Page 4 | To ask if anyone else eats all day?

user112256479 · 2025-10-06T15:43:15+00:00

I've always been a grazer, most days the only real meal I eat is dinner. I'm not a big breakfast person, so am up by around 6:30 and mostly don't eat before noon. Not fasting, though, as I have a tea with a splash of milk first thing and then a coffee with a spoonful of creatine and some cream after I walk the dog. It seems to work ok for me, but almost no one seems to eat that way.

Sunflower2461 · 07/10/2025 17:58

What time do you stop eating in the evening? If you don't start eating until 12 and stop eating at say 8pm you are getting a 16 hour fast each day which will help to mitigate a lot if the negatives of constant eating between 12 and 8. Just make sure you are eating enough healthy calories to maintain good bone density and muscle mass.

Bloobelly · 07/10/2025 17:58

A good portion of your life must be spent with your head in the fridge!

Even if I actively wanted to eat like this, I think I’d adjust it because it seems to make the day so food focussed and whilst I enjoy food - I don’t really fancy spending a good proportion of the day fiddling around with bits and pieces here and there. I just like to eat a good lunch., clear away bits and then next time i think about food is.. dinner

Mercurial123 · 07/10/2025 17:53

user112256479 · 06/10/2025 17:49

@Driftingawaynow Thank you. That's worth keeping in mind.

I was told the same thing when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. There's concerns regarding metastasis. My oncologist told me to avoid especially as I have a gene mutation.

Original poster

user112256479 · 07/10/2025 17:49

DiscoBob · 07/10/2025 17:19

One egg and half a chicken thigh isn't much protein. Your snacks are all really healthy though. So it's not that much calories at all.

Are you slim/healthy weight?

On the back of this thread, I weighed myself this morning. I'm 5'4" and was 54 kilos, which is pretty much my set point, so I'd say a fairly healthy weight.

I also had some nut butter and barley, both of which had protein. And then fish and spinach and a cup of whole milk in hot chocolate later, so I'd think that's a decent amount of protein in the course of a day?

OP posts:

DiscoBob · 07/10/2025 17:19

One egg and half a chicken thigh isn't much protein. Your snacks are all really healthy though. So it's not that much calories at all.

Are you slim/healthy weight?

Middlemarch123 · 07/10/2025 17:14

I don’t follow meal times, or the clock. I eat when I’m properly hungry, like stomach rumbling. So some days, if I’ve been really busy (am a dog walker so sometimes walk for two or three hours a day) I will eat more, on less active days less. I think it balances out over a few days. The only time I’ve eaten my emotions was when I was bereaved, and it resulted in weight gain quite quickly. When I was a teacher I had three meals a day, and no snacks. About the same weight now as I was then.

Original poster

user112256479 · 07/10/2025 16:49

Doggybroc · 07/10/2025 14:23

No idea why hidden!

I was just pointing out that you must spend so much time in the kitchen grazing like this?!

and also wondering if you’d could counted 4 gummies and whether you even chew a “few roasted” seeds?

Yes, I tend to get up and pace around when I'm working on something that requires me to synthesise a lot of information to put it together, which is what I was doing yesterday, and I kept finding myself in the pantry or with my head in the fridge. That was sort of the point of this thread. But if you look at the list, the only thing that took any time was heating the soup, everything else was just there.

Re the seeds, I roast a pan of them with olive oil and salt and a little cayenne and leave them in a bowl, so will grab a few periodically. It's not like I'm pecking at one seed at a time. And I added up what I ate for this thread, so, yeah, 4 Haribos.

@Ooogle Nice to see another fellow grazer.

OP posts:

Ooogle · 07/10/2025 14:47

I also graze. Today I’ve eaten a bowl of cereal, a piece of toast with 2 poached eggs, a wispa and 2 plain tortilla wraps. Later I won’t want tea and if I didn’t have kids I’d prob just have soup or something and then maybe an apple and then a biscuit but will prob end up having a small portion of whatever I make for tea tonight instead

CloudSky · 07/10/2025 14:42

Not usually no. I don’t enjoy the feeling of “being full”, I prefer to get hungry and then eat something and then stop.

sorrynotathome · 07/10/2025 14:31

No. I eat meals. Breakfast is my favourite (but never ever cereal) then coffee & cake at mid-morning. Light lunch, then mid-afternoon tea with fruit or a biscuit, then mainly veg-based dinner. BMI 19.

MNHQ

BeckyAMumsnet · 07/10/2025 14:28

Hi there @Doggybroc - your post triggered our spam filter - sorry about that. We've reinstated it.

Doggybroc · 07/10/2025 14:23

No idea why hidden!

I was just pointing out that you must spend so much time in the kitchen grazing like this?!

and also wondering if you’d could counted 4 gummies and whether you even chew a “few roasted” seeds?

Doggybroc · 07/10/2025 14:18

a few roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds
4 Haribo gummies

did you count out the gummies?
did you need to even chew a few seeds?

the quantity seems fine to me. What strikes me is how much of your day must be spent in the kitchen nibbling

Original poster

user112256479 · 07/10/2025 10:36

AuntMatilda · 07/10/2025 10:29

That's interesting. I am an ex anorectic (now a regular gym goer with a lot of noticeable muscle mass) and it didn't ring any alarm bells with me at all.

I tend to think as long as one is healthy and happy, It's fine-society structures us to eat in a certain way but it doesn't mean it is the best way, certainly not for everyone.

I don't 'do' breakfast foods. I'll eat something in the morning but it'll be 'normal' food not cereal/toast/porridge. This morning I've had stir fried tofu and broccoli and a couple of rice cakes. I'll eat again whenever I feel hungry, I try to keep it early if I can if my body isn't telling me I need different.

I actually did think the OP's graze diary, given she eats a substantial dinner, looked substantial and healthy enough.

Show quote history

I can honestly assure people, I don't have an eating disorder. I love food (and eating) just not a lot at once.

I have the same feeling about breakfast foods - even when I do eat in the morning - if I'm up at 6, I might be ready by 11 - leftover dinner is usually my food of choice, and stir fry is a favourite. I really don't like pancakes or muffins or pastryish things in the morning, although am perfectly happy to eat them later in the day.

OP posts:

AuntMatilda · 07/10/2025 10:29

Flooody · 07/10/2025 06:16

a few roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds

you just have had to moisten the tip of your finger to get them up! The fact you have included a few seeds is… odd.

OP I was anorexic for 16 years. 4 years recovered (well as much as a hard core anorexic can ever be, but yes - I think “recovered” is fair within reason), my spidey senses tell me there is more to this.

You wanted people to say how little.
and any response saying otherwise… you banged on about going for a run.

What have me my lightbulb moment was I was 44 and also doing shit like this… and I just thought… life is too short.

Today make a change. Sit down at midday with your husband and eat a proper satisfying decent lunch. And then enjoy a couple of hours without endless pick pick pick.

good luck.

That's interesting. I am an ex anorectic (now a regular gym goer with a lot of noticeable muscle mass) and it didn't ring any alarm bells with me at all.

I tend to think as long as one is healthy and happy, It's fine-society structures us to eat in a certain way but it doesn't mean it is the best way, certainly not for everyone.

I don't 'do' breakfast foods. I'll eat something in the morning but it'll be 'normal' food not cereal/toast/porridge. This morning I've had stir fried tofu and broccoli and a couple of rice cakes. I'll eat again whenever I feel hungry, I try to keep it early if I can if my body isn't telling me I need different.

I actually did think the OP's graze diary, given she eats a substantial dinner, looked substantial and healthy enough.

zingally · 07/10/2025 10:18

I'm also not a breakfast person. On a normal weekday, my go-to is a single hardboiled egg. I can't do nothing, otherwise I feel sick with hunger/low blood sugar by about 10am.
I've just got back from holiday with my mum. She's all for breakfast, and is shoveling it back. I'm struggling to eat a yoghurt, a bit of fruit, and begrudgingly a bit of scrambled egg. That's a massive breakfast for me.

The rest of the day, I love my food. I love a big lunch and dinner. After dinner I would graze all evening if I got the chance. So it's just easier to not buy the snacks.

Springflowersyay · 07/10/2025 10:06

@user112256479 not unless I actually feel hungry. I might have a slice of toast or some cottare cheese/fruit but I wouldn’t eat a meal after 9pm.

UpWhereTheyWalk · 07/10/2025 09:46

I tend to have a sort of brunch and dinner everyday, can't eat first thing in the morning but also can't wait until 12. So will have toast and a cup of tea soon and then nothing till dinner.
I have me, dh and a 9 year old to cook for, (who would happily eat all day as he is HUNGRY atm.)

Original poster

user112256479 · 07/10/2025 09:16

SleepQuest33 · 07/10/2025 06:46

I don’t know if you enjoy listen to podcasts but there was recently a good episode on Dr Chatterjee’s (one of my favourites!) with a man called Dr Ben Bikman.

if you can give it a listen but a key message is that from an evolutionary perspective us humans were never meant to eat all day or graze, by doing so you are keeping your insulin levels constantly elevated, not giving your body a chance to stabilise glucose..

I’m going to listen to that episode again as found it very interesting.

Yes, this is one of the reasons I was curious if anyone else eats like this - it's definitely considered a less desirable way to eat from that perspective. My HBA1C, triglycerides, blood pressure and cholesterol are always good, so I'm not sure if it's harming me or not.

@Flooody I'm sorry, but I think you might have a bit of projection going on, and I'm not sure that criticising my husband's culinary choices is hugely necessary or particularly helpful?

Today make a change. Sit down at midday with your husband and eat a proper satisfying decent lunch. And then enjoy a couple of hours without endless pick pick pick.

Well, he's at work and I have a midday meeting, so that seems unlikely. And I like pick pick picking. I like lots of different textures and flavours. I prefer a tasting menu or sharing plates in a restaurant to big plates of the same food.

@Yamamm Yes, that's pretty much it about getting full quickly. I've always been that way and at that point, eating just isn't enjoyable, so I'd rather stop.

@Springflowersyay Do you not eat an evening meal?

OP posts:

HelpMeGetThrough · 07/10/2025 08:12

Don’t bother with breakfast or dinner. I drink coffee and tea during the day, then have my tea in the evening.

One meal a day does me. I can’t be arsed to eat anything else.

Yamamm · 07/10/2025 07:05

Yes. If I didn’t have the children at home and do dinner daily I don’t know how much I’d bother with meals.
I eat when I’m hungry. I find it a bit boring to make a meal an event as I get full too quickly. Much of my diet when I’m not constrained by mealtimes is cottage cheese straight from the tub or a boiled egg. Spoon of peanut butter. Handful of fruit and nuts. I try and keep it healthy but sadly my favourite food is bread and it’s too easy to grab a slice of delicious sourdough and thick butter.
I’m rubbish at an all inclusive or buffet as I only want a handful of food at a time!

Springflowersyay · 07/10/2025 07:03

My eating habits change according to how my life is looking.
Currently I’m active (constantly walking) from about 7.30 - 1.30 each day, then shorter bursts of activity through the afternoon/evening most days.
I drink tea until about lunchtime/early afternoon, then I’ll eat a good size meal with sweet.
I might not eat anything else the rest of the day, or perhaps apple and cheese or nut butter or egg with slice of toast and spinach, slice of cake……
I’ve found if you ignore hunger, it often passes until you actually, genuinely need to eat.

TheChosenTwo · 07/10/2025 07:01

I used to graze all day before I started taking Mounjaro. Now I just eat 2 good quality meals a day and don’t snack.
Just a steady constant flow of nibbling. Lead to me becoming very overweight because on their own the snacks I was choosing were mostly small but high calorie/no nutrition, I never felt ‘full’ on the snacks but when it came to dinner time I just wasn’t especially hungry.

StrongLikeMamma · 07/10/2025 06:57

SleepQuest33 · 07/10/2025 06:46

I don’t know if you enjoy listen to podcasts but there was recently a good episode on Dr Chatterjee’s (one of my favourites!) with a man called Dr Ben Bikman.

if you can give it a listen but a key message is that from an evolutionary perspective us humans were never meant to eat all day or graze, by doing so you are keeping your insulin levels constantly elevated, not giving your body a chance to stabilise glucose..

I’m going to listen to that episode again as found it very interesting.

My dietary therapist says we should be aiming for 3 high protein meals a day. No snacking. With 5 hrs in between. I find I can do this is if I keep the protein up and carbs low.

I also find it’s hard to feel hungry very early morning, WFH and lean towards all day grazing - but it’s definitely not good for glucose tolerance.

StrongLikeMamma · 07/10/2025 06:54

ApplesCrumbleButtons · 06/10/2025 22:37

I just cannot eat like that. I have to eat breakfast and it has to be the same one every day or I don't feel right! It's oats, nuts, Greek yogurt, almond milk, grated apple and blueberries. Usually cold sometimes hot. Sometimes with protein powder. Usually about 8am.

Then have eggs mid morning in some format.

I get a migraine without fail if I don't have breakfast.

So 2 breakfasts 🤣