i dont know when im full

elias1609
elias1609 Posts: 71 Member
edited November 14 in Health and Weight Loss
I know it sounds crazy but i cant pin point when im full. Help!

Replies

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Eat slow, pause constantly, drink water, evaluate......repeat.
  • WeddedBliss1992
    WeddedBliss1992 Posts: 414 Member
    I have to admit, I feel the same way sometimes. I will just eat and eat and eat, step away from the food, or get up from the table when there isn't any food left, and feel like I haven't eaten anything at all. I just drastically cut my calorie intake. I am starting to feel hunger, which is something that I also never experienced. Since I'm learning when I feel hungry, I figured that will also help me to learn when I feel full. I am taking a medication that gives me a voracious appetite, so I'm hoping that by cutting my calories significantly, I will eventually learn when I feel full. I think eating slowly also helps, because it allows time for the stomach to actually fill up. I have stopped eating on the run.
  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,371 Member
    You do not need to eat until full or stuffed only still satisfied. Some of us have overeaten to the extent that our bodies signals no longer work or we are eating all the time and they no longer have to work.

    If you are at least eating to your calorie allowance (including eating back some exercise calories) you are very likely meeting your body's energy requirements.

    I would suggest for a while that you plan your daily meals and snacks in advance (allow for some flexibility though) this way you know you are getting sufficient calories.

    Take time to eat your meals and snacks, do not chew or eat quickly, put your knife and fork down in between mouthfuls, do not pick up to use again until food swallowed, taste your food, feel the texture, eat slowly. It takes about 20 minutes for the 'I've eaten sufficient now' message to get from the stomach to the brain.

    Drink plenty of water, eat nutritious but calorie dense foods, don't forget healthy fats and high fibre foods.
  • meljustcole
    meljustcole Posts: 29 Member
    This is a great article on that very subject: http://www.livestrong.com/article/480254-how-long-does-it-take-your-brain-to-register-that-the-stomach-is-full/
  • elias1609
    elias1609 Posts: 71 Member
    Thanks guys!
  • Lourdesong
    Lourdesong Posts: 1,492 Member
    I've just had to accept that being full isn't the goal. Logging my intake and not going over my calories is the goal.

    I don't remember the last time I felt full.
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
    Most of us don't.

    It's kinda why we're here, right? We don't know when enough is enough, or even too much, and we eat to excess and gained unwanted weight.



  • annette_15
    annette_15 Posts: 1,657 Member
    lol I would put down more food than my bf at every meal if I didnt only put what I was planning to eat on my plate and not going back for seconds
  • kotarea
    kotarea Posts: 212 Member
    I used to feel that way as well but that is because I was eating too much, now I eat what my calorie goal allows and stop there, I drink lots of water too, now I have a hard time hitting my calorie goal and I feel full most of the time or just not hungry at all and have to remind myself to eat (Except for on those eat your feelings kind of days then I hate admitting and logging but I do it anyways and use that as motivation to work harder the next day!)
  • rosnigetsfit
    rosnigetsfit Posts: 569 Member
    I don't make myself full. I usually end up just being satisfied not totally full and I'm cool with it.
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
    Something that has worked out kind of neat for me: My goal at my dinner break is to be done eating when I have 40 minutes to go (about 20 minutes to get my food and eat it) so that I can take a walk. I only take what I can eat in that amount of time. I don't even think about being full anymore, I never really feel full, and I don't often get hungry afterwards. Maybe giving yourself a time frame instead of waiting for the signal, which can really sabotage your efforts, can keep you on track.
  • trish56832
    trish56832 Posts: 43 Member
    Good thread I also will sit at the table contemplating if I really still "need" food or if it just tastes good. The satisfied feeling is going to take time for me after eating until being stuffed for too long! I also have to think before I reach for snacks because I tend to eat for any reason not just hunger! Nice to see I'm not alone :) I will say MFP is golden definitely helping and a realistic approach to weight loss and fitness
  • __Roxy__
    __Roxy__ Posts: 825 Member
    Try eating high protein, filling foods. I too don't really know when I'm full until it's too late, and have eaten too much. I learned to just eat what I've portioned out for myself, based on my calorie goals for the day. Eating protein at every meal is very helpful for staying satisfied :)
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Try not piling your plate up. Serve up half or 3 quarters the amount you usually would. Chances are after thinking about it, you won't go back for seconds.
    This works for me, because if it's on my plate I'll finish it no matter how full, satisfied or stuffed I feel!
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    So?

    You have a calorie limit ...eat to that and them ignore hunger signals

    Build your meals to hit your protein and fat minimums at least with lots of low calorie vegetables to pad it out

    If you've just eaten your calories allowed then stop eating ...you won't still feel hungry 30 mins later
  • NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner
    NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner Posts: 1,018 Member
    We shouldn't aim for "full". We should aim for "satisfied". When we aim for full all the time we end up fat. Then we end up here. Ha ha. Hence why I am here. I used to over stuff my self in a quest to feel full. Now I eat smaller meals and now feel satisfied after a meal instead of crammed and uncomfortable.
  • amy_kee
    amy_kee Posts: 694 Member
    I agree. Don't shoot for feeling full. It takes about 15 minutes for your body to even recognize the food you put in it. Give things time like lots of people have said. It's not necessary to feel full to feel ok after eating, You gradually learn that by eating less. Before you know it, your body is happy and fine with less food.
  • stephenrhinton
    stephenrhinton Posts: 522 Member
    'Full' is a chemical signal biologically speaking, not electrical. Which means you don't start to 'feel full' until about 15 minutes AFTER your body has started secreting the 'stop eating now' signal chemicals.

    But as others have said, I no longer trust my biology to inform my eating habits. My biology wants energy reserves, I want to shed excess energy reserves.
  • LosingOnPasta
    LosingOnPasta Posts: 3 Member
    Eat until you're satisfied not full. Sometimes I still feel a bit hungry right after I finished a meal, but the feeling disappears in 5-10 mins.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,630 Member
    I just eat up to a certain number of calories by certain times of the day.

    I haven't been full in 39 days.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,468 Member
    I don't know either. I find it's best to just put what I'm planning to eat on my plate and just eat that - no seconds.
  • Whitezombiegirl
    Whitezombiegirl Posts: 1,042 Member
    SergeantSausage wrote: »
    Most of us don't.

    It's kinda why we're here, right? We don't know when enough is enough, or even too much, and we eat to excess and gained unwanted weight.



    Not me, I'm here for other reasons. I fill up really quickly and often eat my meals in a few sittings- so maybe I have something to offer here. I think maybe I feel full because I eat (annoyingly) slowly. I like to make sure my mouth is empty before eat next bite (not a concious thing- just always been this way). Plus I pause pretty often. I do find that if I have to eat more quickly due to time limits etc. (short lunch break etc.) I don't feel as full- and I kind of don't notice what I've eaten. I don't like that.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    There was BBC documentary on dieting which covered this syndrome. They call your type of dieter a feaster and it has to do with your body not producing a certain type of hormone in your stomach to signal when you are full.

    http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/film-news/deconstructing-diets---you-feaster-8431958

  • Azurite27
    Azurite27 Posts: 554 Member
    This is why I have to count calories. I can't trust my hunger cues. I eat when I start feeling really hungry or weak. I can eat a decent sized meal and then be hungry a short time later but I have to just ignore that until my next planned meal or snack.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    Feeling full is overrated. Feeling satisfied is a better feeling. Your body doesn't know it's no longer hungry if you eat quickly. It takes 20 minutes for the stomach to communicate this to your brain. Slow down.
  • mariannehgv
    mariannehgv Posts: 34 Member
    edited April 2015
    As a follow-up on what 999tigger said, you should try to cut back on foods that digest quickly, like potatoes and sugary things, and eat more things that take a while to digest, and therefore end up lower in the gut. The reasoning behind this is that lower in the gut is where the "I'm full" hormones are produced, so if your body produces less of those, you need to make sure more food makes it down there.

    The types of food you'll want to eat are called high protein low GI. Examples are:
    Brown rice, whole oats, lentils, fish, lean meat, etc.
    Meal tips are found here:
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/high-protein_low-gi_recipes
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,965 Member
    There was a BBC documentary a while back about different types of overeating and how diets should be tailored to different types of overeaters. One type, called "feasters", don't produce enough of the gut hormones which signal fullness, so tend to eat too much once they start. The recommendation for this group was a high protein, low glycemic index diet, which boosts the fullness signal. Link to the recommendations for "feasters":

    http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/scotland/tv/rightdiet/feasters.pdf
  • RaeBeeBaby
    RaeBeeBaby Posts: 4,246 Member
    Vailara wrote: »
    I don't know either. I find it's best to just put what I'm planning to eat on my plate and just eat that - no seconds.

    ^^^^This! Make a meal plan, put it on your plate, eat it, enjoy it and call it done. Log the calories and move on. (Or pre-log, then you're less likely to eat more than what you allotted for yourself.)

    I used to eat to the feeling of full/stuffed at dinner every night. (Breakfast and lunch were not really a problem for some reason.) At dinner, I would eat as much or more than my husband. Now, after several months of eating my pre-determined portions I just don't enjoy that stuffed feeling anymore. In fact, it makes me feel pretty gross when I do. Amazing how your brain/body can adapt to a few small behavioral changes.
  • belgerian
    belgerian Posts: 1,059 Member
    edited April 2015
    I try to just eat until i am no longer hungry. If I eat till I am full I have overate and my stomach is packed. If your still hungry after you eat lets say X calories then drink a glass of water and give it 5 minutes, it takes a few for your mind to catch up with your stomach or vice versa.
    There have been times where I am actually still hungry and eat more.
    There also has been plenty of times I just want another bowl of ice cream or another cookie ect ect ect.
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