I think I'm broken!

Amber42803

Well, today was an odd sort of day. I posted a bloger earlier this morning, telling you all how excited I was that I'd lost weight, then another one that wasn't so happy because I was feeling hungry, but didn't think I should eat. I got great advice from everyone and for that thank you. I followed the advice given, which was actually all the same. When you feel hungry, eat. So I was feeling pretty good, and was going to get myself a snack, but as I so often do, I got distracted by doing something else, and completely forgot my hunger. But when I was done, it was finally lunch time. I had a Tuna Sandwich on whole 12 grain bread. It was scrumptious. That satisfied me. I was actually not even hungry after that. Well, my son had TBall practice, and it was sooo cold today, I stood for an hour shivering, and jumping, and just trying to stay warm...I know I lost some calories there :happy: But I didn't count them. Not for one reason or the other, it's just to me it wasn't excercise, and it'd be the same as counting something like typing...though if you do that I don't have a problem with it...it's just not the way I do it...anyway, we got home and I had a Lean Cuisine Fettuccini Alfredo Dinner with a pre-made salad for dinner. It was very good. Then about two hours later I was starting to feel hungry again, so based on the great advice you all gave previously I ate. and ate, and ate. I ended up eating a whole bag of popcorn! I was so disgusted when I reached for another kernal and realized I'd eaten all but maybe a small handful. Still, I didn't go over my calories, and in fact am still quite under. I sat for a little bit, watching a movie to unwind from my busy day...and it hit me again. I'm hungry. "Well, this isn't right" I thought, "I just had dinner and a snack...certainly I'm not hungry AGAIN!!!" So I drank some water. I waited, still feeling hungry. Another glass of water. Didn't work. So here I am at quarter till' 10 pm, wanting to stuff my face again. Now, the advice given to me earlier was to eat, have a small snack when you're hungry...surely, this would be a bad choice at this time of night? I mean....dipping into more snacks...after having just had one...a large one...is my body broken? Sending me signals that I'm hungry when I'm really not? Is that possible? If so, and anyone else has had this problem, how do you over come it....should I just go to bed and ignore the pains in my stomache? Any advice is appreciated!

ALC



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Amber42803

Well, today was an odd sort of day. I posted a bloger earlier this morning, telling you all how excited I was that I'd lost weight, then another one that wasn't so happy because I was feeling hungry, but didn't think I should eat. I got great advice from everyone and for that thank you. I followed the advice given, which was actually all the same. When you feel hungry, eat. So I was feeling pretty good, and was going to get myself a snack, but as I so often do, I got distracted by doing something else, and completely forgot my hunger. But when I was done, it was finally lunch time. I had a Tuna Sandwich on whole 12 grain bread. It was scrumptious. That satisfied me. I was actually not even hungry after that. Well, my son had TBall practice, and it was sooo cold today, I stood for an hour shivering, and jumping, and just trying to stay warm...I know I lost some calories there :happy: But I didn't count them. Not for one reason or the other, it's just to me it wasn't excercise, and it'd be the same as counting something like typing...though if you do that I don't have a problem with it...it's just not the way I do it...anyway, we got home and I had a Lean Cuisine Fettuccini Alfredo Dinner with a pre-made salad for dinner. It was very good. Then about two hours later I was starting to feel hungry again, so based on the great advice you all gave previously I ate. and ate, and ate. I ended up eating a whole bag of popcorn! I was so disgusted when I reached for another kernal and realized I'd eaten all but maybe a small handful. Still, I didn't go over my calories, and in fact am still quite under. I sat for a little bit, watching a movie to unwind from my busy day...and it hit me again. I'm hungry. "Well, this isn't right" I thought, "I just had dinner and a snack...certainly I'm not hungry AGAIN!!!" So I drank some water. I waited, still feeling hungry. Another glass of water. Didn't work. So here I am at quarter till' 10 pm, wanting to stuff my face again. Now, the advice given to me earlier was to eat, have a small snack when you're hungry...surely, this would be a bad choice at this time of night? I mean....dipping into more snacks...after having just had one...a large one...is my body broken? Sending me signals that I'm hungry when I'm really not? Is that possible? If so, and anyone else has had this problem, how do you over come it....should I just go to bed and ignore the pains in my stomache? Any advice is appreciated!

ALC



Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Easy Calorie Counting

MellyG426

I don't know what advise people gave you, but I agree that when you are hungry- you should eat. That being said. You should be eating 5-6 small mini meals a day to keep hunger at bay and your metabolism going. You should also eat a complex carb with protein at every meal. The protein plus the fiber will keep you fuller longer and more satisfied. Very good on trying to drink some water to see if maybe you were just thirsty or possibly bored. But if that didn't work- you need something else. It doesn't really matter if you eat at 10 pm at night. You don't want to eat a heavy meal but a light snack would be perfectly acceptable. My PT told me that she eats a snack before bed every night to keep her metabolism going. Maybe some fruit with peanut butter, yogurt and a piece of fruit, even a little bowl of whole grain cereal with fat free milk. Something that makes your tummy fill better and allows you to stop those hunger pains. Hope that helps!!

weasleman42

I don't worry about how early or late I eat. I eat when I am hungry and I often eat late dinners and snacks. Good luck!

chunkabutt25

I think that as long as you eat healthy, it doesnt matter what time of day you eat, your metabolism is still running while your sleeping. I eat sometimes up until i go to sleep and am still losing consistant weight, dont worry about it! Listen to your body, you'll never stick with something that makes you feel uncomfortable, just make a healthy choice!:flowerforyou:

Amber42803

Thanks to EVERYONE. I thought this might be the answer, but I had to reassure myself! I'm glad there are so many out here that are so helpful. Thanks again!


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chunkabutt25

Anytime! :flowerforyou:

keiko

I was one of the ones who said to eat on your earlier thread.
You say that even with dinner and lots of popcorn you are still under your calories. So you really could have eaten more today when you were hungry. Sometimes we have to stop our busyness to eat.
You're probably hungry again now because you did not feed your body enough today.

I'd suggest watching your calories tomorrow and eating every 2-3 hrs. Try to spread them out through out the day. For me I do best with 3 meals and 3 snacks.

amunet07

Here is some advice for future. I went through two weeks of constantly being hungry when before I would be okay eating the same amount of calories. What changed?? I started taking Prenatal vitamins (no... not pregnant just was given this advice as those vitamins are more potent). Now I'm doing better and not constantly going over my calories and still starving...

Hope this helps! :flowerforyou:

adopt4

Also, popcorn is a bad thing to eat, it can very well make you MORE hungry... just something I read on here before, something to do with carbs, etc. So stay away from the popcorn!

Drinking a glass of milk at night, or add sugar free chocolate sweetener to it, can also help you with hunger at night, and it's got lots of good things in it. You can skim it or low fat it, but with the chocolate in it, it all tastes good!

tifmm301

Amber darling!
Chillax, sweetheart!
Try some chamomile and/or lavendar tea with your lite late night snack, and get all warmed up and sleepy.

SHBoss1673

Hi Amber,

I don't know who gave you that information. But for someone with 100 plus pounds to lose, I don't agree. My opinion (and it's only my opinion, but it's based on careful research and lots of medical studies), is that people who are obese and have been eating badly and not keeping up with general health have body chemistry issues.

The hunger mechanism is based around chemicals and hormones released by the body, when we abuse our metabolism for a long time, many times it throws off our chemical outputs. A good example of that is ghrelin, the chemical that causes us to feel hungry. A person that is obese will produce ghrelin even when eating a sufficient amount, many times causing them to think they are hungry even when they aren't.

What does this mean? It means my advice is to create a food plan, stick to it, and realize that you are eating what you need to be eating, if you are hungry and you know you have eaten enough, then push through that hunger, eventually, as you continue on your healthy journey, your body will re-adjust and correct the chemical imbalances. Drink some water, have something high in fiber but very low in calories (like some cucumber or celery), but don't just eat because you are hungry.

Also, examine WHAT you are eating, there are certain foods that take longer for the body to digest, complex carbs, good fats, and meat protein take longer generally then processed foods like white bread, or white pasta to digest. This keeps you feeling full longer, and is better for you health wise.

So to sum up, ask yourself: Am I really hungry? Or is my body just out of whack and telling me that I'm hungry? It's an important distinction.

regards,

Banks

arewethereyet

Thanks for the informative post, Banks.

It also must be noted that some of us eat for emotional issues. I had to keep a journal for the 1st month of when I ate, what I ate and WHY I was eating.

Was I truly hungry, or was I avoiding a deadline of some sort?

thejarviclan

This is why it's helpful to log all of your food. If I got to 8PM and felt hungry and still had calories on the table, I would eat. If I had already eaten 1200-1400, I'd skip the food whether I was "hungry" or not.

SHBoss1673

Thanks for the informative post, Banks.

It also must be noted that some of us eat for emotional issues. I had to keep a journal for the 1st month of when I ate, what I ate and WHY I was eating.

Was I truly hungry, or was I avoiding a deadline of some sort?

good point. Our moods can trick us into thinking we are hungry as well. Oh why must our bodies be so fickle???!!!

mnichol

Try the south beach protein bars, they have 10 grams of protein and 140 calories. I have one of these in the afternoon around 2-3 pm at work when i start to get hungry and they really keep me full, i'm not hungry for hours, they're great!!! :bigsmile:

sonjavon

Not sure that I'm the BEST person to give you advice - but I can tell you what is working for me...

I try to never let myself "get" hungry. I eat SOMETHING every 2-3 hours. When I'm "hungry" and it's not "time" to eat - I evaluate and decide if I'm really hungry and if I am - I find something to eat that takes some work... not something that I can eat mindlessly. We're talking fork and knife here...

For instance, apple slices and 2 teaspoons of peanut butter. I smear a little peanut butter on each slice of apple. I make sure that I'm enjoying what I'm eating. If I'm eating a carb - I eat a protein. I've found that having a carb without a protein makes me MORE hungry.

In my world, snacks cannot be soft, chewy or "bite-sized"... it's too easy to overindulge and I don't end up feeling satisfied. Yogurt does not serve as a complete snack for me... because it's too easy to down without thinking. In order to be satisfied, I have to THINK about what it is I'm eating... does that make sense???

Good luck in finding an answer to your hunger issues!

chulie

Hi Amber,

I don't know who gave you that information. But for someone with 100 plus pounds to lose, I don't agree. My opinion (and it's only my opinion, but it's based on careful research and lots of medical studies), is that people who are obese and have been eating badly and not keeping up with general health have body chemistry issues.

The hunger mechanism is based around chemicals and hormones released by the body, when we abuse our metabolism for a long time, many times it throws off our chemical outputs. A good example of that is ghrelin, the chemical that causes us to feel hungry. A person that is obese will produce ghrelin even when eating a sufficient amount, many times causing them to think they are hungry even when they aren't.

What does this mean? It means my advice is to create a food plan, stick to it, and realize that you are eating what you need to be eating, if you are hungry and you know you have eaten enough, then push through that hunger, eventually, as you continue on your healthy journey, your body will re-adjust and correct the chemical imbalances. Drink some water, have something high in fiber but very low in calories (like some cucumber or celery), but don't just eat because you are hungry.

Also, examine WHAT you are eating, there are certain foods that take longer for the body to digest, complex carbs, good fats, and meat protein take longer generally then processed foods like white bread, or white pasta to digest. This keeps you feeling full longer, and is better for you health wise.

So to sum up, ask yourself: Am I really hungry? Or is my body just out of whack and telling me that I'm hungry? It's an important distinction.

regards,

Banks

I 100% agree with this and was thinking exactly that when people were telling her to eat. If you just ate an entire bag of popcorn and are still hungry, there has to be other stuff going on. You put it best!! When I first came on here, I was the same soooo hungry at night, but that's because that was my vice, eating late at night, until I actually looked at my day and said, I just ate an hour ago, no way I'm ACTUALLY hungry. It took me a good 2 weeks of feeling hungry often, and if you think about it, of COURSE that is going to happen. If you are normally feeding 3,000 calories into your body and you cut it 2,000, there IS going to be a period of adjustment.

Basically, to sunmmarize......what he said!! hahahaa..

keiko

I'm one of the ones who told her to eat. In the morning I suggested it because it was a few hours after breakfast but not lunch time. Most of us have a morning snack. I was when I replied.

She said she got busy and did not have the snack but had lunch later. I did not see any mention of an afternoon snack. Then dinner, then popcorn. She said even after the popcorn she was still under her calories for the day. My uneducated guess was that she was hungry because she had not feed her body enough for the day. That is why I suggested she eat.

I agree that for many of us we need to learn what true hunger is versus eating out of habit, feelings or any of the other reasons we overeat. But we also need to learn to feed our bodies. I agree with Banks that she should make a food plan and follow it. It will lead to learning to fuel the body without hunger and without overeating. And success in not only losing weight but having a healthier lifestyle.

SHBoss1673

I'm one of the ones who told her to eat. In the morning I suggested it because it was a few hours after breakfast but not lunch time. Most of us have a morning snack. I was when I replied.

She said she got busy and did not have the snack but had lunch later. I did not see any mention of an afternoon snack. Then dinner, then popcorn. She said even after the popcorn she was still under her calories for the day. My uneducated guess was that she was hungry because she had not feed her body enough for the day. That is why I suggested she eat.

I agree that for many of us we need to learn what true hunger is versus eating out of habit, feelings or any of the other reasons we overeat. But we also need to learn to feed our bodies. I agree with Banks that she should make a food plan and follow it. It will lead to learning to fuel the body without hunger and without overeating. And success in not only losing weight but having a healthier lifestyle.

I suspected as much, but I have heard people on here say "if you're hungry, eat" with no qualifiers. So I wanted to be explicit about why I was saying what I was saying.

arewethereyet

This is why it's helpful to log all of your food. If I got to 8PM and felt hungry and still had calories on the table, I would eat. If I had already eaten 1200-1400, I'd skip the food whether I was "hungry" or not.

yep, me too and it turned out I wasnt hungry at all. I also found out sometimes I was thirsty when I thought I was hungry. Someone suggested 8 oz glass of water prior to eating. If i was still hungry in 15 minutes, I would have a snack.

Now I eat every 3-4 hours protein/carb so I am never really 'hungry' per se.