What about knowing when you're REALLY hungry?

HealthyForMyDearestLove

I get this confused because everyone says to eat 6 times a day or even 3 but why don't we just follow our bodies? When were not hungry why do we eat? or when we are hungry am I supposed to wait until "lunch time?" What do you guys do?

~ Thanks for your time. xoxox

Chief_Rocka

When I "followed my body" I was 250 lbs.

sobriquet84

eating many times a day (such as the 6 small meals a day thing) doesn't work for everyone and isn't realistic for everyone. not everyone can stop and eat a meal 3 or 4 times a day that are outside normal meal times.

if you're extremely over weight and its a doctor and/or nutritionist's advice/orders, then i'd do what they say. but honestly, i've found that listening to your body is what works best. if you're not hungry, and by the end of the day you're still meeting your nutritional and caloric needs, there is no point in forcing a meal or snack down your throat. and if you are hungry at a time other than your normal meal time, first confirm that you are indeed hungry not just thirsty or bored, and if it is geniune hunger or need for calories, then by all means, have something to hold you over (something that is a good choice, of course.)

aphid

i try to stick to my 3 meals a day, but if i get up really early or i can't have my dinner until really late, i have to have snack or my stomach rumbles like crazy... and that's just embarrassing!

DenyseMarieL

For me, a scheduled eating plan: breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, supper, snack keeps me from getting to the 'hungry' point and prevents me from making bad choices. When I get those hunger pangs, I am more apt to reach for something high fat, sugar or salt.

angiechimpanzee

I eat 3 times a day on good days. Snacking does nothing for me. If I'm hungry and I eat a snack, I'll just want more food. I'd rather wait until it's time for my next meal. I enjoy it more that way. Theres nothing wrong with being a little hungry sometimes. Constantly eating is unnecessary to me. I don't like worrying about food 24/7, or 6 times a day. And my meals are more substantial and filling when they're condensed into three sessions.

dexter4564

When I "followed my body" I was 250 lbs.

auroranflash

OP is 5'9" and "a huge 150lbs" :indifferent:

Continue...

pastryari

Sweetsugar0424

For me, a scheduled eating plan: breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, supper, snack keeps me from getting to the 'hungry' point and prevents me from making bad choices. When I get those hunger pangs, I am more apt to reach for something high fat, sugar or salt.

^^This

DontStopB_Leakin

Pretty much this....





Course...that led me to being almost 300 lbs. Let me know how that works out for you.

WendyTerry420

When I "followed my body" I was 250 lbs.

^^^ This, except 263 for me! :laugh: :laugh:

_Wits_

OP is 5'9" and "a huge 150lbs" :indifferent:

Continue...

*headdesk*

danasings

LOVE THIS!!! :drinker:

lacurandera1

I don't expect it matters how much OP weighs. She asked a legit question and Auroran whatever your name is, you sound a little irritated that she's not 250 lbs. Everyone has a different goal. And everyone's starting their journey in a different place. Didn't your mother ever tell you if you can't say anything nice not to say anything at all?

auroranflash

I don't expect it matters how much OP weighs. She asked a legit question and Auroran whatever your name is, you sound a little irritated that she's not 250 lbs. Everyone has a different goal. And everyone's starting their journey in a different place. Didn't your mother ever tell you if you can't say anything nice not to say anything at all?

OK then, legitimate answer - meal timing doesn't matter in regards to losing or gaining weight, it's a matter of calories in vs calories out. The reason people eat when they're not hungry is out of habit, emotional eating/stress eating, boredom, etc. People have all different relationships with their bodies and with food. Simply listening to your body may not be enough because the act of eating fulfills different purposes for different people.

Sorry to OP, I may have jumped the snark gun, my apologies. You are well within the healthy range, even on the lower side of the median for your height/weight, and proportionately what you call "huge" would be classified as "gigantor" to me, being 5'6" and 150lbs. So you can see how I'd scoff a little bit after reading that you think of yourself as huge, being my weight and three inches taller. There's a lot of body distortion on this site and I lumped you in with that. To be helpful, if you are worried about your appearance, it might not so much be a scale number as opposed to a lack of muscle definition, which can be resolved with strength training.

Hope you have a good weekend. :flowerforyou:

SuperstarDJ

When I "followed my body" I was 250 lbs.

Then you obviously didn't follow your body because otherwise you wouldn't have been 250lbs. Nobody's body strives to be obese and if we listen to our bodies correctly, then it won't happen (Fire Rock, sorry this isn't directed at you personally, I just hear people say this here a lot!)

Have you ever been thirsty and drank so much that you over-hydrated yourself and ended up in hospital with hyponatraemia? No, of course not because your body alerts you when to stop (BTW, I'm talking about normal, everyday circumstances here. I know there are situations where this can and does happen). You either stop because it would be physically uncomfortable to drink anymore or because you're no longer thirsty. Our body uses the same mechanism to alert us when to stop eating. Unfortunately we learn, often very early on in life, to override these signals for many different reasons. Often it's emotional reasons, or because our parents wouldn't allow us to leave the dinner table until all our food was gone (and therefore teaching us to ignore out natural satiety signals), or because the food is just too damn tasty to put down! A history of restrictive, fad diets will also screw up your ability to read hunger/satiety signals properly. You just have to read the follow up of the Minnesota semi-starvation study to see the proof (these men were eating 1600 kcals / day - what many MFPers daily goal is!).

My point is, you cannot blame your body for your over-eating and weight problem. It is possible to re-learn how to read these signals again but it does take time.

auroranflash

When I "followed my body" I was 250 lbs.

Then you obviously didn't follow your body because otherwise you wouldn't have been 250lbs. Nobody's body strives to be obese and if we listen to our bodies correctly, then it won't happen (Fire Rock, sorry this isn't directed at you personally, I just hear people say this here a lot!)

Have you ever been thirsty and drank so much that you over-hydrated yourself and ended up in hospital with hyponatraemia? No, of course not because your body alerts you when to stop (BTW, I'm talking about normal, everyday circumstances here. I know there are situations where this can and does happen). You either stop because it would be physically uncomfortable to drink anymore or because you're no longer thirsty. Our body uses the same mechanism to alert us when to stop eating. Unfortunately we learn, often very early on in life, to override these signals for many different reasons. Often it's emotional reasons, or because our parents wouldn't allow us to leave the dinner table until all our food was gone (and therefore teaching us to ignore out natural satiety signals), or because the food is just too damn tasty to put down! A history of restrictive, fad diets will also screw up your ability to read hunger/satiety signals properly. You just have to read the follow up of the Minnesota semi-starvation study to see the proof (these men were eating 1600 kcals / day - what many MFPers daily goal is!).

My point is, you cannot blame your body for your over-eating and weight problem. It is possible to re-learn how to read these signals again but it does take time.

Satiety and caloric density are two different things. I could eat a huge salad and be full, and still only have ingested 500 calories. If I sit and eat cookie after cookie, my body isn't going to go "Whoops, you're at 500 calories now, better stop!"

SuperstarDJ

Satiety and caloric density are two different things. I could eat a huge salad and be full, and still only have ingested 500 calories. If I sit and eat cookie after cookie, my body isn't going to go "Whoops, you're at 500 calories now, better stop!"

Of course, there will be a difference depending on the macronutrient content of the food (sorry, my reply may have been a bit simplistic - was typing while cooking dinner for my son!) but, if one is really listening to their body properly, they will know when they've had enough.
.

Meg_78

OP is 5'9" and "a huge 150lbs" :indifferent:

Continue...

So what? Does that mean the question isn't valid????

Rude!!!

This site isn't just for fatties!

Meg_78

I'm hungry alllll the time, I have a fast metabolism, so I personally eat more often cause my meals & snack tend to be small...as I am quickly sated, but it means I eat every second or third hour for about 18 hours a day!

I think different approaches work for different people. But at the start i think most people strive on creating a healthy eating routine more so than depending on just hunger alone, and some people like 3 square meals and some people like more....on the same token, should one miss a meal because they are not hungry?? I know in my case the answer to that is no.