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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To thinking skipping meals is fine?

69 replies

Socialcarenope · 15/01/2022 21:45

Not all the time obviously, but if you aren't hungry?

Today I woke up late so didn't have breakfast, we had lunch at 1.30 (quiche, salad & coleslaw) and then I spent the afternoon painting. At 4pm I finished, was a bit hungry so had a crumpet. We had a family movie night, so the kids had pizza and we each had a small bag of popcorn. DH went to do some work and I put the kids to bed and I've not eaten dinner, I'm just not hungry. I then spoke to my mum and she asked if we'd eaten or not (you know, usual chatter) and when I said I probably wouldn't (it was nearly 9pm) she almost had a fit and said how unhealthy it was.

I personally think eating when you aren't hungry is more unhealthy! Admittedly I've probably not had my 5 (or 9) a day today but I do usually.

AIBU to think it isn't unhealthy?

OP posts:
ChocAuVin · 15/01/2022 21:47

Humans haven’t evolved to eat three square meals a day plus snacks. Much healthier to eat intuitively and allow your body feel what it’s like to be hungry sometimes, too.

Pinchofnom · 15/01/2022 21:50

Perfectly fine. I regularly skip meals if I’m not hungry/am too busy.

FindingMeno · 15/01/2022 21:52

It's healthy to listen to your body and rest from eating sometimes.

lomoloko · 15/01/2022 21:53

Yes it's fine. Listen to your body.

PurpleDaisies · 15/01/2022 21:54

“Rest from eating?” Is that a thing?

I think over the course of a longer period of time, you need to eat enough and enough of the right stuff. That means a few less healthy or skipped meals don’t really matter in the context of a generally good diet.

PurpleDaisies · 15/01/2022 21:55

Does your mum have a reason to be concerned about you not eating enough?

Ohyesiam · 15/01/2022 21:56

@ChocAuVin

Humans haven’t evolved to eat three square meals a day plus snacks. Much healthier to eat intuitively and allow your body feel what it’s like to be hungry sometimes, too.
^ this. Humans spent hundreds of thousands of years as hunter gatherers so out bodies evolved to have gaps between eating. Tell her it’s intermittent fasting and has many many health benefits!
arethereanyleftatall · 15/01/2022 21:56

Eating only when you're hungry, as long as you get all the nutrients you need, makes complete and utter sense.

Umbella · 15/01/2022 21:58

I never eat before midday- suits me very well. It’s fine to eat only when you’re hungry.

whowhywhenwhat · 15/01/2022 21:58

I think it's fine skipping meals. We store fat and glycogen for a reason! However if you are not eating much you might have to look at the nutrition of what you are eating more closely.

Original poster
Socialcarenope · 15/01/2022 22:00

@PurpleDaisies

Does your mum have a reason to be concerned about you not eating enough?
No. I've not got or ever had an eating disorder. I'm on the upper end of a healthy BMI, have gained some weight recently due to being more sedentary.
OP posts:
MaryAndHerNet · 15/01/2022 22:00

its a relatively modern thing that meals have set times.
for millions of we drank when thirsty, ate when we could and were hungry.

Drinks companies would like us to drink 2 litres a day and snack companies would like us to eat 11am snacks, 3pm snacks, after school snacks, evening snacks. etc Belvitta would very much like for you to nibble their biscuits 24/7...

Kitkat151 · 15/01/2022 22:03

Sounds like my Mum....she’s 85 and insists that everyone should eat 3 meals a day......i on
I only ever eat 2 meals a day and she always passes some comment on it....It goes over my head ...., I just say ‘ you do you MUm’ 😁

user1471453601 · 15/01/2022 22:06

Most people would think I always skip meals. But, I'm 71, and don't have a high appetite.

Today I've eaten a small orange and small cup of coffee, a large bowl of prawn and cashew nut stir fry (including yellow and red peppers, lettuce, cabbage, mushroom and tomatoes) and two small pieces of chocolate, and about half a litre of water.

I rarely eat after 4:00pm, I'm at my most hungry at mid day, so that's when I eat.

I'm aware that, because I don't eat very often, when I do, I have to make it count, with plenty of veg. Protein and carbs I eat (cos they usually taste good😁) but quite sparingly.

It's enough for me, I'm not very active. You seem to be.

If say as long as you are eating well most days, the odd day like the one you describe is fine

Newcarday · 15/01/2022 22:13

I had a lot of issues surrounding food when I was younger and find that skipping a meal (intentionally or not) can be very triggering and bring back those difficult times. I find if I regularly eat 3 meals per day, I can stay in control of my attitude towards food.

Original poster
Socialcarenope · 15/01/2022 22:18

Today's lunch was fairly typical. It's usually followed by a dinner. I eat breakfast around 40% of the time, I'm usually not hungry in the morning.

Whilst I don't think today's food was the epitome of a healthy diet it wasn't awful. Mozzarella, pesto and tomato quiche, a spoonful of coleslaw and a salad of peppers, leaves, cucumber, red onion, tomatoes. So probably 3/5.

OP posts:
RobotValkyrie · 15/01/2022 22:40

What's unhealthy (and unnatural) is constantly living "standardised" days, with fixed routines set by the clock. This is a very new development in human history (for most people, industrial revolution, more or less). And it wasn't done for the benefit of us humans: it was so that we could better serve machines, and better fit in increasingly large and complex social systems.

We don't have to force this hyper-mechanised logic upon ourselves. Just eat when your body feels hungry. Try and socialise with others while you do so. Make sure your overall diet (over a few days) remains balanced. That's it, really.

harrystylestaylorswift · 15/01/2022 23:02

Now that I'm in a working adult routine and not a student routine, I do eat 3 meals a day during the week. I wake up at 6:45am and have my breakfast around an hour later. Either toast or cereal/porridge and juice. By 11ish, I'll be ravenous for my lunch but my lunch break isn't till 12:15pm most days (TA so can't eat on the job). Lunch will be a sandwich/pasta/couscous etc, cucumber+pepper sticks, crisps and a 'fun-size' choc bar. That usually keeps me going until dinner time which can be anything between 5:30pm to 6:30pm but sometimes I need a little cereal bar or something at 4ish when I get home. I'll have an evening snack at around half 8 at night (usually chocs or something else unhealthy, trying to swap that for an apple chopped up). Then I try to brush my teeth around 9pm to stop me from unnecessarily snacking. Can't say I'm ever not hungry for one of those meals Wink (obviously a different story if I'm eating out for a meal as I'd either save my appetite for dinner or not be hungry for dinner if it was an earlier meal). Luckily I've never been too busy to eat. I don't function well when I'm hungry - the people in my life would gladly agree with that!

SoManyTshirts · 15/01/2022 23:27

YANBU, I eat like this because I live on my own and my weight is very stable (and slap in the middle of ‘normal’ on the charts).
If I don’t eat after 4pm I do wake up at 6am ready for breakfast though.

OrangeShark27 · 15/01/2022 23:32

I find I generally need 3 meals a day. At least 2. I cant imagine getting through a whole 24hr period on just some quiche and salad.

I think as long as you are genuinely not hungry, and will get roughly the right calories and nutrients in throughout the week it's fine to skip the odd meal. But I would question the motivation behind skipping the meal, especially dinner. You've got to get through to the morning without eating which is what another 8-10 hrs till breakfast?

Talkwhilstyouwalk · 15/01/2022 23:36

It's fine. Most things in moderation are fine.

LemonSwan · 15/01/2022 23:57

I only eat one meal a day. So YANBU about that. But that does sound like too small a meal for me.

Weirdly my dinner tonight was similar but quite a bit more on there - half a quiche, half a pack of ham, a ball of mozarella, two tomatoes, third bag of bistro salad, half a cucumber, a jacket potato, w/ cheddar cheese and a tin of baked beans.

I was feeling like a treat so I melted a whole giant bar of Dairymilk into a bowl and ate it with two apples for pudding Grin

I never count calories but assumed that wouldnt be far off 2000. But just checked and thats only 1148 and a giant bar of dairy milk is only 133cal!

So I have no idea now OP. I struggle to understand how people are eating more than 2000 on a regular basis :S Because that is a big meal and I would challenge anyone to eat the above and not feel stuffed.

XenoBitch · 16/01/2022 00:07

YANBU, it is fine.
I do intermittent fasting (16/8), and fitting 3 full meals into that would be impossible. I just would not have the appetite at all.

Closebrackets · 16/01/2022 00:10

a giant bar of dairy milk is only 133cal!

No it isn't Confused

I eat when I'm hungry, sometimes it's one meal a day, other days I'm hungrier and have about 5 hah!

XenoBitch · 16/01/2022 00:12

@LemonSwan

I only eat one meal a day. So YANBU about that. But that does sound like too small a meal for me.

Weirdly my dinner tonight was similar but quite a bit more on there - half a quiche, half a pack of ham, a ball of mozarella, two tomatoes, third bag of bistro salad, half a cucumber, a jacket potato, w/ cheddar cheese and a tin of baked beans.

I was feeling like a treat so I melted a whole giant bar of Dairymilk into a bowl and ate it with two apples for pudding Grin

I never count calories but assumed that wouldnt be far off 2000. But just checked and thats only 1148 and a giant bar of dairy milk is only 133cal!

So I have no idea now OP. I struggle to understand how people are eating more than 2000 on a regular basis :S Because that is a big meal and I would challenge anyone to eat the above and not feel stuffed.

That all sounds way over 2000 calories. A standard bar of Dairy Milk is 240 calories alone. A giant one will be a hell of a lot more... most likely more than 2000 calories alone.