Going hungry

[Morning Glory]

Do you consciously allow yourself to get hungry? For many of us its all too easy to top up on food to prevent feeling hungry. That's what snacks are for isn't it? But perhaps feeling hungry is actually good for us:

To understand why, it's important to know the body has two states when it comes to our digestive system:

1. The fed state: when the body is fed, certain hormones such as gastrin and insulin are released into the body to aid in the breakdown of the nutrients and storage of food in the form of various substrates including body fat.
2. The fasted state: this is the feeling of being hungry. The physiological processes within the body are different in this state compared to the fed state with different hormones being released. It's in this state the body burns the calories/energy we have consumed including, if needed, body fat.

Read more here: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/michael-betts/why-feeling-hungry-is-a-g_b_18542488.html

So - its possible hunger is a natural state and good for our metabolism. Do you allow yourself to get hungry for more than a short time?

 

[medtran49]

Yes. If I'm busy doing something, I might not eat until 1 or 2 in the afternoon, or even.later. I really shouldn't do that though because I don't feel so good the next day.

 

[MrsDangermouse]

Yes, most days, in fact I try not to eat until I actually feel hungry. When I start to feel hungry I'll have a drink (cup or tea or water) if I can, and then I'll have something to eat later. I usually only have two meals a day and rarely snack.

 

[Morning Glory]

I usually only have two meals a day and rarely snack.

I might not eat until 1 or 2 in the afternoon, or even.later.

I'm the same - don't eat until the hunger gets to me. But unlike @MrsDangermouse, I tend to snack or graze in the afternoon and eat just on one main meal per day in the evening. If I eat meals in the day it really slows me down and I don't feel energetic or want to do creative cooking and recipe development (which I see as my main 'work' right now). It was the same when I worked full-time. Staff would go off for lunch but I really couldn't join them or I would have been half asleep all afternoon. This could be just be my particular metabolism of course.