Eating to be EATING or Listen to your body?

sthrnchick

Needing some opinions... I am finding WAY TOO MANY conflicting info on the internet...

Is it better to eat,give or take your daily cals , whether hungry or not...or eat only when hungry even if that means you may be WAY over/under on a particular day....

jofjltncb6

So many different ways to look at this...

Common sense would lead you to believe it is as simple as listening to your body...but for many people, doing that led them to the problem for which they're now seeking a solution.

My opinion is that *eventually*, as a long-term goal, you want to be in a position where you can listen to your body because it is giving you good information...but in the short-term, you may have to practice eating just because the numbers tell you to.

As an n=1, when I went from 185ish (7/2011) to 152 (12/2011), I ate what the numbers told me whether I was hungry or not...and it worked for me. I often had to have a bedtime snack to hit the target. I also routinely adjusted the target numbers either up or down based on how quickly I was losing the weight and how I felt (usually around 1,800 - 2,200 cal/day). (Now that I'm trying to add some weight (so far, up to 162ish as of today), I still eat to the numbers, but I treat the daily amount as a *minimum*, not necessarily a goal...and that goal is currently 2,800 - 3,000 cal/day).

I am reasonably certain that I could maintain my current weight based on what I have learned on this almost-year-long journey, because I generally am never *really* hungry anyhow...(which I attribute entirely to eating strictly paleo...because I believe it is grains and packaged food that drives unnatural cravings...and people equate "cravings" with "hunger".) So I believe I can not effectively listen to my body for eating cues.

(Anyhow, completely unrelated to your question, but advice I'm going to give anyhow...at the end of the day, I say, if what you're doing is working for you (in favorable progress and in physical and mental health), then keep doing it. If it stops working for a while and you think you need a different approach, then I strongly recommend looking into paleo/primal/bulletproof as a possible solution. In my opinion, it is not only the most effective, but is also the easiest to follow, both from a simplicity of the program and from an ease-of-sticking-to-it perspective.)

EDIT: to add some daily cal numbers.

sthrnchick

I actually have been trying to follow the paleo plan for the past 2 days...I have a friend here that keeps preaching about it.. Anyway... I think that is what has me pondering this more. I used to starve all day long when i started this journey months ago...and the further I am into it, the less that I obsess or even think about eating.

I have followed the notion, that I should eat a balanced diet, and eat every 3-4 hours...and it has been working...but going back to the paleo thing a minute...after at least giving it a try, I am just NOT HUNGRY at all.... I actual dreaded to eat lunch today.

I get what you are saying about me not maybe knowing what to eat or not eat calorie wise yet, since I am very new to this lifestyle...

Thanks for the response...

Jess5825

I'm stuck on this too. I have a BMF and I haven't been losing that well at the deficit I usually have which is usually over 1200. But to get this deficit lower I'll be eating just for the sake of getting my calories up. A few weeks ago my trainer said she thought I wasn't eating enough, now she's been on MFP for a few weeks and she knows I use this site (I'm not sure she reads the forums though) and now she's telling me to try to eat less. Maybe like 1600 a day with my workouts. I'm not sure I want to try eating less again, when I've been trying to decrease my deficit. She's saying she is barely hitting 1200 on what she's eating. Do I listen to her or my gut? I may wait 'til TOM is gone and get back on the scale to see if my increase helped.

oh2mi

I find myself asking the same thing sometimes... my personal opinion is to look at it as a weekly balance not necessarily a daily balance... obviously it makes sense that if you shoot to be balanced daily then you will most likely be balanced weekly. Just like you aren't supposed to weigh yourself daily i think that you shouldn't obsess over your eating for one day.... I wouldn't think that if you have one bad day you will put on a million pounds and vice versa... not very helpful but just my two cents Good Luck!

jofjltncb6

I find myself asking the same thing sometimes... my personal opinion is to look at it as a weekly balance not necessarily a daily balance... obviously it makes sense that if you shoot to be balanced daily then you will most likely be balanced weekly. Just like you aren't supposed to weigh yourself daily i think that you shouldn't obsess over your eating for one day.... I wouldn't think that if you have one bad day you will put on a million pounds and vice versa... not very helpful but just my two cents Good Luck!

And I disagree with the advice not to weigh daily. (Yeah, I seem to disagree with so much of the conventional wisdom.) Only by weighing daily will you learn just how much the scale can (and will) fluctuate daily. When you weigh yourself weekly, that variation is still potentially in there. I've had daily changes of over five pounds. If I was really worried about my weight and had a +/- five pound variation, even on a weekly weighing, it could incorrectly lead me to believe whatever I was doing that week was working/not working.

I think the most important lesson in the trend of scale weight is to not let any one daily number/change influence your approach, your attitude, or your emotional well-being. Now an entire week of numbers going the wrong way...then maybe it's time to reconsider. =P

Crochetluvr

I admit to listening to my body. I wont force myself to eat just to make up calories.

jofjltncb6

I admit to listening to my body. I wont force myself to eat just to make up calories.

Now that I've thought about it a little more, I do remember "forcing" myself to eat to the numbers when I transitioned from losing to gaining...just like I had to "force" myself when I started down the losing path. Both were necessary because they were a change from the habit I was in. After a few weeks of "forcing" it, I established the new habit such that it no longer took the same amount of effort. Any time I adjust the target, I have to be more conscientious of my eating to hit the new target, otherwise, I tend to eat to the old target.

It's that old story of it taking 21 days to establish a new habit...it applies to eating habits as well (at least for me).

sthrnchick

Its taken me more like 3 months to change my eating habits...but I am getting there. I think that I am going to try the eat only when hungry route for several weeks...and re-analyze things then...if I gain a pound or two or just not loose, then I will have wasted 2 weeks..no big deal!

Thanks ya'll for all the perspectives!

mfpcopine

I don't think you should force yourself to eat unless:

You lack energy to perform daily tasks;

You have a serious fear of malnutrition (and no, skipping a meal or a snack every now and then will not cause that);

By not eating you're setting yourself up for a later onset of hunger that could cause overeating.


(I'm obviously addressing people who do not have eating disorders.)

JesterMFP

I would love to listen to my body, but unfortunately it can't be trusted. I can massively overeat, and my body thinks that's just fine. I can drastically undereat, and my body says that's ok too. After 30 odd years of being overweight, I've learned that my brain needs to be calling the shots as far as food consumption goes.

oh2mi

I agree there can be variations whenever you weigh... honestly I think weight should be the last thing that people go by... measure it on measurement, appearance, and how clothes fit. It all depends what you are trying to achieve I guess.

bcattoes

Needing some opinions... I am finding WAY TOO MANY conflicting info on the internet...

Is it better to eat,give or take your daily cals , whether hungry or not...or eat only when hungry even if that means you may be WAY over/under on a particular day....

Whatever makes you stick to your plan the best. Personally, I go for the second - eat when I'm hungry and try to stop when I'm full.

graysmom2005

I'm stuck on this too. I have a BMF and I haven't been losing that well at the deficit I usually have which is usually over 1200. But to get this deficit lower I'll be eating just for the sake of getting my calories up. A few weeks ago my trainer said she thought I wasn't eating enough, now she's been on MFP for a few weeks and she knows I use this site (I'm not sure she reads the forums though) and now she's telling me to try to eat less. Maybe like 1600 a day with my workouts. I'm not sure I want to try eating less again, when I've been trying to decrease my deficit. She's saying she is barely hitting 1200 on what she's eating. Do I listen to her or my gut? I may wait 'til TOM is gone and get back on the scale to see if my increase helped.

RUN! RUN FROM THIS TRAINER!!!!! OMG! That deficit is way too high and you will absolutely plateau and kill your metabolism. Trust your gut. You want around a 500 calorie deficit. No more! When you're close to your goal then 250. :-)

rahrahrita

When I was really trying to lose weight, I would go by calories. Now that I'm just trying to stabilize and maintain my weight, I'm listening to my body. I eat what I want, when I want. Sometimes I go over my calorie limit, but I don't worry about it. I find it very comforting and reassuring that MFP says I'll still lose a few pounds in 5 weeks even when I do go over my calorie limit.

YoungDoc2B

I just listen to my body..when i'm hungry, I eat. If not,then I don't. If that means not hitting my calorie goal, so be it.

scagneti

Its taken me more like 3 months to change my eating habits...but I am getting there. I think that I am going to try the eat only when hungry route for several weeks...and re-analyze things then...if I gain a pound or two or just not loose, then I will have wasted 2 weeks..no big deal!

Thanks ya'll for all the perspectives!

If you're eating Paleo, it's typical to NOT follow the "eat every few hours" mindset as it was very unlikely for cavemen to do so. Typically Paleo is more of a one or two larger meals and maybe a snack if you're feeling hungry. Carbs (especially grains) tend to make us hungrier, so if you've cut grains out and upped your fats, you usually don't get the "ZOMG FEED ME NOW" feelings from your stomach and brain like before.

StarkLark

Can I say both? I will certainly eat if I don't feel physically hungry in order to get enough calories in the day. Some days I'm so busy or focused that physical hunger has a harder time registering. However most days I eat every time I feel physical hunger (every 3-4 hours giver or take). I have a fairly high calorie goal and I almost never go over.

The real key for me has been learning to listen to my body and properly identify real hunger as opposed to random urges or boredom.

Polly758

I like how blogger Greta Christina put this (yes I did just go look it up to quote her)

I have finally accepted that my "natural" appetites and hunger cues are idiots. They think that I'm living in the African savannah 100,000 years ago back when our species evolved, and that I don't know where my next meal is coming from, and that if I don't eat this entire gazelle right now I might starve to death.

So, no, your hunger cues may not be the best indicator of whether or not you literally need to eat.

http://gretachristina.typepad.com/greta_christinas_weblog/2010/03/fatpositive-feminist-skeptical-diet-3-1.html