Richard Geller <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>>So maybe eating only once a day at eveningtime is not right for
everyone.

>I'm sure it isn't right for everyone. But you can't adjust to this in a
>month, IMHO. It takes longer to adjust, several months I think.

It's been very interesting to read the posts on this topic. I'm another
one of those people, like Wally, who don't even feel their first twinge of
hunger until around 2-3 pm. I wake up at sunrise, and don't eat until
around 4-5pm.

However, if I force myself to start eating breakfast, after a few days, I
begin to feel hungry then, just like Kristina. If I stop, it takes some
time for my morning appetite to disappear.

I agree with Christy's observations. I have Islamic friends and they find
Ramadan very hard going, especially when it falls during the time of
longer daylight hours. The water restrictions must play a part in it
though.

My ex used to feel faint and hungry if he had to go without food even
until lunchtime, but a lot of that seemed to be psycological!

I first started to think that the differences between us as far as hunger
signals go were probably genetically fixed. But it looks as if we can
train ourselves to alter the timing of hunger signals.

On the other hand there are so many normal biochemical or subclinical
pathological differences between us that could be causing our appetites to
kick in on waking, or later in the day.

>My understanding is that they are doing human studies at NIH. I forget
>where I heard this but I don't doubt it.

I'll try and trace that. If you find a reference for it, please let me
know.

>There are a lot of ways of
>measuring mental capacity in humans though.

>I think this is the new frontier -- frequency and intensity of eating
>rather than just what you eat. I also think it is quite paleo to fast
>during the day and eat at night.

I imagine that it would be impossible to discover Paleo mans' frequency of
eating of paleo man, and modern day hunter-gatherers may be very different
from our ancestors. I would have thought that the act of eating in itself
exposes the hunter/gatherer to attack, so maybe those who ate only once a
day had better survival rates. But I'm still learning, and have no idea
yet just how much we *do* know about Paleo man. I'm happy to be corrected
on this point ;-)

I think you're right about frequency and intensity of eating being the new
frontier. So little attention has been paid to it in the past, apart from
a mindless insistence on the benefits of eating breakfast and 'three meals
a day'!

As for intensity, well, large meals act like natural sedatives for me, so
having one big meal before bedtime (sunset) ensures that I sleep soundly
all night <g>

Thanks for starting this discussion. I hope to hear more from others about
how the timing or size of meals affects their minds and bodies.

Cheers,

Persephone