Can you trust your appetite and/or hunger/fullness cues?

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distinctlybeautiful
distinctlybeautiful Posts: 1,041 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Now that I've been using MFP consistently for about six months, my appetite and hunger/fullness cues are much healthier than they've been. I'm also a lot better now at discerning hunger cues from just wanting to eat and at discerning fullness cues from just not wanting to eat, and then I can act accordingly.

I've seen a lot of posts, though, like "should I eat if I'm not hungry," and "I've only eaten 800 calories, but I'm not hungry," and "I've eaten all my calories for the day but am starving every night." I understand that there are often legitimate reasons for those kinds of things, but it's also got me thinking about appetite and hunger/fullness cues.

So, tell me about yours! Do they steer you right most of the time or try to lead you off-course? How are you at recognizing them and dealing with them?

Thanks!
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Replies

  • hannahadrianna
    hannahadrianna Posts: 8 Member
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    I don't trust my body yet. I know that I use food as comfort and eat emotionally, so my hunger and eating patterns are not accurate. It has gotten better since I cut out soda and started drinking more water, but I still don't trust myself in that respect.

    I feel better now that I've cut out processed food. Actual fruits and veggies satisfy me...but again I don't know if that's because I'm proud that I'm eating better or because I actually AM eating better. I've only started eating healthier since the end of October, so things may change. I may eventually learn what real hunger feels like instead of just my brain saying it's time to eat because...well...I'm used to eating at the same time every day.

  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,483 Member
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    I trust my body and my cues. I have been maintaining 6 years, count calories occasionally, weigh myself when I think about it, trying to do it weekly, and stay within my 5lb range ( up once, down twice).

    I do have to tell myself to eat when I get up. That is not a time I enjoy food, but have found I benefit from it, a granola or protein bar plus an orange.

    The rest of the day lunch between 1-3, dinner 7-8:30, supper snack 9-10.
    Nothing is written in stone, and I will skip a meal, eat earlier or later depending on my environment at the time.

    When I log I find my natural inclination is to eat between 1200-1400 cals, just what my maintenance is.

    Cheers, h.
  • ki4eld
    ki4eld Posts: 1,215 Member
    edited November 2015
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    It's taken me over a year of daily tracking to start trusting my hunger cues and my cravings. Now, after tracking my food, weight, moods, I understand what hunger means and what I actually want when a craving hits. And I also know what I can eat to satisfy those cravings without sabotaging my macros.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    After a year counting calories I can trust those cues more but not so much starting out.
  • Lourdesong
    Lourdesong Posts: 1,492 Member
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    No I don't. And I don't think the time to start trusting these cues is when I'm in a deficit.

    In maintenance perhaps the mode seems more feasible to learn and discern the signals and cues. But even then, I'd be cautious given my own history of weight and overeating problems.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    No. I always want to eat.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
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    My hunger cues are good - my fullness cues are not. Well, maybe they are, but I'm not good at listening to them. Knowing how many calories is on my plate before I eat is helpful - I know what range of calories makes a good meal for me. Also, I've learned I am equally satisfied with a 70 calorie dessert as a 300 or more calorie dessert, so opt for the 70 calories more often than not now.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Habit completely determines my hunger cues. So when I'm eating well (correct amounts, not snacking), I can trust them. (This also made it easy for me to cut calories.) But as soon as I start eating all the time again or snacking more (even "wholesome" foods), I start feeling hungry at those times (or, more correctly, wanting to eat then). I discovered this when I did a bike trip and later a really intense training schedule (for a half ironman) where I was eating more -- it messed me up so I wanted to eat even on days when I didn't need it, so I have to learn to deal with this.
  • hgycta
    hgycta Posts: 3,013 Member
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    Mine are pretty spot on, but I still have to watch myself and track because while my stomach is full, my brain insists I eat more anyways because sugar just tastes sooooo good ;)
    For example, I was fuller than usual this morning and decided my lunch would probably be smaller. Turns out, I ended up miscalculating something and ate a little more than usual.
    I also sometimes get ravenous hungry and then step on the scale to discover I've dropped below my range weight (I'm in maintenance), so I ate until I was satisfied the next few days and was back within range.
    However, if I eat something sweet I will want more without being full, and I'll catch myself trying to come up with excuses on why I should let myself have it even though I'm not hungry. I think it's only human to do that, but that's what gets us all here!
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    My hunger and fullness cues are pretty good right now. The problem is not whether those cues work. It is more, will I pay attention to them. So I might know that I'm not hungry but if I see chocolate cake will I eat it anyway or not?
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    Yes and no.

    I can trust them over time to keep me close to how much I should be eating (not necessarily what I should be eating). I can't trust them at a specific moment in time to stop me when I'm full or to have me eat when I need to.

    Recent examples:

    After a long run my appetite completely vanished, didn't eat when I should have, crashed hard in a couple of hours. The next day, I was hungry enough to make up for it.

    If I open a bag of Oreos and sit down with it, it will be at least half gone (> 1000 cals) and I will be super stuffed before it gets put away. For a day or two after that, I won't want to eat anything.

    Both instances averaged out almost perfectly.
  • amyk0202
    amyk0202 Posts: 667 Member
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    No. I do not trust my hunger cues at all. I will have to log my food forever.
  • summerkissed
    summerkissed Posts: 730 Member
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    I trust my knowledge not my belly lol I can eat till the cows come home and I never feel full.....but I rarely feel hungry either haha but I have been doing this long enough to know how much a portion is and a rough idea of calorie content....I also eat lots of wholesome foods and know that an apple is better than a chocolate bar and a bottle of water is better than a juice! I use my brain rather than trust my belly!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I struggle with having to have something sweet after dinner most nights. It doesn't matter how stuffed i am after my meal I can always stuff something sweet in too! Obviously it's more of a bad habit than a need..
    But to answer your question, i don't trust my hunger cues, I often eat because i feel like something, not because I'm hungry.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    I can trust the cues most of the time but the "cue machine" works best when I am getting enough sleep and exercise.
    So the weight loss for me is really about dealing with stress, sleep, and exercise so that I can pay attention to my food.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    Nope. You could eat 1500 calories of bread or candy and still be hungry. Hunger cues are not related to what your diet consists of, so you just can't trust them.
  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
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    I don't trust mine. I feel hungry for a number of reasons and it seems like very few of them are about what my body actually needs. When I respond to my impulses I make terrible choices. I would just live off cookies and biltong anything with a really strong sweet or salty taste - thats always where my hunger takes me.

    When I use my brain and my scale to make choices I feel much better and reach my goals.

    I only allow my stomach to make about 10% of my choices.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    I wouldn't trust my three year old to take care of things at home while I'm on vacation. Neither can I trust my appetite to always make the right choices. Free will and all that, some boundaries are good and even necessary. It's a shared responsibility. My frontal lobes decide what kinds of foods, in what quantities, and how many times a day I'll eat. My reptile brain gets to choose freely from those foods and to time my meals, and to stop the eating if I get too full before the food is gone.

    This thread should be nominated for a sticky, or at least be laminated.
  • 100df
    100df Posts: 668 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    I wouldn't trust my three year old to take care of things at home while I'm on vacation. Neither can I trust my appetite to always make the right choices. Free will and all that, some boundaries are good and even necessary. It's a shared responsibility. My frontal lobes decide what kinds of foods, in what quantities, and how many times a day I'll eat. My reptile brain gets to choose freely from those foods and to time my meals, and to stop the eating if I get too full before the food is gone.

    This thread should be nominated for a sticky, or at least be laminated.

    LOL! My appetite is a 3 year old! I can trust my body but not my head. Trying very hard to listen to my body. I feel the best when I do.

    I plan to log forever. I'm a terrible judge of how much calories something is.
  • emily7kg
    emily7kg Posts: 8 Member
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    I really think that sugar screws up our natural appetite hormones. Everyone maintained their weight before the advent of modern processed food. Isnt it supposed to be a natural bodily function? As I start logging food and sticking to a set number, the junk foods naturally drop away for me. The chocolate biscuits at 4pm are less appetising knowing it basically means salad with nothing for dinner. I'm not saying that I'm 100 % there, but I'm believing that in time my body will forgive me for all the crap I've put into it, and come back into proper hormonal alignment.

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