Everyday Systems

I am trying to wait until I'm truly hungry before having breakfast because I always seem to get hungry different times of morning. Then I am waiting at least 4 to 5 hours between meals.

What seems to work best for you?

I do, but I'm on a medication that makes me pretty hungry so there isn't a period where I get distracted or just forget to eat. I was bad before the medication, and I'm doubly worse now.

Also we get up early, meaning we have to go to bed fairly early and therefore eat dinner early or else suffer reflux at night. (Ah, aging.)

I like to eat at the same times every day. When I know I am going to eat it makes me think less about food. If I try to wait for hunger, I think too many food thoughts and "think" myself hungry. I choose the three scheduled meals because it quiets my mind. However, if for some reason I need to eat at an abnormal time, I know I can wait because No S has taught me that being hungry for a while isn't going to hurt me.

The thing about normal scheduled eating is that it looks like you are just a normal eater, and not a recovering dieter like me.

I'd advise against waiting to be hungry. If you eat at around the same times everyday eventually you will in turn train your body to be hungry at those times. I used to have to white knuckle it between meals, and sometimes I wouldn't be hungry for breakfast but now my body has adjusted beautifully. I'm gently hungry for my meals and i'm rarely overly hungry between meals.

Just my experience of course though!

Linda

Work affects my routine. I was thinking about this today. It's been an advantage, mostly. I eat breakfast sometime between 6:15 a.m. and 7:15, with coffee on the ride to work. I'm a teacher, so lunch is determined by the school schedule: 12:40-1:10 p.m..(So glad it's not an hour earlier, as many school's schedule it.) Dinner is around 6. I wish I could put it off longer, but I have to be pretty involved in something not to be thinking about dinner. Once in awhile, I eat even earlier.

On weekends, it can vary. Sometimes I have only two meals.

Apparently, you can train yourself to get hungry at the same time. The mechanic is called ghrelin entrainment . I think it does help with good eating habits if you eat at (roughly) the same times every day.

On the days I work at the office (maybe 70% of weekdays) I have to eat at 7:30a, 1p, 6-6:30p because of my schedule. Other days, I enjoy eating breakfast whenever I feel hungry for it (not starving, but I don't tend to wake up wanting food... I do start with the coffee kind of early, though). Then I eat at 3-4 hour intervals after that. I like to eat an early supper to prevent heart burn issues, but that's just me.

Thank you all for your various answers.

I also enjoy coffee (with cream) early, and usually don't want breakfast until much later.

With waiting 5 hours between meals, this will sometimes have me eating pretty late in the evenings. I'm thinking of not eating past 6pm and if I'm not hungry at 5:30 to 5:45, have a small plate of something that will tide me over until the next day to avoid eating too late at night.

I try to do that.

I generally have breakfast at 7, lunch at noon and dinner at 5:30-6:00...

Works for me.

I go to bed early and get up early.

Thank you all for the replies.

I agree with Linda - don't wait to feel hungry - you really do get used to eating at regular times. I used to be someone who thought she needed to eat every 3hrs without fail - wrong! I now eat three times a day without any problem at all.

I usually eat breakfast between 6.30-8.30 depending what time I have to leave for work. I never eat lunch before midday, so it's usually between 12-1pm. Dinner can be any time after 5pm, but is usually around 6-7pm.

Remember to use drinks to fill the between-meal gaps.

Rawcookie, I think both of you are right. I had a fail today, long story. But plan tomorrow to have set times, hungry or not. Thank you for your input.

Working on this one here on my second week. Just had a cup of chai with almond milk and am now ravenous (had dinner about 4 1/2 hrs ago, one 7 3/8" plateful as usual); Will never be able to sleep like this so time for a carton of yogurt. Tomorrow will tweak breakfast so that I want lunch, unlike today.

I like to keep all my eating within an 8-hour window on N-days. It's easy for me to wait in the morning, and I don't mind going to bed feeling "nice and empty" (what I would have called "hungry" in the past!), and I'm good and hungry for all three meals, which I generally have around 11:00 am, 3:00 pm and 6:30 pm.

I would have to eat just a few bites at any meal to be hungry three or four hours later. But glad the 8-hour window is working. Might try it with 2 meals after I retire.

My routine:
Breakfast between 6h30 and 9h15
Lunch around noon
Supper around 5h-5h30.

i'm still working out my routine ... i'm a student and schedule changes every six months .... but at least on the weekends we have it quite steady:

breakfast at 8.00 - 8.30
lunch at 2.30 - 3.00
tea at 4.00 - 4.30
small dinner if hungry, but for me no later than 8.00

i hope this semester i can work it out to have lunch at home at a reasonable hour. this is always the trickiest thing to figure out. but there have been days where i had 7 to 8 hours between meals ... it was bearable but actually a bit too long to feel good; i tend to overeat then.