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I've been busy for some time and missed this thread. I'm going to toss in a few shots to hopefully contribute positively.
Earlier question about when playing something, sometimes you feel different and seem to be able to do no wrong because you are "in a zone." People talk about altered states of consciousness. Nobody knows exactly HOW this happens because we don't have a flowchart that translates neuron firing into conscious thoughts. However, it is an observed phenomenon that we can sometimes enter an altered state of consciousness in which our brains are focused on one thing to the exclusion of that little "random stream of consciousness" that we might more normally see. I.e. we are somehow shutting down our own self-imposed distractions.
As to computer games, I find that Fallout and Diablo (not to mention quite a few related games) are great distractions, but one of the best FPS games I've ever played is Morrowind (and its expansions). Not totally hack-and-slash because there are puzzles to be solved by investigation rather than beating some NPC to a pulp. I'm currently playing Civilization: Beyond Earth, which is a complex simulation.
As to the strategy of eating all your food at once vs. rationing - it would depend on what else you are doing because the body's metabolism does different things with food excess when you are and when you are not working physically. Storing up that extra food, sadly, is NOT a symmetric process in the long run unless you maintain a high level of physical activity. If you don't, the food gets stored as fat but when you are out of food, your conversion of fat to energy takes muscle tissue with it.
Earlier question about when playing something, sometimes you feel different and seem to be able to do no wrong because you are "in a zone." People talk about altered states of consciousness. Nobody knows exactly HOW this happens because we don't have a flowchart that translates neuron firing into conscious thoughts. However, it is an observed phenomenon that we can sometimes enter an altered state of consciousness in which our brains are focused on one thing to the exclusion of that little "random stream of consciousness" that we might more normally see. I.e. we are somehow shutting down our own self-imposed distractions.
As to computer games, I find that Fallout and Diablo (not to mention quite a few related games) are great distractions, but one of the best FPS games I've ever played is Morrowind (and its expansions). Not totally hack-and-slash because there are puzzles to be solved by investigation rather than beating some NPC to a pulp. I'm currently playing Civilization: Beyond Earth, which is a complex simulation.
As to the strategy of eating all your food at once vs. rationing - it would depend on what else you are doing because the body's metabolism does different things with food excess when you are and when you are not working physically. Storing up that extra food, sadly, is NOT a symmetric process in the long run unless you maintain a high level of physical activity. If you don't, the food gets stored as fat but when you are out of food, your conversion of fat to energy takes muscle tissue with it.
