I'm not hungry, but I want to eat.
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Fat4Fuel2
Posts: 280 Member
Do any of you ever feel this way while low carbing? I know that I am always satisfied after a meal. That is I'm not hungry, and I won't be hungry for hours after. Most of my craving are gone, but some still exist. I think most of it is that I like the act of eating. It's more of a mental thing than a physical thing. Do any of you ever feel this way while low carbing? If so, what do you do about the craving? I would love any advise because I feel it is this that is holding me back from really reaching my goals.
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Yep. I think you're right that the act of eating is part of it. For me it can also be boredom or tiredness. If I really want to eat, I start with flavored tea or coffee. If that doesn't help I usually snack on raw cauliflower. I've gotten better at distracting myself when I'm bored and going to bed when tired.0
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For me it's stress. I also do tea and water. Maybe seltzer. I also will walk around. Intermittent fasing has helped me a lot with this.0
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I get a lot of my calories from snacking. Always have. I've just changed the kind of snacks I eat, and that seems to help.0
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I eat for two reasons.... The first is emotional eating.... Bored, tired, bored, lazy, happy, sad etc. Next and to a lesser extent physically hungry... So if I just ate a couple of hours ago... It is emotional hunger not physical. What I am doing to combat this is eat by the clock.... 6 9 12 3 6..,, to start. Now transitioning to 6, 12, 3, 6. Eventually to 6 12 and 6. But the emotional eating is so ingrained. I doubt I will ever fully get over it.0
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I drink water, sometimes you may be mistaking wanting food with dehydration. For the record though, this doesn't always work, and I am hungry all the freakin time0
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I chew Sugar free gum, it gives my mouth sometHing to do.0
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I agree with both "sugars" above. Keep yourself busy or go to bed. I am also an avid gum chewer who is trying to lower the number of sticks I go through a day. I finally counted on day and found I was adding 20-30 carbs to my intake a day.0
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I get this way a lot on the weekends. Husband works 10-7 so I have long stretches of time to myself. I used to use lunch as a break in the middle of doing house or school work, but we've been having big bacon and egg breakfasts around 8:30 or 9am (we do smoothies Mon-Fri) so I don't get hungry until about 2 or 3pm. I still get the urge to eat at noon, though. I guess it's because I've had that routine since I started grad school two years ago. I don't think about it though until I notice the time. Then I get excited that I'm not hungry... and then I wonder why I'm not hungry or if I actually am hungry, but didn't notice...
At any rate... I just keep refilling my water glass! Sometimes I drink tea or coffee. I also keep nuts and string cheese on hand for small snacks. Sometimes I give in and eat lunch - and then regret it because then I'm too full. It's hard to break the habit because Mon-Fri I eat lunch at 11:30 or 12. I figure at some point I'll just stop noticing though and I'll have a new weekend meal schedule!
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I ate as much as I wanted (all low carb) between Sept-Feb and gained 15 lbs. It kept creeping up but the last 5 lbs. came on really fast. I was eating because I felt like it and was also somewhat stressed from work. Not true hunger. I have been back on track (and tracking) for less than 2 weeks and I've lost 6 lbs. already, so thankfully I think that last 5 was just water weight. I think it was good for me to experience this, and also ok to take a break once in a while from being too strict. But I essentially had to reset my mindset back to where it was when I was actively losing - that extra food when I'm not truly hungry is not consistent with my long term goals. The first few days back on plan I had to white knuckle it a few times. But if I really want something to eat when not truly hungry, I've been drinking something calorie free instead. It's working so far and each day I don't overeat it gives me more confidence that I will, eventually, reach my goal weight, and when I do I will keep eating low carb.0
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Do any of you ever feel this way while low carbing? I know that I am always satisfied after a meal. That is I'm not hungry, and I won't be hungry for hours after. Most of my craving are gone, but some still exist. I think most of it is that I like the act of eating. It's more of a mental thing than a physical thing. Do any of you ever feel this way while low carbing? If so, what do you do about the craving? I would love any advise because I feel it is this that is holding me back from really reaching my goals.
This only happens to me if I'm not in balance with how I'm eating. If I feel physically full but have "hunger" it's a craving and those only happen if I've eaten something I shouldn't have for my plan. I just look over my food log, try to identify the culprit, drink lots of water and have great care with my food choices for my meals until this kind of niggling hunger quits happening. When all is going as it should, I eat and am full and satisfied for hours.0 -
I find I tend to be hungrier after a bad water day. I had a bad water day Saturday (too many errands and a nap nuked my water goal), and Sunday, I ate so much food. Mostly fat, and still good in Keto levels overall, but I felt perpetually hungry or missing something (mainly sodium)... It was annoying, but I was happy to have kept it Keto... Looking forward to seeing how today goes. Started with bullet proof tea, but feeling hungry-ish at the moment, but it's time for broth...0
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The only way I have success is to record every bite -- FIRST. Keeps the snacking from getting out of control. I try to stick to 1400-1600 calories and 25-45 carbs. If I can see that the snack is going to leave me short for dinner, I'll take it off MFP and put the snack away.
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Yes, I do have the problem. It is worse on the weekends since my time isn't structured time sitting at a desk - and I need my hands to type. I can watch TV with out a snack, but I don't tend to watch a lot of TV. I love to read, and I have to have something in my hand when I read. I try to think before hand and make a cup of tea, but more times that not I get up from reading looking for "something".
Tea helps me more than anything else.0 -
Thanks for all the ideas! Tea and gum have helped! I think it's going to be a long struggle as its a lifetime habit I'm trying to change.0
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Yep, I know this feeling and agree with a lot of the others. Sometimes it is stress, and I just want to chew something. (was like that pre-keto also). So out comes the gum or ice cubes. Sometimes I missed something, sodium or sweets (I haven't cut out my SA completely) and have a diet soda, and that actually helps too. However, as far as the water intake goes, my issue with wanting to chew comes when I've had a lot of water, not when I am reduced. It's like I feel a bit water logged and just need to chew.
It definitely is a long process to retrain our brains. But, it's also so worth it.0 -
The only way I have success is to record every bite -- FIRST. Keeps the snacking from getting out of control. I try to stick to 1400-1600 calories and 25-45 carbs. If I can see that the snack is going to leave me short for dinner, I'll take it off MFP and put the snack away.
This. If I pre-log I then have to go back and tweak some things to fit in a snack, and it keeps me busy enough trying to get the numbers to add up- before I know it I have forgotten why I wanted a snack in the first place.
Also, making sure I have enough good healthy fat is key. Usually a fat bomb fits the bill if I still am feeling hungry after a meal or in the middle of the day.
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Yes, and it's even harder because I quit smoking almost 2 years ago. Usually I want something crunchy or salty to chew on, so I go get dill pickle slices. Jerky also helps with the need to chew on something salty (for me).0
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I will have to try the pickles... I'm sometimes a fan
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pickles and cheese is the way to go 0
