Physical or Psychological?

[prozacwoman]

Usually right after I eat, I still feel "hungry". My stomach isn't growling for more food, but it feels like I need something more, no matter how much I've just eaten. I know there's no way I can still be truly hungry. Anybody know why I keep doing this?

xo,

AJ

[Iapetus999]

It takes 20 minutes for your brain/hunger center to catch up with your stomach. Eat a decent portion then wait 20 mins and drink water. If you're still hungry after 20 mins go ahead and eat more.
Also try to eat s l o w e r.

[tickletussler]

yep that's right. Sometimes I'm starving when I serve up my meal, I start eating dinner and then I get distracted (usually by a new post or email from the boards). And by the time I get back to the dinner half hour later, I kinda feel "full" and uninterested in my food!

[Finelly]

How big are your meals?

[prozacwoman]

Sometimes I'll eat a 3 egg omelet with lots of veggies in it, other times I'll eat 6 pieces of bacon and that's it. It does it no matter how much I eat.

I'll pay more attention after 20 minutes to see if it goes away and drink some more water if it doesn't. Thanks guys!

xo,

AJ, who thought she was going crazy there for a minute (GOING crazy? ha ha HA!)

[ladyhairg]

Okay, you know how the carb-addicted body craves sugary food sometimes for a quick energy boost? Well, it takes energy to digest food . . . so we often crave sweet things right after a big meal --we need energy to help us digest! (That's why we want pumpkin pie after Thanksgiving dinner even though we're stuffed to the gills!)

I try to go for a walk with the kids after dinner because that tends to give me energy, too.

[Moochiecat]

Good question!! I think the two (physical and psychological) can be intertwined, especially at the beginning of Atkins.
Through being on Atkins I learned a LOT about my eating habits. I grew up in a house where eating after dinner was frowned upon, so I developed the habit of eating a HUGE amount at dinner so that I would be sustained through the evening till the next morning. As an adult on my own, there was nobody holding me back from having a snack, so in addition to my big dinner I would have a little something...usually something sweet. I was SO out of whack with knowing my limits.
So when I started Atkins, I ate my allotted amount of food, and would panic a little because I only had 1 plate, and I had to tell myself that it was ok, I was allowed to snack later, so if I didn't get enough at dinner, I'd be ok.
More often than not, that one plate was enough for me and it took me a long time to learn how to read my body when it came to being hungry or full or bored.

[prozacwoman]

Oh! I didn't even think about needing energy to digest all that meat! I bet that's exactly what's happening! Thanks, ladyhairg!

xo,

AJ