To be or not to be HUNGRY!

[abstractillusions]

I have been seeing around the boards people mentioning hunger and how to eat because you are hungry (2big gives some great reminders and mentionings about this). I have also seen people mention eat until you are not hungry. So here is a question, how do you know if you are actually hungry? What triggers do you look for that tell you that you are physically hungry and not mentally? How do you know if you are feeding your hunger, or if you are feeding your mind thinking you are hungry? What are some ways you figure out if you are actually phyiscially hungry.

I hope this post makes sense. The advice being given is good, but when you have spent many years not listening to your body and instead eating with your mind, how do you know if you are actuallly physically hungry. And if you eat 6 small meals a day, how do you ever actually become hungry.

Okay i think i am continuing to confuse myself. Any advice on how to differentiate physical hunger from mental hunger would be great. THANKS

[ValidRouge]

Sher, I think you bring up a good point. I'll add my two cents here.

Sometimes, especially in the beginning, we aren't even HUNGRY but THIRSTY. I'm going to switch gears here and speak in the first person.

In the past, I was a mountain dew and sweet tea JUNKIE. I RARELY drank plain old water. If I was thirsty, I drank tea and the dew. And I ate, and ate and ate. I really think my body, in its quest for for water, got really confused. When it gave a thirst cue for water, I gave it dew or tea. So, it started asking for food. That didn't work either.

When I was in induction, one of the things I had to relearn were my thirst and hunger cues. When my brain received a message that I was hungry, I had to consciously think to drink first. If after drinking plain water, I still got the hunger cue (and a growl in the tummy) then I'd go ahead and eat...and I'd eat a protein/fat combination.

I've found lately that I was slacking on the water...and I was getting lots of hunger cues and eating a lot. I started drinking more water and my body is much much happier.

So, I guess my point here is to really try to figure out what it is that your body is needing. Sometimes it doesn't know how to ask appropriately because we've been messing with it so much.

[staziaw]

Sher - Interesting questions!! Like Joy, I was addicted to soda - my poison was Coca Cola. Cold, sweet caffeine! I swear all that sugar drove me certifiably insane!

In answer to your question, how do I know when I'm hungry, I listen to my body. If my tummy is rumbling, I wait five minutes to see if the feeling of "I want to eat" remains. I will also drink some water to see if it's thirst instead. Sometimes that's all it is, and sometimes my tummy goes "Heck no, girlie girl, I want some grub!"

The trick of waiting five minutes also gives me some time to question the little voice in my head that says "Eat, it will make you feel better." Okay, but what am I feeling? Is it true hunger? Has it been six hours since I last ate? Am I feeling lonely? Depressed? Bored? Anxious? Sad? If it's an emotional feeling, do I really want to eat or maybe do something else - go for a walk, come on to ADBB and respond to posts, pick up my knitting? I'm questioning myself moment by moment these days, working through these issues.

I don't eat 6 meals a day. Usually, it's 3 with a possible snack at about 11 a.m. If I graze all day, I find that I eat too much. However, for some people, the 6 small meals thing works beautifully. Again, you have to listen to your body, and your mind (the healthy part, that is!!) . . . what do you really need?

I really believe that the trick is learning to ask yourself a few respectful questions (no berating yourself, bad-girl-bad-girl-how-could-you-be-so-stupid kind of thing) -- How do I feel? How does my body feel? What emotions am I feeling right now? Can I wait five minutes to see if I am truly hungry? How about a glass of water to hydrate my dear and beloved tissue?

I hope this helped!
Stacy

[ValidRouge]

Great advice, Stacy. I, too, only eat 3 times a day. Occasionally I'll snack. When I'm snacky, it's probably because I haven't had enough water. Honestly.

I usually see people when first starting out thinking that because they are on a "diet" that means they need to not eat. For atkineers, it's truly about learning if YOU are truly hungry (or thirsty). If I am hungry, I need to eat. There is no reason to limit myself. If I am not hungry, and instead thirsty, or being emotional...I have no business eating--and I need to learn the difference. Some days it means I eat a lot of food. Some days it means I don't eat so much. What I have to be careful of is watching myself and my eating patterns over time....I certainly can't be gorging myself (and trying to fill an emotional black hole) day after day. Nor can I try to limit myself and not eat in an attempt to lose more weight.

[staziaw]

Hey Joy! I also find that how much exercise I get in a day also affects how much I eat. I have to be careful, though, when my exercise slacks off (because I can indeed be lazy - I'm working on that!), I will eat too much!

Do you ever feel like you're just now learning how to listen to the communication between your body and your brain? For me it sometimes feels like I'm listening in on a foreign language! So much to learn!

Stacy

[abstractillusions]

Hi Ladies,

Most of what you are saying was why i brought my question up, as Joy said, sometimes your body doesn't know how to ask for something. I agree with drinkiing before eating, but my problem that i am coming across is because i am drinking so much my body isn't saying its hungry. If that makes sense. I started with 6 small meals because it seems to be great advice but i also have gone down to 3 IF that. I usually eat in the morning for breakfast after working out moreso because i know i need energy to get through the day, but my body doesn't really tell me i am hungry. Lunch i eat because of the cue that i am taking my lunch, (though by then my body is fairly rumbling in my belly) but thereafter, i especially when i work out after work, i could not eat the rest of the night because my body doesn't tell me i am hungry but i usually drink another 33-50 oz of water. If i do eat its not because i am hungry but because i usually make my lunch the night before and well, lol it usually smells good or so, so my cue is the food i am cooking not hunger. So i guess what i am saying is, my body (except for lunch) isn't telling me its hungry.

I don't know if this makes sense. I try and eat high fat and protein means when i do eat JUST to try and get my calories up because my body isn't telling me i am hungry. With the 2 meals (breakfast and lunch), i can usually get my cals up to about 1200 on good days. I always eat my veggies. What i am afraid of is my body deciding i am starving. But if i eat at times, to me that's not learning to listen to your body, but if i listen to my body lol isn't getting me much food in it.

I know i sound all confused, and i am sorry, but it is confusing lol. Listen to my body to see when i am hungry is getting me pretty much no most of the time except for lunch. Though i never have to FORCE lol myself to eat anything, if i do eat, i don't feel like i am stuffing myself or forcing myself, but i know my body didn't tell me i am hungry.

Hope this makes sense.

[ValidRouge]

I'm definitely hungrier on days when I exercise more. And I've been guilty of when slacking on exercise continuing to eat like I did when I was exercising...which then causes problems. Im also guilty of getting too, I dont' know....lax, in watching my portions, carb intake...so I have to bring myself back to fitday every once in a while. I'm not good at strict journaling, but if I were, it would probably help a LOT.

Everyone needs to keep in mind that I am on OWL, and while in induction I made sure to journal frequently.

[not2late]

Dr. Atkins wrote that some of us really don't know how the "right" amount to eat, because we over-eat.

He suggested that we eat half of what we put on our plates. Wait a few minutes. If we are still hungry. Go ahead and eat the rest. If not, stop eating.

It works. But I get a bit more obsessive than what Dr. A. recommended.

I'll eat 1/2 to 1/3 of what's on my plate. Then I'll wait a few minutes. If I'm still hungry, I'll eat 1/2 to 1/3 of what's on my plate. Wait a few minutes. Etc.

I also eat smaller bites. I don't eat more than a 1/2 inch piece of meat per mouthful. And I don't "load" my fork or spoon with food. So I'll spear 1 piece or 2 pieces of green beans or dip my soup spoon into my soup to fill it half way. This slows down my eating giving me time to assess if I "need" to eat more.

I also thoroughly chew my food. I put down my fork/knife/spoon after it delivers the food to my mouth and don't pick it up until I've swallowed whatever I've eaten.

After a while, you'll begin to see how much food you need to eat, because you are more aware of yourself.

[ValidRouge]

Sher, it sounds to me like you are experiencing that deep ketosis we all love and enjoy on induction!! Back in the beginning I had that too. Because I'm so far into OWL, I don't experience that DEEP ketosis you are talking about.

I see not2late down there reading and I hope she puts her advice down in this thread too LOL

As you go into OWL, that deep ketosis lessens as you add more carbs back in. If you've learned to listen to your body and learned your hunger and thirst cues, you'll have an easier time as the appetite suppression lessens. I hope I'm explaining this so it makes sense.

Feed the hunger. If you are not hungry, don't eat unless its been 6 hours since you last ate. And if it has been 6 hours, eat just a small protein/fat combo snack to keep your body fueled.

[staziaw]

Abstract -- This is so much about figuring out what works for you and how to interpret what your body is saying. Believe me, after almost a year of this, I'm still in the learning process!!

1200 calories is okay, perhaps you need more? I'm usually between 1400 and 1800 per day. Occasionally I'll go up to 2000 calories, particularly if I'm exercising a lot or if I'm PMSing. PMS just makes me nibbly!

Ultimately, go with drinking a glass of water and wait a few minutes. See if the hunger signals are still there. If they are, have something small. Wait 20 minutes. Still hungry? Have something else. Perhaps if your brain says "Ah, she wants to decode the messages properly," it will make itself more clear to you. LOL! I'm not sure, but that felt good coming off my fingers!

Be patient with yourself. This is a learning process!

Stacy