I agree with this for the most part, but when I went to weight watchers, years ago, i was told that, regardless of how I felt, I should eat breakfast.  I'm now well and truly in the habit and I think I do eat better in the morning as a result.  What say you to this?

agree with joanna on the breakfast thing; am also a lifetime weight watcher.

disagree on the list of when to know when to eat exceot for: Empty or hollow feeling

if I waited for the any of the other clues - it would cause me to overeat. Personally I find that never letting myself get truly hungry/famished is the best way to prevent overeating. Constantly am snacking on veggies and fruits- use plenty of lowcal high fiber food to ward off craving sugary and starchy foods, IMHO it's what has worked for me and happy to say down 110#s and have kept it off for over a year now.

good luck-- you can do it, make small changes a little at a time and exercise whether or not you like it...everyday...eventually you will come to like that to; just keep trying different things until you find something you can learn to stick to.

This is a good article. Boredom and pleasure have been reasons for my mindless eating over the years.  I, also sometimes feel the need to be full, so now I am eating many salads as lettuce has hardly any calories even compared to a 100 cal sandwich round(which are wonderful). I am sometimes not hungry in the morning at all and just have coffee.  I feel better getting on the treadmill BEFORE I eat anything, but I do drink coffee and water before getting on the treadmill. Everyone needs to do what works for them and then change it up when it does not work anymore. Another important point is to STOP eating when you are full, save the rest for later as you have already allocated the calories for the day. Just being aware of the calorie counts and nutritional info of food helps so much. Of course, Calorie Count is the BEST! It has helped me SO much even before I actually started logging my food and exercise.   Helpful hints from fellow members are wonderful.  Thanks for this website.

Mary said something to the effect of you're hungry if you'd eat an apple.

If I wait to eat by the time I feel some of the signals listed

• Empty or hollow feeling
• Slight queasy feeling
• Weakness or loss of energy
• Trouble concentrating
• Difficulty making decisions
• Light-headedness
• Slight headache
• Shakiness
• Irritability or crankiness

then I would have waited too long.  By that time I would feel like I am starving and feeling ill.  In response, I would eat the first available thing - not necessarily a healthy low cal choice - just to stop these feelings.  I would not be focused on the food or enjoying it, but just on stopping those feelings quickly.  As a result I would feel cheated that I didn't get to enjoy my meal and want something in addition that would give me some enjoyment.  For me this would be a sure fire way to eating more calories rather than less.

For me, a mild hunger pang can turn into one of the more intense or ill feelings pretty quickly, so I have to plan my meals ahead of time and have healthy snacks close by. 

I agree with joanna and ghalge. I too eat breakfast, regardless of how I am feeling. I also never let myself get completely famished since I am more likely to overeat then. If I am working out first thing in the morning, I make sure I have a cup of coffee, a glass of water and a banana inside so that I dont get completely spent.

I also think its possible to overthink the 'am I hungry/ why do I want to eat' issue. I did start my weight loss journey with that strategy, but over the months, I have become more relaxed. I nibble when I am a little hungry and still have a while to go before a social meal; I find that a glass of milk and a banana help me sleep better if I have insomnia. Sometimes its possible to be over-worried about eating ONLY when you are hungry. Over time, you do learn to gauge your needs fairly correctly most of the time, and forgive yourself for the other times.

I'm glad the "breakfast question" came up because it is a great example of how this whole hunger-fullness thing works. As you know, eating breakfast is a great habit.

Studies have shown that breakfast-skippers are more likely to be overweight. But most studies don't fully explain why. In my work, I don't give people rules like "you have to eat breakfast." Instead I help them understand why they do what they do because ultimately, for any lifestyle change to stick, you need to become an expert in yourself! 

So here are some of the possible reason that skippi᥿ 9;ng breakf᥿ 9;ast is associated with higher body weight - and hopefully this will help you make decisions from the "inside out" about eating breakfast:

- It may affect your metabolism. When you skip breakfast, you're not just skipping a meal. For example, if you ate dinner at 6 and didn't eat again until lunch, that is 18 hours. Imagine what your body is thinking - starvation!

- When you go too long without eating, you'll get overly hungry and that can lead to overeating as ghalge noted. The reason is that hunger is a physical sign that your blood sugar is low and your body needs fuel. When you ignore it for too long, as you see in the list of symptoms, you may develop more extreme symptoms of hunger, including difficulty making decisions about what and how much too eat. You may also eat too fast to not notice how full you are until it is too late.

- Some people who don't eat breakfast aren't hungry when they get up because they ate a lot at night. That is the habit that needs to be addressed.

- Some people that eat a lot at night wake up feeling guilty and regretful so they skip breakfast to make up for it. When you finally start eating in the afternoon or evening, you are again overly hungry, so you overeat and feel like you failed (again), so the whole cycle repeats itself.

- Some people wake up and immediately jump into their day - racing around taking care of other people, stressed out, rushing to work, slamming down caffeine, etc., never taking the time to notice, much less take care of, their own needs, including hunger. No wonder the donuts that show up in the breakroom at 10am are so hard to resist!

- Some people feel that once they start eating, they can't stop so they avoid eating until the symptoms are really strong. (There wasn't enough space in the article but we use a Hunger and Fullness scale to help you recognize where you are.)

- Some people say that when they eat breakfast, they are hungry all day. In actuality that can be a good thing because it may mean your metabolism is revving up.

- But some people tried to eat breakfast in the past but felt hungry all day because they ate carbs with no protein.

That is enough for now but my point is, don't just follow rules! Take a hard look at why you do what you do so you can make permanent changes and break free from yo-yo dieting.

So is eating breakfast important? YES! But don't miss the opportunity to explore what is really going on.  

lsami, thank you for underscoring a very important point. Don't turn asking "am I hungry?" into another rule. Even people who don't struggle with their weight sometimes eat when they're not hungry.

Whenever you feel like eating, notice whether you're hungry - not to decide if you CAN eat but to recognize why you want to.

If you're not hungry, are you bored, stressed, needing a break, eating by the clock, or any of a thousand other reasons we eat? (More on Head Hunger in my next post.)

If you are hungry, how hungry are you? If you are only a little bit hungry, how much food do you need? Only a little bit.

If you are way too hungry, as several people have already talked about, be aware that it is a high risk time for overeating. Instead of automatically overeating like you have in the past, eat a little bit of your meal slowly to get your blood sugar back up. Then you can make better decisions about the rest of your meal.

And as several of you said, be prepared! You wouldn't leave the house with a young child for an extended period of time without a snack for them. Why do you do that to yourself?

Keep the comments and questions coming! It is the best way to explore this issue so you can figure out what works for you!

 

How do you eat only when you're hungry when you have a hubby who needs to be fed 3 times a day and needs to have you sit down and eat with him.  I only have toast, juice & coffee for breakfast.....a regular meal at noon and a sandwich at 5.  At 7, when he has icecream, I have lite yogurt.  I am never actually hungry because I eat so often.....I can't lose weight, although I haven't gained in the past 6 months either.  I only lost weight when I didn't eat breakfast at all and had tossed salad at noon and yogurt for evening and snack.  But then when I went to regular meals, I gained it all back.  I cannot excercise because I am disabled after 3 back surgeries.  I am 68 years old.

There is so much to think about; with this weight loss epidemic we all are drawn into. I keep relatively thin..but gee do I work at it.  It's been a process, but I have learned about whole foods, the evils of hidden sugar in food...and feel I'm on the right track to figuring this all out.  But I am tired of thinking about nothing but food and exercise.  When I see overweight people..I understand how they just feel  like giving up.  It is work.

  Therefore,  I see the point of core post.  It is almost like we have to retrain ourselves..which includes a bit of suffering... to return to our natural fitness mode.  Eat when you're hungry..stop when you are full.  Sounds so simple..but in our society, where we eat to socialize and for recreation we've ruined the easiest way we could naturally stay thin.  Then we obsess over food when we diet..so food is still the focal point of our lives. So we stay fat.  Just think how could we enrich our lives if we put as much effort into improving our minds, souls and relationships than engaging in daily obstacle course..or land mine of food choices; timing eatings and strategizing over what we put in our mouths instead of ...just eating when we are truly hungry..and stopping when we are truly full.  It would take serious conscious effort to get back to that.   I'm going to give it a try.

 

  As for the breakfast debate?  Why can't we let the scale decide.  Eat breakfast for a month and weigh  yourself..  Skip it if you want..and weigh yourself...see what happens.  I have to think this could be an individual thing..as most diet strategies are...then diet gurus act like it works for all...we are individuals...so are the things that make us lose and gain weight.  :)   good luck everyone.

 

Loved your comment hotdocgirl - you took the words right out of my mouth! I was a yo-yo dieter for over two decades and it was only after realizing that my patients were doing the same thing that I thought, there HAS to be a better way. The answer is simple - but it isn't easy. Most of us have years of eating for all kinds of other reasons and trying to manage our weight by rules instead of going back to the way we were born - instinctively knowing when we need food.

Which brings me to you patty42. It sounds like it is pretty tough to listen to and even trust your own body when you've been eating for your husband or starving yourself to lose weight. I bet your story is not all that unusual - but the fact that your weight has stabilized is a good thing.

So perhaps you would be willing to take a step back and do just one thing new. A good place to start is by just committing yourself to noticing whether you are hungry before you eat. In the original post, I gave you some reasons to do this and a list of symptoms that include mild hunger to more extreme hunger.

Once you recognize whether you are hungry and perhaps even how hungry (or full) you are, decide what to do next. Whatever you decide to do is fine, so consider experimenting a little bit.

For example, if your husband wants to eat lunch, instead of just automatically eating a sandwich with him, check in with YOURSELF: "Am I hungry?" If you're not, why? How long ago was breakfast? What did I eat then? Maybe you even ask if he would he be willing to wait a little while, even just 15-30 minutes because you are not hungry yet. Or maybe you sit with him and talk, then eat when YOU get hungry, instead of when he is hungry.

Well you get the idea. The key point is to get out of autopilot and start noticing what you really need.

I find this method to be way too subjective and I am not good at subjective.  My problems came from me not being able to tell when I was or was not hungry. Perceptions and feelings are strange bedfellows and many times do not make for good ones.  This method may work for some, but it would drive me nuts and put me right back where I was.

 I use the tools on this site and chase or work to the numbers. This brings discipline into my life just as my trainer requires of me the discipline to carry out my training regimen.  There is no shortage of nutrition and fitness information out there, but there is a shortage in the availability of affordable coaches to help us attain and maintain our goals.  This site has been a great tool for me on both fronts! So, if this method works for you, great, but also know that there are many that cannot trust their feelings, when it comes to vices!

I do use the model of a fuel gauge to determine not if I am hungry but how hungry I am. I know after a year of watching my diet that I WILL be hungry for breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner - with no exception. But using a 1-10 scale of how hungry I am I can help determine what I need to eat and how much. If I've had a big lunch and am not very hungry for dinner, I'll still eat a salad because if I don't I know I'll be starving later. But if I had a salad for lunch and am getting very hungry, then I know I need something more hearty for dinner like a whole-wheat pasta dish. Using a hungry scale is just a rational way to balance out our meals.

I thought I'd post as I believe I, personally, may be an exception to the rule.

As somebody that exercises a lot every day (karate, swimming, football and starting to do more weights), if I didn't eat that much I'd be in the dangerous zone of under eating. I find that by eating regularly, normally when I'm not that hungry it defeats the overeating problem because I don't have a huge hunger, therefore how can I overeat?

I like to eat breakfast first thing (approx 7am), a mid-morning snack at 10.30 (usually a piece of fruit), lunch at ~1pm, mid-afternoon snack at 3.30, dinner at ~6.30, and something little later on (I've been given some great advice about recovery foods, so I'm trying to implement that).

So, on average I'd have eaten at 7.00, 10.30, 1.00, 3.30, 6.00, 9.00. This works very well for as I never seem to go for more than 3.5 hours (breakfast to morning snack) without eating, which may seem like a long time but considering I don't leave the house until ~8.10 and usually arrive at work at 8.50, I've spent the time between breakfast and when I start work at 9, being too busy to eat, so I only have to go from 9 til half 10, which for me is a morning meeting so it's easy!

 

It's the stopping when I'm full that's hard for me. I can be hungry, have two bites of food, and no longer feel hungry, but I know I would be hungry soon after wards (since it's just two bite) so I eat my meal. I stop when the meal's over, but I don't exactly feel full, just no longer hungry.

I don't have a middle. It's either, not hungry, or a bloated/stuff  feeling (which I haven't felt in awhile). Not really a satisfied full.

I think my body sends me messages more along the lines of: Eat when food is available, god only knows how long it will be until your next meal.  It's a primal survival instinct that we have to overcome because food is not scarce, it is readily available at every turn. 

Original Post by: legenary1

I thought I'd post as I believe I, personally, may be an exception to the rule.

As somebody that exercises a lot every day (karate, swimming, football and starting to do more weights), if I didn't eat that much I'd be in the dangerous zone of under eating. I find that by eating regularly, normally when I'm not that hungry it defeats the overeating problem because I don't have a huge hunger, therefore how can I overeat?

I like to eat breakfast first thing (approx 7am), a mid-morning snack at 10.30 (usually a piece of fruit), lunch at ~1pm, mid-afternoon snack at 3.30, dinner at ~6.30, and something little later on (I've been given some great advice about recovery foods, so I'm trying to implement that).

So, on average I'd have eaten at 7.00, 10.30, 1.00, 3.30, 6.00, 9.00. This works very well for as I never seem to go for more than 3.5 hours (breakfast to morning snack) without eating, which may seem like a long time but considering I don't leave the house until ~8.10 and usually arrive at work at 8.50, I've spent the time between breakfast and when I start work at 9, being too busy to eat, so I only have to go from 9 til half 10, which for me is a morning meeting so it's easy!

 

I agree with legenary1. I also believe, wholeheartedly that breakfast is the most important meal of the day! It sets the tone for the whole day and should be a good 250-350-calorie meal consisting of protien, some carbs and 3-4+ grams fiber.  The word 'breakfast' came from the old term for 'breaking your fast' - from dinner until your first meal of the next day, your body is in fasting mode where it stores the nutrients from the previous day until you can replentish. If you don't eat breakfast, as michelle says, your body enters starvation mode, which has a negative effect on your weightloss goals.

Like legenary1, I follow a careful daily schedule so that I do not go more than 4 hours without food. While I can't eat when I get up in the morning, I do get to work before 8 so I have time for breakfast - usually a high-fiber cereal, milk and a banana, or a breakfast smoothie. I also make sure I drink 2 glasses of water before my breakfast - one at home, one at work. I do find that I am more inclined to eat randomly if I haven't eaten a filling breakfast in the morning. Usually around 10:30 or 11, I'll have a snack of 100-150 calories, typically fruit and yogurt or yogurt and granola. Lunch around 1-1:30, afternoon snack, usually air-popped popcorn or crackers and cheese, something around 100 calories around 4. Then I will have an apple as I drive to the gym or home at 5:30 just before I work out. Dinner is either 7:30 or 8 depending on what is going on.  (In California, the commute has a huge effect on dinner and activity time!) If I have a heavy workout, I'll eat half a protein bar or a yogurt cup to help replentish lost nutrients and tide me over until dinner is made.

I've been following this for 4 months and have gone down 10lbs. It started when I read about how eating every 3-4 hours, regardless of all hunger signs, keeps your metabolism up and prevents a drop in blood sugar. I find if I deviate from this routine, I get headaches, dizzy, sleepy and I have a hard time concentrating. I won't lie and say I don't sometimes fall off the boat - ususally that's a handful of chips or M&Ms!! (See my last journal post from Monday night...) But I'm learning to accept that every day is different and not to blame myself for not being perfect.

I also am now a huge believer in that fiber helps trim your waistline! Wow! At the same time as following the affore mentioned eating schedule, I also track to make sure I've eaten 25+ grams of fiber each day - mostly through food, though rarely I have to supplement with Fiber Choice or Benefiber. I find that I'm fuller for longer, feel satisfied sooner, (am regular!), and have definitely noticed a significant shrink in my love handles and stomach. (FYI - I haven't done a single crunch!)

In the beginning I really had to force myself to eat every 3-4 hours, but once it became a habit, I've noticed that I don't have the desire to eat everything in sight. I also think eating around the same time every day helps me not to have to think about food and meals so much. I do like what the article says about checking your fuel gage and asking 'Am I Hungry?' I will try that next time I get an attack of the M&M cravings!

While it is important to wait until you feel hungry to eat, its also important to take your time eating. The biggest disaster at my table is eating too quickly and still feeling hungry because the food hasn't had the opportunity to fill me up! By the way, if you want to get some motivation to stop eating when you're full, go to www.slim-image.com and see what you'd look like if you lost all those extra pounds!

I think there is some confusion about what constitutes "hunger".  Hunger is experienced in a range from ravenous to just a twinge - and then on to some version of satisfied to stuffed.  Of course, you should not let yourself become so famished that you could eat a horse, but likewise, you should not eat when you do not feel one bit hungry.  For instance, some people are are always "topping off".  Their fuel gauge vacillates between ¾ of a tank and Full.  It never goes below half, let along to a quarter or empty.  In fact, they haven't felt hungry in years!  Everyone should experiment with the feeling of hunger because "eat when you are hungry" is the only "diet rule" that is physiological and individual.  If you think of hunger and fullness on a line from 1 to 10, it's wise to eat at about 2.5 and to stop at about 7.5.  In experimenting with hunger levels, also note whether hunger invoke fear. Many people fear the power of hunger and the potential loss of control and that's why they eat.  Read this past blog, The Hunger-Fullness Scale.

@Sonja - I agree with pretty much all you've said! In regard to drinking water, whilst at work I try to drink a bottle (approx 1 litre) during the day, I usually get through 80% of it, sipping it regularly, as, and I can vouch for this, it makes you realise how hungry you really are. I.e, next time you're hungry if you drink a glass of water, you seem to realise how hungry you actually are! I was lazy the other day and I didn't drink any water, I ended up eating a lot more than I should've/needed to and as a result at the end of the day I was thirsty. So I'd definitely recommend drinking regularly as well as eating regularly. I also find that if it's 10am, I find that I think I've got half an hour til I eat my snack and it's like a little reward.

It is possible to feel hunger, though, when you first start counting calories, because your body can actually go through withdrawal even if you're getting the amount you need.  I went through a month of horrid irritability and a constant feeling of being hungry, just because I cut out fried foods and sugar for that entire period.  I was exercising, and eating right, totaling about 1700 cal a day, and I wasn't so horrendously overweight that I needed to eat more than that.  The hunger and cravings came entirely from a lack of fat in my diet.  Then, once the month was up, my fasting had paid off.  I no longer craved french fries and bacon.  I then dropped my calorie intake to 1500 (with exercise) and added fast food back into my diet, but only once a week as a treat.  And I found that, even after the period of godawful hunger and cravings and irritability, most fried foods no longer tasted good. 

Now, I'd say if the hunger and irritability continue as someone's diet progresses, they're not eating enough or not getting the right nutrients.  But I think that first fasting period makes food-crazed monsters of us all, until it's over and our systems are cleansed.

@yamisui, I don't know if my taste buds have changed but I don't eat a lot of fast food anymore, even if I go through the drive through at McDonalds I'm still no that tempted, I think it's good that you have it once a week as a treat, everyones gotta live right! But if I had to make my own dinner my first choice wouldn't be fast food, it'd be miles down my list!

This article makes a lot of great points. But as a self-diagnosed food addict, I not only experience emotional hunger urges but also physical ones when realistically I shouldn't be hungry. I find that many times even after having a generous, healthy balanced meal (500 calories+) including healthy fats, carbs, etc I get hunger pangs right after! When I look at or even read about food, my mouth waters aggressively. I suppose this doesn't seem like a big deal to most but it really bothers me and increases the feelings of hunger! I'm definitely getting an excessive amounts of calories everyday as evidenced by my recent weight gain but somehow I still feel hungry at times despite this! The mouth watering and hunger feelings don't go away until I've had about twice the amount of calories I should in a day. Why is this?Any tips on dealing with psychosomatic hunger pangs?  

I'm not an expert...but just in reading your post, my first thought is you should quit dieting and counting calories.  Just eat healthy food ...all you want and keep active by walking or doing  exercise you love.  Keep it simple and don't obsess.  Take a break and relax.  You may find the break may result in getting more fit and break that cycle of obsessing over food.

 

Good luck to you

Original Post by: hotdocgirl

I'm not an expert...but just in reading your post, my first thought is you should quit dieting and counting calories.  Just eat healthy food ...all you want and keep active by walking or doing  exercise you love.  Keep it simple and don't obsess.  Take a break and relax.  You may find the break may result in getting more fit and break that cycle of obsessing over food.

 

Good luck to you

That sounds like great advice to me. I'd second that!

I agree with those who said that by the time you get those signals, such as gnawing hunger, you may be in danger of losing control of eating.  It is a good idea to eat when you're hungry and quit when you're full, but for some people, that is easier said than done. There are those whose hunger and satiety mechanisms are so confused from habits of a lifetime, that relying on normal signals is not an option.  For those people, it might be better to plan ahead for the day and eat meals and snacks on schedule.  As long as you are not too rigid and plan well, including foods that you like and that are good for you, you will succeed. 

http://www.healthy-eating-support.org/weight-loss-tips.html 

Working in a cafe, when I see something delicious it usually stands for "bad". So I have learned to wait until I am hungry to eat. It is hard to get used to, but it works!

Oh man. I do unconcious eating when I'm bored or craving like crazy. Which is bad. But now I don't give into unhealthy cravings anymore- I choose a good substitude of that craving. Or maybe take portion controls.

Breakfast is a must whether I'm hungry or not in the morning. You are most likely not to be hungry in the mornings, because the brain just woke up.