How Often Do You Eat?

[elfdream]

I'm one of those "I only eat when I'm hungry' type of people. If I wake up and I'm not hungry, I don't eat breakfast. Before this problem showed up I was the type who didn't think about food all that much at all. I hated to stop what I was doing because I had to go eat. That's the kind of personality I have.

Now when I DID Eat it was fairly healthy. I don't eat processed food, don't even own a microwave. Pretty much whole foods...but there were times I could get by with just one meal a day depending on what was going on. No problems.

Now I'm having to think about food much of the time which is an adjustment in and of itself...and when I am completely gluten free I find that I can still eat in the way that is 'normal' for me. I know...I'm weird.

However I'm wondering if this is a good thing or not. Perhaps I should be eating several small meals a day or something instead of just eating whenever....

I know what NOT to eat...are there recommendations on how and when?

[ravenwoodglass]

I am not likely to be a lot of help but I eat about the same way you do. I eat one meal a day in late afternoon and usually have a snack before bed. I also don't feel hungry and eat to live not live to eat. I have spoken with both doctors and nutritionists and they have said that what I am doing is okay as long as I am getting the calories and nutrients I need. Some folks would have blood sugar issues eating like this but I don't and it doesn't sound like you do either. If your not having problems with this eating pattern personally I wouldn't worry about it.

[jenngolightly]

I eat throughout the day when I get hungry with mostly whole foods. I eat one larger meal with my family in early evening to make sure I get proper nutrition. If I don't eat like this I get grumpy and start craving non-whole foods like potato chips and chocolate.

[tictax707]

I pretty much agree with previous posters. Just listen to your body. It sounds like you way is serving you pretty well.

[Racer-J]

I eat several times a day, usually 2-3 hours apart starting about 1-2 hours after I get up depending on how hungry I am, and stopping 2-3 hours before I go to bed. That usually results in 6-7 "meals" per day everyday. I eat smaller proportions than most people would consider a meal though. For example, two 7.5 ounce cans of salmon will make 7 meals for me which is a little over 2 oz. per meal. The typical serving of meat is 4-6 oz or considerably more if you are at a restaurant.

I have been eating this way for 11-13 years so, the choice to do so is unrelated to Celiac/gluten. At one point, it was considered THE way to eat when it came to fitness, bodybuilding, overall health, etc. Now I think there has been a shift in focus to listening to what your body tells you and eating when it truly says it's time to eat. That can be reflected in the previous comments in this thread and several popular diets that one may or may not be considered a fad.

There is still a huge argument over skipping breakfast though. Some people argue it's the most important meal of the day, some people argue that putting it off for a few hours helps your body burn fat, some people argue waiting several hours because their body handles it better as it is trying to detox in the morning, some people think all of the above people are crazy, and on and on and on. I do however think it was proven in a study that waiting a few hours after you wake up to eat to help burn bodyfat even when using aerobics was proven to be a myth. I could be wrong though as I have read a lot of things over the years and especially recently.

Speaking of recently, I am actually eating far more frequently than 2-3 hours these days since I cut out all complex carbohydrates due to the various ways they have been thrashing my body lately. How often you eat is really all about how much you're eating, what you're eating, how your body is processing it, etc. It's going to be different for everyone and that's why no one single diet works for everyone. Several people may have similar experiences but, they will still be different.

BTW when I use the word diet it is meant by it's true definition which is essentially "the total accumulation of food eaten in a day". If you eat Big Macs, Whoppers, etc. all day that is still an individuals diet. I don't mean diet in the way it's been made a "tagline" to every "system" people try to sell to other people.

[jenngolightly]

BTW when I use the word diet it is meant by it's true definition which is essentially "the total accumulation of food eaten in a day". If you eat Big Macs, Whoppers, etc. all day that is still an individuals diet. I don't mean diet in the way it's been made a "tagline" to every "system" people try to sell to other people.

That's funny. I've started using "diet" in a new way since I was diagnosed with Celiac. I always used to think it meant you were eating to lose weight. Now I throw the word around all the time, but I forget that most people still think it means you're trying to lose weight so when I say "I'm on a gluten-free and corn-free diet" people get this shocked look on their face (I'm on the small end at 5'5 and 122 lbs). My mother will never understand. She constantly barrages me: "Are you still on your diet? You don't need to lose weight, Jenn. You're as small as your daughter. Are you anorexic?" I've sent her all kinds of literature about these "diets," but it doesn't sink in. I guess that "diet" takes on special meaning once you have to be aware of everything you put in your mouth.

Maybe I need a new way of saying it and just get rid of the word "diet."

[Racer-J]

That's funny. I've started using "diet" in a new way since I was diagnosed with Celiac. I always used to think it meant you were eating to lose weight. Now I throw the word around all the time, but I forget that most people still think it means you're trying to lose weight so when I say "I'm on a gluten-free and corn-free diet" people get this shocked look on their face (I'm on the small end at 5'5 and 122 lbs). My mother will never understand. She constantly barrages me: "Are you still on your diet? You don't need to lose weight, Jenn. You're as small as your daughter. Are you anorexic?" I've sent her all kinds of literature about these "diets," but it doesn't sink in. I guess that "diet" takes on special meaning once you have to be aware of everything you put in your mouth.

Maybe I need a new way of saying it and just get rid of the word "diet."

lol

Yes unfortunately, diet took on a whole new meaning when the wight loss craze hit mainstream in the 80s. It's only gotten worse since then as the word has technically been misused for at least 20 years+ now. Societies do that with various words all the time though and that's how we end up with multiple definitions, render definitions meaningless, rearrange the order of a definitions significance, etc. Sadly to some people the word diet will always mean weight loss despite the fact the word diet can actually have nothing to do with weight loss and can even mean weight gain. It's very difficult to sway popular opinion back when it comes to the definition of a word they were so willing to change.

Misconceptions aren't limited to just the word diet though which you illustrated by your mother asking if you were anorexic. The news, or a morning show, or something similar just happened to be on the other day/night as I was walking by the TV and they were talking about how avoiding food or several different foods was a sign of anorexia and my chin hit the floor, I started shaking my head and it took all my strength and composure to not scream at the TV that they were complete idiots. While I am sure that those can be and probably are warning signs, that kind of blanket statement lumps far to many people into it. I mean it's not a choice for a lot of people to avoid wheat, gluten, and then all the foods people have a problem with after they do so. The last thing any of those people need or people with IBS, Chron's, cancer, diabetes and any of the of the vast list of diseases that affect what you can eat need is for people to think they are anorexic. There are multiple reasons that a person could suddenly start avoiding a certain food or even large groups of food at once. Just because you are allowed to speak on a subject on TV doesn't mean you should be allowed to do so. Far to many people are reckless with what they have to say and are oblivious to the fallout from it.

[smc]

I was wondering the same thing. When i was diagnosed my doctor told me to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables so i took that to heart and basically worried so much about getting enough nutrition in one day that i over ate. I was eating more calories than i ever did and started gaining weight. Then I went back to my normal eating pattern of a banana or apple in the morning and then a healthy dinner. I was wondering if i was getting enough nutrition. I feel fine eating like this because i always did. Do you take vitamins? I guess our bodies would tell us if they needed more. At least the food we eat now is being absorbed.

[Racer-J]

Warning, this is a super long post full of information . . .

I was wondering the same thing. When i was diagnosed my doctor told me to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables so i took that to heart and basically worried so much about getting enough nutrition in one day that i over ate. I was eating more calories than i ever did and started gaining weight. Then I went back to my normal eating pattern of a banana or apple in the morning and then a healthy dinner. I was wondering if i was getting enough nutrition. I feel fine eating like this because i always did. Do you take vitamins? I guess our bodies would tell us if they needed more. At least the food we eat now is being absorbed.

If this was directed at me, I try to never take vitamins/minerals. That's just a personal choice though since most of them are synthetic and full of binders, fillers, sweeteners, and several other things that don't need to be in the supplement. Several synthetic vitamins/minerals have been shown to be destructive to the body, organs, and even going os far as to leach other vitamins and minerals out of your body. The vitamins/minerals that are non synthetic are often expensive and still full of stuff that doesn't need to be in there. The last one I took was Garden of Life's RAW One for Men. It was around $26.00 for a bottle of 75 pills which would be 75 days (2.5 months based on 30 days in a month) worth of pills. It was essentially $10.40 every 30 days. BTW, they are gluten free but they are not certified as such. They also do not contain any iron at all which was another reason I chose them. Iron should always come from food and that's why several companies don't include it in their multivitamins or offer one without iron.

Then I shifted my focus into actually fixing the nutritional "gaps" in my diet instead of using a supplement as a band-aid. This can be a major PITA to do especially when you are trying to balance it with the actual calories you are consuming, making sure your Omega 6 to Omega 3 fat ratio is somewhere between 4:1 and 1:1, making sure you are meeting each specific amino acid requirement and that they are actual in the proper ratio to one another, etc. "Proper" nutrition is far more than just your total calories and what percentage of them is protein, carbs, and fat. It is not a light undertaking especially when you have multiple food issues and are trying to reconcile it with your food budget.

Your body will absolutely tell you if you need more of something provided you listen to what it's saying. That's what cravings are about. When I talk about cravings though I mean when I have the overwhelming desire to shove fist fulls of romaine lettuce, baby spinach, or something similar into my mouth. If I crave something sweet, I know I need a banana and all the nutrients/calories it contains. If I am craving chips it may b because I want something crunchy but, it's most likely because I need a slight bump of sodium. If I get super hungry, I know it's time to eat some nuts or seeds because my body is looking for some calories from fat that it can draw on throughout the day. Cravings mean different things to different people though and you have to keep in mind that I don't eat any added sweeteners, fillers binders, chemicals, artificial anything, preservatives, complex carbohydrates, corn, grains, gluten, soy, etc., and I only drink water. All of that really allows me to understand what my body tries to tell me. Not everyone needs to go that route in order to listen to and understand their bodies. That's just the road I have chosen to walk.

Getting enough nutrition is very debatable. If you look healthy and feel healthy, you are probably ok. If you are extremely analytical like I am though, that's not enough and you will do things like go into Excel and make spreadsheets of what you are going to eat (I eat the same stuff day in and day out) and then enter every single amount of each amino acid, each fat, sugar, each fiber, each vitamin, each mineral, and multiple other things based on the serving size of each food. If that's hard to visualize, there will be a ".XLS" spreadsheet attached to look at. *EDIT* Or I guess not. Looks like attachments are disabled or I am blind.

I currently have some "gaps" in my diet which are Chloride, Iodine, Sodium, Zinc, Vitamin A RAE (Retinal Activity Equivalent), and B1 (Thiamin). The Chloride and Sodium can be fixed in my diet with 1/4 tsp of sea salt a day. The Iodine can be fixed by either eating another 3 bananas a day or some kelp. The Zinc is only 5% less than what it needs to be and is over the ADI (Acceptable Daily Intake) so I'm not super worried about it. The Vitamin RAE is only an issue because Retinol is the better absorbed version but, it's only found in meat and I only eat a small amount of salmon daily. It can be fixed by eating more carrots though. The B1 (Thiamin) shortage is the only actual issue I do not have a fix for since I have had to cut all complex carbohydrates from my diet. Even then, none of them are really any higher in B1 (Thiamin) than any thing I can eat. This could easily be fixed with extra Sunflower Seeds but, I am trying to keep my Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio between 2.5: 1 and 1:1. However, fixing the Vitamin RAE and B1 (Thiamin) gaps with food will also increase total calories and will increase all the other requirements as well so, if I actually start to notice a problem from exceeding the ADI (Acceptable Daily Intake) but not meeting the RDI (Recomended Daily Intake) for them, I will consider supplements.

Anyway, there are three schools of thought on nutrition. The most commonly accepted one is to just eat a wide variety of food and everything will fall into place. To me though that's like saying just show up to work and everything will take care of itself if you are in a managerial position. It just sounds so absolutely far fetched to me because, it's nothing more than a gamble as you have no idea what amount of anything you are consuming. The next one is where you actually calculate you calories for the day and see how much of that is fat, carbs, and protein and pick their ratios based on what you consider healthy and based on what you are eating. Then there is the one I do which is a total breakdown of everything so that you know exactly how much of any given substance you are taking in. The only things I don't look at are fluoride (yes this naturally occurs and food and is completely different from the chemical waste version they dump into water and products), choline, and the the full breakdown of Omega 6 and Omega 3 fats. Both the Omega 6 and Omega 3 fats break down into numerous different types of fat and right now nutrition guidelines only dictate requirements for their overall ratio to one another, their total amount, and two specific type of Omega 3 fats.

The only way you can truly take the time to know if you're getting enough nutrition is to either do the math on your own or, to pya a nutritionist a huge amount for money and probably end up with far less information. It's pretty easy to do yourself provided you know how to use a calculator, Excel, and what websites to get data from. The following links should get anyone interested in doing it themselves started. There are several other sites though because it can be a real PITA to figure out the typical amount of something like biotin, boron, chromium, iodine, molybdenum, etc. in certain foods as they all depend on soil content and are very hard to determine. it may take hours upon hours of searches to find missing data and even then, you may not find it.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

If anyone needs links or information on Purines, FODMAPs, Oxalates, Salicylates, etc. let me know. Most people don't have to worry about them. I went ahead and gathered the data on what I eat just in case I do as I am trying to rule out several things right now.

[shadowicewolf]

Very little. However I will 'graze' throughout the day.

[cahill]

Very little. However I will 'graze' throughout the day.

yep, I am also a "grazer"

[sb2178]

(I think I lost a post) Short re-typed version

b'fast (400-500 kcal if very hungry; 250 if just normally hungry)

lunch (500 kcal)

snack (200 kcal)

supper (600-800 kcal)

occasionally, when active>45 min/day

snack 2 (150 kcal)

I don't function without breakfast the way caffiene junkies are groggy without coffee, but it's also very rare that I'm not hungry in the morning. The individual nutrients I worry about are iron, magnesium, B12, and to some limited extent calcium. Otherwise I just pay attention to eating 2 pints of fruits/vegetables or more, 3-4 servings eggs/beans/fish/meat, 1-2 servings nuts/seeds, and then grains as I feel like it.

[KuKuKaChoo52]

I eat a lot... But it seems normal up until after lunch. Just a normal breakfast and lunch, but then I snack at around 2 or 3pm then again at like 4-6pm then I eat dinner around 7 or 8pm then I snack again at like 9 or 10pm. I feel I should also find out a better eating plan. I know for me I should eat lots of small meals, because I hate getting FULL and I don't like being hungry, so I just snack when I am about to be hungry and stop before I get full. The only thing is late in the day I try to figure out what would be a smart choice of snack by thinking what I have eaten all day and it seems as though I am good in fruit/vegetables and protein and the rest seems like junk that I have most likely had at some point. I need to start tracking I think.

[mushroom]

I eat little and often. Despite what I have done for my gut, it still does not like to be deprived of something to digest (not that it does that very well - I need digestive enzymes most of the time ) But it seems like if there is no food there to work on it will start trying to "digest itself" which is a strange concept but the only way I can describe it. If there is no food in my stomach I am in trouble