Dariusz:
> I wonder, how essential might it be for a raw-fooder to eat at more
> or less regular times or eat equal number of meals each day?  How many of
> you actually stick to the three-meal plan most common today?
> Do you do it purely because of the time constraints that modern
> lifestyles bring about, or is it really THE optimal solution for a
> healthy digestion and body?

There are no more, no less "rules" for a raw-fooder than for a cooked fooder.

1) The way our ancestors probably did was: eating only when hungry, stop
when not hungry anymore. Thus, the paleo-eating style is often 5 meals/day
(3 meals and 2 snacks). Eating that way is difficult because the size
of the meals is much smaller than the size we are used to, and stopping
when satisfied and not when full is not part of our habits.

2) Eating 2 meals/day (no breakfast) works well, once you get the habit
(instinctos generally eat that way). If you eat in the evening, and go to
bed a few hours after, you don't spend much energy during the night and
thus do not need to eat in the morning.

3) Eating 3 meals/day is more conventional. But do not eat too much in
the evening, so that you are "hungry" in the morning.

4) Some people eat 1 meal a day. If they are on calorie-restriction,
fine. If not, as the body "thinks" you are starving, it will store
in order to "survive" 23 hours/day without food. Thus, people eating
1 meal/day are generally slightly overweight. That effect may be desirable
(for bodybuilders...), but the body tends to accumulate fat, instead
of lean mass.

5) You can also eat randomly, only when hungry, but that's not easy
(cf. 1) and, as you work at regular hours, it may pose some scheduling
problems.

Last remarks:

 *If you eat large meals, you may experience some problems of food
combination. Our ancestors didn't combine food and didn't eat large
meals, so food combining is a compromise between natural eating
and modern way of living.

 *I suppose that, when our ancestors catched a large animal, they had
a large monomeal of meat. But they probably didn't have 3 large meals/day,
and anyway these were *monomeals* (hence, no problems of food
combination).

Best wishes,

Jean-Louis
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