Shrinking my stomach

Oompa_Loompa

Someone just recently posted something about fasting which is funny because last week I decided that I was going to try a new tactic. I know this is going to sound bad but I'm almost starving myself. ALMOST!
What I'm doing is just trying to eat ALOT less than usual. I'm never getting full. The tank is always 3/4 full which btw I read that somewhere that is a good thing. I have been eating half of whatever I do eat and drinking even more water. And I must say..so far it is working out. If I'm craving something bad I will allow myself to get it..but only eat HALF.
I am eating. Just I'm not letting myself get full.

GorillaNJ

I would just be worried that you are stretching for a short term accomplishment and loosing sight of the end goal.

Oompa_Loompa

Im keeping that in mind. I'm hoping that if I do this for a while..that my stomach will just get used to it. Maybe i shouldnt have said starved because I am eating. just less than before

NatalieWinning

I would just be worried that you are stretching for a short term accomplishment and loosing sight of the end goal.

I give flu shots and gave one to a lady who was dieting. She skipped lunch, exercised a lot, and came to get her flu shot. Fainted, we called 911 because thats what we were supposed to do not knowing her back story then. I thought to myself that was sort of rediculous to exercise and skip meals. I know it must have ruined her whole day, at least.

That's my opinion, too. There are ways to drop pounds fast. But so many people that do that are yo-yo dieters. Once I drop it, I need to the assurance that it's staying off, because thats the new me. Short term if you have a dress to get into, or an event that you wanted quick weight off, well that might work for you. It might not be fat you are loosing. The body likes to hang on to that in the lean times.

debbyrae3

I would just be worried that you are stretching for a short term accomplishment and loosing sight of the end goal.

I give flu shots and gave one to a lady who was dieting. She skipped lunch, exercised a lot, and came to get her flu shot. Fainted, we called 911 because thats what we were supposed to do not knowing her back story then. I thought to myself that was sort of rediculous to exercise and skip meals. I know it must have ruined her whole day, at least.

That's my opinion, too. There are ways to drop pounds fast. But so many people that do that are yo-yo dieters. Once I drop it, I need to the assurance that it's staying off, because thats the new me. Short term if you have a dress to get into, or an event that you wanted quick weight off, well that might work for you. It might not be fat you are loosing. The body likes to hang on to that in the lean times.

I agree. This shouldn't be a long-term thing, but again if it's for a dress/event/outfit/something-special I would say, fine. But nammyl said it best.

Alita2011

Can you shrink your stomach?

DLB86

Your stomach will shrink causing your appetite to decrease but it can't keep shrinking forever. It's a great way of losing a good few pounds in week but it just isn't sustainable or healthy. Be careful of when you begin to start to eat healthier portions again because this can cause 'rebound' weight gain as your body can start to store more energy as excess in response to eating so little. ALSO eating very little will cause your metabolism (the rate at which you burn energy from food), your body temperature, your resistance to illness all to plummet which won't help you continue to burn fat anywhere near as quickly after a few days of this kind of dieting. An inconsistent metabolic rate can be dangerous in the long term and make you feel tired and lethargic - even though you may not feel like eating very much, whatever you do eat will be held onto.

Hope this helps a little. The best way of dieting to lose weight is to eat around 6-8 very snack sized healthy portions a day and cut heavy meals - particularly in the evening. Complement this with lots and lots of water over the day and never feel hungry by always having something low in sugar and fat to hand. That said some fats are very good at helping you lose weight such as those found in oily fish, some nuts and seeds so be sure to include these as they're really good for you. Stick to MIN carbs and when you do always consume with protein.

All the best, hope this helps

SillySarah

Someone just recently posted something about fasting which is funny because last week I decided that I was going to try a new tactic. I know this is going to sound bad but I'm almost starving myself. ALMOST!
What I'm doing is just trying to eat ALOT less than usual. I'm never getting full. The tank is always 3/4 full which btw I read that somewhere that is a good thing. I have been eating half of whatever I do eat and drinking even more water. And I must say..so far it is working out. If I'm craving something bad I will allow myself to get it..but only eat HALF.
I am eating. Just I'm not letting myself get full.

How are your energy levels?

If you're forcing your body to run on too few of calories and you end up always tired then it may help to eat a little more.

If you're getting back to eating reasonable portions for your bodily needs than I don't see anything wrong with training your body to go with less.

I go through periods where I sort of just eat whatever and my portions become sort of distorted. To get back on track, I use the "rule of fist" trick to retrain my body to eat less. I eat more frequently and the portions of the food I eat tend to be about the size of either my clenched fist or the surface area of my open hand. When I do this, I never feel deprived of what my body needs. Sure the first couple of days are sort of weird because compared to the huge portions I may have consumed before, it seems like I'm not eating anything. But by the 4-5th day, I'm just fine.

And if I am super hungry (cause I usually am around when I menstruate) I eat more. This has always worked for me.

Have you tried intermittently fasting? If I have a big dinner or I eat a bunch one day, I tend to not eat as much the next day or so. Doing this goes against the conventional wisdom that we need to eat breakfast and all that, but I figure if you're not hungry, why eat for the sake of eating?

Just listen to your body. Learn to recognize true hunger and feed your body what it needs and you'll be just fine.

TropicalKitty

I think the phrasing is a bit poor here...you said starving then tank is 3/4 full.. So I'm assuming what you really mean is that the previous you would have thought you were starving, but really you're just eating smaller portions and not filling yourself beyond what is necessary to meet what your body actually needs.

If its that you aren't eating huge portions, then rock on. Learning that we don't need as much as advertisers make us think we do is a step forward.

If you are indeed starving yourself, then you've really gone off the deep end Erica. But considering the amount of interaction I've had with you on MFP, I don't think you are truly starving yourself.