Goodbye Hunger! I eat what I want & lose!
Melinda1987
Posts: 130
I've been overweight all my life. Have, of course, tried every diet under the sun. When I was younger I really went through them - diet after diet after diet. Eventually realized that NO "diet" was going to fix my problem. I've read more books on dieting, exercise, motivation, goal setting, etc than you can imagine. Still wasn't fixing the problem. Have been in therapy for years for my clinical depression (which I hate to mention 'cause I'm actually a very happy person) but even that wasn't addressing the issue. I read a book a few years back (whose title I can't remember) that had a novel concept: to be healthy you can eat ANYTHING you want. Period. There are NO bad foods. You want ice cream? Eat it. You want a Snickers? Eat it. There are only 2 rules. 1) Eat only when truly hungry, and 2) Stop when full. Now this is, of course, harder than it sounds. It requires listening to your body and I've never done that. I've always been an emotional eater and so waiting for my body to say it was HUNGRY wasn't an option - I had to eat because I was sad, or angry, or bored, or whatever. And stopping when full? Define full. I stopped when the food was gone. My incredibly LARGE portion. And maybe found dessert too. Full = pain. So I tossed that book aside as useless.
Until... Just recently I started thinking about that book again for some reason. And wondered if maybe I was mature enough to start listening to my body. Having given everything else a try, I thought Why Not? So now before I put anything in my mouth I think "Am I hungry?" I have realized that I've probably only been TRULY hungry a handful of times in my life. I never allowed myself to get to the physical hunger point. O I've been "hungry" constantly! Emotionally hungry. Trying to fill some internal void with food - but not physically hunger. The kind of hunger where you feel a bit hollow and maybe even hear your stomach rumble. Don't get me wrong - I don't wait til I'm "starving". I'm diabetic and have to eat at least every 4 hours or I get all kinds of physical "wake-up calls" like a headache, nausea, and severe irritability. But still, I have to have at least some level of hunger before I allow myself to eat. This is EYE OPENING!! The number of times a day I reach for food out of habit, emotion, or just because the clock says it's time to eat is SHOCKING! I had no idea.
Then there's that other catch - stopping when full. I don't trust my body yet to tell me when I'm full. And there's some science there too. I've read a few articles that say when a person has stretched their stomach to the point of obesity, their internal "fullness" alarm is stretched as well. To the point that we can't necessarily feel "full" until in pain. There's also the fact that I'm an INSANELY FAST eater. That's another problem on feeling full because it takes about 15-20 mins for that fullness "alarm" to send a signal to your brain that you're full. If you eat as fast as I do, you've consumed a LOT of food in that 15 mins.
So how to tell that I'm full? I decided to try something radical. I use the portion size that's listed on the container. The few times I've ever looked at what a "portion" was I scoffed "Pfft! What adult human being could live on THAT??" Turns out I can. Because here's the other radical notion that has hit me. I am not living in a concentration camp! I know that's a big "DUH!" but let me explain. All my adult life I've approached each meal as though it was the ONLY meal I would have that day. I consumed enough calories at each setting to "last me" - as though I was in a concentration camp and had to hoard food. So when I look at those "tiny" portions that are listed on the food containers I keep in mind that... (drum roll please)... I get to eat again in a few hours! TA-DA!! O sure I'm being factious but just to show the ridiculous way I've thought about food all my life. After 42 years I HAVE FOUND THE PROBLEM!!! It wasn't food - it was my attitude about food!
Hopefully some of this has been helpful for you as well. If you are on FaceBook, please look up my group called Healthy Living for more support!
Melinda
Until... Just recently I started thinking about that book again for some reason. And wondered if maybe I was mature enough to start listening to my body. Having given everything else a try, I thought Why Not? So now before I put anything in my mouth I think "Am I hungry?" I have realized that I've probably only been TRULY hungry a handful of times in my life. I never allowed myself to get to the physical hunger point. O I've been "hungry" constantly! Emotionally hungry. Trying to fill some internal void with food - but not physically hunger. The kind of hunger where you feel a bit hollow and maybe even hear your stomach rumble. Don't get me wrong - I don't wait til I'm "starving". I'm diabetic and have to eat at least every 4 hours or I get all kinds of physical "wake-up calls" like a headache, nausea, and severe irritability. But still, I have to have at least some level of hunger before I allow myself to eat. This is EYE OPENING!! The number of times a day I reach for food out of habit, emotion, or just because the clock says it's time to eat is SHOCKING! I had no idea.
Then there's that other catch - stopping when full. I don't trust my body yet to tell me when I'm full. And there's some science there too. I've read a few articles that say when a person has stretched their stomach to the point of obesity, their internal "fullness" alarm is stretched as well. To the point that we can't necessarily feel "full" until in pain. There's also the fact that I'm an INSANELY FAST eater. That's another problem on feeling full because it takes about 15-20 mins for that fullness "alarm" to send a signal to your brain that you're full. If you eat as fast as I do, you've consumed a LOT of food in that 15 mins.
So how to tell that I'm full? I decided to try something radical. I use the portion size that's listed on the container. The few times I've ever looked at what a "portion" was I scoffed "Pfft! What adult human being could live on THAT??" Turns out I can. Because here's the other radical notion that has hit me. I am not living in a concentration camp! I know that's a big "DUH!" but let me explain. All my adult life I've approached each meal as though it was the ONLY meal I would have that day. I consumed enough calories at each setting to "last me" - as though I was in a concentration camp and had to hoard food. So when I look at those "tiny" portions that are listed on the food containers I keep in mind that... (drum roll please)... I get to eat again in a few hours! TA-DA!! O sure I'm being factious but just to show the ridiculous way I've thought about food all my life. After 42 years I HAVE FOUND THE PROBLEM!!! It wasn't food - it was my attitude about food!
Hopefully some of this has been helpful for you as well. If you are on FaceBook, please look up my group called Healthy Living for more support!
Melinda
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So true - a dietician I saw a while back used to say "Never eat in anticipation of hunger".....
And I also agree with eating suggested portion sizes - to start with I thought - there is no way this is enough.... now if I eat more than the suggested portion size I mostly feel uncomfortable afterwards...0 -
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Brilliant posting! I've been thinking the same thing just last night when I wolfing down my pizza and watching telly. I've heard all the scientific research eat slowly, enjoy ur meal and stop when ur full or when u think ur full. I eat too fast and it's a habit, I sit down and think ok I'm going to eat my meal slowly and before u know it I'm distracted and my plate is empty! Lol so then I got to thinking I need a timer that dings every 30 seconds or so then I can take my next mouthful. I know this must sound crazy for some people but to build a habit it takes along time and I think this might be something that could do the trick. So I was going to design an app for my iPhone but it turns out there already is one! I think I'm not allowed to post the name on here cos of advertising or something like that? I just typed in food timer and there were loads of recipe /cooking timers but on the last page there was one for slow eating. It was free so I thought why not I'll give it a shot. Hope this might help a few people in a similar situation
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Happy lifestyle change to you Melinda!0
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This makes perfect sense.
I am seeing this site as a foundation. The diary tool is the organizer for me. It sets me up with a framework and I have found that I am starting to get beyond the numbers as you suggest in the OP ...if I am hungry I have a snack, a good snack.
Before I started this plan I was never hungry. My portions were huge and there was never an opportunity to "feel" what my body was telling me.
Now when it is "meal time" I am hungry to eat it...when it is snack time my body tells me it is snack time. It is actually comforting to "feel" it's time to eat by my body clock instead of the wall clock.
good topic.0 -
Sounds like Paul McKenna's book - "I can make you Thin" (he is a hypnotist here in the UK)
He says thre is no such thing as a diet and as soon as you ban a certain food type you set yourself up to have an unhealthy relationship with it... He discusses the diet industry and how it makes women feel guilty and how our relationships with food begins the moment we are born.
His book has 4 golden rules:
1) If you are hungry - eat
2) Eat what you want and not what you think you should
3) Eat consciously and enjoy every mouthful
4) Stop eating when you fill full.
The books has lots of techniques for identifying whether hunger is emotional or physical and how to distingush if you are truly hungry. There are also techniques for knowing when you are full up.
I do not perosnally follow the principles but the book is def worth a read.0 -
It might be worth looking into thyroid issues, too. This goes double if you still suffer from depression. Getting treated for hypothyroidism will level out your hormones to where they should be and will actually allow you to lose weight a bit more easily. My two cents. *^_^*0
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I just wanted to stop by and say "CONGRATULATIONS!" Developing a new relationship with food is NOT easy, especially if you don't even realize you need to. I come from the other side of having and Eating Disorder where I was convinced that every bite of food was my enemy ... it wasn't the enemy... I was my enemy. The ED was my enemy.
Once you make realizations that it's not food, its you ... it opens up doors and windows and a whole new way of looking at things. 0 -
Things I've found makes a huge difference in only eating until you're full is the following:
- When you eat, eat only. Don't watch TV, surf the net, read a book or anything else while you're eating.
- Chew your food thoroughly. Eat your food slowly, and make sure that you chew it properly before swallowing. There's no need to pretend you're an egg eating snake
- Savour your food. Concentrate on what you're eating, and appreciate the flavours and textures of the food.
- Pause between mouthfuls. This gives your body a chance to send those signals that it's not hungry any more.
- Don't feel the need to finish what's on your plate. What's more important - finishing that last morsel that's on your plate or leaving it and looking it at calories that you haven't consumed and that aren't going to your stomach or thighs?
Those are guidelines I try and stick by and I find it makes it a lot easier to read the body's signals.0 -
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i also have the problem of eating my food too quickly, i think it stems from when i was a child and me and my brother would race to see who could finish their plate the fastest lol
one thing i wondered about in this post is waiting until you are really hungry, i do this often as i am a hairdresser and often dont have enought time to eat when i should, and i had always thought that waiting until you have the rumbling tummy etc was bad as it is a sign that you are in starvation mode and then your body grabs hold of whatever you eat and stores it as fat??
Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods0 -
Great post, sure it will help a lot of people.0
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Sounds like a great revelation.
How long have you been doing this and how much have you lost with it?0 -
Funny ... yesterday I went out to lunch with a few of the girls here at work. Our bosses gave us a gift certificate for an awesome restaurant. For the $$$ the place cost I said "to heck with it, I'm eating whatever I want". Anyway, we ordered a few appetizers to share amongst us ... and a main course ... and even went for dessert! But funny thing is by the time we were done with the appetizers -- which were NOT BIG (fancy NYC restaurants don't do "big" like TGIF!) we were already full. Mainly because they did not bring everything out at once... they were brought out one at a time and it took about 1/2 hour to go through them all 3 appetizers. So by main course we were already just about full. We could have stopped there! Honestly! (but we didn't. <g>) But it just goes to show if you DO take your time you DO get full. I too often scarf food down unthinkingly and yes by the time it "registers" one can easily overeat.
And btw I was feeling the whole "guilt" thing that I must have ate 3000 calories in one lunch but when I got back and sat down and analyzed exactly what we did eat it wasn't THAT BAD!!! In fact based on the estimates the whole meal was maybe 600-700 calories -- and that included dessert. BTW I ordered baklava -- which I very rarely have because you often have to buy a big tray of them (which I don't need! LOL!) -- so I ordered it at restaurant instead and they came out with 3 tiny/mini portions. Perfect enough to hit your sweet tooth but not enough to pack on the calories.0 -
Sounds like a great revelation.
How long have you been doing this and how much have you lost with it?
I've been eating this way since April 25th (the day after Easter) and have lost 5 1/2 lbs as of yesterday morning. 0 -
Funny ... yesterday I went out to lunch with a few of the girls here at work. Our bosses gave us a gift certificate for an awesome restaurant. For the $$$ the place cost I said "to heck with it, I'm eating whatever I want". Anyway, we ordered a few appetizers to share amongst us ... and a main course ... and even went for dessert! But funny thing is by the time we were done with the appetizers -- which were NOT BIG (fancy NYC restaurants don't do "big" like TGIF!) we were already full. Mainly because they did not bring everything out at once... they were brought out one at a time and it took about 1/2 hour to go through them all 3 appetizers. So by main course we were already just about full. We could have stopped there! Honestly! (but we didn't. <g>) But it just goes to show if you DO take your time you DO get full. I too often scarf food down unthinkingly and yes by the time it "registers" one can easily overeat.
And btw I was feeling the whole "guilt" thing that I must have ate 3000 calories in one lunch but when I got back and sat down and analyzed exactly what we did eat it wasn't THAT BAD!!! In fact based on the estimates the whole meal was maybe 600-700 calories -- and that included dessert. BTW I ordered baklava -- which I very rarely have because you often have to buy a big tray of them (which I don't need! LOL!) -- so I ordered it at restaurant instead and they came out with 3 tiny/mini portions. Perfect enough to hit your sweet tooth but not enough to pack on the calories.
Well I'm glad it didn't end up being the HUGE calorie blow-out that you thought it was! I probably would've over-eaten too, but I hope I can get out of that mode. Whether someone else is paying for it or not, in the end *I* will "pay for it" in other ways. I need to learn that stuffing myself to the point of pain is not a reward.0 -
I was reading your post about the sugar thing and you being Diabetic. Has this new way of eating helped your Diabetes? I'm on the Diabetic meal plan and I've lost weight and eat alot of good foods. Anything to get that taken care of is aces in my book! I do like your tips about the slower eating. I too used to eat one meal a day and just go scarfing down!0
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Was just trying to do the quote thingy lol think I've got it Sussed now! 0
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one thing i wondered about in this post is waiting until you are really hungry, i do this often as i am a hairdresser and often dont have enought time to eat when i should, and i had always thought that waiting until you have the rumbling tummy etc was bad as it is a sign that you are in starvation mode and then your body grabs hold of whatever you eat and stores it as fat??
I think I know what u mean if u get to the point where u are really really hungry for example u ignore ur hunger signals until u really can't wait anymore, the u are going to end up eating your food really quickly and probably eat too much because you have left it too long. Some suggestions out there say to use a scale of 1-10 to measure your hunger
1 you feel physically faint/dizzy
2 ravenous
3 quite hungry
4 slightly hungry
5 neutral
6 nicely satisfied
7 full
8 stuffed (like when uv just come out of a restaurant lol
9 bloated
10 nauseous
It's easier said than done but the more you become aware of it the easier it becomes I guess, I'm still mastering it myself :{0 -
SO proud of you Melinda! Keep it up! :happy:0
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Woo hoo! Glad it's 'clicked' for you! :flowerforyou:
I know before I started making lifestyle changes, I was the same way - like, what do you mean there's 3 or 4 servings in this?! And how do I know when I'm full?
I finally learned to eat when I'm hungry, and then....don't eat until I'm 'full', just eat until I'm NOT HUNGRY anymore! Because I can eat again in a few hours (snacks), I don't have to stuff myself like I'm never going to have another meal. I also started viewing food as fuel - and if I put bad fuel in (junk food, processed carbs, fatty foods), I get the same results out (you are what you eat!). This has been more apparent as I've become more active, running & playing sports. With that said, I learned my lesson to never eat BK breakfast wraps before a rugby game ever again! :sick:
Cheers to you, and congrats! :drinker:0 -
Yeah, in all honesty - you just did that for 1 week when you wrote the post.
I am sorry for being a Debbie Downer, but I think it is way too early to consider this a life style change or think that this is something you can live with for the rest of your life or even think that this is a solution to your problem.
If you are heavy, 5.5 pounds are really more "margin of error" and can be largely attributed to water weight, stomach and bowl content etc. Just about every diet I started from scratch got me (starting at 250 pounds or so) an initial weight loss of 5 to 8 pounds in the first week.
I understand your enthusiasm and I wish you all the best but before you get too euphoric about this, better wait a few weeks and make sure this is a long term thing you can pull through and not just another fad that fizzles out after a couple of weeks. Believe me, I had a gazillion of those where I thought "I finally got it" but it wasn't sustainable for me.0 -
l LOVE this! Who would have thought it could really work!?0
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My mantra is to eat half of what I could. Eating till I was full is what got me into trouble in the first place. If I give it 5 minutes, have a glass of water, I will feel full.0
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Yeah, in all honesty - you just did that for 1 week when you wrote the post.
I am sorry for being a Debbie Downer, but I think it is way too early to consider this a life style change or think that this is something you can live with for the rest of your life or even think that this is a solution to your problem.
If you are heavy, 5.5 pounds are really more "margin of error" and can be largely attributed to water weight, stomach and bowl content etc. Just about every diet I started from scratch got me (starting at 250 pounds or so) an initial weight loss of 5 to 8 pounds in the first week.
I understand your enthusiasm and I wish you all the best but before you get too euphoric about this, better wait a few weeks and make sure this is a long term thing you can pull through and not just another fad that fizzles out after a couple of weeks. Believe me, I had a gazillion of those where I thought "I finally got it" but it wasn't sustainable for me.
@ SAL- Completely un-necessary. I understand the feeling, but if she is new to this site and/or excited about this 5 pound weight-loss then you need to celebrate it with her. _NOT CRITICIZE_ If thats the case, anytime someone looses 1.6 lbs, you should be shaming them as well! if you are not able to celebrate her 5 -almost 6- pound weight loss, keep your comments to yourself and move on! You are NOT required to leave a post on every board you read!
SHAME ON YOU!!!!!!!!!!!0 -
joybell, who do you think you are?
She posts something on a public board, so she puts it up for public discussion and that may include people who may caution her on getting overly enthusiastic over a VERY short term success. I am not shaming anyone. There are plenty of people cheering, I think it is a good idea to - every now and then - bring in a word of caution.
So, a guy hops off a cardboard box and is excited - next thing you see him on a roof screaming "I can fly, I can fly" - are you celebrating with him? Only a fool would - I personally would tell him to be careful! Just because it worked off a box (ie. for 1 week) does mean it works off the roof (ie. a possible life time).
Now please get the heck out of my hair and stop telling me what I can do and what I can't do. I offered my opinion in a neutral way speaking from my own experience - who are you to try and shame ME for that?0 -
There may be a ton of books out there, but one I have that relates to the OP's post is:
"Intuitive Eating" by Evelyn Tribole M.S., R.D. and Elyse Resch, M.S., R.D., F.A.D.A.
I tried it a couple months ago, but found out I wasn't ready for it. I'm very close to goal and think this book will need to come out again. I really want to get to the point where food is not my only focus in life. After all, don't we all want to break free and enjoy life?
:flowerforyou:
Edited to add: check out the website: http://www.intuitiveeating.org/
I particularly love principle #10:
" Honor Your Health--Gentle Nutrition Make food choices that honor your health and tastebuds while making you feel well. Remember that you don't have to eat a perfect diet to be healthy. You will not suddenly get a nutrient deficiency or gain weight from one snack, one meal, or one day of eating. It's what you eat consistently over time that matters, progress not perfection is what counts."0 -
Brilliant! Keep in mind medication can throw a wrench into your weight (over or under). I also add in my own very "duh" kind of rule:
food in needs to = food out. AKA if I eat more my activity has to be more. Less activity less food. I'll bet your diabetes will improve! Along with complications of it reduced! Keep it going, girl!0 -
Good for you. It sounds like this way of thinking about food is helping you in your journey.0
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