Is this odd, weird or sounds fine to you?

Strawberry Roan · Post by **Strawberry Roan** » Wed Dec 30, 2015 3:13 pm

A friend thinks her husband is odd because he only drinks coffee in the morning, goes to work all day and doesn't eat at all, then comes home and eats a normal sized dinner. He has done this for 35 years (that she knows of) and he is in perfect health and yes, very trim.

I don't find it odd at all, it is what many would call intermittent fasting I suppose. I often am so busy or involved at work that I eat nothing, just have an ever ready cup of coffee/then green tea and water on my desk.

I know some people have to eat at least a bit of food with medications or due to low blood sugar (sometimes this happens to me and reminds me to eat a bit). But, often it is three or four o'clock and I realize that I haven't eaten all day.

Many cultures around the world would be more than grateful to have one healthy meal a day, of course. But we are used to soooo much more. Our fear of hunger overtaking us (in a very short span of time) is overwhelming, isn't it?

Your thoughts?
Thanks - and Happy New Year to you all.

LoriLifts · Post by **LoriLifts** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 1:57 am

I think it depends on the person.

I adapt very well to intermittent fasting and usually eat 2 meals a day. My husband has to eat immediately upon waking. I usually don't eat my first meal until noon.

Different strokes for different folks!

Merry · Post by **Merry** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 6:52 am

It seems like it's working for him! I can understand her thinking it's strange--I don't know anyone who does this (I do know older people who only eat 2 meals, but not usually spaced that far). On the other hand, it's much better than what my grandpa did--he ate hostess cupcakes out of the vending machine for lunch for years and ended up hypoglycemic when he retired. My grandma made it her mission to help him get healthy, and he was very glad--he was in a bad place before.

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 1:50 pm

Yes, completely normal. Interestingly enough, that's more or less how Mark Twain claimed to eat in The Appetite Cure.

There was a time when one or two meals a day was considered appropriate for those not doing manual labor. You had a reasonably substantial dinner in the middle of the day, and that's what you had, if you weren't working in the fields.

Ferinstance, the huge breakfast of bacon, eggs, muffins, yadda , yadda was popular among farmers, but mostly they'd done two or three hours of manual labor before they ate.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 6:21 pm

The question was whether it's odd, and odd means very much out of the ordinary. I'd say that is odd by almost any standard of people who have any regular access to food. However, it's a moot point if he enjoys the routine and isn't suffering any ill effects. I don't think there is anything inherently unhealthy about it, though it could be for some.

I think the problem comes when people try to emulate very atypical routines when they obviously don't have the natural inclination the other person who lives that way does. That's why I think it's a mistake to try to act like naturally thin individuals, which the intuitive eating people seem to recommend. No S emulates whole slim cultures that seem to accommodate many different types by promoting habits sustainable for MOST.

I'd never try to talk him out of it nor would I try to live that way just because he happens to be thin and healthy.

I wonder what he's like on weekends or on vacation? I would feel a little like I was missing out if I couldn't share meals a little more often with those I lived or traveled with, though I also wouldn't want them to eat just for me. I imagine that's what the wife is concerned with. But after 35 years, I guess she's used to it.

ironchef · Post by **ironchef** » Fri Jan 01, 2016 2:51 am

Not the norm, but if it's working for him health wise no problem.

Partly it could be that caffeine is an appetite suppressant and he is particularly sensitive to it. So, if he drinks coffee first thing, and then has coffee at work, his body doesn't send hunger signals.

FarmerHal · Post by **FarmerHal** » Sat Jan 09, 2016 2:06 am

It's interesting. I find that when I wake in the morning, if I do not eat, I don't get hungry until about 4pm.
If I start off with breakfast, it's hard to turn off the eating machine for the rest of the day.

Pretty sure it has a lot to do with fasting and insulin release. Plus there's the appetite stimulant properties of wheat, sugar, caffeine, etc, all the crap we put in our bodies that help that along.

When I eat low carb (generally my meals are a meat/veg, and doesn't have to be a lot), I hardly get hungry. It's pretty cool. My brain wants food- for pleasure, company, stress relief. It wants it pretty BAD. My body... my body is like "meh."

Very interesting. I'm learning more and more about how psychologically captive I am to food.