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From not hungry to starving

qpmomma1
qpmomma1 Posts: 220 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I go from not being hungry at all to starving in a matter of minutes. Is there an in between?? I have an issue with over eating and I tend to overeat when I am starving. Any tips for this? I do drink water through the day.

Replies

  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
    I have this same issue. Actually haven't figured out a way to deal with it. I feel good when I don't cave in and negative about myself if I go over my calorie settings.
    I think Mini_Medic and RavassacK give good advice.
  • qpmomma1
    qpmomma1 Posts: 220 Member
    Thanks for the tips! I'll try packing a protein bar and eating more frequently. The blood sugar thing does make sense.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Google and try out "The hunger scale".
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
    uh oh
  • WVWalkerFriend
    WVWalkerFriend Posts: 575 Member
    Gamliela wrote: »
    uh oh

    It could be that you're fine blood sugar wise and just hungry. :) If it happens a lot you might want to look into it, though.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,055 Member
    Sometimes I'll be very focused on something and when I come up for air notice I'm ravenous. I like to always have planned food on hand. The vast majority of my food isn't hyper-palatable, and I am able to just eat til I'm full, and stop.

    If I'm going to eat something that takes more than a few minutes to prep, I try to start before I get really hungry, and then eat it slowly, as my appetite warrants. This works really well with smoothies - I take a few sips and put it back in the frig for 30-60 minutes until I'm hungry again.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    qpmomma1 wrote: »
    I go from not being hungry at all to starving in a matter of minutes. Is there an in between?? I have an issue with over eating and I tend to overeat when I am starving. Any tips for this? I do drink water through the day.

    Being aware of it so you're in control of how much you eat... And for me, taking longer to eat and/or waiting before I have more. Often the feeling of still being hungry goes away with a little time once I've eaten a reasonable amount.
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,383 Member
    I have this issue when I eat a lot of simple carbs. I find the hunger comes on very quickly and leaves me feeling nauseous, jittery and weak.

    When I follow a more low-carb style of eating with mostly healthy fats, meat and veggies, my hunger is very slow and stable throughout the day.
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Google and try out "The hunger scale".

    That was interesting. A brief chart that sums it all up. I very seldom know the difference between real hunger & emotional hunger. The chart is helpful.
  • DamieBird
    DamieBird Posts: 651 Member
    The same thing happens to me, but I started noticing that it happens around the same time most days (weekdays anyway), and usually just about 30 minutes before my normal meal time. I chalked it up to 'habit hunger' more than anything else. If I'm super hungry OUTSIDE of an hour or so around a meal time, then I consider that I may be truly hungry and eat something. Either way, it does tend to come on fast for me, too. I'll be fine and then feel like I could eat everything. It's worse if I don't get enough complex carbs (happens often if I go too many meals without rice, bread, pasta, etc). My A1C and blood sugar levels have always been good, so I don't think that's a contributing factor for me. If you don't already eat them, maybe add potato/rice/grains to your meals to try keeping the sudden hunger spike at bay?
  • kgwoozle
    kgwoozle Posts: 2 Member
    Be there done that and I now have a mandatory afternoon snack, no matter what. If don't I'll eat anything and everything or get incredibly hanged. Some thing I read and a doctor told me it was a adrenaline reaction thing.

    http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/20/health/science-behind-being-hangry/
  • Loug1983
    Loug1983 Posts: 89 Member
    The same thing happens to me, always has and I recently had a blood sugar test come back fine, as DamieBird says it usually happens as my regular lunch time is approaching.

    There are a couple of things that I've found help me cope, eat something light to see me through for an hour or so, or get up and make a cup of coffee, the distraction helps, and then the coffee keeps me going a bit longer.

    If I'm having a busy day and don't have time to dwell on it I can just power through, but if I'm not too busy that can be a lot harder. If it's happening regularly I would keep some calories aside for a snack.
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