Why am I so hungry?
Replies
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LMAOGreat thread. And great question.
What is hunger?
Hunger is NOT the body screaming for more calories. Your body has enough calories to last for weeks, especially if you are obese.
Hunger is the STOMACH crying out for more food, with a large psychological component as well.
That is WHY diet-only programs all fail.
That is why all exercise programs fail when the participant stops exercising.
Hunger has not been dealt with.
And controlling hunger is the KEY to weight loss, along with being honest with yourself.
How can hunger be controlled?
One way is through forcing yourself to eat small meals. This gradually lets the effective volume of the stomach decrease.
A very effective way is to simply skip breakfast. The stomach not only shrinks, but you get used to the sensation of working with an empty stomach- the psychological adaption aspect.
The stomach SHRINKS! Hilarious. Oh wait, are you serious? You really think your organs change size inside your body without being afflicted with a horrible disease like cancer, or through surgical means? It's so sad how completely ignorant the average human being is about the actual function of their own body...
Mmm, actually, normal hormonal regulation can cause certain organs to swell and shrink.
Out of curiosity, went to see if there was ever a study of decreasing stomach volume by dieters. Not really the same thing as the stomach shrinking in size - more a decrease in stretching capability, but would have the appetite reducing effect the earlier poster referred to. And what do you know:
Am J Clin Nutr. 1996 Feb;63(2):170-3.
Reduced stomach capacity in obese subjects after dieting.
Geliebter A, Schachter S, Lohmann-Walter C, Feldman H, Hashim SA
Department of Medicine and Psychiatry, St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10025, USA.
Now this study may very well have been debunked by now, and I'm too lazy to go looking any further, but the experiment is fairly convincing. And gag-inducing. Where did they find volunteers that allowed them to measure their stomach volume with a gastric balloon inflated until the volunteer couldn't tolerate it any more? And to let them do it twice? *shudder*0 -
Breakfast was plain yogurt and coffee. Lunch was an apple, banana and a handful of almonds. That'd standard for me. I don't usually eat much during the day.
Going out on a limb here, but I'm guessing it's because all you've eaten today was yogurt, coffee, an apple, a banana and a handful of almonds? So, we are talking around 600 calories? My guess: you are hungry and should probably eat.
Looks this way to me. I would be hungry too if that is all that I ate.0 -
I normally exercise after work but didn't do anything today, not even some light yoga. I've been ravenous all evening. Could it be because I didn't exercise?
No offense intended, but this is like asking why the sky is blue. There really is no reason, it is what it is. In other words, you are hungry because you are hungry.
well there is actually a reason, the sky looks blue because of sunlight reflecting off particles in earths atmosphere
Yeah. Thanks. :bigsmile:
lol that's ok.
To keep it on topic, I seem to be hungry all the time, so let's hope someone finds a solution - apart from eating food - to help solve this mystery once and for all
edit:
but being serious, to the OP.. I think maybe if you eat your daily calories more evenly in 5 meals a day every 3 hours this could help curb the hunger0 -
I normally exercise after work but didn't do anything today, not even some light yoga. I've been ravenous all evening. Could it be because I didn't exercise?
No offense intended, but this is like asking why the sky is blue. There really is no reason, it is what it is. In other words, you are hungry because you are hungry.
well there is actually a reason, the sky looks blue because of sunlight reflecting off particles in earths atmosphere
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Sometimes I get hungry. And then I eat food. That usually helps.
I'm not a member of your food eating cult
We're not a cult man, we're a group whose out to help and enlighten others. Have you heard the Good Food Word today sir? I'd be happy to tell you more about it. Perhaps over some cookie dough? I believe you'll find our truth very compelling.0 -
Awwww sheeeit, mama, you got cookie dough? You shoulda just said that from the start. Where do I sign?0
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Awwww sheeeit, mama, you got cookie dough? You shoulda just said that from the start. Where do I sign?
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Yes, studies show that couch potatoes get hungrier !0
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Hmmm. Let me look into my crystal ball :laugh: .
Could be a million reasons.0 -
I agree with the "time of the month" suggestion. I have trouble controlling my appetite and often have a little binge during it. Coupled with a 5 pound water weight gain, let's just say that my drive and stamina is only good 3 out of the 4 weeks of the month.
![:\](https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
Also, sometimes it just seems like the constant deficit eating sometimes just gets the better of me and I have to eat closer to maintenance for a day.
I can vouch, personally, for the stomach shrinking effect. Call it reduced stretchability, but I could only finish one plate of food this Thanksgiving (instead of 1.5-2 plates) and when my stomach gets used to not stretching pretty much every day (back when I was packing on pounds), going overboard now is pretty damn uncomfortable.0 -
I agree with the "time of the month" suggestion. I have trouble controlling my appetite and often have a little binge during it. Coupled with a 5 pound water weight gain, let's just say that my drive and stamina is only good 3 out of the 4 weeks of the month.
Also, sometimes it just seems like the constant deficit eating sometimes just gets the better of me and I have to eat closer to maintenance for a day.
I can vouch, personally, for the stomach shrinking effect. Call it reduced stretchability, but I could only finish one plate of food this Thanksgiving (instead of 1.5-2 plates) and when my stomach gets used to not stretching pretty much every day (back when I was packing on pounds), going overboard now is pretty damn uncomfortable.
pffff... sounds ore like pregnant to me.0 -
You've got it, Crimson!
Hagan lays it out there nicely. He's a doc and on Kindle his book is "Breakfast is the least important meal of the day."
Go to the site and you can look at the first 10 pages freebie and that's all you need.
Once you realize that hunger comes largely from the stomach, and your glucose is not going to crash if there is no food in your stomach, and that it is actually OK to have an empty stomach, THEN you have a GREAT chance of really losing weight and keeping it off.
With all due respect, Steve, we know really nothing about this OP. We don't know if she actually gets the things her body needs.
Is she at a healthy weight? She didn't say anything in her OP about her actual weight, height, BMI, etc.
Her photo is just her face, so that's not exactly a good indicator, is it?
Do you honestly think that the blanket statement, "ignore your hunger" is a good policy?
Anorexics ignore their hunger all the time.
Edit: OP, I'm not implying anything about you or your situation. I'm sure you have seen plenty of good suggestions here.0 -
I agree with the "time of the month" suggestion. I have trouble controlling my appetite and often have a little binge during it. Coupled with a 5 pound water weight gain, let's just say that my drive and stamina is only good 3 out of the 4 weeks of the month.
Also, sometimes it just seems like the constant deficit eating sometimes just gets the better of me and I have to eat closer to maintenance for a day.
I can vouch, personally, for the stomach shrinking effect. Call it reduced stretchability, but I could only finish one plate of food this Thanksgiving (instead of 1.5-2 plates) and when my stomach gets used to not stretching pretty much every day (back when I was packing on pounds), going overboard now is pretty damn uncomfortable.
pffff... sounds ore like pregnant to me.
I don't know if I should take you seriously or not, as the last few posts I've read where you commented, you were very adamant that the OPs were pregnant. And last time, the OP was abstinent. Are YOU pregnant, and that's why you're convinced everyone else is pregnant?0 -
You've got it, Crimson!
Hagan lays it out there nicely. He's a doc and on Kindle his book is "Breakfast is the least important meal of the day."
Go to the site and you can look at the first 10 pages freebie and that's all you need.
Once you realize that hunger comes largely from the stomach, and your glucose is not going to crash if there is no food in your stomach, and that it is actually OK to have an empty stomach, THEN you have a GREAT chance of really losing weight and keeping it off.
With all due respect, Steve, we know really nothing about this OP. We don't know if she actually gets the things her body needs.
Is she at a healthy weight? She didn't say anything in her OP about her actual weight, height, BMI, etc.
Her photo is just her face, so that's not exactly a good indicator, is it?
Do you honestly think that the blanket statement, "ignore your hunger" is a good policy?
Anorexics ignore their hunger all the time.
So well said.0 -
there are sick people everywhere. Anorexia is a psychiatric condition.
Anorexics usually are not overweight.
yeah, and there are anorexics on MFP. And they might not know that they are anorexic.But, yes, knowing what hunger is is crucial to weight loss.
for compulsive over-eaters, yes.
Not everyone is a compulsive over-eater. If you are, okay. If the poster is, okay again. There's no evidence that this OP is a compulsive over-eater.The ratio of true anorexics to overweight people in this country has got to be extremely low..
I have no idea, you have no idea. Point is, though, that this is a diet and weight loss thread. Many members of the general public are not in the least bit interested in losing weight and most are not on this site (as a matter of fact, most members of the general public are NOT on this site!)
I'm willing to bet that the ratio of anorexic / potential anorexics on this site is larger than that of the general population.
My point is, I hope that you will overcome your desire to be "right" and in the future, at least consider more factors before dishing out potentially bad advice.
YOUR circumstances are not EVERYONE's circumstances.0 -
What's wrong with eating a heathy breakfast? Gee!I eat plenty of food. Are you in the "eat all your calories at breakfast" cult? I'm not a member.0 -
Two...two...two times the fun!
*grumble*doublepost*grumble*0 -
Until OP gives us more information about her "large dinner", then all of the advice is speculative.
I know it's an unrealistic expectation, but I wish the MFP community would do a better job of not "rewarding" this kind of OP behavior and refuse to provide any guidance until the OP provides the basic necessary information. Too often it seems that people are waiting for an opportunity to spew their pre-prepared soapbox responses regardless of the underlying facts.0 -
Until OP gives us more information about her "large dinner", then all of the advice is speculative.
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Until OP gives us more information about her "large dinner", then all of the advice is speculative.
I know it's an unrealistic expectation, but I wish the MFP community would do a better job of not "rewarding" this kind of OP behavior and refuse to provide any guidance until the OP provides the basic necessary information. Too often it seems that people are waiting for an opportunity to spew their pre-prepared soapbox responses regardless of the underlying facts.
word. Why is this thread suddenly about hormonal responses? If the OP said "I ate 3 Big Macs and 4 large fries today and am still soooo hungry" then maybe that discussion would be appropriate. When someone says "i ate like, 500 calories, why am I hungry?" the response is 'because you only ate 500 calories". Hoofs --->Horses, not zebras.
Though 'hormonal imbalance' could count as SURPRISE MEDICAL CONDITION0 -
My point is, you said this:Your body has enough calories to last for weeks, especially if you are obese.
Hunger is the STOMACH crying out for more food, with a large psychological component as well.
Based on this information:
She had ingested coffee, fruit and a few almonds that day. and yogurt... let's not forget the yogurt.
She had not worked out.
She was very hungry.
She's a young female.
How on earth does one come to that conclusion that she has WEEKS worth of body fat???
She could be 4'11 and weigh 220 lbs. or she could be 5'10 and weighs 105 lbs!
You gave NO consideration to the possibility that she could be hungry because she DOES need food for fuel or nutrients that she is not getting.
I tried to be respectful about this, but since you are asking me to be direct, I'll just say it:
You were irresponsible with your advice.
It appears that you saw this thread as a way to further your "mission to educate" without regards to what may actually be going on with the OP.
While others were asking for more information to actually HELP the OP, you were just spouting your own beliefs without regard to whether or not it would actually be helpful or harmful to her.
Please don't do that anymore. Especially when it comes to young females.
edited to include the yogurt.0 -
Until OP gives us more information about her "large dinner", then all of the advice is speculative.
I know it's an unrealistic expectation, but I wish the MFP community would do a better job of not "rewarding" this kind of OP behavior and refuse to provide any guidance until the OP provides the basic necessary information. Too often it seems that people are waiting for an opportunity to spew their pre-prepared soapbox responses regardless of the underlying facts.
I keep thinking that MFP should sticky a form to fill out, kind of like the one people use in ETP to ask questions about their intake. there were jokes about the missing information and plot twists, but it's a sad, sad reality of MFP. I doubt anyone would use the form or enforce its use, but one can dream, right?0 -
Until OP gives us more information about her "large dinner", then all of the advice is speculative.
I know it's an unrealistic expectation, but I wish the MFP community would do a better job of not "rewarding" this kind of OP behavior and refuse to provide any guidance until the OP provides the basic necessary information. Too often it seems that people are waiting for an opportunity to spew their pre-prepared soapbox responses regardless of the underlying facts.
I keep thinking that MFP should sticky a form to fill out, kind of like the one people use in ETP to ask questions about their intake. there were jokes about the missing information and plot twists, but it's a sad, sad reality of MFP. I doubt anyone would use the form or enforce its use, but one can dream, right?
I keep thinking this form should be mandatory here
edited for size0 -
for some reason, steve likes to tell people to not eat when they are hungry all the time. i have seen him on numerous threads telling people to keep themselves hungry because it is a good thing.
i eat when i am hungry because it means it is time to eat.
just because you eat when you are hungry does NOT mean that you are gorging yourself. it means that you are eating until you aren't hungry anymore.
i lose weight by eating when i am hungry, throughout the day.
i NEVER skip breakfast.
clearly i am not doing it right, even though i have lost 4 pant sizes.0 -
for some reason, steve likes to tell people to not eat when they are hungry all the time. i have seen him on numerous threads telling people to keep themselves hungry because it is a good thing.
i eat when i am hungry because it means it is time to eat.
just because you eat when you are hungry does NOT mean that you are gorging yourself. it means that you are eating until you aren't hungry anymore.
i lose weight by eating when i am hungry, throughout the day.
i NEVER skip breakfast.
clearly i am not doing it right, even though i have lost 4 pant sizes.
LOL AMEN!
Someone needs to get ahold of all the little babies and tell them, "YOU AREN'T HUNGRY! YOU HAVE PSYCHOLOGICAL ISSUES!!!"0 -
I think the OP got hungry and went for some more almonds. I doubt she is coming back to this thread.0
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I can't BELIEVE all these MFP veterans are missing this vital point. Yes, OP, you have discovered the real cure for hunger. Food does not cure hunger. Exercise cures hunger.I normally exercise after work but didn't do anything today, not even some light yoga. I've been ravenous all evening. Could it be because I didn't exercise?
Eating food just happens to be the BEST hunger-curing exercise known to man. Lifting the fork (or the apple) to your mouth over and over is better than 120 reps with the pink dumbbells. Chewing exercises every muscle in your face, and we all know the face has more muscles than any other part of the body. And then there's swallowing... My goodness, have you seen all the muscles involved in swallowing? Digestion... Don't even get me started! All those internal organs and muscles work like crazy!
Haven't you heard that eating breakfast is the best way to kickstart your metabolism? Now you know why. You're so welcome. And the bonus is, because it is EXERCISE, it makes you no longer hungry.
So if you're ravenous on a rest day after consuming under 600 calories, it's obvious that your body is screaming for more exercise. An apple, a banana, and a handful of almonds isn't much exercise. Give it a REAL workout. Make it work on a pizza. Or you could work your way up with a nice chicken breast. Your body will thank you, and your hunger will go away.
Oh, and don't forget to log the calorie burn.0 -
where would all the diet food hucksters and fitness program multi-millionaires be? They make a lot of money off people trying to lose weight..
Um, is the book that you keep quoting free?0 -
Breakfast was plain yogurt and coffee. Lunch was an apple, banana and a handful of almonds. That'd standard for me. I don't usually eat much during the day.
Listen to you're body0 -
Breakfast was plain yogurt and coffee. Lunch was an apple, banana and a handful of almonds. That'd standard for me. I don't usually eat much during the day.
Listen to you're body
You are more than a body. You are a person.0
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