3 ms·

I seem to find the Zone better when I haven't eaten all day. I wonder if the principles are the same. The studies in rats would seem to be very straightforward

by robg 18y ago

I seem to find the Zone better when I haven't eaten all day. I wonder if the principles are the same. The studies in rats would seem to be very straightforward - combining a restricted calories diet with maze tests. I'm surprised they haven't been done yet.

dwwatk01 18y ago
I seem to remember reading a study (cannot find it at the moment) hypothesizing a lower food intake triggers an evolutionary response. Basically: hungry->must find food->more alert
- kingkongrevenge 18y ago
  Metabolically humans alternate between anabolic and catabolic modes: sleep and eat more, then work more with less sleep and food. Human metabolism is a sophisticated system for smoothing out highly variable energy intake. Always eating the same three squares a day isn't synergistic. I have found skipping meals when busy to be a very good idea. There's a reason all cultures have traditional fast and feast cycles. The idea of sustained caloric restriction, however, is probably stupid. You just want variable intake, not low intake. First of all, the studies are only of rats and worms. Secondly, the studies fail to control for the fact that the starved animals get more exercise whereas the well fed animals languidly sit around.
- justindz 18y ago
  A friend last week described some study which he said showed some evidence that as you consume calories, your body winds forward in age, and that very simply calorie restriction may wind your clock forward more slowly. I believe he said something about mitochondria was involved, but I might have just been having flashbacks to Parasite Eve. I just did a little googling and there are a few abstracts out there.
  - gravitycop 18y ago
    calorie restriction may wind your clock forward more slowly. There is some recent evidence against the efficacy of calorie restriction: http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-life-11416105.html http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-life-11416105.html Sat, 01/24/2009 - 04:37 - NLN If you are a mouse on the chubby side, then eating less may help you live longer. For lean mice - and possibly for lean humans, the authors of a new study predict -- the anti-aging strategy known as caloric restriction may be a pointless, frustrating and even dangerous exercise.
jwilliams 18y ago
I seem to find the Zone better when I haven't eaten all day. I wonder if the principles are the same. This works fine for me, but I've seen counter-examples too - I've had colleagues that are absolutely braindead/grumpy/etc unless they eat.
- alexandros 18y ago
  To add another anecdote, one of my most productive programming periods was when I was eating a single (small) meal per day at 6pm.
- pasbesoin 18y ago
  I used to actually enjoy skipping breakfast and sometimes lunch. I'm thinking at the moment particularly of college when I would be in "crunch mode". I'd get a bit hungry, but it somehow "felt" as if it lent itself to the overall push to get stuff done. I'm generally an evening person, but I could have a very enjoyable morning by jumping, sans breakfast, straight into work while things were still quiet and somehow associate my work and progress with a certain "leanness" in the gastrointestinal area. I don't know quite how to describe it, but it was a distinct and useful impression.
zach 18y ago
I started dieting with small meals recently and found the same thing happening. The co-founder I worked for at my last job was well-known for being a well-focused hacker as well as skipping lunch. He seemed to run on tea alone. There may be something to the hungry hacker hypothesis... perhaps it's another reason for startup productivity!

by robg 18y ago

dwwatk01 18y ago

I seem to remember reading a study (cannot find it at the moment) hypothesizing a lower food intake triggers an evolutionary response. Basically: hungry->must find food->more alert

kingkongrevenge 18y ago
Metabolically humans alternate between anabolic and catabolic modes: sleep and eat more, then work more with less sleep and food. Human metabolism is a sophisticated system for smoothing out highly variable energy intake. Always eating the same three squares a day isn't synergistic. I have found skipping meals when busy to be a very good idea. There's a reason all cultures have traditional fast and feast cycles. The idea of sustained caloric restriction, however, is probably stupid. You just want variable intake, not low intake. First of all, the studies are only of rats and worms. Secondly, the studies fail to control for the fact that the starved animals get more exercise whereas the well fed animals languidly sit around.
justindz 18y ago
A friend last week described some study which he said showed some evidence that as you consume calories, your body winds forward in age, and that very simply calorie restriction may wind your clock forward more slowly. I believe he said something about mitochondria was involved, but I might have just been having flashbacks to Parasite Eve. I just did a little googling and there are a few abstracts out there.
- gravitycop 18y ago
  calorie restriction may wind your clock forward more slowly. There is some recent evidence against the efficacy of calorie restriction: http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-life-11416105.html http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-life-11416105.html Sat, 01/24/2009 - 04:37 - NLN If you are a mouse on the chubby side, then eating less may help you live longer. For lean mice - and possibly for lean humans, the authors of a new study predict -- the anti-aging strategy known as caloric restriction may be a pointless, frustrating and even dangerous exercise.

jwilliams 18y ago

I seem to find the Zone better when I haven't eaten all day. I wonder if the principles are the same. This works fine for me, but I've seen counter-examples too - I've had colleagues that are absolutely braindead/grumpy/etc unless they eat.

alexandros 18y ago
To add another anecdote, one of my most productive programming periods was when I was eating a single (small) meal per day at 6pm.
pasbesoin 18y ago
I used to actually enjoy skipping breakfast and sometimes lunch. I'm thinking at the moment particularly of college when I would be in "crunch mode". I'd get a bit hungry, but it somehow "felt" as if it lent itself to the overall push to get stuff done. I'm generally an evening person, but I could have a very enjoyable morning by jumping, sans breakfast, straight into work while things were still quiet and somehow associate my work and progress with a certain "leanness" in the gastrointestinal area. I don't know quite how to describe it, but it was a distinct and useful impression.

zach 18y ago

I started dieting with small meals recently and found the same thing happening. The co-founder I worked for at my last job was well-known for being a well-focused hacker as well as skipping lunch. He seemed to run on tea alone. There may be something to the hungry hacker hypothesis... perhaps it's another reason for startup productivity!