I generally have to force myself to take time to eat, and very often on weekends when I am writing code, I eat breakfast and then not again until around 23:00 that evening. It's not a lack of love for food, it's just being overly focused, coffee, poor time-management and laziness.

One of the big things for me after eating Paleo is to actually eat all this good stuff, as I do feel rubbish (and very light) if I am active and have not been consistent in my nutrition. I was never a SAD eater I just wasn't that consistent an eater, which I might add probably did me good for a variety of reasons.

The big problem I find with not eating regularly apart from the obvious lack of nutrition is that it puts you in a position to eat badly, and for me this means raiding the vending machine at 02:00 and trying to make a meal out of two packets of chips, a bag of M&Ms and a can of concentrated apple juice. Not great!

I think the key is to think in terms of eating for optimal nutrition and purpose. Also I heard someone say "Eat for tomorrow" which I think makes sense and goes in-line with what I call "compound nutritional interest" which for me means that the choices I make now will not only effect my body in weeks to come but put me in a better position to make better choices going forward.

Number of meals seems to be less important, timing of meals possibly more, eating for purpose probably the most.

I'm a chronic under-eater, which has always been the toughest part about gaining (muscle) weight for me. I soldiered through it a few years ago, basically forcing myself to eat.

I discovered intermittent fasting a year ago, and have been doing it ever since. It's the perfect solution for me: I get to not eat for 16 hours a day, and then I'm so hungry I actually want to eat during my 8-hour feeding window.

I'd recommend giving it a try. leangains.com is a good source, as is Dr Berardi's IF guide.

What's interesting is that a lot of people who have issues with undereating also seem to have a paradoxical issue with binging. At least in my family that's the pattern. I fixed the binging issue simply by removing addictive foods from my environment. But I've never been able to fix the issue of my weird appetite. Often if I start coding or playing a video game, I will forget to the eat to the point I feel lightheaded, but often I become more productive at that point which decreases my incentive to eat even further. Setting up programs on my computer, like Time Out, and having a regular schedule help me to eat more regularly. But what really helps is to just have things on hand that are easy and simple, so when I'm done with a code sprint I can just eat something healthy instead of resorting to candy like I used to.

It's interesting because I've heard of ceremonies in HG tribes where they dance all day and night and don't eat and it's not like we evolved eating regular meals anyway. So I'm not sure it's pathological if it's managed appropriately. All the women in my family who are in their 90s and 100s are chronic undereaters (doctors told them how unhealthy it was LOL).

Uh . . . . NOOOOO! :-))

I don't think that's ever going to happen. I can say my binge eating disorder is either in deep remission or cured, and I have definite hope of losing my remaining excess fat, but my first thought on waking is about what/when I'll eat that day.

I do practice IF and if I'm busy it's not uncommon for me to consciously choose to skip a meal or a day of eating. Even so, I always have what would make a nice next meal on the back of my mind. It's pretty interesting, really, because that lively interest and anticipation of food is now disconnected from any urgent impulse to actually eat. I can experience hunger as just another physical sensation without being driven to act upon it.

i wishhhhhhh i had an under eating problem, or it was easy for me to only eat a little bit. even eating paleo i'm still hungry pretty often, and that's with drinking coffee throughout the day. i'm not overweight and i exercise regularly but i am def. looking to lose fat.

I used to be a deliberate over-feeder. I would easily top 5200 or more calories. I find that when I binge, this number is only slightly more (I haven't exceeded 4600cal in a day even when binging since on paleo).

I find myself regularly eating only 1600-1900 calories a day, usually because I skipped a meal and didn't really feel like eating until super full for dinner.

But, on average, I seem to consistently hit 2300 cals/day, with 1 day of IF per week giving me 900 calories, and usually another day (as above) where I skip a meal and only hit 1600 or so. I average out around 2000 which considering my target is around 2100 - that is perfect. Lately I've been adding about 200gm of potato to my friday meals to "prime the pump" for a saturday morning workout - I usually end up around 2400-2600 cals on friday.

I'm a fatty though looking to lose 80lbs or more on top of 110lbs already lost, so YMMV.

I am a big time under-eater. I am never hungry. Normally I just follow that as a guide post. Ideally I would eat a snack about 230pm then dinner around 8pm. (Still sometimes I stare at the food, like seriously, I have to eat). I am a normal weight for my height though, so I try not to worry about it too much...except...

I have been trying to get in more protein (around 100g) and have found it impossible. If I force-eat then I just feel super nauseated and end up eating even less. I have been trying to figure a way around this somehow, but haven't had any great ideas.

I am also an undereater. I don't really enjoy the act of eating so much, and I don't really get all that hungry a lot of times. I like IF too, because it's actually pretty pleasant to feel hungry and then eat. I swear life would be so much easier if I could just have a pill for my meals.

I also agree with eating in a purposeful way. Just as I don't ask myself if I feel like brushing my teeth or showering, I don't ask myself how I feel about eating, I just try to plan a meal that will give me good nutrition.