# Hypothetical: Would you give up eating for perpetual nutritional health? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 30, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372 "2013-03-30T19:56:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![romadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@romadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romadea)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/21 "2013-03-31T03:29:11Z")
I am in good fitness, I would NOT give up eating. As soon as I got to the end of the first sentence of the OP, I thought, fuck no! Not even for perfect health, and I think I value my health a lot. However, if I had trouble maintaining a healthy weight, I could see myself being more disposed to the idea. I still wouldn’t do it. For one thing, what would I even do with my dad if we didn’t cook and eat together? We have no other shared interests. \*Food is what holds my family together. \* And then there’s pure hedonism. I love food and I’m gluttonous, which is why I have to stay fit. The alternative would be getting really unhealthy. But food\>health any day of the week. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/22 "2013-03-31T03:42:59Z")
I’ve had gastric bypass and now eating to me is boring, time consuming and done only because I’m forced to. So yeah I’d do this in a heartbeat. ---
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/23 "2013-03-31T04:14:40Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > I’m Italian. Eating for pleasure is the whole point. You might as well say give up sex, music, and reading while you’re at it. Same here. Even if giving up food were remotely tempting, I wouldn’t want my family to disown me. ---
**Author:** ![Tracyfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f14d63/32.png) [@Tracyfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracyfish)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/24 "2013-03-31T04:34:42Z")
If I didn’t have to eat, I’d give it up in a heartbeat. There are a few foods that I love, but I don’t like the taste of most foods. I’d much rather spend time doing other things than cooking. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/25 "2013-03-31T06:52:30Z")
I’ve been watching what I eat for almost a year and a half now. Rarely go out to eat anymore, or eat with other people. I rarely enjoy the food I eat and to be honest wouldn’t enjoy the foods I don’t eat because they don’t fit in to my diet…that’s why I don’t eat them. I have a huge aversion to spicy and bitter, so lots of food tastes shitty to me. Yet I spend a ton of time each week shopping, cooking and looking at recipes. Just feeding myself 2000 calories a day is an absolute fucking chore. I hate it. I would give up eating in a heartbeat. Fuck it. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/26 "2013-03-31T07:33:22Z")
While I am at the point of having to be very careful with what I eat due to health issues, it’s had the benefit of forcing me to cook for myself and of learning better cooking techniques (you don’t need to mush veggies! parboiling is great!). I’m enjoying the process of choosing my ingredients, cooking and eating like never before. As for lunch hour, often it’s an important part of teambuilding, in the kind of jobs I have - I’d be the one person staring while the rest eat, ugh! Would it be nice to occasionally be able to switch the need to eat off? Sure, there are times when it would be convenient. But perfectly-ripened strawberries don’t whine if you bite another one, or complain that you never call. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/27 "2013-03-31T09:19:04Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I don’t think these are the same thing. I don’t get why people want food pills or human chow either, because if you’ve got to eat, you might as well eat something. But this is a different level - this frees you from the hunger and hassle of eating and any consequences from sub-optimal eating, it’s an entirely different question from whether or not you’d want human chow. Nope. “hassle of eating”. Still not getting it. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/28 "2013-03-31T12:52:21Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Nope. “hassle of eating”. Still not getting it. I’m with ya. I want the opposite of the OP. I want to be able to eat MORE and still maintain health and fitness. We’re having Easter Brunch today, which means that I’m skipping breakfast because I’ll be eating a ton at elevensies, and it’s kind of a bummer. Would love to have a full breakfast now AND brunch at 11, but alas, the flesh is weak. ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/29 "2013-03-31T13:34:37Z")
I would do it. I hate hate hate cooking. Food IS my achilles heel. I do want some kind of ability to take a few pleasureless, tasteless mouthfuls for social occasions. That should be enough to keep people from noticing that you’re not eating anything. I agree with others that time dining together is important social bonding. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/30 "2013-03-31T13:47:38Z")
Food used to be my Achilles heel, but less so as I get older. The way I feel when I eat healthfully trumps my desire to eat all the time and/or eat unhealthy foods. That said, I do love food. Healthy food can be absolutely delicious and just as sensuous as unhealthy food. It’s more a matter of knowing how to do it right. Plus, food is so satisfying after having run a few miles. So, no, I would not give up eating. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/31 "2013-03-31T14:34:59Z")
Roger Ebert has actually done this, sort of. Close to it. Not by choice, but his health problems means he can’t eat again. He can only take nutritional supplements through a feeding tube. ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/32 "2013-03-31T15:20:55Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Roger Ebert has actually done this, sort of. Close to it. Not by choice, but his health problems means he can’t eat again. He can only take nutritional supplements through a feeding tube. And I can tell you, from every person I’ve spoken to who obtains their nutrients that way, it’s a miserable experience. My former husband was on a feeding tube for months after his transplant surgery, and even though they were ‘feeding’ him massive amounts of calories and vitamins and it was all perfectly balanced just for him, he was STARVING. Complained constantly about feeling hungry. You just can’t trick the body into being sated by liquid that’s passed directly into the stomach. Which is why I’d never take the option in the OP. Too much pleasure from the act of eating, plus the possibility that even though it looks great on paper, I might be unable to deal psychologically with the absence of food. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/33 "2013-03-31T15:23:06Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I’m with ya. > > I want the opposite of the OP. I want to be able to eat MORE and still maintain health and fitness. We’re having Easter Brunch today, which means that I’m skipping breakfast because I’ll be eating a ton at elevensies, and it’s kind of a bummer. Would love to have a full breakfast now AND brunch at 11, but alas, the flesh is weak. And the fat is blubbery… Man, that would be dangerous. If the Queen Bees in my family already try to turn any family meal into something resembling a wedding banquet now, what would it be like if they could feed us without us getting fat, or full, or having any kind of diet-related problems? One of their lunches would be enough for a small country! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/34 "2013-03-31T15:24:53Z")
> [@bobkitty](#): > > And I can tell you, from every person I’ve spoken to who obtains their nutrients that way, it’s a miserable experience. My former husband was on a feeding tube for months after his transplant surgery, and even though they were ‘feeding’ him massive amounts of calories and vitamins and it was all perfectly balanced just for him, he was STARVING. Complained constantly about feeling hungry. You just can’t trick the body into being sated by liquid that’s passed directly into the stomach. I have no doubt. And I would never willing do it either. ---
**Author:** ![SussieQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SussieQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SussieQ)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/35 "2013-03-31T16:45:54Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Our hypothetical posits that you would no longer need to eat, and you would no longer be able to eat. You’d get the same level of nutrition/energy/etc as what you’d consider a healthy diet via magic. You’d maintain an ideal weight. Whether you were strong and athletic would be up to you, you’d still need to work to maintain muscular fitness, but you’d never become fat or take on diet-based health problems. You wouldn’t be immortal, you’d just have the health benefits of eating whatever you consider to be a balanced, healthy diet for the rest of your life. Nutrition would become a non-issue. Other benefits are not needing to cook, having spare time at lunch hour, etc. And of course you save a decent bit of money on food that could be spent on coke and hookers. > > The cost is that you cannot eat anything. You can’t go to your favorite restaurant, you can’t eat your favorite foods, you’d never again experience the sensation of eating. For our hypothetical, let’s assume that you wouldn’t drink food-like items either like milkshakes or smoothees or whatever. You could still get the effects of alcohol, just to rule that out of the equation. > > To me, this is easy. Of course I’d take it. Eating for pleasure isn’t that big a deal for me. I enjoy a good meal from time to time, but most of the time I just invest the minimum effort needed to scratch my hunger itch. I also get fat when I’m not making any special effort to control my diet, and it’s a whole lot of effort to fix that. > > But I’ve asked a few people out of curiosity and it seems a much harder decision for them. Part of the factor is probably how much they care about fitness and how fit they already are, so how much of a change it would be for them to be automatically fit. Coke as in CocaCola or cocaine? ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/36 "2013-03-31T16:48:00Z")
Only coca cola if you’re using wholesome hookers from the 1950s. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/37 "2013-03-31T19:30:45Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Roger Ebert has actually done this, sort of. Close to it. Not by choice, but his health problems means he can’t eat again. He can only take nutritional supplements through a feeding tube. > [@bobkitty](#): > > And I can tell you, from every person I’ve spoken to who obtains their nutrients that way, it’s a miserable experience. My former husband was on a feeding tube for months after his transplant surgery, and even though they were ‘feeding’ him massive amounts of calories and vitamins and it was all perfectly balanced just for him, he was STARVING. Complained constantly about feeling hungry. You just can’t trick the body into being sated by liquid that’s passed directly into the stomach. Yeah, even Ebert says it’s bad. He says he’s adjusted to it, and it definitely better than the alternative, but he also has crazy dreams about craving Root Beer. I get that people struggle with food, and eating healthily is a struggle for a lot of us. But as far as I’m concerned, we get one run through this life, and if you don’t make the most of the pleasures that life gives you, what’s the point? I’m not talking about eating until you’re unhealthy, or over-drinking, or getting hooked on pleasurable drugs because ultimately all of those cause more pain than pleasure, but I also see no need to restrict myself on something that, after all, is required for life, like eating. There’s plenty of very healthy food that’s also delicious, so I’m gonna go dig in. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/38 "2013-03-31T21:16:52Z")
Not eating would mean that I couldn’t have [this](http://www.mgmgrand.com/pdf/atelier_decouverte_menu.pdf), and I don’t think I could ever choose that. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/39 "2013-04-01T00:25:21Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > I’m not talking about eating until you’re unhealthy, or over-drinking, or getting hooked on pleasurable drugs because ultimately all of those cause more pain than pleasure, but I also see no need to restrict myself on something that, after all, is required for life, like eating. But the point of the hypothetical is that it wouldn’t be necessary for life. Since we need to eat, we should enjoy it and eat healthily. If I didn’t need to eat, it would be, for me, like giving up those pleasurable drugs you’re talking about. I don’t use them because I don’t need them and don’t want them. I don’t feel deprived, even if they are awesome. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372/40 "2013-04-01T03:30:03Z")
Working out can be fun, pleasant, social and other nice things, but the primary reason I do it is for the results, and if I could be as fit as I am without the cardio and weight training, I’d go for it. I feel the same way about eating. It’s a nice enough activity, but the acquisition, storage, preparation, clean-up and waste removal would have a bigger impact on my life than not working out 6 hours a week. This hypothetical is just on a personal scale, right? Applied to the world at large, a huge game-changer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-would-you-give-up-eating-for-perpetual-nutritional-health/654372.md?page=3)