Is hunger really avoidable?

I am successfully losing weight. Success in my case is the result of successfully managing my hunger.

I've been told by one person that it's not necessary to feel hungry. I'm a little skeptical about that. If it were possible to lose weight without being hungry, wouldn't everyone be thin? I do believe that there are things we can do to minimize hunger. At one point, I came to the realization that I was TOO successful at eliminating fat from my diet and it made me ravenous. I read that we need about 6 teaspoons of oil every day to maintain body functions. When I made sure I was getting that (and no more) it seemed to make a difference. Maybe it was a placebo effect (I expected it to work so it did) but I don't care. It still worked!

I work in a home office and I'm usually hungry when I'm here. I have on some days consumed 90% of my daily caloric allowance by lunch time and then just toughed it out the rest of the day. Other days I've spread it out, but I'm still hungry. But if I simply leave the house and go out and do something, I'm not hungry.

My point is that hunger seems to be as much psychological as physical. Don't get me wrong. My hunger is experienced as 100% physical. It is real. But I can't explain how I can be hungrier when home (and close to the kitchen) than when I'm away from home, any other way.

Is there anyone here who is losing weight and can say that you are NEVER hungry? I'm concerned that if we set that expectation, and it's unattainable, that we discourage people. They expect not to be hungry ever, and then they are.

For me, it's better to know that I will be, and then overcome it. Does that make sense?

try eating 1/2 teaspoon of regular, ground cinnamon a day.  Cinnamon helps blood sugar function, so it helps with hunger overall (if you have thin blood or are on blood thinners, see a doctor first).

Besides that, try eating whole grains and lean protein.  Both of these things will keep your blood sugar from spiking. 

Edit:  I am occasionally hungry still, but the cinnamon has made it a lot more bearable. 

 

i definatly eat more when im at home in the day time, im sat here now thinking im hungry, even though i had a massive bowel of cereal an hour or so ago

when im out of the house i definatly dont want to eat as much,

i think its because im distracted when im out and about, i'm busy doing things, and when im at home, its very easy for me to get absent minded and think about all the yummy things i could be eating, because its all sat just there in the room next next door, and when i think of them my tummy rumbles.

if i know im going to be at home for a few days, i try and get nibbles, so i can eat all day and not go over my calorie limit. strawberries are my favourite, and fruit cut into small pieces generally, (its a silly thing, but I feel i've eaten more if its cut into more pieces, lol, plus it takes longer to prepare and eat, so thats time i spend not eating anything else)

If I'd had to feel hungry all the time to do this I could have never have made it this far.  I'm down 122lbs. now and I've felt satisfied for pretty much the entire time unless I blew 1/3 of my calories on a donut or something, which I did do on rare occassions.  I often eat every couple hours or so.  Fruit, yogurt, or veggies make good snacks for me between the 3 main meals and can easily be budgeted into my calorie allowance. 

Thanks for the tip. I'll try the cinnamon to see if it helps me too.

I'll be interested to see how many people (if any) say that they are losing weight and don't ever get hungry.

It seems to me that the physiology of weight loss is pretty simple. If that's all we deal with, we'll be disappointed. 

It seems to me that the complexity lies in the psychological barriers.  

I also think that some people might get angry at the suggestion. i.e. "It's not all in my head!" But those things that are "in our heads" are very real, and manifest themselves in very physical ways. 

 

Original Post by crystal_320:

If I'd had to feel hungry all the time to do this I could have never have made it this far. I'm down 122lbs. now and I've felt satisfied for pretty much the entire time unless I blew 1/3 of my calories on a donut or something, which I did do on rare occassions. I often eat every couple hours or so. Fruit, yogurt, or veggies make good snacks for me between the 3 main meals and can easily be budgeted into my calorie allowance.

First of all, congratulations! That's a hell of an accomplishment. I lost 30 lbs. and feel like I conquered the world! :-)

I guess it's overstating things to say that I'm ALWAYS hungry but when I'm hungry, like right now, it FEELS like I'm always hungry.

Your experience of losing that much weight without hunger, unless you do something wrong like go off the plan, speaks to the complexity of weight loss. I think we all experience this very differently.

I believe you when you say you don't routinely experience hunger, but I'm not convinced it is attainable for everyone. I allow however that I may be wrong. But if I'm right, maybe that's why some people give up. They don't expect to be hungry and then they are and can't deal with it.

Hungry, hunger? I think it is often a psycho thing rather than physical. I'm maintaining now and I rarely feel "hungry." When I was dieting there were a few times where I felt "empty" and I needed to eat but not that often. Like crystal, I eat every few hours.

As for the work thing, yeah, I can eat through all my snacks in the first few hours, but I don't think it's because I'm hungry--I just want to be distracted from the work at hand.

Geez when I see pictures of kids starving (usually in 3rd world, but can happen anywhere) I think yeah, that's the real hunger, not what many dieters experience here...

Now that I've given up wheat, sugar, artificial sweeteners, corn and all corn derivatives, and most root vegetables, (on doctors orders) I almost never feel hungry anymore.

I used to get shake-y if I didn't eat on schedule.  If I was very late to a meal, I would get snappish and rude.

But now, a few times, not on purpose, I've skipped a meal and not even noticed.

My body doesn't handle starches and sugars properly, so I'm better off without them.  I also eat one or two servings of walnuts a day, good fats, also helps you feel full.

I'm sure this wouldn't work for everyone. 

And I've lost 23 lbs since I started this plan (May 30).  And I definitely do plan to stay on it forever.  I feel better than ever, have zero cravings... I'm very pleased.

However, I think emotional eating is different from hunger.  If you have anxiety, that often presents itself as a nervous stomach.  If you give your stomach something to do (digest food) that anxious feeling will go away, temporarily.  I used to do the emotional eating thing many years ago.  One day it just clicked that I wasn't hungry, I was worried.  So I journaled instead of eating and have felt much better ever since and don't confuse my emotions for hunger any more.

Anxiety, worry, boredom, lonliness, grief, regret....  you can mistake all of these for hunger.  You eat, your emotional issue is unresolved, you gain weight, you feel worse, you eat, your emotional issue is unresolved, you gain weight.... and on and on.

:)

Hey southcarolina guy -- I just finished month two, 20+ pounds down and I can honestly say that I am rarely hungry. It worried me at the start because not only was I rarely hungry but I wasn't getting enough to eat, but I think that was just the honeymoon phase. Now my normal intake is 1500-1700, and unless I have done a really killer workout, I'm not hungry (yes, I do get hungry occasionally, and I often wake up hungry)

I think you are totally correct when you talk about the psychological barriers

Boredom is the killer of many "diets" and habit-changing attempts. I think that if there is a way to avoid boredom, much of the hunger is alleviated. And you can be bored sitting at work and working -- boredom doesn't have to come from inactivity. I am "famous" for the amount of eating I do on deck while I'm coaching, but when my kids are swimming a long set and the only thing I'm doing is laps around the pool on the deck -- bored -- but I'm not hungry and I know it.

My meals are heavy in fiber and whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and I average about 22-27% protein (which is higher than most will recommend), 45-55% carbs, and 20-25% fat. Fiber is usually 45-55g, and I drink a lot of water. I think the "secret" may lie in recognizing the difference between hunger and boredom or stress or anger or frustration. Anything that can manifest itself through an increase in body chemicals and stomach acids, can definitely be mistaken for physical hunger.

Sorry for the long post -- this is my totally inexpert, personal $.02

My first obstacle in overcoming hunger was to shrink the size of my stomach. Several small meals...I try to avoid gigantic salads...too much volume...the smaller my stomach, the quicker I feel full.

Rarely feel hungry anymore, and when I do, I know it is because it is really time to eat.

Original Post by figurethefat:

Geez when I see pictures of kids starving (usually in 3rd world, but can happen anywhere) I think yeah, that's the real hunger, not what many dieters experience here...

No question about it! It's one of the limitations of the language or maybe how we use it. I use the word hunger to describe the unpleasantness I sometimes feel between meals and we use the same word to describe starvation. It's like the word "love". I "love" pizza and I "love" my family. Shouldn't we have more than one word to describe those very different feelings?

Thanks to all for the excellent replies. I do think I get hungry when I want to avoid work and it makes me physically hungry. But your responses tell me that I should continue to try different variations on my meal plan to see if I can make this hunger go away.

Sometimes I wake up hungry, or will be hungry during my early morning workout (sometimes I eat before, sometimes I don't).  Last night I was hungry because I ended up working late.

Other than that, the other 'hungry' feelings I have are emotional cravings.  It's not easy to recognize the difference, but I'm trying.  I'm either bored or emotional (happy, sad, angry).  Or I'm in a social situation that is focused on food.  I try to think of it as a hole in my soul that I used to try to fill with food, and I try to think of more productive ways to fill that hole.  Like with shopping.

I've had a hell of a time, personally, distinguishing between "I'm hungry" and "I want to eat". I get the latter much more often than the former. When I'm hungry, I eat something. When I want to eat something, but upon further evaluation I realize that I just want to enjoy the taste, or to feel more full (it's a pleasant sensation), I try to wait until I'm actually hungry.

Sounds like you are maybe the same way? "I want to avoid work, therefore I want to eat instead, therefore I am hungry" - I'm sure that there is some way that your brain can make your body feel hunger pangs. :)

Sometimes when I evaluate a pang, I realize I'm not really hungry, just bored or stressed or in need of pleasure.

Original Post by trustwomen:

Sounds like you are maybe the same way? "I want to avoid work, therefore I want to eat instead, therefore I am hungry" - I'm sure that there is some way that your brain can make your body feel hunger pangs. :)

 That's about right. Not too long ago I read online (I think it was from The New York Times but I'm not sure) an article about the physiology of hunger. Technically, of course, all hunger is experienced in the brain and gives us the sensation that it's in our stomach by sending the message back that way. In an odd way, the explanation of the complicated sequence of events in our bodies that triggers the feeling of hunger helped me. When I'd get hungry even after eating, I'd just kind of realize my body (or brain) was playing a trick on me and making me think it was undernourished when it really wasn't. 

Although I very much concur re emotional/bored eating, the relevance of stomach volume was made very clear to me when I happened to watch a documentary on eating contest competitors..one woman (very petite and slim) prepares for her contests by eating pounds and pounds of lettuce..

In thinking about it and all I know about lap-band surgery/ gastric bypass, I realized there is a physical need to reduce the volume your stomach can hold. If you can do it yourself, naturally, rather than having surgery, I'm thinking you are way ahead of the game.

I think you definitely have a point, kathy. I know that the day after I splurge at a restaurant, I'm hungrier - like I want to do it again.

After a couple of days eating less, though, my stomach shrinks back down and my hunger tapers off.

trustwomen, thanks for the great comment on the difference between "I'm hungry" and "I want to eat".  I'm a year into my weight loss journey and still struggle with hearing my brain say "I'm hungry" when I know that I'm not.  Maybe this little lightbulb that just went on in my head can help me change that chatter to "I want to eat", which is much more controllable than actual physical hunger.

That's another oddity for me. There is very little connection for me between feeling full and feeling hungry. I can feel full right after a meal and still feel hungry. I can also feel satisfied on an empty stomach. When people recommend a certain food because "it's filling" I don't really care. Some foods satiate better than others but for me, fullness has little to do with it.

Hey southcarolinaguy, I also have a home office and have a very similar experience regarding hunger. I seem to have an insatiable appetite. This subject has been very much on my mind today.

Many good posts regarding the psychology of "hunger" in these posts. Many good tips and thoughts. Here's the thing for me... eating brings pleasure. I like food. I like taste and texture, the feeling of being full. I love ice cream, chips, cookies and Thai food, Indian food, Italian, etc. You get the point. The thing is, pleasure-seeking is a tough thing to do in moderation when, as an American, there is so much at my fingertips. Alas, learning to enjoy slowly and in moderation is quite a task for myself to tackle.

I do try to remind myself that being fat has brought me a great deal of pain. The long-term effects of over consumption and pleasure-seeking. Ironically funny how that works.

I'm just living with the conflict for now. Sometimes I cave, sometimes I'm successful. I just try to not beat-up on myself when I over-consume and try to teach myself to appreciate moderately. Today in fact, has been a real struggle. This may be a splurge day.

Oh, here's another thing. I've been losing slowly. Therefore, I've been in deficit a lot over the last year. I think sometimes when that happens; switching to maintenance for awhile can be helpful. Carefully though, ruining all the hard work sucks. That's been the only solution that's worked for me so far.

 

Original Post by renekane:

Here's the thing for me... eating brings pleasure. I like food. I like taste and texture, the feeling of being full. I love ice cream, chips, cookies and Thai food, Indian food, Italian, etc. You get the point.

Yes, I do. I've heard it before, especially from women although I don't know if it's just as common in men or not. I don't really have that problem. If I could take a pill three times a day that contains all the nutrition I need, AND alleviate hunger, I think I'd be okay with that.

I'm just tired of being hungry so much of the time. I actually ran an errand earlier today just to get out and take my mind off it and it worked. :-)

 

Well then, there you go.  Moving your mental attention elsewhere seems to be a pretty good solution for you.  Awesome!