> I've had very poor results with eating whenever I feel like it, and continuing until my body tells me to stop.
Poor comparison - I would guess what you ate could not be really considered food. That's were maybe the problem lies. Try to eat only healthy food - no compromises, no sugar, no junk at all - it is unlikely you will have bad results, even if you eat until your body tells you to stop.
> I can't say for certain, but I suspect they didn't have unlimited access to sleep either.
I reject the premise of your question - that it would be better if we did what our ancestors did - but I will just point out that not having artificial light (or an alarm clock) means that on average they likely slept much more than we do today.
My premise isn't that we'd be better if we did exactly what our ancestors did. My premise is that evolution has shaped us to deal with environments of scarcity and hard work.
The issue of light is a big one. Even with all the lights off, some street light comes in through the windows.
I can say it worked for me - I do not live like this, currently, but I remember fondly the feeling of waking up every day overflowing energy.
Try looking at this article - http://www.supermemo.com/articles/sleep.htm - specifically look for "free running sleep".
> I've had very poor results with eating whenever I feel like it, and continuing until my body tells me to stop.
Poor comparison - I would guess what you ate could not be really considered food. That's were maybe the problem lies. Try to eat only healthy food - no compromises, no sugar, no junk at all - it is unlikely you will have bad results, even if you eat until your body tells you to stop.
> I can't say for certain, but I suspect they didn't have unlimited access to sleep either.
I reject the premise of your question - that it would be better if we did what our ancestors did - but I will just point out that not having artificial light (or an alarm clock) means that on average they likely slept much more than we do today.