What does being hungry mean to you ?

totaldetermination

I am on this site to lose weight and am happy with my progress so far.
I accurately measure calories in and calories used; and the process is working - I am losing about 2 kg per week (I have 25 kg to lose). I am eating about 1800 calories per day in 3 meals of (healthy) home cooked food, and exercising daily.

Along the way I am learning about portion sizes and understanding my body's signs when I am hungry / full.

I'm also trying to understand what healthy behaviour actually is - what I should be aiming for.

I am eating my 3 meals at roughly the same time each day . I don't really feel hungry very often. I eat the portion that I have measured to be within my calorie budget and stop eating when that portion is finished. Sometimes I feel satisfied at that point (well 20 mins after giving my body time to register that it has eaten), sometimes I don't. ie I'm not listening to my body's cues ('hungry' / 'full') at all.

Do you only eat when you're hungry ?
Do you eat until you feel 'full' ?
Do you eat as soon as you feel hungry or is it ok (even good) to let the body feel hungry for a while ?
Would I expect that as my body adjusts to this diet, I won't feel hunger ?

also, if you can...
What does hunger feel like to you ? I have experienced 'sensations' from my stomach that I think of as hunger, but also something which is ever so slightly painful - I guess these are hunger 'pangs'. They go as soon as I eat something, and I've only ever felt them in the morning before I have breakfast.
What does full feel like to you ?

Thanks for your answers !

healthyplans

Hi! I am learning to listen to my body as well. I find that it varies from day to day. On the days after a tough workout, I find I am really hungry--so I eat... Then on other days, I find I am not that hungry. I always make sure I eat at least 1200 on those days--which even if you aren't hungry, isn't really hard if you make wise choices. On that days that I am starving, I drink LOTS of water and if after the water I am still hungry, I eat a snack.
Good luck.

SezxyStef

In all honesty no I don't eat only when Hungry. I did one day and ended up at 995 calories....:noway: (late breakfast and homemade pizza) but I knew I had to get in at least 1200...so I ate 2 yogurt (100 calories) and cheese...left it at that and went to bed.

Woke up the next day weak, was weak all day, starving and when I went to workout it was a disaster...
The next day...I was a bit better but not much....
The third day I was back to normal.

What that taught me was that I personally need to eat food up to and maybe even over my goal, regardless of hunger. So I prelog my food and normally eat it all...if I miss a 50 calorie yogurt through the day I fill it with chocolate.

Hunger for me is hard to say as I don't let myself get hungry as it leads to eating too fast and possibly binging and grabbing whatever is around to fill that hole.

I eat what I have measured out...it's to keep me fueled. Am I stuffed...no...am I always satisfied usually...very rarely am I not satified...and it's getting better and better because I choose protien to keep me feeling fuller longer...

I often say hunger is not the best indicator of what your body needs...you read all the time on these forums...I have eaten 800 calories today and not hungry do I have to eat more??? For me the answer is always yes...

Francl27

I wish I only ate when I'm hungry, but nope, sometimes if I have a craving and I have the calories for it, I'll have a snack. In the end, I want to meet my goal, and if I have extra calories at the end of the day, you bet I'll have a treat, even if I'm not hungry anymore.

I very rarely feel full though, and then I'm typically so stuffed I just can't eat anything else. I really don't understand eating until you feel 'not hungry' anymore then stopping though. I'd be hungry again an hour later if I always did that.

I don't know how to explain hunger. It's just a physical sensation, for me it's often accompanied by weakness, dizziness or nausea if I wait too long... I don't mind being a bit hungry, I just don't let it go that far typically.

And no, I'm not less hungry now. Quite the opposite actually. And I have days every month (it's closer to every week now sadly) when I'm just starving all day.

Just a tip though - sometimes you eat something substantial and you're still hungry, but it really takes 20 minutes for your brain to register that you're not hungry anymore... so wait before getting something else to eat.

Jestinia

As far as hunger, I'm still working that out.

I used to think if my stomach growled and hurt I was hungry. Intermittent Fasting taught me that sometimes it just means I need to burp. And also that hunger comes and goes. It doesn't just build and build and get worse and worse.

I used to think being lightheaded and/or fatigued meant I had to eat. Bull. Sometimes it was because I was eating too much sugar, and sometimes it was just my allergies messing with me, or not enough sleep the night before.

I used to think wanting food meant I was hungry. Yeah right. I got fat by listening to my wants and mixing it up with my needs.

So I really still don't know. And I have almost never in my life really felt full like 'normal' people do after a normal meal. So I have only a vague idea of what full is. My idea of full is stuffed to bursting. Sometimes I can eat just meat and have some idea of normal fullness, but I'll still crave sweets afterward all too often. It's really annoying, and pardon my whine.

jec285

I usually eat Lunch as my first meal of the day around 1pm, then I eat dinner around 5pm, and will have a snack/dessert about an hour afterwards. This means I am fasting for 18 hours (besides the rare low-cal energy drink in the morning), and I hardly ever get hunger 'pangs' unless I'm late eating lunch. If I'm below my calorie goal for the day I won't eat just because I'm "supposed" to, because the next day I may go slightly over.

dopeysmelly

I've spent so many years being overweight that I just don't trust my body to tell me when to eat, so I plan my meals for the day first thing to fit my calorie, protein and fiber targets and then eat 3 meals. I have a small glass of wine in the evening and that's it. I very rarely have a snack and then only something like half a banana.

I've also learned that hungry grumbling from my tummy isn't a reliable indicator of what my body needs, so I generally just ignore it. In my experience it passes quickly, and it's too easy to mistake it for something other than hunger, like boredom.

scraver2003

If I eat when I am hungry, I eat too much. I have tried to listen to my hunger cues - but hunger is a fickle b*tch. She comes and goes without warning or reason. Sometimes a drink of water and I am fine. Other times, if I ignore her she just goes away. I do know that food tastes better when I am hungry. So if I am not hungry, I do not eat, even if it is meal time. (Yesterday I had a starbucks cafe mocha at lunch... which filled me up and then I wasn't hungry for lunch, so I did not eat lunch. That left extra calories for a bigger dinner and an evening snack)

I do have to tell myself A LOT that hunger is NOT AN EMERGANCY. And the hungrier I am when I do sit down to a meal, the more I need to carefully eat slow.

cricket_77

I don't eat only when I'm hungry. I eat the allotted calories that I have planned for that day. Right now I am eating in a deficit, so I am hungry at times. The feeling of being hungry at times is part of losing weight for me. I understand that I am eating at a deficit in order to meet my goals..hunger is just a part of that.

marian4marian

i am so seriously, rarely hungry. i often eat my lunch (which i did not eat for a good 5 years) just because it's on my plan.
(i never lost any weight NOT eating lunch but i am losing weight eating it!!). with this plan, i have been quite hungry a few times but another glass of water usually takes care of that.
as for the 'full' signal...my body gives me that a good ten minutes after finishing a meal...so i don't trust eating until i get the signal!!

xxhieixx

I only eat when I'm hungry (unless it's one of those times I'm indulging in a piece of chocolate). If I just ate, it's been 30 minutes, and I'm still hungry I drink a ton of water. If I'm still hungry I go eat again. I've noticed since I started eating healthy I get full off of small meals but it does make me hungry more often. I eat around 1400 calories (sometimes fewer) and I'm doing great off of that. Hunger to me feels pretty bad. Right now I have a hunger "pain" (which can be ignored) but when I'm really hungry...it's kind of hard to explain. My stomach hurts pretty bad and growls and it doesn't go away. I usually hit around 1400 calories right before bed and I always feel satisfied when I'm around there.