That 'you're full stop eating' switch

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tracya04
tracya04 Posts: 15
in Motivation and Support
My switch is broken :/.

I was sat eating dinner last night and as I was starting afresh today I didn't bother paying attention to how much was on my plate, I figured I would use it as an experiment to notice that little switch that tells me I'm no longer hunger. It just didn't hear that switch at all. I felt hungry all the way through and then knew I'd eaten too much afterwards.

How do I kick the switch back into working?
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Replies

  • Beckilovespizza
    Beckilovespizza Posts: 334 Member
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    Hi, I found my switch by prelogging my day. Chilli meals are my best example, I like to have chilli, rice, garlic bread, soured cream, grated cheese and Doritos. My boyfriend and I would cook up a massive batch of chilli and rice and munch our way through it, we would buy a big 250g share bad of Doritos and eat 2 baguettes of garlic bread between us. Now thanks to my digital scales I weigh a decent portion of chilli, have half the rice, eat a third of a garlic baguette, weigh a portion of cheese (low fat) and am conservative with my low fat soured cream, we now buy Doritos in 30g singular packs, I have 1 pack, he has 2. Once the chilli is portioned I freeze batches so we can't go back for seconds. Our old chilli meals used to come in at approx 2500 cals, last night my beloved chilli came in around 830 cals. It was just as delicious and gave me spare cals for chocolate. I savoured every bite and took my time eating, we were stuffed afterwards and I didn't go over my calorie and macro allowance. Best advice is to take ur time eating, it apparently takes 20mins for ur stomach to register food? (Don't quote me on that but it's what I heard). Best of luck to u and ur off switch!
  • jec285
    jec285 Posts: 145 Member
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    Only answer I know of is to eat slower, it's pretty easy to go past full before your stomach alerts you that you're actually full.
  • curvynblonde
    curvynblonde Posts: 170 Member
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    I found mine again after many years of bingeing by letting myself get really hungry and noticing what it felt like to be hungry again. I went for so long without actually really being hungry and just eating, so now I only eat when I'm hungry and my body lets me know when I'm not hungry anymore. It worked for me. I found my difference between mental hunger and actual physical hunger.
  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,365 Member
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    Eat slowly, eat half of what is on the plate, wait five minutes, if not feeling satisfied (as opposed to feeling full) eat one half of the remainder of what is your plate...wait another five minutes and so forth.

    Alternatively, use a small plate to dish or bowl to dish up your meals...eat slowly...wait 5 to 10minutes (but do something to distract you in that time) and if still not satisfied dish up a small 2nd serving.
  • tethar
    tethar Posts: 28 Member
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    I've heard, and from experience, that it takes about 20 minutes for that switch to kick on. I agree with the above poster- portion out what you're going to eat, and eat that, but then wait. Have a glass of water and give yourself like 20 minutes. If you're still hungry, than eat.

    I know this can be hard if youre busy/working/kids. But you can learn about how much food you need to become full. Or pack yourself a little snack just in case you're not full if you have to take off before your 20 minutes is over.

    Our bodies are built to think we don't have plenty of food, so it wants to keep eating when it has the opportunity to. But give it time, and it will tell you when it's sated.
  • CynthiaT60
    CynthiaT60 Posts: 1,280 Member
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    FWIW, my switch takes a lot longer, sometimes even 40 minutes.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    Mine doesn't work either. If I listened to my body to tell me how much to eat, I would stop long after having reached my body's energy needs. So, I use MFP to determine how much I need to eat. If you think about it, our bodies evolved in a time when we had to eat as much as we could while food was available to get us through leaner times. Our bodies don't know that we now have more food abundantly available than we will ever need.

    Having said that, I think habits and routine help a lot and have found that once I've eaten my fill for the day, I don't (usually) crave more food, because I've got used to eating certain amounts at certain times of the day. I generally could easily eat more, but it's no longer an overwhelming urge.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    some people don't have a switch - subclinical damage to the hypothalamus can cause that, i.e. never knowing how much to eat - for someone with this problem they need to count calories, possibly for the rest of their life

    that said, the above is quite rare - for most people it's just a habit, i.e. they're so much in the habit of overeating and ignoring their body's signals that they have to relearn how to do it. The following may help:

    1. eat slowly and chew your food

    2. wait a few minutes before taking a second serving - sometimes it takes a while for the signals to get through

    3. make sure you're adequately hydrated - some people confuse thirst and hunger

    4. practice - if you plan your meals based on your calorie goals, and don't worry about hunger signals for the time being, you can actually relearn what a normal size meal is and get back into the habit of eating normal sized meals - after a while you tend to find that the size of meal you're giving yourself (so long as the total number of calories you eat in a day is adequate for your body's needs) makes you feel full and you find that you start to get "stop eating now" signals after eating that size meal.... lots of people who started off doing calorie counting as their main diet method find that by the time they get to maintenance they don't need to count calories again as they've relearned what an adequate portion size is and relearned how to listen to their body's hunger signals.

    5. avoid undereating - if you undereat for a few meals, you get to a point where your body doesn't switch off the hunger signals after you've eaten a normal amount, it actually amplifies it. This is because as far as your body's concerned it's still the stone age and if you eat too little, it's because there's a lack of food, and it will amplify your hunger signals when it thinks more food is available because it doesn't know where the next meal is coming from, so as far as it's concerned your best chance of survival is to eat as much food as you can while it's available... in ancient times this stopped people starving to death... in modern times it leads to binge eating. So avoid undereating like the plague because that's a major cause of seriously messed up hunger signals (i.e. messed up for the modern world - but they make sense in the ancient world)
  • tracya04
    tracya04 Posts: 15
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    Many thanks for the replies.

    Many of you have said about it taking 20 minutes to kick in, this could be my problem. I don't know why but I am a fast eater. I can devour my dinner whilst the OH still has most of his left! Why I eat like this I'm not sure but it looks like slowing down is the way to go. It may also cure my recurring indigestion problems, I get this quite a lot although it often appears when I've been eating bread.

    Thank you. I will attempt to slow down my eating and see if it helps.
  • RebeccaLockwood78
    RebeccaLockwood78 Posts: 12 Member
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    I eat all of my meals ( where possible) with a tea spoon and do the old 20 chews per mouthful trick. My portions have massively reduced.
    Good luck hon, you will get there.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    first, you NEED to pay attention to what is on your plate. and also, like someone suggested, slow down while eating. stop every couple of mouthfuls and put the fork down. drink some water too. and give yourself a little break before going for seconds.
  • ImaWaterBender
    ImaWaterBender Posts: 516 Member
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    I went out and bought all new plates, which were small and got rid of the big ones. That helped. I drink a lot of water and chew my food much better than before. No more just mindlessly shoveling it in.
  • ianthy
    ianthy Posts: 404 Member
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    Hi

    Yep - i know the feeling. Infact i think i was born without an off switch! MFP is just great - as many folks have listed pre-logging your meals will help to keep you on track. If MFP says that I have eaten 2000 cals that day then what reason do I have to eat more? exercise - if not no more food get out of the kitchen! Also like the comments posted by neandermagnon - all are right on the money for me. Eat slowly and hydrate properly - often I confuse hunger with thirst.

    Best of luck and thanks for posting your question - so many of us have this issue and it's great to see the answers. Many of which we already know but some new answers in there plus a great reminder too.
  • Jestinia
    Jestinia Posts: 1,153 Member
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    Works just fine for me on meat, veggies, and foods I'm not too crazy about. It's broken as far as sweets, bread, and pasta are concerned. Oh, also broken when it comes to meat and veggies between two pieces of bread. I have to watch it with burrito shells, too. And cereal. Very broken when it comes to cereal.
  • Nedra19455
    Nedra19455 Posts: 241 Member
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    I haven't read the other posts, so forgive me if any of these tips are repeats (if they are, then they must work pretty well!) but here are the things I try:

    1. The usual: small plate, eat slowly, drink water.
    2. Portion out a serving and only eat one serving. If you are hungry after that, then make yourself go through the work of prepping something DIFFERENT. Not only does the variety make me feel more satisfied, but I am more likely to ask myself "am I really hungry for more?" if it's a little more work than just getting more of the same thing. So if I have a portion of lasagna and am still hungry, I'll maybe make myself a salad or a get some fruit or veggies, or even move on to dessert! By telling myself, "nope, that was a serving. If you're still hungry, find a sensible serving of something else," I am able to curb hunger while also satisfying my tastebuds.
    3. Get up and move. Light exercise helps distract me and if you're over-full you will quickly realize it because you'll be uncomfortable. Go for a walk after dinner. If you still feel hungry when you get back, then decide if you want more dinner or if you're ready for dessert.
  • walking_the_labyrinth
    walking_the_labyrinth Posts: 16
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    Adding a portion of dense raw vegetables to my meals helps me. Something like raw broccoli or celery, where decent sized portions are less than 50 calories and they take for.ev.er to chew. Perhaps it helps me slow down, maybe it's all the chewing, but it helps me feel like I've had enough and don't want to eat any more.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
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    I chew sugar free gum after meals, and suck on a piece hard candy between meals. That helps me feel full. I also have small portion appropriate dishes. Half cup ramekins, 1 cup bowls, and salad plates/small dinner plates.

    Also, I don't do seconds, I try to leave a few hundred calories for the end of the day for a before bed snack, and if I don't need a snack, I just don't use those calories.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
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    My switch is broken :/.

    I was sat eating dinner last night and as I was starting afresh today I didn't bother paying attention to how much was on my plate, I figured I would use it as an experiment to notice that little switch that tells me I'm no longer hunger. It just didn't hear that switch at all. I felt hungry all the way through and then knew I'd eaten too much afterwards.

    How do I kick the switch back into working?

    it's not a sound; you don't "hear" it.

    You eat a rational amount of food. You savor it. You notice it. You enjoy it.

    Then you go take a break and give yourself time to see if you're full or still hungry. If you decide on the spot the answer is always I'm still hungry. You gotta wait a bit. You feel how you feel, you dont' wait for a sound or flick any switch. If you feel actual hunger you eat more. NOT oh i could put away more i have more room NOT oh that tasted good i want to have that taste some more. Actual hunger.

    for some ppl this seems to be broken. at least the boards make it seem this way. if that's the case. make ur foods eat them and walk away. don't rely on your feelings.
  • l3long
    l3long Posts: 153 Member
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    Immediately after eating what I am "allowed" (from proportioning) I brew a cup of tea and sip it. By the time it is done, I feel full. I especially like Bengal Spice tea from celestial Seasonings because it tastes sweet but has no sugar or artificial sweeteners and it is caffeine free.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    What you want is what John Walker calls an "eat watch" in The Hacker's Diet (free online at: http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/e4/).

    His book is well worth reading. I'm not as pessimistic as he is about one's ability to readjust the sense of having eaten enough and being full, but there's a lot of wisdom in his writing, and a fair amount of humor too.

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