Why Wait Until You're Hungry to Eat??

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mswn02
mswn02 Posts: 38
in Health and Weight Loss
I posted this in response to another forum topic, but I think it raises an issue that is worthy of discussing on it's own. The question is: Do you believe it is necessary to wait until you're "hungry" to eat?

I personally don't agree with the "eat if you're hungry" attitude that a lot of people have toward weight loss. Actually, I believe that you should NEVER let yourself get hungry. I call it "staying ahead of the hunger" which works well for me. I eat every 2 to 3 hours, regardless if I'm "hungry" or not (which usually, I am not), and my metabolism is now much higher because of it. I'm rarely hungry when I eat, because if I waited until I was hungry, I'm guaranteed to overeat. (To define "hungry" - I can only compare it to my previous eating habits when I thought I was hungry all the time or would wait until I'm nearly passing out from hunger then would sit down and eat large meals consisting of obscene size portions.) If I waited until I was hungry, my body starts going into starvation mode; and if I do it frequently (which is what I did before I started this journey), my metabolism slows and the next thing you know, I'm gaining all my weight back. Also, I'm hardly ever hungry when I rise in the morning (most people aren't which is why so many people skip breakfast), but I will never skip breakfast! It is such an important meal for reasons I'm sure I don't have to post, and I can't imagine not filling up on protein in the morning because I'm not what I consider hungry. For me, it is more important to eat on a regular schedule. As a result, 10 months later, I've lost 50 pounds ... AND COUNTING!

Thoughts??

Replies

  • angieleighbyrd
    angieleighbyrd Posts: 989 Member
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    I eat when I'm hungry. i don't over eat. I know when to stop.

    different strokes for different folks
  • Nessiechickie
    Nessiechickie Posts: 1,392 Member
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    I don't believe you should... but on the other hand I do "What until I'm hungry".
  • xarge
    xarge Posts: 484 Member
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    I eat when I'm hungry but I stop eating before I'm full. I try to follow it and it works well for me. Eating without getting hungry is like snacking all day for me and I don't want to associate all day with food.
  • MrDude_1
    MrDude_1 Posts: 2,510 Member
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    I have read about this stuff for years... It really depends on the person..

    for example Intermittent Fasting works great for me... in a nutshell I dont eat breakfast.. but im never hungry for it.

    I dont lunch eat if im not hungry... but by the time dinner comes around I am hungry, and i have no problem hitting my calories/macros in one meal.


    theres such a huge range of reasons for why one person reacts to an eating habit vs another.. from leptin to insulin to physiological... I just stopped making generalizations...
  • NoSpandex
    NoSpandex Posts: 54
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    Everyone is different, so you have to experiment to see what is right for you. If this works well for you, I see no reason to change. I personally eat when I'm hungry, which works well for me.
  • rose313
    rose313 Posts: 1,146 Member
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    I only eat when I'm hungry because I lose weight when I don't stuff myself.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
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    Below is what I responded to your other post. I'll add that I think that when we quit listening to our bodies, that's when we unlearn the skill of being able to listen. So if you're constantly ignoring true body hunger or eating despite being full, that little voice just fades into the background. If you want to hear it and abide by it, and what better gauge than our own body, you need to act on its signals.

    Usually the 'intuitive eating' books recommend you try to listen to the type and severity of the hunger and make decisions based on that. A lot of people find they do best staying within like 3-7 on a 1-10 scale of hunger. And of course if you don't eat pretty slowly and want to wind up around a 7 for fullness, you probably need to stop eating around a 5 and you'll 'coast in' to that 7 shortly afterward. smile
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I'm usually hungry when meal time rolls around. I like to sit down to a full plate of food in the evening. Sometimes I go back for seconds. I nearly always have a couple of glasses of wine with dinner. I'm usually stuffed after dinner. This work for me. I exceeded my goal and have maintained my weight for over a year doing this.

    People are different. I think everyone should do whatever keeps them healthy and on track. As long as one is not starving oneself or eating so much that they become overweight, it's all good.
  • 57silverfox
    57silverfox Posts: 56 Member
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    I inmorning hungry ars not that set me up for rest of day

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