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Comment by krisoft | Hacker News Reader

> We usually eat our meals at appropriate clock times as opposed to whenever we are hungry, go to sleep at appropriate clock times as opposed to whenever we are tired

Well then you are doing it wrong. If you do stupid things don't blame the clock for it. :D

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Hunger is actually fairly modifiable, as intermittent fasters know. If you are used to eat at a certain hour, you will feel pangs of hunger around it, but if you bridge the gap somehow, the feeling of hunger will go away again.

Definitely, I eat a single meal at night, and I don't get hungry until about an hour before super. No hunger pangs or anything, it only takes a few weeks to condition the body.

You’re sort of agreeing with the point of the article, which is that our internal sense of time does not always agree with externally imposed schedules. You just seem to be in a position to resist the external schedule.

Many people don’t have much of a choice, at least during their work week. Employees in hourly shifts usually cannot eat on the clock, so it’s breakfast before you leave, lunch on your midday break, and dinner when you get home.

This is no different for societies without clocks. I’m pretty certain that aboriginal people still living in their ancient ways don’t just stop individually to eat. They eat together (very likely after finishing a hunt). It’s not tied to the clock but it’s also very much not just “feeling hungry”. Eating is generally a social activity.

The clock is just a convenient way to get a group of people to agree what “eating time” is. They would do the same without.

> after finishing a hunt

Which doesn't necessarily happen at the same time every hunt. There's no post-hunt retro at 1300 every day.

You're agreeing with the article that until very recently, event times were flexible and determined by processes that aren't the vibration of a piece of quartz.

I did not say it was a constant time. I said it’s not tied to the “I’m hungry” event. Stopping to eat whenever one feels like it is a very privileged state historically.

I don’t think it’s accurate to say I agree with the article. Certainly clocks are a relatively recent invention. That doesn’t mean I agree with its central thesis, which I think is essentially unsupported by the various anecdotes and historical tidbits the article contains.

This is true. I don't live in my mom's house because I'm an adult (and am above the poverty line). As such my partner and I have and exercise the agency to make meals when we're hungry and individually go to sleep when we're tired. Why shout at the mirror?

this is a little bit like replying to a discussion of advertising's effects on society with "ads don't work on me, lol".

>> as opposed to whenever we are hungry ... as opposed to whenever we are tired

>> Well then you are doing it wrong.

Yes, it is fun to be single and eat prepared foods. But some of us eat a particular time because that is when the food is ready, a decision made much earlier in the day and without consulting everyone who will be around the table. Some of us also have bosses in different time zones, or who at least don't care much for our preferred lunch break times.

And some of us have jobs where our shift times are not under our control. Or have kids. Or have an aircraft to fly to Seattle come morning. Being able to set one's work schedule, and therefore one's sleep times, isn't a health choice. It is a lifestyle privilege.

Eating when you feel/are hungry can lead you into obesity or insulin resistance. The more you eat the stronger your cravings are and sooner you will be hungry.

Quenching fake hunger with a glass of water and eating more healthy will break this cycle.

This can be a dangerous advice; there is a risk when you talk about a complex illness and give specific advise. For me exercise and eating ok is good enough but that is not true for everyone so I try not to give those advice as a solution.

You're right, a HN comment doesn't do this subject any justice. Even a book might not be enough, as I have learned dealing with this issue for the past 5 years.

I wanted to refute that eating when hungry is ideal, it lead me to eating more often every day, eventually I was eating huge portions every 2 hours which resulted in insulin resistance.

I can second that. I've been working on fixing my hunger pangs for the past year or so. "Eat only when hungry" can end up badly if you already have eating/hunger issues in the first place. I've recently gotten myself to a state where I finally feel full after eating a reasonably portioned meal. Before that, eating most foods would just paradoxically make me get even more hungry.

> I wanted to refute that eating when hungry is ideal

And you did refute that. It's not something the comment you responded to stated or implied but it's better to be clear about it.

Sorry to hear about your health troubles and I hope that you are on the path to recovery.

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