Do people really eat like this?

I had a colleague like this. We used to call him "the snake". He'd have one massive pig out day a week, then barely eat anything all week.

We found out because people would notice him not eating for a full 12 hour shift and he said he only really eats on Saturday or Sunday, but when he does, he goes for it.

Weird.

Not me, I stuff myself every day😁

My MIL would say she was full after being out for dinner and wasn’t eating but would, she would just eat in the kitchen.
She also told me once I shouldn’t be hungry because SHE had a takeaway the night before, I’d actually had no dinner that night because we were travelling.

Reminds me of being taken to a steak house in Austin, Texas. Insane steaks followed by key lime pie. My hosts were insistent.

I didn't need to eat for days. I was thirsty but not hungry.

Eat when you're hungry. If you're still full up from the night before why would you force yourself to eat if you're not feeling hungry? If you are feeling hungry, then eat. Feels pretty simple!

If I've had a big lunch, I may not eat until the next day because I don't feel I need it - and I do have a big appetite.

The three meals a day thing is a cultural construct, not a biological need.

I find that odd. Even if I have a huge dinner I’m still hungry for breakfast. I’d probably only feel like having light and healthy meals that day to counteract the huge meal the night before, but I’d still want breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I think too many people equate appetite with morality...as if having a smaller appetite makes you a fundamentally better human being.

Same here.

I don’t have disordered eating; just not much of a foodie and don’t really think about it until I get hungry again. But I certainly eat what I like when I feel like it.

Agree. I’ve just been on holiday. Yesterday had bacon, roll, orange juice and champagne for breakfast. Lunch on plane of salad, roll and generous cheese/biscuits plate with a bowl of warm salted nuts (i declined the beef main). Before landing (long haul) they served a good-sized cheeseburger, surprisingly juicy and tasty for plane fare.

Upon arrival home had a Coke and fell into bed. Today am still stuffed. Likely will not eat more than a yoghurt today.

I’m 62 and have never eaten more than two meals a day. Just don’t like the full feeling. To each their own.

My mum was like that. If she ate out for lunch, she’d announce that she wouldn’t need anything later or til at least dinner time the next day. She had very disordered eating, judged what others ate, always commented on the size of meals etc. She’d act like other people eating was the problem, I don’t think she realised the issues were all hers.

I think it depends on their age, OP.

i don’t think it’s a sign of a healthy metabolism in a young(ish) person for appetite not to have reset by next day. But, I know, for older people with slower metabolisms they often genuinely don’t feel hunger the next day. Their body just slows down so they have lower calorific needs.

No I think that your appetite relative to your energy needs is hugely variable.
In that situation I would have a small meal in the evening. (I never miss a meal altogether unless I am ill, and my BMI has always been around the 19-20 mark)

DH is like this. One big meal and then he doesn’t need to eat again. He won’t eat again until the end of the next day.

I mean, I'm only 36 and I've been like this for as long as I can remember. I've honestly never been able to manage three large meals a day - I prefer lots of small meals. If I've been out and had a large lunch, dinner will just be toast or a bowl of cereal.

I tend to skip breakfast (never hungry) and eat when I finish work around 2.30pm but it's never a huge portion. Normally a sandwich and some crisps, then dinner around 6ish and a large-ish snack around 8ish and that's me done. I've never liked eating big meals as I just feel sick, lol.

If I had a huge meal one day, I'd absolutely feel hungry the next day. I do intermittent fasting but I feel hungry during it.

Are they very slim op? Do you think they actually don't feel hungry or are they consciously avoiding food?

I prefer smaller, more regular meals so I never feel 'stuffed' but am also never wildly hungry. It is unusual to not be hungry at all the next day unless there are digestive issues or lack of fibre, suggest maybe its more habit or an unhealthy attitude towards food ie this will balance it out.

Yes, people are different.

Yes, I eat like this, I only want to eat when I'm hungry and if I overeat one day, I'm likely not hungry for the next day at all.

Metabolisms are different, habits are different, tolerance for blood sugar variance is different...

And yes, people feel hunger differently - if you're someone who snacks when you feel the slightest urge to eat, you'll experience it very differently to someone who habitually only eats one meal a day or does intermittent fasting and is much less sensitised to hunger signals, or much more used to ignoring them.

It's weird because that isn't how our bodies work - we don't 'store food' like reptiles. If I had a really big dinner one night, I would maybe just have coffee and a banana for breakfast instead of porridge or toast and then carry on as normal for my other meals. It sounds like either disordered eating or they ate when you weren't there or some people think not having to eat makes them better than other people. Food is fuel!

If I am going out for a large evening meal often I will not eat during the daytime up to it at all, so that may be close to 24 hours if you take the night before into account as well.

Normally pretty hungry by the time the meal comes around. But that is really the point.

I'd think that most people that have a large lunch wouldn't want anything for dinner. Do you think that perhaps this is why we have an obesity problem in this country, because people just don't know when to stop eating?

Me too. Even more ravenous than I usually am when I wake up.

My anecdotal observation is that it's slimmer people that need to eat regularly. I'm pretty chunky and can easily skip a meal or two if it's not convenient to eat. My best mate and my DH are both very slim (DH is just in the healthy range of BMI and has to work to stay there) and they both need to eat regularly.

It's not "starving" FFS. What an exaggeration. 😅 If I've eaten a lot one day, I sometimes don't feel like eating anything the following day. I honestly don't feel hungry at all.

My mums like this!!

I did not inherit it from her, unfortunately i am never full for more than an hour or so after a meal, even a large meal. i dont really get the full feeling very often at all.

This has happened once in my life! I had a huge mixed grill and a cheesecake platter afterwards I actually couldn't eat for nearly 24 hours after I was so full it was gross. It was really good though and I'd probably do it again 😂