eating patterns

I have really bad eating patterns. I dont eat during the day, i normally eat between 5 and 9 pm.In that time, i eat until i am full, and do it all over again the enxt day. My question is... Is it atleast semi-healthy to have this eating routine, and if its not, how do i force myself to eat during the day, because i just dont feel hungry

Im the exact same, except when i eat during that time i tend to over eat (possible a bit due to boredom?). Ideally we should be eating 5-6 small meals a day e.g. not letting your car get completly empty before you fill up again so it dosnt suck up the crap on the bottom ie burning muscle as fuel.
What i do know generally is if you eat like once a day whenever you do actually eat your body stores more of it as fat as it knows it will be a while before the next feed

Do you generally eat breakfast? I dont cause im not normally hungry but if i force myself to eat something like a pice of bread or fruit i generally get hungrier during the day.

I dont thinks its healthy and ive been meaning too change my ways to how i used to eat with reguler exercise but what are you gonna do 8)

I have odd eating patterns......I just can't graze the whole day (which is the reasonable thing to do, as they say ) ....I exercise fairly early in the evening usually because that's the time my classes /trainer is available, and I never eat before I exercise (feel too sluggish, no matter what I eat.) So I end up eating a huge meal at dinnertime....granted, its mostly healthy stuff (veggies, red rice, fish) but I feel TOO fulll by the time it's bedtime and can't sleep.
I'm kind of making adjustments in my eating patterns as we speak and I'll keep you posted.

I don't know what to say.. really. I'm probably the polar opposite of you, miss MDMA

Here's how my daily schedule goes: 7.20am I wake up. By about 7.40am I've made my breakfast, which consists of something really small, like 1 poached egg on 1 piece of wholegrain toast, or 1 cup of cereal with 1/2 cup of skim milk. I also have a full caffeine coffee at this stage (my only one of the day). Then I go to work.

By 10.30am I'm starving, so I eat a piece of fruit - actually recently, I've been having 1 small banana and about 8-10 almonds, just to get a bit of protein. This sees me through to lunch.

12noon I have lunch - it's something like tuna and salad on a pita bread wrap, or smoked salmon and slivers of avocado on corn crackers, with a side salad, or, on days when I'm feeling like some carbs, I'll have a toasted sandwich on wholegrain bread with 98%fat free ham and a slice of low-fat cheese, plus a small can of tomato soup.

By 2.30pm I'm usually hungry again, so I'll eat a carton of low-fat yogurt or a muesli bar. At 4pm, I'll top up with another piece of fruit; generally an apple or a 1/2 rockmelon diced up; in summer it might be 2 apricots or nectarines. (I take all my food to work, 'cause I know exactly when I'll be hungry and when, and pretty much am never wrong)

When I get home from work (5.30pm) I'll have a glass of diet soft drink, then eat 10 x pretzels or a small pack of corn snacks (15g). Just to tide me over till dinner.

Dinner is my main meal of the day (contrary to what most people reccommend... oh well). I'll eat a hearty dinner around 7.30pm, but it's always low-fat, low-kilojoule.. something like a chicken and vegie stirfry with noodles, or a spaghetti bolegnaise made with really low-fat mince and fresh tomatoes.

About 8.30-9pm I eat my small, sweet snack for the day, which might be 1/2 cup of low-fat chocolate mousse, or 1 scoop low-fat icecream in a cone. Then I have a cup of de-caf coffee, a ciggarette, and I go to bed at 10.30pm-ish.

As you can see, I never stop eating. But it's all healthy, small meals... and I dunno... it works for me.

If you are a healthy weight, and you think you are getting adequate Omega 3's, protein, and vitamins, I can't see that you have a problem. the reason I eat the way I do is because I've been on Weight Watchers since I was about 19 (I'm 31 now)... it's become a way of life to eat the way I do. But if you really do want to change, and think you should, consult a nutritionist.

God, i'm not even going to start about how unhealthy this is for you and your body. Post up what you eat, including portion sizes in that 5-9 timeframe.

According to this book, what you descripe is the way the body wants to eat. I used to eat this way and I didn't like it (although I ate shitty like because I had no kitchen and I didnt care). I perfer grazing myself, but all our bodies are different. My naturpathic doctor (ND, an MD with an extra year of schooling) told me there is some truth to it.

The book onlines the reasons why this type of eating is beneficial. Such as the eating enzymes get a break, and something to do with insulin. I haven't read the book in a while.

He says to start off with salad, than eat the meat and than the carbs. He says you can eat as much as you like. Now, I am guessing that by the time you get to the carbs, you'll be pretty full as salad is bulky and protein stiffles hunger. So there is some carb control built in, espceially since protein slows insulin release due to carbs. Also, i think it might be difficult to eat 2,000 calories in a sitting. so theres calories restriction as well.

I don't have a meal until about 6 PM usually, when I have a dinner of potatos and fish or chicken, almost exclusively. Most days I'll have a piece a few pieces of fruit before that, though, and sometimes I'll have something extra in the morning or evening like a small pizza or a sandwich.

I used to eat a lot just before going to sleep, as well, but since I stopped that it feels like I've been sleeping far better and waking up much more refreshed, so I'd definitely say it's best not to eat for a few hours before you plan to go to bed - at least not a large meal, anyway.

He says to start off with salad, than eat the meat and than the carbs. He says you can eat as much as you like. Now, I am guessing that by the time you get to the carbs, you'll be pretty full as salad is bulky and protein stiffles hunger. So there is some carb control built in, espceially since protein slows insulin release due to carbs. Also, i think it might be difficult to eat 2,000 calories in a sitting. so theres calories restriction as well.

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Reminds me of trophology, or food combining which I've been trying to do for quite a while now lol

how do i force myself to eat during the day, because i just dont feel hungry

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Let's start with *why* you aren't hungry. Do you take any drugs that suppress appetite?

Personally (and I'm sure qualified dieticians and nutriotionists generally agree) it's better to eat smaller meals spread out throughout the day then starve yourself or eat very little during the bulk of the day then you're totally ravenous by the time you hit your first full meal.

I guess the points for having smaller frequently meals are:

- Even energy distribution,
- No blood sugar spiking after dropping the whole day then eating a lot of food all at once
- Keeps metabolism constant
- Generally is associated with eating better foods more often

What you've probably done is train your metabolism to feed once per day, the best thing to do is to start introducing smaller frequent meals into your diet. Small snacks such as fruit/nuts/cheese/vegetables etc throughout the day between your standard breakfast/lunch/dinner.

You're really doing your mind and body a disservice by not eating evenly during the day.

This particually rings true if you do any sort of excercise. It's the equivalent of filling up your gas tank after you've arrived at your destination.

^^^Excellent advice.

I have regular meals at 8 AM, 12 PM, and 6-730 PM, with fruits or snacks in between-- these are the times I get hungry.

I find that if I don't eat at these times my head gets a bit fuzzy. I can be a snacker if I had good stuff at hand.

When I'm just at the office and not doing much, I especially try to snack instead of eating the usual large meals. Eating a lot and just sitting down is a waste of precious food for me.

in the 5-9pm time bracket, i normally eat- dry bikkies with cheese, kabana or tomato ontop, or i eat wholemeal bread unitl im full, then my one healthy meal for the day- whatever is cooked for dinner.normally includes chicken and vegies or salad, or stir fry with rice. i like to snack alot more than sit down to a meal, i drink water during the day, but drink more cordial than anything else. im currently not eating carbs, as i ate too many last week.im trying to start to eat breakfast- a bowl of fibre filled cereal and im snacking of fruit,vegies and cheese during the day. my poor stomach is getting a bashing, coz i dont eat over the weekend because im out and on stimulants...i normally get my regular eating patterns back by wednesday.

Hrmmm I'm not sure this is all that crash or not, but this is a typical days eating for me if I'm working the late shift.

9-10am: either have a bowl of porridge with honey and fruit, or a couple of pieces of toast. sometimes I skip this meal

10:45am: get a double shot latte from the nice guy with the portable coffee truck at the tube station. if I haven't had breakfast then occasionally i'll eat a croissant.

12:00pm: get to work and have a espresso, plus either a few sticks of carrots... or maybe some seeds and sprouts.

15:00pm: eat lunch and usually have some sort of tofu casserole with beans, brown rice and veggies. sometimes i'll have a soup and salad with it as well. usually this is a pretty big meal and the drink i'll have is a acai smoothie.

18:00pm: if I get particuarly hungry i'll eat a muffin, usually some sugar free variety.

20:00: sometimes i'll eat a chocolate bar.

22:00 get home and if i'm hungry then i'll have a snack, usually it's a little bit of dinners leftovers... depends though.

My diet doesn't include a lot of meat at all these days, and I'm trying to cut out dairy products as well, although I still have at least one latte a day. I'm eating a lot better than I used to, but looking on this now there's still a lot of room for improvement here, heh.

i have the same eating routine also =/

my poor stomach is getting a bashing, coz i dont eat over the weekend because im out and on stimulants

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So the answer is "YES" to my question about whether you are taking any appetite suppressing drugs? I'm sure you realize this is a bad idea.

im currently not eating carbs, as i ate too many last week.im trying to start to eat breakfast- a bowl of fibre filled cereal and im snacking of fruit,vegies and cheese during the day.

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Well, you are eating carbs because fruit is just sugar and water plus fiber. That's a good snack, but I don't see where you are getting your fats and proteins during the day. You should be getting at least 40 grams of protein per day, more if you excercise. Also about 50g of fat (with some being essential fatty acids).

If you are not getting those things until dinner, you probably feel pretty crappy during the day.

I always heard that you shouldn't eat within 4 hours of going to bed, so I think if you stay up late this wouldn't be that bad.