l binge eat, BUT it is after starvation. l eat once every 2 to 3 days, then when l eat, l eat A LOT (until l feel sick, even if it is a regular size portion considering l have not eaten the amount l eat seems like tons). l DO NOT and never have thrown up after eating, so it is NOT binge/purge i.e. bulemia.

Some of the benefits l can think of are that the food l eat has a couple of days to completely digest, then my stomach can rest instead of CONSTANTLY digesting.

l am also vegetarian. l am about 5 feet tall and weigh 100 pounds. I am in my 30s and have been eating this way for a very long time but have never really told anyone. When I am on my off-eating days and am with family or friends, l say l already ate cuz l do not wanna get into my eating habit, they will say I am dieting and do not need to lose weight, when it is not a diet and I am not trying to lose weight, this is just how my body is, and l guess l do not know when I am not hungry and l can go for a couple of days until l feel the need to eat.

Other advantages - my grocery bill is very low.

Some background - l think l started to eat this way back in college when l was broke and could not afford food but now l am used to it and think l will run out of food if l eat every day lol. l also used to be anorexic in high school and would often pass out and be hospitalized, but like l said, the most l go without eating will be 5 days but by the 2nd or 3rd or so I will have my big meal where the foods l eat may consist of a salad, omlette, pizza, sandwich etc. l avoid fried foods but will ok it sometimes, l do not eat chips or candy bars or breakfast cereals. The biggest junk food l have is chocolate and on my non eating days I will have water, coffee and sometimes alcohol.
l see it more beneficial than harmful, like the benefit of resting my stomach and not eating too much.
As for the sleep analogy, when someone loses sleep, they can feel it. They are tired and sleepy and not alert. When l am hungry, it is after a couple of days of not eating, and then l will eat, l am following what my body wants. Yes, I've been to 2 nutritionists, and have read many books on nutrition and the majority opinion is to eat many small meals throughout the day, but have you seen how fat and/or unhealthy this country is? When l went to a physical, after checking my cholesterol and heart rate, my doctor asked if l was a professional athlete lol. My father always had high cholesterol and his first heart attack in his 50 is and my mother has always had high cholesterol. l read a study on rats that the ones who ate least had significantly longer life spans and lower rates of cancer. Anyways, l thought l would share my personal eating habit as a way of journaling, to discuss it since it is like a deep dark secret, l expect reactions to be negative bec it is so counter-intuitive.
l would also guess that this is how cavemen, our ancestors ate, before 'modernization' and television ads telling us when/how to eat.

This is *not* healthy & that fact that u r having doubts about ur eating habits suggests that u already know this is not healthy or good for ur body. You need to talk to someone. l am serious about this. You need to get professional help or u will risk slipping back into anorexia. l am telling you, u r a GREAT weight & u NEED to see someone. Please, please, talk to someone tomorrow.a family member, friend, whatever & let them know u need help. Acknowledging our demons is the first step to slaying them.

Debbie

The main reason why not eating for awhile & then pigging out is bad, is because it is hard on ur metabolism. It tends to make people gain weight.

Basically, ur metabolism starts to shut down when u do not eat for awhile. Your body does this as a safety mechanism to keep energy from being wasted. (We evolved this to help prevent starvation.if it did not happen, people would starve quicker.)
When u body is in this state, it is also ready to ''soak up'' whatever calories comes ur way. It is primed to store ur next meal. So when u eat a lot, ur body will store much of the big meal as fat.

Having ur body ''CONSTANTLY'' digesting is actually good for ur metabolism.
Eating food often is ALSO good for nutrient delivery.
You keep mentioning ''resting ur stomach''.WHERE did u get that idea? Did u actually hear it from a professional of some kind, or did u come up with it on ur own? (You r not correct.)

Eating smaller frequent meals = healthiest way to eat! (Ask any nutritionist.)

IF u r not trying to lose weight (and assuming u do not have an eating disorder anymore) u can probably keep eating this way. It is not healthy because ur body is starving for nutrients much of the time, but if you're feeling OK, & you're fine with ur weight, you're probably safe.
(Ask a trained nutritionist for confirmation on that though.)

Last, the things u r eating r not entirely healthy.
If l were you, I'd aim for the following
Carbs: Oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potato, all veggies
Protein: egg whites, protein shakes. (I'd suggest lean meats, as they r great for u in moderation, but u said u do not eat meat.)
Fats: Almonds, olive oil, flax seed oil, peanut butter

EDIT: l just wanted to add that l read stratiotes7 is answer, & it is excellent.

The problem with this is that ur body has immediate energy & vitamin needs. Consider this--would sleeping 24 hours every 2 or 3 days be healthy? Every breath u take, every time u move a muscle, & every neuron that fires in ur brain requires energy. This energy has to come from somewhere, & if it does not get this from ur daily diet, it either does not function properly, or it gets energy from alternate sources like ur muscles.

Eating does not carryover like cell phone minutes. If u miss one day, it affects ur body. Like the sleep analogy for example, if l sleep 2 hours tonight, sleeping 10 hours the next night does not make up for it.

Your body needs calories every few hours to function properly. Maybe ur different than most people or something--but skipping even one meal a day has been shown in studies to lower metabolism & overall body function.

A daily diet is not only important to ur metabolism, but to ur immune system, ur bone composition, ur muscle composition, ur lymphatic system, & basically everything.

The fact that you've been doing it for so long & have had no health problems is surprising. You must be blessed with good genes. Most people who eat like this would notice that their body will burn muscle to supply its short term energy needs in absence of food intake. Also, when they do eat, their body would go into conservation mode where it converts as many calories as possible to fat stores so that it will have energy on ur off days. So in summary--most people would probably have very low muscle composition, higher percentage of bodyfat, & alot of fatigue.