HOW to eat when your stomach doesn't growl?

KristiH2244

I know this sounds like a stupid question. But, HOW do you eat when your stomach doesn't growl?
I have always, even when I was bone skinny before gaining weight due to PCOS, rarely eaten but one meal a day, if that, because my stomach never growls. Maybe one meal and two snacks (and when I mean snack, I mean like a babybel cheese or some grapes, etc.)

My gym thinks that my metabolism has slowed down after years of that, plus the hormones, plus the weight gain/age (I'm 45).

I don't even think about wanting to eat if my stomach doesn't growl...so I have no clue how to do anything to "kickstart" my system so to speak. When I do eat it's usually around 1-2:30 p.m.

Help! haha Thanks for reading this far.

MichelleSilverleaf

For me I don't generally wait until my stomach starts growling because that's a sign I've gone waaaay too long without eating. I eat 3 meals at general times, fit in some snacks if I can. But I don't intentionally wait for my stomach to growl to eat. I more or less eat at the same time every day.

aokoye

I'm a little confused as to what you mean by "doesn't growl". Are you saying how do you eat when you're not hungry or how do you eat when your stomach isn't making noises that are audible to the naked ear?

PAV8888

If I eat when my stomach growls (i.e. after I've gotten very hungry), I tend to eat more and it tends to take me longer to stop. Sometimes that's acceptable to me, for example when I've eaten light when planning to go out for dinner. At other times it is regretful, for example when I've been concentrating on a task and then eaten 2000 calories of random *kitten* because it was there when I finally got my head up.

JeromeBarry1

Know what a 'growl' is. It is the noise of food and gas moving in your digestive tract. That happens after you've eaten.

Know what leptin and ghrelin are. They are the hormones of hunger and satiety. They are silent.


If you believe the noise is the signal to eat more, you're just eating too much.

whmscll

Are you saying you never feel hungry and depend on the noise from your growling stomach to know when to eat?

aokoye

Essentially, one's stomach can grumble/growl/make noise that's audible with or without the aid of a listening device in the absence of hunger. It's completely and utterly normal and presumably happens to everyone with a functioning lower GI system. In fact, those noises that you (among other people) attribute to being from your stomach, actually coming from your intestine. It's often (mostly?) not related to being hungry. Look up borborygmus. If your GYN is actually worried about a lack of sounds in your bowel, then they need to refer you to a GI specialist.

I suspect one of the issues that you're dealing with is that you've come to associate that noise with hunger when that's not actually what it's about. It's as if you've been using that as a cue to eat. You need to realize that you can be hungry without hearing or feeling fluid (gas is a fluid) moving making noise and that you can hear those noises and not be hungry. This is likely not about "restarting your [GI] system", rather it's about retraining yourself cognitively about when you are and aren't hungry.

lalalacroix

Lots of people lose weight, if that is your goal, without eating breakfast.

How much weight are you trying to lose? Are you logging your food?

Sounds like there's a lot more here than just the stomach not growling issue

Panini911

agree it's not clear what the exact issue is. is it just "forgetting" to eat? Is it that you cannot physically eat when your stomach is not growing?

set a schedule that works for you. it can be two big meal. one big meal. one big meal and two snack. three meals. it really does NOT matter, just something that works for you.

for a little while set your phone or computer with reminders to eat. eat at those times. You can play around with them as needed as you figure out what works best. Meet your daily calorie goals in those meals. You can look at foods high in calorie density if you want to reduce QUANTITY of food to eat.

The schedule should eventually become routine and you won't need the reminders.

I also do NOT wait until my stomach is growling as that leads to making bad food choices and over eating.

cmriverside

Hm. Well, you've obviously been over-eating once you do start eating and that's caused you to be over weight.

That's the general biological response to starving/going too long between meals: over eating.

Set a schedule. Have your phone ring a reminder until you're used to the schedule. Plan meals ahead of time so you're getting adequate nutrition and calories.

I mean it's like any other behavior modification, it starts with awareness then problem solving and action. After you get on a schedule it will be easier to just do the routine.

lemurcat2

I've never associated my stomach growling with "time to eat." I eat at regular times (I'm boring, breakfast, lunch, and dinner), and tend to be ready to eat at those times (not starving). My stomach on occasion seems to growl when I'm hungry, at other times when I'm not hungry at all (as Jerome explains it's not actually based on a need to eat).

Anyway, "kickstarting" is not a thing and no need to eat breakfast if it doesn't appeal to you. Figure out the cals you should be eating and then decide when it would be most pleasant for you to eat them -- maybe lunch and dinner?

KristiH2244

See I knew this was hard for me to explain. Lol. One commenter got it best. I’ve apparently learned to wait until my stomach growls as an indicator to eat.

A typical meal for me is a salad or some rice or something. I know I’m not overeating because even if I eat a junk snack, I log it, and when I complete the diary, it says it can’t tell me how I could be doing because it looks like I’m not eating enough.

aokoye

KristiH2244 wrote: »

See I knew this was hard for me to explain. Lol. One commenter got it best. I’ve apparently learned to wait until my stomach growls as an indicator to eat.

A typical meal for me is a salad or some rice or something. I know I’m not overeating because even if I eat a junk snack, I log it, and when I complete the diary, it says it can’t tell me how I could be doing because it looks like I’m not eating enough.

Are you weighing all of your food via a kitchen scale?

cmriverside

KristiH2244 wrote: »

See I knew this was hard for me to explain. Lol. One commenter got it best. I’ve apparently learned to wait until my stomach growls as an indicator to eat.

A typical meal for me is a salad or some rice or something. I know I’m not overeating because even if I eat a junk snack, I log it, and when I complete the diary, it says it can’t tell me how I could be doing because it looks like I’m not eating enough.

If you've gotten to over-weight or if you aren't losing weight eating only salads and logging food and staying under calories - then you have a medical problem.

You don't have to eat three meals a day. You don't have to eat two meals a day. But it does mess with your hunger hormones so be aware. Your body will shut down hunger after a few hours of not being fed.

If you want to just eat once a day, do that. BUT make sure you're hitting all your nutrition in that meal.

Protein/fat is important. Calcium, potassium, B12, Vitamin C, all are important nutrients. Maybe try eating twice a day and split your calories between the two meals.

Maxxitt

You could try eating on a schedule whether your stomach "growls" or not, and tracking what you eat to ensure you are getting both enough calories and proper nutrition. Really, it's not rocket science.

staticsplit

I hardly ever let myself get to the growling stage. It'd be the equivalent of getting up at 8.30 and eating at around 2 pm for me. Then I'm hangry and eat everything.

Start experimenting with scheduling your food and making sure you're hitting MFP's recommended goals.

WinoGelato

I’m really struggling to understand this challenge. Presumably you are a grown, responsible adult who has had to meet commitments, stay on a schedule at various points in your life, right? Eating a calorie appropriate diet that ensures you are neither too hungry nor too full can be the same thing. You don’t have to wait till your stomach growls to eat. Plan out a day of eating . Try 3 meals and two snacks. Prelog food to ensure it fits in your day. Set an alarm on your phone as a reminder. Do this for 1-2 weeks and track how your hunger is responding. Are there certain times of the day you are feeling hungry to the point of over doing it? Change the schedule.

This is just one option for how to plan your day. Some people eat more often, some eat less often. The point is that a grown adult shouldn’t need to ask for advice on how to know when to eat if your stomach doesn’t growl.

Ddsb11

You have an interesting way of putting it but I think I know what you mean.

However, if your stomach doesn’t growl how could you possibly use it as an indicator to eat?

I rarely feel hungry anymore. A year ago I couldn’t stop thinking about food and was always hungry. That’s just where I am right now. In either case I know I need sustenance to live and operate. There are many variables that let you know: energy levels, concentration, sleep, attitude, etc. outside of the obvious knowledge of what, if anything, you’ve consumed in the day.

Try not to over think it. You wouldn’t wait for your child’s stomach to growl to feed them, perhaps you can plan for yourself in the same way.

WholeFoods4Lyfe

Why not just schedule your meals instead of waiting until you get a physical indicator that you are hungry? My stomach very rarely growls, I would probably never eat either if that was the only thing I was depending on to know when to eat.

lalalacroix

KristiH2244 wrote: »

See I knew this was hard for me to explain. Lol. One commenter got it best. I’ve apparently learned to wait until my stomach growls as an indicator to eat.

A typical meal for me is a salad or some rice or something. I know I’m not overeating because even if I eat a junk snack, I log it, and when I complete the diary, it says it can’t tell me how I could be doing because it looks like I’m not eating enough.

So it you are eating such a small amount of food then you would probably be losing weight too quickly and may feel terribly. Are you losing weight quickly? What is your goal weight?

NovusDies

KristiH2244 wrote: »

See I knew this was hard for me to explain. Lol. One commenter got it best. I’ve apparently learned to wait until my stomach growls as an indicator to eat.

A typical meal for me is a salad or some rice or something. I know I’m not overeating because even if I eat a junk snack, I log it, and when I complete the diary, it says it can’t tell me how I could be doing because it looks like I’m not eating enough.

If you are logging accurately (using a food scale and using correct MFP entries) and you are getting a warning when you close your diary you are under eating. This is fine if you eat those calories on another day but if you do not it could be very unhealthy for you.

You can eat when you are not hungry. I do it pretty much everyday. I seldom have a cue to eat food after lunch but I typically eat a small snack-sized dinner anyway. I don't eat breakfast either so from about 1:30 PM to 11:30 AM the next day I have seldom had more than 200 calories. I do eat a healthy number of calories though. I just eat almost all of them at lunch.

Annie_01

KristiH2244 wrote: »

See I knew this was hard for me to explain. Lol. One commenter got it best. I’ve apparently learned to wait until my stomach growls as an indicator to eat.

A typical meal for me is a salad or some rice or something. I know I’m not overeating because even if I eat a junk snack, I log it, and when I complete the diary, it says it can’t tell me how I could be doing because it looks like I’m not eating enough.

Have you talked to your doctor about this? If you are not eating enough maybe try setting up a meal schedule...at least a couple of meals and snacks.

KristiH2244

I have pcos. Anything I eat turns to fat. When it first happened I gained 80 pounds in 6 months,

I’ll just have to try to eat at a certain time whether I think I’m hungry or not. As to the person asking about being a grown person and scheduling? I can’t tell you how many times I joined my friends on the job at lunch but didn’t eat.

I guess more appropriately I should’ve asked how to eat properly when you don’t feel hungry versus how to eat.

Sorry for the delay in response. Floods and tornadoes happening here.

Thank you for your kindness in reply.