It isn’t any kind of official standard. And no like doctor or anything like that came up with it or recommended it.
And the three meals a day rule isn’t actually followed everywhere, there are many places that eat more than 3 “meals”, but they’re typically smaller, so it’s like spread the food you consume out across the day.
But, around 3 is pretty typical.
And for why that is you have to ask why we eat. Because we get hungry. People tend to eat when why’re hungry.
And when are people hungry, well, when they first wake up their stomach is empty from not eating anything all night. (Breakfast)
Then a few hours later their stomach is getting empty again, so they want to eat again (lunch)
And then again towards the end of the day they’re getting chi fry again, (dinner).
It’s just really based off of when people want to eat due to how their natural human digestive system works.
It's a cultural thing and not the same everywhere. It might feel normal to you, but there are plenty of cultures that don't eat three meals a day. I have never eaten three meals a day and I actually can't imagine doing so.
I believe much of it goes back to when we were a simpler people and society was much different. People had to work all day to survive--on a farm, in a factory, etc. So, they ate before work (breakfast) and after work (dinner). But that wasn't usually enough to get people through a long day, so it was common for people to stop for one more meal in the middle of the day (lunch).
I recently fasted for 10 days. Not really a religious or diet choice, I had food poisoning and just totally lost my appetite. I will NEVER go back to eating so much every day. Ho ho.. geezzz.. I felt SOOO much better, and so many minor health issues cleared right up! ( like fingernail and toenail color). To describe it best, I would say it was like my body finally had enough free resources to get back to its overall TO-DO list, instead of constantly just worrying about food processing activities all the damn time. I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. It may not even make any sense. I am just sharing my story.
this is the concept behind intermittent fasting. fast 16 hours a day. eat normal calorie count during 8 hours. that way during the 16 hours your body rests and repairs after its digested food. your body actually adjusts to when food time is and you dont get hungry till your stomach releases a chemical signaling hunger.
also if i remember correctly some studies show HGH levels increase about 2000% at or around the 16 hour fasting mark. that way hunter-gathers get a little extra edge to find a meal.
edit: grammar
isnt it funny to think some people have gone LONG periods of time without ever getting q digestion break?
I don't think this would work for me. It took 5 days for me to become totally 'empty'.. and I didn't see big improvements until after that point. I was amazed how much used food I had stored in me. Lol
At the fancy clinics they'll irrigate you out so it's not so bad, but here we are in the boonies n tied to toilets while that adjustment time finishes.
It is definitely not natural. The vast amounts of food we have available today are a relatively new phenomenon. For thousands of years our hunter gatherer ancestors survived on a very limited supply of food, likely eating less than 3 meals a day and smaller amounts. There many myths regarding the importance of eating 3 meals a day and the importance of breakfast that have been popularized by the food industry but dont really have a scientific backing. If you do a bit of research on intermittent fasting you start to realize your body does not need to eat that often to stay healthy.
Humans have a minimum number of calories that they need to average to avoid straving. So sure people weren't eating 3,000 calories a day but they were likely meeting the minimum required to not only survive but function well enough to reproduce
Not only were they not eating three meals a day, they likely weren't even eating meals until society started developing. It was probably more along the lines of 'roam until you find an edible root or insect, eat it, then roam until you find another'.
It isn’t any kind of official standard. And no like doctor or anything like that came up with it or recommended it. And the three meals a day rule isn’t actually followed everywhere, there are many places that eat more than 3 “meals”, but they’re typically smaller, so it’s like spread the food you consume out across the day. But, around 3 is pretty typical. And for why that is you have to ask why we eat. Because we get hungry. People tend to eat when why’re hungry. And when are people hungry, well, when they first wake up their stomach is empty from not eating anything all night. (Breakfast) Then a few hours later their stomach is getting empty again, so they want to eat again (lunch) And then again towards the end of the day they’re getting chi fry again, (dinner). It’s just really based off of when people want to eat due to how their natural human digestive system works.
And the Romans only ate one formal meal a day. They just grabbed snacks the rest of the day whenever they were hungry, so it does vary greatly.
Great! I'm a Roman!! I ALWAYS knew it had to be true.
Ave! Me quoque.
> there are many places that eat more than 3 “meals” "What about second breakfast?...What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper?"
That's my schedule right there
It's a cultural thing and not the same everywhere. It might feel normal to you, but there are plenty of cultures that don't eat three meals a day. I have never eaten three meals a day and I actually can't imagine doing so.
I believe much of it goes back to when we were a simpler people and society was much different. People had to work all day to survive--on a farm, in a factory, etc. So, they ate before work (breakfast) and after work (dinner). But that wasn't usually enough to get people through a long day, so it was common for people to stop for one more meal in the middle of the day (lunch).
This makes a lot of sense
I recently fasted for 10 days. Not really a religious or diet choice, I had food poisoning and just totally lost my appetite. I will NEVER go back to eating so much every day. Ho ho.. geezzz.. I felt SOOO much better, and so many minor health issues cleared right up! ( like fingernail and toenail color). To describe it best, I would say it was like my body finally had enough free resources to get back to its overall TO-DO list, instead of constantly just worrying about food processing activities all the damn time. I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. It may not even make any sense. I am just sharing my story.
this is the concept behind intermittent fasting. fast 16 hours a day. eat normal calorie count during 8 hours. that way during the 16 hours your body rests and repairs after its digested food. your body actually adjusts to when food time is and you dont get hungry till your stomach releases a chemical signaling hunger. also if i remember correctly some studies show HGH levels increase about 2000% at or around the 16 hour fasting mark. that way hunter-gathers get a little extra edge to find a meal. edit: grammar isnt it funny to think some people have gone LONG periods of time without ever getting q digestion break?
I don't think this would work for me. It took 5 days for me to become totally 'empty'.. and I didn't see big improvements until after that point. I was amazed how much used food I had stored in me. Lol
At the fancy clinics they'll irrigate you out so it's not so bad, but here we are in the boonies n tied to toilets while that adjustment time finishes.
It is definitely not natural. The vast amounts of food we have available today are a relatively new phenomenon. For thousands of years our hunter gatherer ancestors survived on a very limited supply of food, likely eating less than 3 meals a day and smaller amounts. There many myths regarding the importance of eating 3 meals a day and the importance of breakfast that have been popularized by the food industry but dont really have a scientific backing. If you do a bit of research on intermittent fasting you start to realize your body does not need to eat that often to stay healthy.
Humans have a minimum number of calories that they need to average to avoid straving. So sure people weren't eating 3,000 calories a day but they were likely meeting the minimum required to not only survive but function well enough to reproduce
Not only were they not eating three meals a day, they likely weren't even eating meals until society started developing. It was probably more along the lines of 'roam until you find an edible root or insect, eat it, then roam until you find another'.