Do you ever feel afraid of hunger?

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dietkat
dietkat Posts: 17
in Motivation and Support
Let me explain: I've struggled with binging over the years, and a lot of time it comes on as a feeling of extreme hunger, even when I've eaten plenty of food through the day. I've come to learn a lot of the times when the physical hunger is a sign of something different-- not enough sleep, stress, etc-- but sometimes it's hard to tell.

Like today. I got enough sleep last night, haven't had a particularly stressful day at work or even a tough workout. It's a couple hours before I'd eat my next meal, though, and I'm sooooo hungry. This is where the fear comes in. I wonder if I'm actually hungry, and just need to eat a bit more, or if I'm heading down the path to a binge.

Does that make sense? Any thoughts?
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Replies

  • Elle408
    Elle408 Posts: 500 Member
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    I don't feel afraid of it, but I completely know where you're coming from! I used to binge about 3/4 times a week, scary 5000cal+ binges. Thankfully, I don't have them anymore, and when I overindulge, I no longer fear that I'm about to binge.

    The hunger is still there though, pretty much always. I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with me, but for me, learning that I WILL always be hungry, and I can either be hungry and fat, or hungry and thin was the big eye-opener for me. That hunger won't kill me, it won't hurt me, and I can't trust it. I just have to think about whether I have had enough to eat to fuel my activity, the kinds of foods I've eaten and whether that hunger is likely to be genuine or not. 9 times out of 10 it isn't, and if i'm nearing my calorie goal i'll just stop eating and put up with the hunger pangs.

    I know that's not particularly reassuring, a lot of people don't want to hear that they should just learn to live with and embrace the hunger, but it's the ONLY thing that has helped me come to terms with it.

    I've tried the usual tips and tricks, eating high protein and fat diets, going for walks, drinking lots of water, eating high fibre - you name it, i've probably tried it. I'm still always hungry. And I can eat a huge quantity of food without ever feeling full - accepting this and adapting to it has helped me keep the weight off!
  • lambchoplewis
    lambchoplewis Posts: 797
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    I am usually hungry 2 hrs after eating - even protein. I have never understood how people "forget to eat" or can go without eating all day and are not sick. I do like to be hungry in the morning as I do look forward to eating breakfast. I also know that if I am hungry, I probably had a good day the day before. Some days I am hungrier than others. Unfortunately, I am not sure the hunger ever goes away. Just enjoy the weight loss or maintenance that comes with this feeling.
  • jade2112
    jade2112 Posts: 272 Member
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    Let me explain: I've struggled with binging over the years, and a lot of time it comes on as a feeling of extreme hunger, even when I've eaten plenty of food through the day. I've come to learn a lot of the times when the physical hunger is a sign of something different-- not enough sleep, stress, etc-- but sometimes it's hard to tell.

    Like today. I got enough sleep last night, haven't had a particularly stressful day at work or even a tough workout. It's a couple hours before I'd eat my next meal, though, and I'm sooooo hungry. This is where the fear comes in. I wonder if I'm actually hungry, and just need to eat a bit more, or if I'm heading down the path to a binge.

    Does that make sense? Any thoughts?

    What scares me is myself. I'm constantly worried that I'll go on a binge because I'm weak. This also makes me anxious.
  • BoDuke666
    BoDuke666 Posts: 6
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    Don't be scared of that hunger feeling, it's a perfectly normal physical reaction to having a stomach that thinks it wants more food. The trick is to accept that it's there and focus on asking yourself if its real or just your body demanding to have a high kcal hit. Our bodies are brilliant because we've evolved to want food, lots of it ASAP! But it hasn't fought up with the fact we can go to the shop/drive through/phone and get what we want with little effort.

    I've found that eating a small amount on regular basis (2/3 hours) really helps as does milk and high protein when not running. Relying on three meals a day is a total no no for me, too long, too many temptations and then too big meals. You get used to it and don't want as much over time.

    And your not weak for having a binge, record it and adjust your intake to limit the damage.

    Good luck!
  • losbeatlesmolan
    losbeatlesmolan Posts: 29
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    Uhm why don't just have a little nibble of sthg? like an apple, or a yogurt and see how you feel afterwards.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,472 Member
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    some times.
  • gretchen410
    gretchen410 Posts: 1
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    I appreciate your honesty and frankness. Good "food for thought."
  • Elle408
    Elle408 Posts: 500 Member
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    Uhm why don't just have a little nibble of sthg? like an apple, or a yogurt and see how you feel afterwards.

    Just to generalise, I think for most binge eaters - having a 'nibble' of something is the most 'dangerous' thing of all... eating an apple would in no way assuage my hunger, and most times entice me to eat way, way more, often to the point of triggering a binge.

    Reading your own body is probably key, a previous poster mentioned eating regularly throughout the day, this didn't work for me at all, those 5-6 little meals turned into 5-6 BIG meals and then eventually just grazing through 6000 calories. One thing that has helped me is pre-planning my days worth of food the night before and then on the day, eating at set times. That way an hour after lunch when the hunger has returned, I make myself wait until my dinner at 6pm, then when that hasn't got rid of the hunger, I make myself wait until 9pm for my supper. Once i've eaten that, I'm done, i'll be hungry, but I know I can't eat until 10am the next day for breakfast. It's very regimented, but it works for me. Find your own coping mechanisms to make the pang of hunger less painful and more tolerable!
  • jljshoe1979
    jljshoe1979 Posts: 325 Member
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    Hi, I've never binged, but I just wanted to offer my support to you. Binging sounds almost habitual to me or maybe a coping mechanism that makes you feel better while you do it(my CM is severe nail biting). I do hope you find some workable solutions to this...is it possible to maybe set aside some calories each week (like 50/day = 350 cal/week), in case you find you need to binge and can't help it? The most success I've had with long term nail biting is to only allow myself to bite one or two nails, while I try to quit biting the rest- I know that sounds gross, but I hope this idea might help in some way....maybe you could only allow yourself to binge on certain foods (like celery or broccoli or wheat thins or turkey) that are low in calories?? Again, not exactly sure how binging works, but good luck to you and anyone else dealing with this.
  • dangerousdumpling
    dangerousdumpling Posts: 1,109 Member
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    I understand what you're saying...in a way. Before I understood how to control my low blood sugar I'd get nervous about getting hungry or feeling like I had low blood sugar. I know how to control it now so hunger is no longer an emergency. The two are no longer connected. Just because I get hungry doesn't mean I'm going to pass out and scare the crap out of everyone. Maybe you could work on making the same separation. Hunger doesn't have to mean a binge is coming on. It just means you're thirsty or your body genuinely needs fuel. I know it's easier said than done. Cognitive therapy can help you learn to retrain your thinking.
  • Sqeekyjojo
    Sqeekyjojo Posts: 704 Member
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    That big, empty hole in your inside, all the way down from your heart to your belly? That's not hunger. That's emotional emptiness.


    That smallish, softball sized space at the bottom of your sternum, that feels a little 'clear'? That's hunger.
  • rebecca8787
    rebecca8787 Posts: 35
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    Hunger hurts my stomach and I really don't like pain so I try and avoid feeling hungry, while keeping in my calorie count it is very tough though especially when you first start out. me personally, i love carbs and this is how I put weight on in the first place, because I knew something bready, ie, toast or a sandwhich or even pasta would fill me up, i'd sometimes go all day without anything due to busyness, then fill up in the evening with starch.

    Now im trying to teach myself to eat three meals a day properly, or small snacks between meals so that I dont do the 'carb binge' to fill up.

    the lady above said that the belly feeling is emotional emptyness, Very interesting, I find myself confusing sadness with hunger quite often.

    x
  • dietkat
    dietkat Posts: 17
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    I don't feel afraid of it, but I completely know where you're coming from! I used to binge about 3/4 times a week, scary 5000cal+ binges. Thankfully, I don't have them anymore, and when I overindulge, I no longer fear that I'm about to binge.

    The hunger is still there though, pretty much always. I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with me, but for me, learning that I WILL always be hungry, and I can either be hungry and fat, or hungry and thin was the big eye-opener for me. That hunger won't kill me, it won't hurt me, and I can't trust it. I just have to think about whether I have had enough to eat to fuel my activity, the kinds of foods I've eaten and whether that hunger is likely to be genuine or not. 9 times out of 10 it isn't, and if i'm nearing my calorie goal i'll just stop eating and put up with the hunger pangs.

    I know that's not particularly reassuring, a lot of people don't want to hear that they should just learn to live with and embrace the hunger, but it's the ONLY thing that has helped me come to terms with it.

    I've tried the usual tips and tricks, eating high protein and fat diets, going for walks, drinking lots of water, eating high fibre - you name it, i've probably tried it. I'm still always hungry. And I can eat a huge quantity of food without ever feeling full - accepting this and adapting to it has helped me keep the weight off!

    That's definitely a good way of looking at it for me. I just get thrown off because I can have an entire week where my hunger matches up precisely with what I physically need (ie, I'll have a craving for something, and when I log at it and look at my overall stats for the day, I realize I evened some of the stats out in some way) and I NEVER feel randomly hungry. Then I have a day like today, and boom, all I can think about is having a lot of peanut butter ASAP.
  • dietkat
    dietkat Posts: 17
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    That big, empty hole in your inside, all the way down from your heart to your belly? That's not hunger. That's emotional emptiness.


    That smallish, softball sized space at the bottom of your sternum, that feels a little 'clear'? That's hunger.

    That's the problem-- it's actually the latter feeling. Most of the time, I can gauge how much I need to fill it, but some days I realize that it's going to take a ton.
  • dietkat
    dietkat Posts: 17
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    I've found that eating a small amount on regular basis (2/3 hours) really helps as does milk and high protein when not running. Relying on three meals a day is a total no no for me, too long, too many temptations and then too big meals. You get used to it and don't want as much over time.

    This is a good point. I generally aim for once every 4-5 hours (too frequently just causes me to constantly graze, which makes me consume WAY too many calories.) That works 90% of the time, but days like today, I get to my second meal and I still feel like I need more.
  • Sqeekyjojo
    Sqeekyjojo Posts: 704 Member
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    That big, empty hole in your inside, all the way down from your heart to your belly? That's not hunger. That's emotional emptiness.


    That smallish, softball sized space at the bottom of your sternum, that feels a little 'clear'? That's hunger.

    That's the problem-- it's actually the latter feeling. Most of the time, I can gauge how much I need to fill it, but some days I realize that it's going to take a ton.


    Well, how about some high protein, high liquid things to try and deal with it?

    Something that I find useful is a stock cube with a few (2-4) small shrimp and a little tamari/soy, plus some raw veg - corn, pepper, tomato, onion, etc - sliced up in the hot water. The warmth, the liquid volume and the protein and vegetable sweetness helps to fill the gap. And soups that have solid parts spend longer in the stomach being digested than plain fluids, too, so you keep the content feeling for longer.
  • bearwith
    bearwith Posts: 525 Member
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    What a fantastic post - this is such a common thing for so many people. Keep yourself busy, keep away from the kitchen, keep a mug of warm herbal/fruit tea to hand and keep filling it up with more hot water. The sensation of something warm going down your throat is good and the water fills you up.
  • keepongoingnmw
    keepongoingnmw Posts: 371 Member
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    A binge eater here, yes I used to be afraid of hunger. I spent the last two years doing the No "S" Diet. which is three plate of food a day no snacks no sweets no second except sometimes on days that start with S. I am sure there will be lots of critics, but I can say it taught me not to be afraid of hunger, that I don't need a little something sweet every day, and I don't have to give into the urge to binge. I honestly thought that I had no choice when that urge came on. Now I prefer to wait until I am hungry to eat.

    Like others have said it is important to stay busy, and not beat yourself up when you do binge. Just brush off the crumbs and start again. Getting over binge eating is a process, about finding strategies that work for you. A resource that has helped me enormously is Beck's "Diet Solution" which is not a diet but helps give you tools to stay on any diet you choose to. I can go on forever about binge eating because I have really worked and focused and discussed it to DEATH these past two years. I feel like I have learned a lot. I hope this helps feel free to message me any questions. I hope this is helpful.
  • mangojh2
    mangojh2 Posts: 175 Member
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    When I think about times that I've been afraid of hunger its always when I feel like I will have no access to food. When I stay in a hotel for instance, I worry so much that I'll be starving or thirsty so I have to buy food and have it with me. Usually it turns out to be a bunch of junk and I hardly ever eat it, but I have to know that its there.
  • sunshinestater
    sunshinestater Posts: 596 Member
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    It's amazing how the body can trick you into thinking you're ravenously hungry when you really don't need to eat. It's similar to how some people have panic attacks, even when there's no reason for that physical panic response. You can handle it cognitively by examining the feeling and rationally reminding yourself that there's no true physical reason for the hunger. Have a plan in mind for healthy things to do to substitute for eating when it happens. The plan gives you something to fall back on quickly so you don't impulsively give in.

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