Afraid of Hunger

Fear of hunger is not a reason to keep eating all day. It's okay and even good to experience hunger. You aren't going to faint or get weak unless you don't eat for several days. Choose one day and go without lunch. See how you feel, what happens. Thin people experience hunger and put it on the back burner.

I T I S O K T O B E H U N G R Y !

1.Awareness : Notice what happens when you feel hunger. See if you can excavate the unconscious associations, thoughts and behaviors that happen when you feel hungry. When do you treat hunger as ok, or appropriate? When do you judge it? What is your relationship with your appetite?

2.Make amends with your appetite. Give your body unconditional permission to be hungry. Know that hunger is merely a sensation in the body, a messenger. Know that you live in a place with an abundance of food, and no one is rationing you except you.

3.Deeper dive:If you try to control or suppress your appetite, consider where else in your life you might try to control or suppress your desires,in sex, work, play? Or if you find yourself constantly overtaken by intense desire for food – check out how this might be a balancing act of other areas of tight control in your life.

* I pinched this from here: http://www.nakedhunger.com/its-ok-to-be-hungry/ - but maybe its something that resonates with how your feeling.

I just need some general information about hunger and dieting

Maybe see a nutritionist/dietitian and/or a mental health professional?

I just need some general information about hunger and dieting

Maybe see a nutritionist/dietitian and/or a mental health professional?

^^ Agreed. OP I'm not really sure what you are specifically looking for? There are plenty of tips to help with hunger i.e. drinking more water, hot drinks, brushing teeth (some people state the fresh feeling makes them less likely to eat) & so forth. However, it sounds more a psychological issue for you. As previously stated if you don't have an actual medical condition - you wont actually get faint nor weak. :flowerforyou:

Anymore advice

Use your head. Hunger won't kill you for over 3 weeks. Eat what you need, now what you FEEL that you need. I'm not saying to starve but that you don't have to fear hunger.

Yes! Try intermittent fasting! I do leangains and don't typically eat until after noon and have my last meal of the day around 8 p.m. (Though my work schedule has been switched around recently and is messing with that) For the first week or so I was ravenous just before noon. These days I sometimes forget to eat until 3 or 4 in the afternoon. I feel clearer and more energized when hungry. There is actually a good evolutionary reason for this. Your body saves energy and makes you feel like you could go chase down a gazelle when you get hungry because that is what you are supposed to be doing then! That lethargy that you are feeling is probably more of a blood sugar thing than actual hunger. That will be normalized by intermittent fasting.

An article on the subject: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2013/08/06/a-beginners-guide-to-intermittent-fasting/

Yes! Read this one also: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

This article is probably more important to you than the first one.

Yes, if you have a binge eating disorder I would advise going to see someone who is an expert in compulsive eating disorders.

Hunger is an awful feeling. I've had to stop any eating of food after around 6pm due to tummy trouble, and I spend the evening with what I often interpret as hunger pains. (The pain I get from eating and not digesting is much worse, so I cope with the hunger pains.)

When I first started dieting, just over a year ago, the hunger pains were very upsetting. I hated them. Then I started using a bit of cognitive psychology on myself, meaning, talking to myself. Here are some examples of what I would tell myself: "I won't die from hunger pains." "I just ate lots of calories, so there is no reason to be hungry. Therefore, my body is lying to me." "These feelings are not hunger pains, they're digestion!" "I feel weak because I ate too many carbs/sugar and this feeling is from poor food choices, not hunger." "I'm bored, tired, sad, nervous, stressed. Not hungry. And eating won't help. I'll just feel worse after."

I think the last line I just wrote above is really the most important one. You have to ask yourself, why are you binge eating? What are you trying to fill up in yourself? What are you truly hungry for? Is this an emotional/psychological thing? Is it a sensory thing in that you're seeking more pleasure? Why are you binge eating.

You don't need to spend thousands of dollars on going to a therapist to simply ask yourself, "Why?" Maybe journal it out. Sit down at a quiet time, in a quiet place, and ask yourself why you binge eat. If you figure it out, and want to share, let us know. Hugs!

I worked with a lady who was researching motivators for eating. She ran a series of studies looking at the effect of eating "mindfully". We live in a world where abundance of food, advertising, unnatural ingredients and stress contribute to us eating not in response to need, but want. To address the issue she taught people how to assess their actual level of hunger, and eat appropriately in response to it.

I think this could be something that might be helpful for you, whether you choose to get some psychological help or doa bit of research yourself. Google "mindful eating" and have a read.

I have had great luck incorporating intuitive eating strategies. There are some great books on Amazon!

I worked with a lady who was researching motivators for eating. She ran a series of studies looking at the effect of eating "mindfully". We live in a world where abundance of food, advertising, unnatural ingredients and stress contribute to us eating not in response to need, but want. To address the issue she taught people how to assess their actual level of hunger, and eat appropriately in response to it.

I think this could be something that might be helpful for you, whether you choose to get some psychological help or doa bit of research yourself. Google "mindful eating" and have a read.

I have started doing little things to fight this mindset. The other day I wanted some tortilla chips and onion dip, and I was thinking to my self that what I experiencing was not actual hunger but a craving and a desire to have something crunchy. So instead I dipped raw snow pea pods in plain Greek yogurt mixed with a little powdered onion soup, and bam! Problem solved. This may sound crazy, and It obviously isn't convenient to make these substitutions all of the time. However, I find that little adjustments like this add up. Also, these items were already in my kitchen, and I was just being creative.

Well, part of intuitive eating is trying to figure out what you actually want to eat and just eating that, no matter whether it's the healthiest thing you could choose or not. It's about learning how to stop and when not to eat out of boredom, anxiety, sadness, anger, or for entertainment. The goal is to be able to go to a restaurant and have a reasonable portion of dinner or a treat, but not EVERYTHING till you are full. Then don't go to another restaurant and another restaurant. If you truly have BED, you have probably done this. I know I've hit the grocery store and two fast food places all in one binge. If you have BED, you must focus on the BED before you focus on weight. You cannot work on weight at the same time. It's counter productive. Build a healthy relationship with food first.

Major point is you need to do your homework, read books, see a counselor, and build a support network of other recovering BED or bulimia folks.

Anymore advice

Have you sought professional help such as:

http://bedaonline.com/

I think it is absolutely terrific you are taking steps to address the issue by asking for help on here and looking at this from a rational perspective. However, your progress will be greatly assisted by structured help.

ETA: Just read further on and I see you have