Weight Loss Theory
laurimaki
Posts: 47 Member
I don't know if there's any science behind this, but I am interested to hear what other people think. Often I read a comment online or a post on MFP with someone complaining about things not keeping them full or mentioning which snacks keep them full longer. My theory is that we are meant to feel hunger, ESPECIALLY if we are trying to lose weight. I mean, if your body adjusts to eating a certain amount of calories when you are at a higher weight, it needs that many calories every day to not feel hungry and sustain said weight. So if you start eating less and feeling hungry, doesn't that hunger mean that you are burning fat? Doesn't that mean there is no food in your stomach being burned up as fuel, so your stomach is shrinking and your body is using fat to sustain itself?
My theory for losing weight has always been that I have to not eat until I'm truly hungry, and going to bed hungry (NOT starving myself, just being a little hungry) after eating dinner a few hours earlier is not a bad sign, but a sign that my body is noticing there is less food, trying to get me to put more food in there, but instead burns fat to keep my body fueled. Thoughts? It is the one major thing among many minor changes that has worked for me to lose the weight I already have lost, and I know it would work to lose the rest I want to lose...it's just always about the battle of will power isn't it? And being hungry is hard haha.
My theory for losing weight has always been that I have to not eat until I'm truly hungry, and going to bed hungry (NOT starving myself, just being a little hungry) after eating dinner a few hours earlier is not a bad sign, but a sign that my body is noticing there is less food, trying to get me to put more food in there, but instead burns fat to keep my body fueled. Thoughts? It is the one major thing among many minor changes that has worked for me to lose the weight I already have lost, and I know it would work to lose the rest I want to lose...it's just always about the battle of will power isn't it? And being hungry is hard haha.
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I'm just hungry right before meals.
I don't like going to bed hungry, as inevitably hunger will wake me in the middle of the night, and I won't be able to go back to sleep until I eat, and I am much more productive when I'm able to sleep through the night. I save a few hundred calories for a bed time snack.1 -
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I think some people can lose weight and not be "hungry", but I do think that for a lot of us being hungry is just what you have to deal with, maybe not every day, maybe eating certain things can minimize it, but yeah, I know for myself I am going to have to be a little hungry. This is why I usually skip breakfast, I like to keep my "hungry" to one time of the time, the time of the day when I'm best able to ignore it and when eating doesn't really seem to help it anyway.3
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I was more hungry when I gained weight, because I was malnourished. While losing, I have never aimed for a bigger deficit than my fat stores could handle easily, and getting in better nutrition leads to less hunger, and more manageable hunger. Never feeling hungry is not a reasonable goal. I like to feel pleasantly hungry before I eat, that makes my meal taste better too.
I also aimed to rely as little as possible on willpower. I plan meals and shopping and cook delicious meals. Weight management is almost effortless when you tune out the noise.2 -
Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »
I don't agree with this.
The body is burning calories and your fat as fuel regardless of if your stomach is empty or not, its a 24 hour process and thats because it's fueling your primary needs, breathing, heart beating, digestion, Etc.
There is absolutely no requirement to feel hungry through weight loss, you don't lose weight any quicker and for most people feeling hungry would probably make them go over their calories. Planning your day and macros to the way your body works and maintaining a calorie deficit is how you lose weight. Honestly the stomach is one size, it stretches to fit a consumption of food but it only goes back to its original size, it doesn't get smaller therefor making you want less food. If you are honestly putting yourself through this just to lose the rest of your weight, it really does seem unnecessary.
When you eat food your body burns the food in your stomach as fuel first before fat from what I understand...you aren't constantly burning fat if you have a stomach full of food. That's why when you eat too much and your body doesn't use all that said food, it converts that food to fat.
Also, obviously your stomach doesn't become lesser size, but it still "shrinks" back to its original size as you mentioned, that's what I mean by shrink. The shrink that causes hunger. When it's full and stretched, there is no hunger.
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I think food choices have a lot to do with hunger. Some foods drive me to need to eat again within a couple of hours and other foods leave me full and satisfied for well over half a day.1
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kommodevaran wrote: »Never feeling hungry is not a reasonable goal. I like to feel pleasantly hungry before I eat, that makes my meal taste better too.
I also aimed to rely as little as possible on willpower. I plan meals and shopping and cook delicious meals. Weight management is almost effortless when you tune out the noise.
I agree that avoiding hunger is not reasonable, I guess that's why I am always baffled at the amount of people talking about wanting to feel full all the time. Being hungry makes me feel alive haha. I do struggle with willpower, that's great that you have been successful in eliminating the need to fight that "noise". My wife makes delicious meals, but I'm still a sucker for sweets and fast food, it's one of my major weaknesses. We mostly don't buy that stuff because we will eat it, but it's just too easy to stop somewhere and get it when the craving hits..
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Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »Right, it burns what you ate but it's still needing a required number of calories over a 24 hour period, so if you eat food less then what you need the body is still going to use fat for fuel regardless of how often you put food in your stomach
It doesn't matter how many times I eat or when I eat (I'm a fan of intermittent fasting myself), you need to put less in than what is expended, agreed. I guess that's the point of my original post, if you are eating less than your body needs to maintain it's current weight, would that not lead to hunger? For me, I feel it does. So that is why when I lose weight successfully, I am more often hungry than not.
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Sometimes I'm hungry and sometimes I'm not. I generally stay pretty satiated with what I eat.2
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I sometimes get hungry around 11 or 12 at night. I think I didn't have enough to eat at dinner. I do wait a bit but then get a snack. I don't think I could sleep feeling hungry. But next time this happens, I will try not to get a snack. Sometimes I take a sip of water to stop the hunger but I don't like to drink too much at night because then I will wake up and have to use the bathroom.0
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CasperNaegle wrote: »Sometimes I'm hungry and sometimes I'm not. I generally stay pretty satiated with what I eat.
That's good to hear. Do you feel like you are mainly eating when you're hungry or at set times? That's when I notice that I gain weight on certain days, when I eat and am not hungry.0 -
I don't necessarily agree that you need to fight off hunger as this can sometime lead to low blood sugars and poor food choices later on. But I do think that some people early on confuse not being full as being hungry.
Personally I like to eat when I'm hungry but not fighting it off so if I'm several hours from my next meal I'll take it some fruit or a low calorie snack so when I come to eat I'm nicely hungry and not overly so otherwise I know I'll overeat.
As for calories burning on a full or empty stomach. It doesn't make much difference it's calories in and calories out over the day that matters, the small difference in getting calories from food just digested or fat reserves is really so small it's not worth worrying about unless your grasping at gimmicks to sell some quacky new approach or diet.0 -
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I don't know if there's any science behind this, but I am interested to hear what other people think. Often I read a comment online or a post on MFP with someone complaining about things not keeping them full or mentioning which snacks keep them full longer. My theory is that we are meant to feel hunger, ESPECIALLY if we are trying to lose weight. I mean, if your body adjusts to eating a certain amount of calories when you are at a higher weight, it needs that many calories every day to not feel hungry and sustain said weight. So if you start eating less and feeling hungry, doesn't that hunger mean that you are burning fat? Doesn't that mean there is no food in your stomach being burned up as fuel, so your stomach is shrinking and your body is using fat to sustain itself?
My theory for losing weight has always been that I have to not eat until I'm truly hungry, and going to bed hungry after eating dinner a few hours earlier is not a bad sign, but a sign that my body is noticing there is less food, trying to get me to put more food in there, but instead burns fat to keep my body fueled. Thoughts? It is the one major thing among many minor changes that has worked for me to lose the weight I already have lost, and I know it would work to lose the rest I want to lose...it's just always about the battle of will power isn't it? And being hungry is hard haha.
I think if one is feeling overly hungry all of the time, they're doing it wrong. I'm hungry when meal times roll around...I'm not hungry all day...I don't go to bed hungry...I don't walk around all day being uncomfortable with my stomach growling...losing weight doesn't have to be torture.
I think the bigger issue(s) are that a lot of people think they should never be hungry...there's nothing wrong with being hungry and I think it's normal to be hungry before a meal, regardless of whether you're trying to lose weight or you're maintaining (me)...also, many people are used to feeling full...as in they're pretty much stuffed rather than being satiated...they want and desire that feeling of being truly full to the gills...lastly, a lot of people aren't really hungry...they're bored and they have a habit of reaching for food when they're bored.5 -
Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »
Hunger before a meal is fine..
But the way i took your post was that you are having times when you are just feeling hungry and putting up with that feeling because you feel that is what you need to do in order to lose weight and that is simply not the case.
That's NOT what my post was intending....I don't starve myself by any means. I just make sure to avoid eating when I'm not hungry as I believe that's when I gain weight. And if it's at night and I'm hungry (not starving), I find no shame in going to bed and not eating. Sometimes I snack if I'm hungry enough. Believe me, I am FAR from starving myself and avoiding eating LOL. That's why losing the 160+ pounds I've lost has taken me 8+ years.
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Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »
I don't agree with this.
The body is burning calories and your fat as fuel regardless of if your stomach is empty or not, its a 24 hour process and thats because it's fueling your primary needs, breathing, heart beating, digestion, Etc.
There is absolutely no requirement to feel hungry through weight loss, you don't lose weight any quicker and for most people feeling hungry would probably make them go over their calories. Planning your day and macros to the way your body works and maintaining a calorie deficit is how you lose weight. Honestly the stomach is one size, it stretches to fit a consumption of food but it only goes back to its original size, it doesn't get smaller therefor making you want less food. If you are honestly putting yourself through this just to lose the rest of your weight, it really does seem unnecessary.
When you eat food your body burns the food in your stomach as fuel first before fat from what I understand...you aren't constantly burning fat if you have a stomach full of food. That's why when you eat too much and your body doesn't use all that said food, it converts that food to fat.
Also, obviously your stomach doesn't become lesser size, but it still "shrinks" back to its original size as you mentioned, that's what I mean by shrink. The shrink that causes hunger. When it's full and stretched, there is no hunger.
This isn't really how your body works...you are constantly cycling between fuel sources depending on what you do and constantly cycling between fat storage and oxidation...all that matters is your net energy position in the end...if you're in a deficiency of energy, you can't have a net increase in fat storage.
Think of it like a bank account...let's say you have 2,500 in your bank account and you're you're constantly making deposits and withdrawals throughout the day...if your withdrawals exceed your deposits, will your bank account grow? Of course not...the fact that you made deposits throughout the day is irrelevant...you don't grow your bank balance if at the same time your withdrawals exceed your deposits.
If I need 3,000 calories to maintain my weight, I'm going to lose about 1 Lb per week eating 2500 calories despite having food in my stomach at any particular time, etc...I'm not providing enough energy (calories) for my body to maintain and thus I burn body fat (stored energy) to make up the deficiency of energy.3 -
I guess that's why everyone is different as I really have no issues falling asleep when I am hungry. If I am hungry enough where it's bothering me, I will eat. I could fall asleep anytime I want, I LOVE IT, even talking about sleep right now is making me want to take a....ZZZzzzZzzZz....
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cwolfman13 wrote: »
If I need 3,000 calories to maintain my weight, I'm going to lose about 1 Lb per week eating 2500 calories despite having food in my stomach at any particular time, etc...I'm not providing enough energy (calories) for my body to maintain and thus I burn body fat (stored energy) to make up the deficiency of energy.
This is what I'm focused on though...this deficit...do you think that is the origin of hunger? Your body telling you hey, we aren't used to being at a deficit, put more in here? It's worked for me so far. I mean if you use your example...you need 3000 to maintain but are only eating 2500, even with food in your stomach throughout that day, could your body not be hungry? You don't have to have an empty stomach to be hungry. I just feel like that's how my body works personally...less food than what my body is used to=hunger.
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Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »And thats great that it works for you but you're asking why others don't follow what you think and thats simply because everyone is different and feeling hungry may be super awesome to you and you may be able to sleep through a symphony of stomach growls and pangs but others cannot and if they can't they will do what they can to minimize this happening with planned meals and macro adjustments.
I never asked why others don't follow what I think. I said this is my theory and I asked some questions. Please don't misquote what I said. I absolutely understand people are different, that's why when you don't agree, I just agree to disagree haha. We all do what works best for ourselves!0 -
Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »
Hunger before a meal is fine..
But the way i took your post was that you are having times when you are just feeling hungry and putting up with that feeling because you feel that is what you need to do in order to lose weight and that is simply not the case.
That's NOT what my post was intending....I don't starve myself by any means. I just make sure to avoid eating when I'm not hungry as I believe that's when I gain weight. And if it's at night and I'm hungry (not starving), I find no shame in going to bed and not eating. Sometimes I snack if I'm hungry enough. Believe me, I am FAR from starving myself and avoiding eating LOL. That's why losing the 160+ pounds I've lost has taken me 8+ years.
Like you if I'm feeling hungry just before bed, I'll just go to bed. I don't seem to have the problems some have with waking up during night feeling to hungry to sleep. Either I'm too tired to notice or just lucky.
I do see your point that if you don't feel a bit hungry at some point during the day maybe you just don't need as much. I might be weird but I quite like that feeling of slight hunger as it makes me aware that I'm not eating too much and ready for my next meal.
Have to say though that I don't associate the feeling of having an empty stomach as being the same as hungry, to me they are different sensations.1 -
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Have to say though that I don't associate the feeling of having an empty stomach as being the same as hungry, to me they are different sensations.
Interesting. I guess I always thought of it as being hungry, or being REALLY hungry. If I go a whole day without feeling hungry, maybe I should say hey, good job, but almost always if that's the case it's because I'm over calories and definitely didn't lose weight that day!
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cwolfman13 wrote: »
If I need 3,000 calories to maintain my weight, I'm going to lose about 1 Lb per week eating 2500 calories despite having food in my stomach at any particular time, etc...I'm not providing enough energy (calories) for my body to maintain and thus I burn body fat (stored energy) to make up the deficiency of energy.
This is what I'm focused on though...this deficit...do you think that is the origin of hunger? Your body telling you hey, we aren't used to being at a deficit, put more in here? It's worked for me so far. I mean if you use your example...you need 3000 to maintain but are only eating 2500, even with food in your stomach throughout that day, could your body not be hungry? You don't have to have an empty stomach to be hungry. I just feel like that's how my body works personally...less food than what my body is used to=hunger.
When I cut and I'm at a 500 calorie deficit, it doesn't cause a great deal of hunger....it's basically a couple of snacks that I otherwise would have if I wasn't cutting. I guess it would also depend on what you're typically eating...I just ate a bowl of Coach's Oats with 1 ounce of almonds, two boiled eggs, and two 5.5 oz low sodium V8s for breakfast...it's between 400-500 calories...I'm pretty well satiated and won't really start having any thoughts of food until about 12:30/1, at which point I'll be hungry for lunch.1 -
Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »You said you were baffled at the amount of people asking for ways to feel full all the time..
Since your OP was saying that you feel that we need to feel hungry especially when losing weight, this to me is like wondering why others arent on board with you on this it's good to be hungry thing. Again this is just how i am taking your posts.
I'm not on here to bicker back and forth but merely to discuss. I am baffled...I don't understand it. I'm not saying it's incorrect and people should change to the way I do things, I just don't understand that need to feel full. I believe in one way, you believe in another.
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cwolfman13 wrote: »
When I cut and I'm at a 500 calorie deficit, it doesn't cause a great deal of hunger....it's basically a couple of snacks that I otherwise would have if I wasn't cutting. I guess it would also depend on what you're typically eating...I just ate a bowl of Coach's Oats with 1 ounce of almonds, two boiled eggs, and two 5.5 oz low sodium V8s for breakfast...it's between 400-500 calories...I'm pretty well satiated and won't really start having any thoughts of food until about 12:30/1, at which point I'll be hungry for lunch.
I hear ya. I usually eat a high-fiber granola bar for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and whatever is on the menu for dinner. I just know when I am failing it's because I snack too much throughout the day. For me it's the careful balance of not eating until I'm full, but just eating until I'm not hungry. That is big for me to follow, otherwise I EASILY overdo it on calories.
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I've only had a chance to skim read these posts but wanted to say - in case it's not been said before: May observation is that overweight people tend to have pretty poor hunger signalling. Whether that is because the hunger signals are messed up or some people respond to other signals (thirsty, tired) as a hunger trigger I don't know and I don't have any science to back this up - just my observation.
I'd also say that, for me at least, hunger can be Pavlovian, or conditioning based on meal timings (12:00 o'clock = lunchtime and so the stomach starts to rumble).4
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