Does your body eventually adjust to portion sizes?

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higgins8283801
higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does it ever get use to eating till satisfied and not full?

I've been doing this for nearly 3 weeks and that's the hardest part for me.

Replies

  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    Yes! It does!

    Give it a couple more weeks.

    If you can, try eating more, but smaller, meals. That helps, too.

    Stick with it. It does get easier!!
  • LiminalAscendance
    LiminalAscendance Posts: 489 Member
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    It does in my case.

    During my last cut, I found myself getting full on half a Subway sandwich (in this case), and would remark about how odd it was that I formerly ate a whole one at one sitting.

    Fast forward to the end of my last bulk, and yep, eating a full-size with no problem.

    I'm currently eating less the half the calories I was consuming just 2 weeks ago. The first couple of days was tough, but I have minimal hunger issues now.

    What works for me is small meals, spaced throughout the day (for appetite control, not weight loss).

    I'm not sure whether your stomach actually shrinks/expands, in response to intake, but I know with me, that's the effect I have noticed.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    If your caloric deficit is reasonable (no more than 20% reduction of the calories your body needs), then you will get used to your consumption after a while. If you are undereating, which unfortunately is the case with many people (if not most) on MFP, then unlikely. Or you WILL get used to it and stop feeling hungry when you should, which will make it more difficult for you to consume even the too-low calories set up as your limit (this is a hypothetical, I did not look at your diary - if it's even open - to see how much you typically eat).

    However, the type of foods you eat play a big role in this. If you eat mostly fast food or carb-heavy meals, you will probably continue feeling hungry. For some people lots of fat is filling, but for me protein and high-volume is what keeps me full. So if you eat a lot of lower calorie foods, you get to eat more food within your caloric needs and will feel fuller. That being said, I'll still eat calorie-dense foods, sometimes too many of htem in a day and I will wind up a bit hungry. But overall I just eat what I want to reach my macro goals (at least protein) and aim for high volume when possible.

    Also, water helps. A lot of times hunger signals are actually thirst. Like right now, I am feeling hungry but I also DON'T feel hungry at the same time. I ate like 2 hours ago, normally I'm hungry in 4-6 hours after a meal. So I know part of it is just thirst, since I"m super dehydrated lately and can feel right now that I am thirsty.

    ETA: I do better on high volume and higher protein, but I also need to eat LARGE meals. I cannot snack or eat like a bird many times during the day, it just makes me want more food.
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
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    Yes but it's important to meet your macros (dietary fat, protein, fiber) so you could stay full longer.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
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    You absolutely get use to it, it just takes a bit and then you'll be surprised at how full you feel sometimes. I found for me its most important to stay hydrated.
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
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    If your caloric deficit is reasonable (no more than 20% reduction of the calories your body needs), then you will get used to your consumption after a while. If you are undereating, which unfortunately is the case with many people (if not most) on MFP, then unlikely. Or you WILL get used to it and stop feeling hungry when you should, which will make it more difficult for you to consume even the too-low calories set up as your limit (this is a hypothetical, I did not look at your diary - if it's even open - to see how much you typically eat).

    However, the type of foods you eat play a big role in this. If you eat mostly fast food or carb-heavy meals, you will probably continue feeling hungry. For some people lots of fat is filling, but for me protein and high-volume is what keeps me full. So if you eat a lot of lower calorie foods, you get to eat more food within your caloric needs and will feel fuller. That being said, I'll still eat calorie-dense foods, sometimes too many of htem in a day and I will wind up a bit hungry. But overall I just eat what I want to reach my macro goals (at least protein) and aim for high volume when possible

    Also, water helps. A lot of times hunger signals are actually thirst. Like right now, I am feeling hungry but I also DON'T feel hungry at the same time. I ate like 2 hours ago, normally I'm hungry in 4-6 hours after a meal. So I know part of it is just thirst, since I"m super dehydrated lately and can feel right now that I am thirsty.

    ETA: I do better on high volume and higher protein, but I also need to eat LARGE meals. I cannot snack or eat like a bird many times during the day, it just makes me want more food.

    I am sorta following that. I eat 1400-1450 a day and my caloric needs right now is 1564.

    I just struggle with portion sizes and not eatin till I'm full
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    Options
    If your caloric deficit is reasonable (no more than 20% reduction of the calories your body needs), then you will get used to your consumption after a while. If you are undereating, which unfortunately is the case with many people (if not most) on MFP, then unlikely. Or you WILL get used to it and stop feeling hungry when you should, which will make it more difficult for you to consume even the too-low calories set up as your limit (this is a hypothetical, I did not look at your diary - if it's even open - to see how much you typically eat).

    However, the type of foods you eat play a big role in this. If you eat mostly fast food or carb-heavy meals, you will probably continue feeling hungry. For some people lots of fat is filling, but for me protein and high-volume is what keeps me full. So if you eat a lot of lower calorie foods, you get to eat more food within your caloric needs and will feel fuller. That being said, I'll still eat calorie-dense foods, sometimes too many of htem in a day and I will wind up a bit hungry. But overall I just eat what I want to reach my macro goals (at least protein) and aim for high volume when possible

    Also, water helps. A lot of times hunger signals are actually thirst. Like right now, I am feeling hungry but I also DON'T feel hungry at the same time. I ate like 2 hours ago, normally I'm hungry in 4-6 hours after a meal. So I know part of it is just thirst, since I"m super dehydrated lately and can feel right now that I am thirsty.

    ETA: I do better on high volume and higher protein, but I also need to eat LARGE meals. I cannot snack or eat like a bird many times during the day, it just makes me want more food.

    I am sorta following that. I eat 1400-1450 a day and my caloric needs right now is 1564.

    I just struggle with portion sizes and not eatin till I'm full

    Do you mean you have a hard time eating until you are full - like mentally you make yourself not eat until full? Because.. i mean.. eat until you are full. Why wouldn't you eat until satisfied? if you know you are eating 1400 a day and you find you do better eating 6x a day, then that's ~230 calories a meal. So even if you eat that and aren't full right away, give it a bit to digest and you should feel full. This is what I do, because I am a fast eater so sometimes I can eat my 500+ cals and still be hungry until half an hour later. But if you are starving after eating, that's not a good thing.

    Also, are you sure your maintenance needs are that low? Give these websites a try:
    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html
    http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

    I am going by the 2nd one but I was usign the first before. You could average them out if you'd like. You're young, unless you are very tiny already then I do not see how 1550 could be your maintenance.
  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
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    Yes but it's important to meet your macros (dietary fat, protein, fiber) so you could stay full longer.

    ^^This.

    My body took about 2 weeks to adapt to smaller portions. Learning to eat until sated rather than stuffed when I eat out remains a learning process but I've done ok the last 6-7 months so far. Eating slowly seems to be the best way to give your body time to register satisfaction.
  • TheSheepFollower
    TheSheepFollower Posts: 64 Member
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    My body does it quickly! It takes like three days!
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,953 Member
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    I've been doing this since last October, and it doesn't really feel like my stomach gets used to it. My brain can most of the time, but my stomach always knows.
  • kadenadie5
    kadenadie5 Posts: 9 Member
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    I liked your question. I've been doing this MFP since Aug 5,.I 've been watching my seving sizes too. But today I swam too. The exercize gave me lots of extra calories to use .Just keep it up. You can do it!
  • simplydelish2
    simplydelish2 Posts: 726 Member
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    It does after several weeks/months. In the mean time, why not increase your intake of veggies - you can add tons of food for few calories and feel full...not just satisfied.
  • michikade
    michikade Posts: 313 Member
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    If you are running into a problem where you feel like you aren't satisfied until you are full-full, maybe try adding, like, a spinach salad on the side of your meals. A cup of spinach is, like, 10 calories or something (I'd have to look again, I don't remember exactly) and the amount of food may help you while you transition into the smaller portions over all.

    Note: the spinach salad example will do nothing for keeping you feeling full - protein and fat help you feel full/satisfied longer - but it can help you get to a "full" point at mealtime. If your meals have protein and healthy fats included, this "meal hack" could be an answer for you. It worked for me and I finally got to where I couldn't finish my side salad anymore so now I don't need the 'transitional' add-on anymore.
  • Ristia_Amore
    Ristia_Amore Posts: 15 Member
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    Do you mean you have a hard time eating until you are full - like mentally you make yourself not eat until full? Because.. i mean.. eat until you are full. Why wouldn't you eat until satisfied? if you know you are eating 1400 a day and you find you do better eating 6x a day, then that's ~230 calories a meal. So even if you eat that and aren't full right away, give it a bit to digest and you should feel full. This is what I do, because I am a fast eater so sometimes I can eat my 500+ cals and still be hungry until half an hour later. But if you are starving after eating, that's not a good thing.

    Also, are you sure your maintenance needs are that low? Give these websites a try:
    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html
    http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

    I am going by the 2nd one but I was usign the first before. You could average them out if you'd like. You're young, unless you are very tiny already then I do not see how 1550 could be your maintenance.

    I'm glad you posted those links. I'm back on here for the 3rd time after failing maintenance once I reached my goal. I recently quit my retail job with lots of activity to work as a freelance artist at home, and that means LOTS of sitting! And, well, housework and cooking too. But I had set my net cals at 1500, thinking that I didn't do enough to justify more... but both of those sites confirmed that I'm not eating enough to maintain! It's been two days at 1500 and damn I feel like crap.

    Thanks so much!
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    Options
    Do you mean you have a hard time eating until you are full - like mentally you make yourself not eat until full? Because.. i mean.. eat until you are full. Why wouldn't you eat until satisfied? if you know you are eating 1400 a day and you find you do better eating 6x a day, then that's ~230 calories a meal. So even if you eat that and aren't full right away, give it a bit to digest and you should feel full. This is what I do, because I am a fast eater so sometimes I can eat my 500+ cals and still be hungry until half an hour later. But if you are starving after eating, that's not a good thing.

    Also, are you sure your maintenance needs are that low? Give these websites a try:
    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html
    http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

    I am going by the 2nd one but I was usign the first before. You could average them out if you'd like. You're young, unless you are very tiny already then I do not see how 1550 could be your maintenance.

    I'm glad you posted those links. I'm back on here for the 3rd time after failing maintenance once I reached my goal. I recently quit my retail job with lots of activity to work as a freelance artist at home, and that means LOTS of sitting! And, well, housework and cooking too. But I had set my net cals at 1500, thinking that I didn't do enough to justify more... but both of those sites confirmed that I'm not eating enough to maintain! It's been two days at 1500 and damn I feel like crap.

    Thanks so much!

    No problem! 1500 is way too low for maintaining for sure. Just remember these websites are all estimates, so eat at a number for a month or two and monitor results. If you gain, lower it a bit and keep monitoring. If you lose, add a bit and monitor.
  • Lelah77
    Lelah77 Posts: 177 Member
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    For me it is a mental issue. There was a certain satisfaction to that "very, very full-belly feeling" I used to feel after every meal. I can honestly say I am never hungry at the end of my current, portion controlled meals, but I do miss that full-sensation. I think that is a symptom of being a life long over eater. I have had to stop myself many times from grabbing seconds out of habit. I force myself to wait to see if I am really still hungry or just in the mood to taste food until my belly yells for help. I am rarely still hungry.

    After nearly two years of ups and downs I am finally not missing that sensation at the end of a meal. Its not easy, but it is possible if you stay aware and remind yourself that the feeling is actually a cry of distress from distension.

    That being said, I gorged myself at a cookout the other day and felt extreme joy upon feeling that overfull belly feeling for the first time in quite a while. Ahhh, the emotional eater!

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