# Unhealthy to Skip lunch?



## vejichan (May 23, 2022)

Any dangers in eating 2x a day? most people i know are skipping breakfast ..at most a cup of coffee and eating a huge lunch and dinner...i have eaten 3x a day (breakfast,lunch and dinner) for the past 20 years and noticed that i tend to feel sleepy after lunch which was bad since i needed to stay focused when i get back to work. I since last year...trying to save money started eating only 2 meals a day.. a huge breakfast and dinner...and drink lots of water all day long. I have noticed i am not sleepy at work and able to maintain my energy level thru out the day. Btw foods i am eating for breakfast are chicken, nuts, eggs, vegs and fruit, rice. I am able to somewhat maintain my bodyweight and best of all save money ...is this diet bad? thoughts or advise?


----------



## budda (May 23, 2022)

Ask your doctor to get you an appointment with a dietician.

In my experience its best to eat when you are hungry.


----------



## jaxadam (May 23, 2022)

What are your goals? If your goal is to not eat lunch that is a solid plan.


----------



## Grindspine (May 23, 2022)

budda said:


> Ask your doctor to get you an appointment with a dietician.
> 
> In my experience its best to eat when you are hungry.


Screw asking a doctor about it. If you feel healthier eating twice a day, stick with it.

Asking a doctor will be a waste of time on this question unless you are having some type of side effects, such as malnutrition or low blood sugar. Both of those, however, would have some symptoms.

So again, if it feels healthier, stick to it.

(note: I work in health care, and my family doctor pissed me off today.)


----------



## budda (May 23, 2022)

I'd argue feeling healthier doesn't necessarily mean you are scientifically/certifiably healthier.


----------



## Seabeast2000 (May 23, 2022)

It is very rarely unhealthy to skip a meal.


----------



## jaxadam (May 23, 2022)

This girl goes to the doctor and say “doc, I wanna lose some weight”. He says, “well, why don’t you eat one day, and skip a day”. So she comes back a month later and has lost a ton of weight. She says “doc, I’ve lost a lot of weight, but I’m exhausted!” He said “why, from not eating?” And she says “no, from all of that skipping!”


----------



## odibrom (May 23, 2022)

If you feel sleepy after a meal, you're either eating too much or eating heavy food for your stomach to process, or both. Feeling sleepy is the blood running out of your head and into your stomach. Most people drink coffee, but coffee (caffeine) acts on the nervous system, so people are doing 2 wrongs at the same time. A meal is supposed to deliver energy to the body, not take it from it. One should feel energized after a meal, not sleepy. At the end of the day, eat less, heavy meals at supper won't help you sleep nor rest, which is fundamental to feel energetic and have more overall resistance.

My advice is to eat less at lunch and have small snacks for the day until supper AND eat healthier: more vegies and less animal processed food.

Any processed food will have a heavy digestion, animal processed food more so. Grilled / fried cheese is pure junk, sorry to say this, but is.

Raw and fresh vegies and fruits deliver lots of vitamines and more or less energy that can be added with grains/nuts. Carrots can be used as snacks and last a day without going sour.

A few other suggestions:
- *Have a bottle of spring water* (preferably, clean, no sparkles nor added sugar or whatever) by your side do drink whenever you want, dehydration causes fatigue (among other problems obviously) and most don't know it.
- *Do prioritize whole foods* to processed ones.
- *Do prioritize organic foods* to non organic and massive farming productions.
- *Do prioritize complete grains* (brown rice, for example) to white ones.
- Avoid GMOs like the devil running from the cross.
- Ditch sugar added food and sodas (processed salsa, industrial cookies and bread, all that shit), the sooner the better you'll feel.
- Stop going to McDonald, Burguer King and all that shit, those do no go to anyone except their CEOs to get richer. Once a week is still too much.

Not directly related (but is), do have some sort of physical activity besides  with the lady (or whatever your choice is) at least twice per week. One needs to sweat to get the toxins out and clean the body.
- *BTT* (all terrain / of road cycling) is a nice sport due to refreshing landscape and air, it doesn't have strong impact on one's joints like running has on the knees, it makes one feel accomplished faster (I think), can be done alone or in group, etc...
- *Non competitive martial arts* (Tai Chi, Aikido, some Kung Fu styles, it depends a lot on the teacher...) and/or *physical yoga* (there is the posture standing style and the _choreography _style, don't go for the meditation crap) are great. On Yoga, go with classic and not for trends like "Hot Yoga" and similar shit. The Iyengar method (wikipedia link) is great. Pilates is also functional.

...yeah, I derailed a bit, sorry...


----------



## Grindspine (May 23, 2022)

budda said:


> I'd argue feeling healthier doesn't necessarily mean you are scientifically/certifiably healthier.


I hate to say this, but scientifically and certifiably are very variable. There are so-called experts who will attest that one is automatically unhealthy unless they eat a big breakfast and wake early in the day. Even among registered dieticians, not all opinions are agreed upon.

On my note about my family doctor, she has told both my wife and I that we need to make sure we do not eat too much red meat. I haven't eaten red meat in ten years. She also said that I need to watch the salt intake, after I told her three times that I do not have a high salt diet, as scientifically/certifiably shown by my blood tests. Even professionals will sometimes just reiterate the same ideas without holistically looking at an individual's lifestyle.

So, really, with the little information that the OP has given us. The fact that he feels healthier not eating lunches is the most prominent information that we have on his lifestyle and eating habits. So, unless you are a registered dietician who has details about his life that the rest of us don't....


----------



## LostTheTone (May 25, 2022)

There aren't any obvious risks to eating twice per day, assuming you are otherwise healthy. Be open to eating if you are genuinely hungry, but if you aren't then don't, simples. The key is just not to be too strict, and listen to your body. It'll tell you if it's hungry.


----------



## TedEH (May 25, 2022)

Grindspine said:


> Even professionals will sometimes just reiterate the same ideas without holistically looking at an individual's lifestyle.


Super tangential, but sort of relevant - a friend of mine is convinced that when she dies, she'll need to have printed on her grave stone: "I'd like a second opinion".

We've spent a good amount of time in hospitals etc. in the last couple of years, and health is just as susceptible as any other field to the idea that being professional doesn't automatically mean being correct.

My own experience has been that I feel better when I eat smaller meals more regularly and allow myself to snack in between. Skipped meals = don't feel as good, and overeating in one shot = don't feel as good. I never skip breakfast just because breakfast tends to be the best foods. Lots of greens, lots of fresh stuff, sometimes too much bread but always decent whole grain bread and no more of that cake-y white sandwich bread. Lots of coffee (which has it's own issues), lots of water, but rarely any soda or alcohol anymore. It's not based on any real advice, it's just what works for me.

Realistically the biggest two things I changed for the better about my diet have been: stopping drinking coke almost entirely (I used to drink it like water) and learning to cook some simple decent meals so that it wasn't just fast food or quick/lazy/college-style food all the time. Living on soda, pasta, and hot dogs is a great way to feel like garbage.

Oh and short walks. Walking is great for all kinds of reasons. IMO if you need something and it's any less than a 20-30 minute walk away, you're doing yourself a disservice by driving there unless you really have to.


----------



## jaxadam (May 25, 2022)

Grindspine said:


> I haven't eaten red meat in ten years.



Bro...


----------



## odibrom (May 25, 2022)

TedEH said:


> (...)
> 
> My own experience has been that I feel better when I eat smaller meals more regularly and allow myself to snack in between. (...) It's not based on any real advice, it's just what works for me.
> 
> ...


THIS IS THE WAY, all of this... and going plant based meals as well, but that is the next step... just saying...


----------



## Mathemagician (May 25, 2022)

Assuming you’re a healthy adult you need about 2,000 calories a day. Doesn’t matter too much when you get them. Just that you do. 

People who do intermittent fasting will eat within a specific window of day 6, 8, or 12 hours. But they are getting their daily required calories. 

You may need more/less based on your fitness goals. But that’s the short version. 

Protein, vegetables, whole grains, and some fruit.


----------



## RevDrucifer (May 25, 2022)

When I was 100% plant-based/whole foods I was only eating once a day and it was the best I’ve ever felt in life. I’m slowly working my way back to it. 

What ya put in the gas tank is far more important than how often you do it. I fell off the plant-based (I won’t say the “v” word) wagon last July and tried doing the same thing, eating once a day, but when it’s a fuckin’ pepperoni pizza you just end up feeling like dog shit and/or starving within a few hours. 

And the shits…..oh man, I miss those ever-so-efficient V-shits so much.


----------



## jaxadam (May 25, 2022)

RevDrucifer said:


> And the shits…..oh man, I miss those ever-so-efficient V-shits so much.



That’s not efficient…. I’ve been searching for 100% conversion, no waste! I tried photosynthesizing for a little while but that got rough.


----------



## Hollowway (May 25, 2022)

I can’t speak for what is good or bad for you, but I usually have a super small lunch (like a handful of almonds) or skip lunch entirely. I essentially just eat dinner, and that’s it. No breakfast, and no snacking.


----------



## Seabeast2000 (May 25, 2022)

jaxadam said:


> That’s not efficient…. I’ve been searching for 100% conversion, no waste! I tried photosynthesizing for a little while but that got rough.



you can upcycle AF if you live in Vegas and get on the slop routes.


----------



## Heretick (May 27, 2022)

Hollowway said:


> I can’t speak for what is good or bad for you, but I usually have a super small lunch (like a handful of almonds) or skip lunch entirely. I essentially just eat dinner, and that’s it. No breakfast, and no snacking.


One meal gang rise up


----------



## bostjan (May 27, 2022)

Say you used to eat three meals. If you switch to eating two meals that add up to the same amount of food, you're ultimately just stretching out your stomach more. I guess you might save yourself some insignificant amount of time eating and maybe some significant amount of time preparing your meals (depends on how you are preparing them, this could be mitigated if you prepare a larger dinner and then just save some for lunch the following day...). In terms of overall health, I don't see what the advantage would be. Your body would possibly be spending more time converting your larger meals into stored energy (fat) just to break that down later when you don't eat. It could result in making you feel more tired as a result, but maybe it could also boost your metabolism. It depends on what you are eating and what you are doing all day to burn energy.

So, long story short, maybe, maybe not, it depends. Either way, I don't think it's going to likely be a huge difference one way or the other, but there could be some circumstances that make this more or less dangerous to do. If your body tells you that it doesn't like your dietary behaviours, you should probably try changing them.


----------



## Grindspine (Jun 1, 2022)

jaxadam said:


> Bro...


Yo?

I gave up red meat and pork, but I am down for some sushi any time. My wife and I are about pescatarian at this point. We still eat fish & shellfish, but rarely other meats. I also cannot really eat chicken anymore since she adopted a rescue chicken, who is living in my garage currently. Even when I worked at a place with a pretty diverse lunch menu for employees, I would occasionally opt for chicken tetrazzini, but would inevitably hit gristle at some point and lose my appetite. 

Giving up red meat was easy. When I worked in a blood lab, I could literally tell if someone ate a cheeseburger instead of fasting for blood work by looking at the fat content in the blood. Some blood tubes would look like coffee creamer. Working in a pathology lab after that made me give up red meat real quick-like.



RevDrucifer said:


> When I was 100% plant-based/whole foods I was only eating once a day and it was the best I’ve ever felt in life. I’m slowly working my way back to it.
> 
> What ya put in the gas tank is far more important than how often you do it. I fell off the plant-based (I won’t say the “v” word) wagon last July and tried doing the same thing, eating once a day, but when it’s a fuckin’ pepperoni pizza you just end up feeling like dog shit and/or starving within a few hours.
> 
> And the shits…..oh man, I miss those ever-so-efficient V-shits so much.


With plant-based stuff, I have found that I really have to watch for sodium and additives. The Morning Star frozen chik'n stuff is alright tasting, but super high in salt.


----------



## jaxadam (Jun 1, 2022)

Grindspine said:


> Yo?
> 
> I gave up red meat and pork, but I am down for some sushi any time. My wife and I are about pescatarian at this point. We still eat fish & shellfish, but rarely other meats. I also cannot really eat chicken anymore since she adopted a rescue chicken, who is living in my garage currently. Even when I worked at a place with a pretty diverse lunch menu for employees, I would occasionally opt for chicken tetrazzini, but would inevitably hit gristle at some point and lose my appetite.
> 
> ...



Nah I'm right there with you man. My wife made this vegan zoodle dish the other night and it wasn't all that bad. We enjoy all types of foods/styles/cooking/etc.


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Jun 1, 2022)

Has OP skipped too many lunches?


----------



## Grindspine (Jun 1, 2022)

I added a lot of black bean-based stuff to my cooking repertoire. We actually made burritos a few nights ago using cooked-down black beans and seasoned scrambled tofu as a meat substitute. The zucchini-based pasta that you posted is decent. We have tried and liked chickpea-based pasta too.

For protein (since I definitely need more than she does), I make protein shakes for breakfast using either Huel or Ka'chava, both of which are plant-based protein / meal replacement stuff. Being busy and being used to grab-and-go food makes dietary choices a challenge at times... yet another reason (back to the OP) to skip lunches some days!


----------



## High Plains Drifter (Jun 2, 2022)

I've switched to chickpea and lentil pastas.. both taste good enough to use as traditional pasta substitute all the time.


----------



## odibrom (Jun 2, 2022)

The trick to eat well vegie style is having lots of leaf and root vegies, fresh fruit, whole grain cereals like brown rice (and whole grain pasta/bread) and a bit of beans/peas/lentils and other leguminouse seeds, then seasoning with some small seeds like sesame and one is good to go.


----------



## RevDrucifer (Jun 2, 2022)

Grindspine said:


> Yo?
> 
> I gave up red meat and pork, but I am down for some sushi any time. My wife and I are about pescatarian at this point. We still eat fish & shellfish, but rarely other meats. I also cannot really eat chicken anymore since she adopted a rescue chicken, who is living in my garage currently. Even when I worked at a place with a pretty diverse lunch menu for employees, I would occasionally opt for chicken tetrazzini, but would inevitably hit gristle at some point and lose my appetite.
> 
> ...



The Morning Star stuff is processed. YMMV, but I see no point in going through the hassle of having a plant based diet and still eating processed stuff, unless you’re really into the ethical aspects of a plant-based diet. 

It’s definitely easier to grab some Gardein stuff out of the freezer aisle, but if you’re going to go for it, just go for it. The internet is FULL of awesome, whole food/plant-based recipes and while they CAN get complicated, most of the best ones I’ve made are simple. 

And then if you want to have a ‘cheat day’, you can make something like this- https://www.veganosity.com/the-best-vegan-nashville-hot-chicken/
The ‘chicken’ is a bit time consuming to make, but you can freeze it and make it in bulk. I almost fell off my couch the night I made those they were so fucking good.


----------



## TedEH (Jun 2, 2022)

I'll only skip lunch if I'm feeling a little acoustic.

(Did I do it right? Did I meme? Am I young again?)


----------



## pondman (Jun 2, 2022)

8 weeks ago I had a routine medical and was shocked to find I weighed 110 kg 
I went onto a diet instantly , eating just twice a day.
I've lost 17 k already and feel fine. If you want to skip dinner, go ahead. It wont kill you.

BTW I stopped eating meat 14 months ago and that helps.


----------



## Drew (Jun 2, 2022)

Only thing I'll add here is there are really two sorts of reasons people skip breakfast - just too busy, or attempting to put themselves on an intermittent fasting diet, by restricting their feeding window down to 8 hours or less, and inducing more of a starvation response for the remaining 16. I know people who HAVE lost weight doing this, though I have no clue what the long term effects are. 

If your motivations in skipping a meal are saving money and not putting yourself in a food coma after lunch, and your goal is NOT to cut weight, I'd suggest packing a light lunch from home rather than skipping it all together. I tend to overeat in the next meal whenever I skip one, and that's quite a bit less healthy, starving then binging, than eating smaller, regular, balanced meals. 

You could also go 180 degrees in the opposite direction, and skip lunch but instead have two light snacks, late morning and midafternoon, rather than a single large lunch. This will again keep you from having the sort of glycemic crash after a big lunch meal, but won't leave you feeling like you're starving before you get to dinnertime. 

Weight loss doesn't seem to be a goal here, but if it is, well, I think calories out are just as important as calories in (though ensuring you're getting _enough_ calories in is an underappreciated part of training, particularly for more endurance-oriented sports).


----------



## wheresthefbomb (Jun 2, 2022)

RevDrucifer said:


> When I was 100% plant-based/whole foods I was only eating once a day and it was the best I’ve ever felt in life. I’m slowly working my way back to it.
> 
> What ya put in the gas tank is far more important than how often you do it. I fell off the plant-based (I won’t say the “v” word) wagon last July and tried doing the same thing, eating once a day, but when it’s a fuckin’ pepperoni pizza you just end up feeling like dog shit and/or starving within a few hours.
> 
> And the shits…..oh man, I miss those ever-so-efficient V-shits so much.



The shits are essential. I have a lot of GI issues and I pay a very high price for straying from my diet.



Grindspine said:


> With plant-based stuff, I have found that I really have to watch for sodium and additives. The Morning Star frozen chik'n stuff is alright tasting, but super high in salt.





RevDrucifer said:


> The Morning Star stuff is processed. YMMV, but I see no point in going through the hassle of having a plant based diet and still eating processed stuff, unless you’re really into the ethical aspects of a plant-based diet.



I fully cannot wrap my head around the idea of needing to "trick" oneself into eating "vegetables" shaped like meat. Most of that stuff is probably just as awful for you as meat. I was buying the plant based ground for a while whenever it was on sale because cheap protein, but the flavor wore out after about a year.


----------



## jaxadam (Jun 2, 2022)

Unhealthy to Skip Threads?


----------



## wheresthefbomb (Jun 2, 2022)

jaxadam said:


> Unhealthy to Skip Threads?



You must have missed the memo, today is "talk about going veg in every thread on SSO day"


----------



## SpaceDock (Jun 2, 2022)

I don’t eat lunch much either unless I am doing a lot of manual work. We just get conditioned to three meals a day but if you are sedentary and not hungry, don’t eat or you will just gain weight.


----------



## odibrom (Jun 2, 2022)

@wheresthefbomb ... guilty... sorry...


----------



## Grindspine (Jun 2, 2022)

Drew said:


> Only thing I'll add here is there are really two sorts of reasons people skip breakfast - just too busy, or attempting to put themselves on an intermittent fasting diet, by restricting their feeding window down to 8 hours or less, and inducing more of a starvation response for the remaining 16. I know people who HAVE lost weight doing this, though I have no clue what the long term effects are.


I actually haaaaate eating breakfast. I have always been more of a night owl, so waking up early and eating just makes me want to puke. For the last couple of years, I tried to get myself to drink protein shakes in the morning just so I would eat less at lunch at work. My doctor keeps bitching me about sodium (although I do not have a high salt diet), so I just started cutting out food in general, including that morning shake. I really don't miss it.



wheresthefbomb said:


> I fully cannot wrap my head around the idea of needing to "trick" oneself into eating "vegetables" shaped like meat. Most of that stuff is probably just as awful for you as meat. I was buying the plant based ground for a while whenever it was on sale because cheap protein, but the flavor wore out after about a year.


I do not even like the texture of real chicken meat anymore, but once in a while, buffalo wings sound really good! The Morning Star stuff is plant-based, but definitely junk food reserved for a movie night.


wheresthefbomb said:


> You must have missed the memo, today is "talk about going veg in every thread on SSO day"


I'm not vegan. I still eat fish and shellfish. Going plant-based on cheese is one thing I cannot do. My wife gets a bunch of dairy-free stuff and none of it tastes like actual pepper jack to me.


----------



## odibrom (Jun 2, 2022)

Grindspine said:


> I actually haaaaate eating breakfast. I have always been more of a night owl, so waking up early and eating just makes me want to puke. For the last couple of years, I tried to get myself to drink protein shakes in the morning just so I would eat less at lunch at work. My doctor keeps bitching me about sodium (although I do not have a high salt diet), so I just started cutting out food in general, including that morning shake. I really don't miss it.
> 
> 
> I do not even like the texture of real chicken meat anymore, but once in a while, buffalo wings sound really good! The Morning Star stuff is plant-based, but definitely junk food reserved for a movie night.
> ...



I don't go for "look-alike" or "taste-a-like" to meat/fish vegan foods. It just means extra processing and sometimes what I believe (and have experienced) incompatible ingredients combinations (mixed beans and so on). Whole food is the thing, season it well and you're good to go, grains, seeds, nuts, leaf and root vegies either raw or cooked along with fruits and you have a perfectly healthy meal. More grains and seeds and nuts if you need more energy, more vegies and fruits if you are more sedentary... this is just a starting point to get one going, there's a lot to explore...


----------



## Grindspine (Jun 3, 2022)

odibrom said:


> I don't go for "look-alike" or "taste-a-like" to meat/fish vegan foods. It just means extra processing and sometimes what I believe (and have experienced) incompatible ingredients combinations (mixed beans and so on). Whole food is the thing, season it well and you're good to go, grains, seeds, nuts, leaf and root vegies either raw or cooked along with fruits and you have a perfectly healthy meal. More grains and seeds and nuts if you need more energy, more vegies and fruits if you are more sedentary... this is just a starting point to get one going, there's a lot to explore...


I absolutely agree. The buffalo "wings" are an occasional guilty pleasure, but certainly not a health goal. It is one thing that I have been reducing out of my fridge/freezer of late.


----------



## Protestheriphery (Jun 3, 2022)

Grindspine said:


> Screw asking a doctor about it. If you feel healthier eating twice a day, stick with it.
> 
> Asking a doctor will be a waste of time on this question unless you are having some type of side effects, such as malnutrition or low blood sugar. Both of those, however, would have some symptoms.
> 
> ...


Can relate. Any trip to the doctor leaves me in a worse mood. The only thing they offer is vague unhelpful advice (drink water, exercise regularly, eat a balanced diet).


----------



## odibrom (Jun 3, 2022)

... there once was a doctor so good at his affairs that he could always find some illness on healthy people...


----------



## thraxil (Jun 3, 2022)

I'm a fan of Dr. Michael Greger's work. He wrote "How Not to Die" and runs nutritionfacts.org. His focus is on examing the actual scientific research and evidence on nutrition and diet-related topics. He has a couple good videos on time-restricted eating:









Time-Restricted Eating Put to the Test | NutritionFacts.org


Are there benefits to giving yourself a bigger daily break from eating?




nutritionfacts.org












The Benefits of Early Time-Restricted Eating | NutritionFacts.org


Calories eaten in the morning count less and are healthier than calories eaten in the evening.




nutritionfacts.org





The gist is that there might be some benefits, particularly for weight loss, diabetes, and high blood pressure but 1) it's really hard to make very solid claims about this kind of thing since you fundamentally can't do a "gold standard" double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trial (a common problem when looking at any kind of diet-related claim) 2) the studies that have been done are pretty small-scale, short-term, and limited in scope and 3) there are possibly multiple different mechanisms that might be responsible for the majority of the benefits (eg, avoiding weekend disruptions to circadian rhythm, or simply reduced overall calorie consumption) and it's hard to know exactly what's going on or why it seems to work.

Unless you have some specific health conditions (liver/kidney failure, porphyria, hyperthyroidism, etc), there doesn't seem to be any danger from time-restricted eating or occasional small fasts, so it's probably worth trying if you think it might work for you. You'll probably see the best benefits if you combine it with generally eating a healthy and varied diet, keeping physically active, and doing all the normally recommended things.

Personally, I very rarely eat breakfast. I just don't tend to get hungry at all till midday and even feel a bit nauseous if I eat anything more substantial than a protein bar in the morning. My partner wakes up ravenous and won't leave the house without eating a large breakfast. Similarly, I also just don't tend to be hungry or eat much after dinner in the evenings and I almost never snack between meals. So I've effectively been doing time-restricted eating for many years without any problems.


----------



## RevDrucifer (Jun 3, 2022)

wheresthefbomb said:


> The shits are essential. I have a lot of GI issues and I pay a very high price for straying from my diet.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



They make for a decent enough bridge for those who still want to have chicken fingers and shit. I mean, look at the US and how vegetables are consumed. I know a lot more people who don’t dig vegetables than people who do dig them. Hell, I was 36 before I started eating broccoli and brussels sprouts. 

I can’t stand the Beyond meat because it smells/tastes like cat food, but the Impossible stuff is pretty good. That was my one cheat meal a week for a few years; either Impossible beef or the hot Italian sausages.


----------



## jaxadam (Jun 3, 2022)

I'm with @odibrom on this one... fake meat substitutes are a waste of time and money. I think there are plenty of ways to embrace vegetarianism/veganism. 

There's a vegan restaurant in Stuart, FL that I've been to a few times and it is absolutely amazing. Really opens your eyes to the foods/textures/colors that can be had without animals.






Menu | Fruits & Roots Vegan Cafe







www.fruitsandrootsvegancafe.com


----------



## Brocephus (Jun 3, 2022)

I do hard manual labor for a living. I don't eat breakfast, I don't eat second breakfast, I don't have lunch. I do have dinner and maybe a midnight snack. Intermittent fasting will make you lose weight faster than you can say three course dinner. What I can say for it is that my blood sugar is very stable during the day, which means that I don't get very tired at any point of the day. You will however not get the energy kick that most people get from eating every 4 hours.

Your body does not need to eat 3-5 times a day. It needs it nutrition, but you will get used to eating only once a day quite fast. You might want to step down slowly, I.E. going from 3 meals a day to 2, to 1 over the course of maybe 3 or 6 months. In the beginning you will feel hungry. Just know that it is your body that is unused to not getting its regular top up of nutrients. 

If you're only going to eat once or twice a day I however recommend that you really get all the protein and fat that you need in that meal. 
You will lose weight so if you don't want to lose muscle mass you might want to consider going to the gym if you aren't already (and don't have a physical occupation).


----------



## BornToLooze (Jun 3, 2022)

SpaceDock said:


> I don’t eat lunch much either unless I am doing a lot of manual work. We just get conditioned to three meals a day but if you are sedentary and not hungry, don’t eat or you will just gain weight.



I'm the opposite, I can't eat lunch if I'm working, it messes my stomach up.

But I usually only eat once a day, or just whenever I get hungry. That combined with I've switched to eating mostly venison to save money (can't beat half a freezer full of meat for around $3), I've lost like 30 pounds since September.


----------



## Grindspine (Jun 4, 2022)

BornToLooze said:


> I'm the opposite, I can't eat lunch if I'm working, it messes my stomach up.
> 
> But I usually only eat once a day, or just whenever I get hungry. That combined with I've switched to eating mostly venison to save money (can't beat half a freezer full of meat for around $3), I've lost like 30 pounds since September.


Before giving up red meat, I had switched from beef or chuck over to bison. I did make some great bison burgers back in the day. It had far less fat than grocery meat and due to the way bison are raised, it was pretty much all grass fed with no hormones. 

With what was said about nutrition, yeah, eating one to two times a day and getting the essential macro and micronutrients is all one really needs.


----------



## jaxadam (Jun 4, 2022)

Hers's the thing about skipping lunch; t's as simple as this: let's say I live another 50 years... well, that's 18,250 extra meals I don't get to enjoy!


----------



## wheresthefbomb (Jun 4, 2022)

jaxadam said:


> I'm with @odibrom on this one... fake meat substitutes are a waste of time and money. I think there are plenty of ways to embrace vegetarianism/veganism.
> 
> There's a vegan restaurant in Stuart, FL that I've been to a few times and it is absolutely amazing. Really opens your eyes to the foods/textures/colors that can be had without animals.
> 
> ...



Most restaurants really F this up, too. Offering decent veg options isn't difficult, but most places put no more imagination into it than "garden salad in a wrap or sandwich form" which definitely feeds into people's notions about what eating veg looks like. I'm jealous of places with real options like that, it's insanely difficult to find a quick bite around here if I don't want to eat garbage. At least we have falafel places during the 3 months that the sun comes back.



jaxadam said:


> Hers's the thing about skipping lunch; t's as simple as this: let's say I live another 50 years... well, that's 18,250 extra meals I don't get to enjoy!



"We've had first breakfast yes... but what about second breakfast?"


----------



## odibrom (Jun 4, 2022)

I live in the capital of my country so, there's more offering, but just to say that I have 3 to 4 vegie restaurants at less than 4 km... and a shopping center that also offers lots of options... guess I'm lucky then...?


----------



## jaxadam (Jun 5, 2022)

odibrom said:


> I live in the capital of my country so, there's more offering, but just to say that I have 3 to 4 vegie restaurants at less than 4 km... and a shopping center that also offers lots of options... guess I'm lucky then...?



The problem here is greedy development brings in bottom tier chains to get projects off the ground, so you're initially stuck with Wal-marts, Dunkin' Donuts, Burger Kings, Wendy's, Taco Bells, and shit like that for a few years. No one wants to drive their kids 45 minutes and spend 20 of it to find parking in the areas of town that have decent selections, so the majority of the families out in the suburbs where expansion is occurring support these options.


----------



## mongey (Jun 5, 2022)

I think the whole "you need 3 balanced meals a day to be healthy" thing is outdated . different things work for different people . we have generally accepted we eat too much, and wont starve to death skipping a meal 

I do 2 meals a day, but don't have breakfast . Just a coffee to get me going and water during the morning, then about 11am I usually work out for 45 min on my lunch break ,and eat after that . Then dinner is usually a bit late , 8 pm or 830 as during the work week we need to get the kids fed and in bed first, and that gets me to the next lunch.

works for me, but my wife she cant go without the 3 meals


----------



## Grindspine (Jun 8, 2022)

mongey said:


> I think the whole "you need 3 balanced meals a day to be healthy" thing is outdated . different things work for different people . we have generally accepted we eat too much, and wont starve to death skipping a meal


Three square meals is a pretty outdated ideology from mid last century. Hell, the food pyramid coaxing people to eat so many servings of bread, subsidized dairy for school programs, whether eggs are bad for you or good for you questions plaguing the 1980s were mostly due to agriculture lobbyists.


----------



## Lemonbaby (Jun 8, 2022)

budda said:


> In my experience its best to eat when you are hungry.



Now that's a radical concept, bro.


----------



## vejichan (Jun 8, 2022)

mongey said:


> I think the whole "you need 3 balanced meals a day to be healthy" thing is outdated . different things work for different people . we have generally accepted we eat too much, and wont starve to death skipping a meal
> 
> I do 2 meals a day, but don't have breakfast . Just a coffee to get me going and water during the morning, then about 11am I usually work out for 45 min on my lunch break ,and eat after that . Then dinner is usually a bit late , 8 pm or 830 as during the work week we need to get the kids fed and in bed first, and that gets me to the next lunch.
> 
> works for me, but my wife she cant go without the 3 meals


Thats what many of my coworkers are doing-- drinking only coffee in the morning, lunch and dinner... i figure i am doing something better by eating a decent breakfast and dinner and skipping only lunch - i do drink water all day long. I feel skipping breakfast is worse than skipping lunch because your body hasn't anything to eat for 8 hrs or whenever you had dinner the night before and then you are starving your body more for an addition 4-5 hrs depending on when you do eat lunch. For me i eat breakfast at 8am which is probably my biggest meal of the day and that since has kept my energy going till when i eat dinner which is around 7:30pm. As stated eating lunch for me has always made me extremely sleepy when i get back to work. so skipping it was probably not a bad idea.. now i'm able to maintain my energy level thru out the day. So i guess it's working and I'm saving money !! my lunches were usually 10-12$ a day.. it could be more now since everything has gotten way more expensive.


----------



## vejichan (Jun 8, 2022)

Also another thing about lunch, sometimes work would be sooo busy that I barely had to rush eating my lunch which could also lead to other issues. I take my time enjoy eating my breakfast and dinner now.


----------



## mongey (Jun 9, 2022)

vejichan said:


> Thats what many of my coworkers are doing-- drinking only coffee in the morning, lunch and dinner... i figure i am doing something better by eating a decent breakfast and dinner and skipping only lunch - i do drink water all day long. I feel skipping breakfast is worse than skipping lunch because your body hasn't anything to eat for 8 hrs or whenever you had dinner the night before and then you are starving your body more for an addition 4-5 hrs depending on when you do eat lunch. For me i eat breakfast at 8am which is probably my biggest meal of the day and that since has kept my energy going till when i eat dinner which is around 7:30pm. As stated eating lunch for me has always made me extremely sleepy when i get back to work. so skipping it was probably not a bad idea.. now i'm able to maintain my energy level thru out the day. So i guess it's working and I'm saving money !! my lunches were usually 10-12$ a day.. it could be more now since everything has gotten way more expensive.


Fair enough. For me cause i start my day ealry , and pretty much always have a late dinner , it’s pretty easy to just skip the morning and have an early lunch. I actually
Don’t ever miss it. It’s not like I want breakfast and deny myself it. 

That’s what he thing. It’s more about what works for you now now , rather than “you need to do a,b and c to be healthy. “


----------



## magicpad (Jul 13, 2022)

I tend to skip lunch and take a nap in my car instead when I'm in the office (3x a week). Not necessarily for any diet reasons, but rather because I'm broke LOL


----------



## mmr007 (Jul 13, 2022)

I think it was General (Ret.) David Petraeus who stated for 30 years he only ate one meal a day. He seems fine.


----------



## Bevo (Nov 20, 2022)

Great chat!
you can fall down the YouTube rabbit hole of health advice but they all seem to have a common thread. Insulin.

Controlling it by keeping it low regardless of what you eat looks like it’s key.
skip meals are not an issue but if you need to eat extra spiking insulin after it’s not great, keep it healthy.
I would ad, if it makes you feel better it’s a good direction..


----------

