lol i know exactally how you feel.
my mother inlaw always thinks my son whines or fusses because he is hungry, and trying to tell her that there are other reasons why he could be fussy is like trying to tell a toddler that yes there is the same amount of juice in the big cup too!
right now, i feed my son when he is hungry, he never goes hungry, and always lets us know when he is, he will make a fussy cry kind of whine and then i know, he is wanting food.
he eats every 3-4 hours or so. but sometimes when he's playing he goes a half hour longer.
like i said, he never goes hungry.
i found it hard to start him on a schedule because when i would think he was hungry he would play with the bottle and then would be hungry a half hour later, and then the next day when i would try feeding him at that hour later he would play again.
so we do what he wants when he wants it. and it seems to be going just fine.