eating more in the evening...........so I'm going to try harder to eat something at every meal and snack time. Will see how this works.

I don't eat when I'm not hungry. I feel like my body is pretty good at telling me when I need to eat and then it's my job to make healthy choices for those times.

I get up at 5:30 every morning to exercise and don't eat until about 8:00. Then I usually eat around 11:00 and then again around 3:00 and then a small meal around 6:00. That's just what works for me with our schedule.

I think there are as many theories as there are diet doctors but here's my take on it.

I've read over and over again that eating small meals and snacks throughout the day keeps your metabolism working well. (Prevention magazine really pushes that.) Whether or not I'm especially hungry I eat a small meal at mealtimes. I skip snacks if I'm not hungry, but never meals. I have read the same thing about eating breakfast within an hour of getting up, and most mornings I eat shortly after I get up.

I will say that eating on a predictable schedule has been good for me whether or not it's actually boosting my metabolism. In the past I skipped meals because I'd been snacking and snacked because I'd skipped meals. I'd overeat dinner because I'd skipped lunch, etc. Planning my meals and snacks and eating on a fairly consistent schedule has helped me learn to be content with smaller portions and to think about whether or not I really want/need a snack in between meals.

Heidi - this is me, exactly

I've seen experts I respect on both sides of this issue - the lots of small meals vs. eat when you're hungry. I have found that if I don't eat on a semi-regular schedule (and for me that's just the regular three meals. I can easily skip snacks with no problem) by the time I slow down enough to realize I'm hungry I'm really hungry and I overeat whatever is easiest to get my hands on. My newest favorite thing to grab when I'm not hungry but it's mealtime is just a glass of lf kefir with some fruit mixed in. Yesterday morning I added a couple of scoops of smoothie infusion because I knew I wouldn't have a regular meal again for 5 hours and needed something more substantial. It was perfect, didn't make me feel gross but kept me going until lunchtime. Thanks to Mmc and Zeff for those two ingredients.

Heidi, you are a very wise lady. That is Exactly what I have been doing. You worded it perfectly.

So, today I am going to add another goal to my Spring Challenge. I am going to try and eat something at each meal. No more skipping! Won't include the snacks right now.........will worry about them later.

Thanks for helping me see the error of my ways.

Cyndi, you are right on the money when you say:

"....by the time I slow down enough to realize I'm hungry I'm really hungry and I overeat whatever is easiest to get my hands on..."

Both of you have really helped me this morning. Thanks so much and hopefully things are going to change a bit for me now.

I'm right there with the rest of the ladies, I skip snacks if I'm not especially hungry, but never meals. Going more than 4-5 hours makes me ravenous and i don't make particularly good choices when I'm that hungry. I've also found that eating at regularly intervals during the day keeps my stamina up the entire day. I'm up around 5:30 in the morning, doing at least 60 minutes of very, very vigorous exercise and running around with two young boys all day and I don't often feel like I need to rest during the day.

I also eat at meal times because it helps me to learn my body's natural hunger cues. If i'm not particularly hungry, I don't have to eat a lot to feel that "full feeling." It isn't always easy to stop when my body tells me to, but it is worth it. No more overstuffed feelings and I really feel like I am getting a hold of this over eating thing. It is really hard for me to listen to my body when I am stuffing food in my face because I am so hungry from skipping meals earlier in the day.

--
Cyndi - glad you're liking the smoothie infusion. I'm missing my smoothies during phase 1