[asnyder]

Interesting, working has the opposite effect on me. This past week I barely ate. I usually get so caught up working that I'll only stop to grab a bite to eat when my stomach won't allow me to continue. I'm curious to see what the distribution is for HNers.

[jac_no_k]

I used to be really skinny because I too would not eat for extended periods because of the distractions that the computer offered. Then when I hit 25 years old, I started to gain a lot of belly fat. Eventually your metabolism adapts to being in starvation mode and then it becomes very difficult to convince your body that this is not the case. Eat normal, do something aerobic. I think that this will let one not get "fat".

[jkincaid]

I'm the same way; if I am busy I put off eating for hours longer than I should. Unfortunately I find that if I don't eat anything for a long time, I get progressively dumber. I read something that said there's a strong correlation between blood sugar and brain activity, but have no idea if it was scientifically sound. In any case, it seems true for me.

Sidenote: my best pick-me-up when I haven't eaten for too long are Triscuits, with a few glasses of water.

[pyre]

Isn't that bad for your metabolism though? I thought that that best way to eat was to constantly be eating small amounts of food because that keeps your metabolism up. [Note: snacking on an entire bag of chips over the course of two hours doesn't really qualify because I'm sure the content of the chips out-weighs the benefits of higher metabolism.]

[Evgeny]

Isn't that bad for your metabolism though? I thought that that best way to eat was to constantly be eating small amounts of food because that keeps your metabolism up.

There are also 'non-conventional' views on the aspect:

http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/grazing-is-for-cat...

Also, a decent article on the subject here: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/meal-freque...

[tjr]

I've I'm working on something sufficiently interesting to get into "hack mode", then yeah, I can work for hours on end without even thinking about food. If I'm working on something boring (but has to be done...), then I'm much more likely to find myself fighting the boredom with an occasional snack.

[rwhitman]

Yea ditto here. I have a lunch at 1 and then work to 10PM without eating.

Such a bad habit, plus I'm so late getting out that I just hit up fast food and eating after 10 is terrible for your metabolism..

[Scriptor]

Eating late at night can be okay, as long as you don't eat within 3 hours of going to sleep. Maybe take a late-night walk as well to help the food digest?