Stomach rumbling? Hungry? How do you tell the difference between...

I did the 5:2 diet for a couple of weeks just to mix it up. It helped me know what hunger felt like again. Go a day with no food and you will know what hunger feels like vs. what desire feels like.

IMHO you can get a good gauge of hunger about 20 minutes after you eat. If your stomach is rumbling and you really feel hungry after that time, eat a small snack. You shouldn't have to feel like you are starving.

Sometimes my stomach rumbling is actually telling me I am thirsty. But with that said, if your body is used to getting food at a certain time of day everyday, it will get used to a new or different schedule fairly quickly.

If after I drink something (water) and it is still rumbling I eat a light snack. After exercise I do need to eat at least 1 hour after.. This rumbling is real hunger..

I'll be honest - I have a hard time with this! When I'm home, I tend to "graze" all day long. If I'm not eating, my stomach thinks it's hungry. When I start eating in a more healthy manner (ie - not all the time!), I have to plan my food and nutrition. I make sure I get enough calories and hit my goals (mostly with protein and fiber - I never have a problem hitting the carbs and fat goals. I think that's part of my problem :-)). And for about 2 weeks, my belly thinks it is starving. I want to eat all the time. But I've never died, never passed out, so one thing I've learned is that I can't trust my belly to tell me when I'm hungry when I begin a healthy eating routine. But after about 2 weeks, my body adjusts, and I can start looking for hunger cues. Some things that I look for is not a grumbly tummy, but energy levels, shakiness (if I've done some heavy cardio and don't have enough to fuel my body, I can get a little shaky), and my general mood. Listening to my belly tends to just make it bigger...
- Good luck!!!
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I'm still learning to differentiate hunger and habit because I don't trust my brain when it says it's hungry. So if I think I'm hungry I drink a bottle of water. If I'm still hungry in 15-20 minutes I'll eat something. I also have to eat a lot slower than I used to, to give my brain a chance to tell me I'm full rather than eating to the point of being stuffed.

dopeysmelly wrote: »

I don't trust my stomach's hunger signals after a lifetime of being overweight. I know my calorie target and eat to that regardless of what my stomach wants me to believe.

Agreed. I keep seeing people complaining about being hungry - well yeah! If you're hungry, you're doing SOMETHING right. When my stomach growls I growl right back.

i read on one of my fb pages i follow that said if you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, you're not really hungry..so i've been trying to go with that mindset.

When my stomach growls, I'm know I'm hungry. However, letting myself get stomach growling hungry triggers migraines for me. For a lot of people, waiting too long can also trigger overeating. So I plan my meals and snacks that fit my calorie goals at regular intervals. When it's time to eat, I eat, unless I'm really just *not* hungry.

If you think you're eating out of boredom, I know a lot of people who chew gum to help with that. Sometimes it's just the chewing action that your body wants. Gum is a good distraction.

Original_Sinner wrote: »

Do the apple/carrot test.

My mom always made us do the apple/carrot test. For me it was carrots, for my brother it was apples.

Basically pick a food that you don't really like but WILL eat. If the idea of eating that food is completely a turn off, you aren't hungry.

if the food is an option and you would eat it, then you are hungry.

This is my new tactic, thank you! I have lots of trouble with deciding if I'm really hungry (it's easier when I'm on my work rotation, but when I'm home for two weeks I just want to stuff my face) and I can think of several occasions where I was "hungry", looked at the fresh carrots and cut celery, and decided that wasn't what I wanted to I turned to the oreos. Now I'll pay more attention to that moment.

I try drinking a lot of water and seeing if I feel the same. Also, I've recently been incorporating peppermint tea in when ever I start to feel hungry - because sometimes I can't tell if my mind is tricking my body because I'm just thinking about eating and want to eat when I'm bored, or if I actually need it. Peppermint tea is an appetite suppressant so see how that works!