Skipping meals. Help!
I never used to skip meals. I never understood those people who just 'forgot' to eat. How can you forget to eat?
Apparently, it's really easy.
Ever since I started counting calories, I've become so conscious of everything I'm putting in my body. I've been especially dilligent in making sure I'm getting the right balance of protein and low glycemic carbs, so that explains why I'm satiated for longer. I'm also aware that I need to be eating more often while staying in my daily caloric range (1450 cal) but I'm finding that I'm just not hungry anymore. Before, me skipping a meal was unheard of; but the last couple of days, it's just been so easy. This is probably the third day in a row where it's 7:00 in the evening, I've already had my dinner and I've clocked in everything I ate (down to the 1 tbsp of ranch salad dressing) and I'm sitting at ~800 calories. Turns out I skipped lunch without realizing it; I just powered through until dinner time.
I'm aware that this is a crazy deficit, and that's not healthy, but I'm also a little wary of eating too late at night to make up for that loss. Maybe I'll have an apple or handful of almonds at around 9:00, but then I won't eat anything close to a meal before bed. Or should I?
I know I should be eating regularly, but I'm just not hungry any more. Not at all. And even if I've worked off 612 of those eaten calories at the gym this afternoon!
From now on, I'll be scheduling my snacks. Even a yogurt or something, but I was wondering, how do you guys deal with this? Is this 'not hungry' thing normal when people are starting off? What should you do if you find you're still below your recommended intake in the evenings? Should you have a meal?
I appreciate the insight.
I have to schedule snacks. I have the same problem with the advantage of figuring it out earlier. I work out from 12:30-2:00 so about 1pm, when my performance blows, is when I realize I didn't eat enough. Some things I do:
-Always have something to eat with you. I travel with nuts and a banana pretty much everywhere.
-scheduling your snacks will help, once you get into the habit of snacking, forgetting won't be as common.
-High protein and working out can really do a number on your appetite, but its not good for you. Because of my low appetite, I end up eating fairly calorie rich foods. Lots of nuts, homemade protein bars, less lean meats, etc. I have to just keep my calories high enough.
Hope this helps!
Good advice, Minda.
msilvermane you should not feel so wary of eating at night. I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure there will be no adverse effects if you eat a small meal/snack closer to your bedtime. A large meal would probably keep you awake past your bedtime because you just gave your body so much energy, but a peanut butter sandwich, or some beans, or an avocado and some yogurt would prolly be small enough and calorie dense enough to get you to a healthier deficit without keeping you up.
I was thinking the same thing this morning. I simply don't want to eat. I mean you said exactly what I was thinking. If there's nothing that has real nutritive value I don't want it. I wanted to make your post but you did it for me. I have been skipping meals and I too have recently gotten in the habit of forgetting to eat. My DH and mom used to say the same things and I would wonder if they were crazy and practically force them to eat. Now I am the one forgetting. I hate cooking meals because they expect me to eat too. I put less on my plate because I just dont want to eat. I want to other things. I guess it's habit after awhile. I will be checking back to see what others say.
msilvermane, like you- since beginning calorie count and adding up every single thing I put in my mouth- I've become a bit overcautious... It's hard for me to justify any single thing over 100-150 calories, even very healthy snacks or entire meals. Because I'm thinking about having to add it to my log and what it will do for my totals, I will usually talk myself out of whatever it is, convincing myself that I'm "saving it up" for later. (Sidenote, this does not apply to the moments when I am gripped by the binge demons and I shove 8 cookies in my mouth in under 10 minutes without really knowing it. Oh if only I could talk myself out of those times! But that, I'm afraid, is a whole 'nother story.)
Anyway, I will do this "saving up" the entire day, especially when I'm nearing, oh say around 800 calories and know I only have 400 (!) left for the day. So what happens is that at 10:00 I realize I only made it to 950 and there's no way I am going to go stuff myself with 300 extra calories right before bed just because, you know?
For me, maybe I do it to cushion in case I have an accidental binge. Maybe it's because calorie counting can become a bit of an obsession right at first? Especially for people who never paid much attention before, finally realizing how many calories are in those foods we thought we knew is downright shocking and tends to offend our delicate sensibilities, haha. 
Sorry, I'm rambling on about me, but as for your problem I think scheduling snacks is a great idea. It may be beneficial to get in more calories at/around breakfast, before you have a chance to forget. 
Also, dare I be the first to suggest that perhaps your body is not hungry because you are giving it all of the nutrients it needs? It sounds as though you are feeding it the right things, and as you said, staying satiated. While it is highly improbable to get all of your daily nutrients at under 1200 calories, it is not impossible. But be safe and listen to your body.
I know how you feel. Even before I started CC, though, I was the type to skip meals. If left to my own devices, I routinely wait until 5 or 6 pm before I eat anything.
A couple of things really exacerbate this problem for me, the primary ones being caffeine and stress. If I have a cup of coffee or a diet soda early in the day, any weak hunger signals I might hope to have will be completely suppressed. When I am stressed out, I not only lack hunger signals but do not want to eat at all. Managing both of those factors has helped me keep my eating on a healthier schedule.
I also use a running average system to determine how many calories to eat the next day, so any calories I skip get factored in to the next day's allotment and put pressure on me to stay on track. The awareness that any calories I skip will have to be made up the next day (or over several days if I am really bad) provides an additional reminder that I really must eat regularly. Of course, if I'm honest, I still frequently wind up with 1000 calories left to eat at 9 pm. I know that some people have the attitude that skipping out on a bunch of calories once in a while is okay, but I know that for me doing it one time will set me up to do it all the time. Even on days where I don't do a great job eating throughout the day, I always try to make sure I at least hit 1200. The weight gain forums here are helpful for coming up with high-cal but healthy snacks.
My last 'tip' is that I always remind myself that the accountability goes both ways -- just as I wouldn't go way over my calorie allotment, I am not allowed to go way under it either.
Original Post by dallasjaded:
Anyway, I will do this "saving up" the entire day, especially when I'm nearing, oh say around 800 calories and know I only have 400 (!) left for the day. So what happens is that at 10:00 I realize I only made it to 950 and there's no way I am going to go stuff myself with 300 extra calories right before bed just because, you know?
I do EXACTLY the same thing even though I'm never, ever hungry when I'm done eating my calories for the day. It's like my brain is convinced that I'm going to need those calories for later. For what? I'd love to know.
The difference is, I really do force myself to eat the 300 extra calories before bedtime. It is so silly -- even though I have a known problem with undereating, I 'save' calories throughout the day because I think I'm going to run out, only to force myself to eat them before bed. Does anyone give medals for being totally irrational?
I'm the same exact way. I wonder how many people actually "save up" just to realize they don't ever end up using them. My issue seems to be that some days I hit around 1400 cal, and other days I'm at 1700 cal. Those are pretty much the only two numbers I ever end up at.. I'm a 20 year old male, and I'm just not hungry enough to eat more than I do. I know I should "technically" be eating more, but I have a sedentary lifestyle (it's a little complicated, but overall that's what I've got) and I'm only burning 2000 calories a day TOTAL when I can't go excercising.
Original Post by coreyander:
Original Post by dallasjaded:
Anyway, I will do this "saving up" the entire day, especially when I'm nearing, oh say around 800 calories and know I only have 400 (!) left for the day. So what happens is that at 10:00 I realize I only made it to 950 and there's no way I am going to go stuff myself with 300 extra calories right before bed just because, you know?
I do EXACTLY the same thing even though I'm never, ever hungry when I'm done eating my calories for the day. It's like my brain is convinced that I'm going to need those calories for later. For what? I'd love to know.
The difference is, I really do force myself to eat the 300 extra calories before bedtime. It is so silly -- even though I have a known problem with undereating, I 'save' calories throughout the day because I think I'm going to run out, only to force myself to eat them before bed. Does anyone give medals for being totally irrational?
Apparently I can't quote, I was trying to fix it.. but.. whatever.
