Everyday Systems

I believe that waiting to feel hungry before eating helps keep my weight down and makes my meals more enjoyable.

But how do I know if I am hungry?

It can vary, but mostly I get a feeling in my stomach. If I start getting spaced out or can think about nothing except the next meal, then I have waited too long. If I can easily concentrate on another task, or get distracted, then I can wait a bit longer.

Mid afternoon can be tricky. Am I really hungry or is something else going on. Thats where the 3 meal rule is so helpful.

What do other No Sers think. What are your signs of hunger?

I have also found it very tricky to distinguish between legitimate hunger or "head" hunger over the years, so it's no wonder I struggled with my weight. I also hardly ever got really hungry, because I was eating all the time.

I think finding No-S and learning to wait between meals, regardless of hunger, taught me to be able to recognize my hunger more, but also, to fear it less. Now I would say I get an empty feeling in my stomach if I am truly hungry. If I wait too long, I get an almost desperate feeling, like I have to eat something, or else... Sometimes drinking a big glass of water helps alleviate this.

When I tried intuitive eating I struggled to identify my hunger but don't generally have a problem now having followed No s and IF.

I am generally hungry at mealtimes but can miss breakfast and cope.

Jx

Yes, I have found that for myself working out whether I am hungry or not has come second to establishing a 3 meal a day routine. It is also a lot easier when snacks are off the table.

I find I wasn't waiting long enough to find out if I was hungry. Real hunger is unmistakable. I have a grumbling in my stomach. Now that I'm only having three meals a day, I find that I'm good and hungry for them. I actually wake up hungry for breakfast, which didn't happen before, because I was always munching late at night.

I find I can eat normal foods on this diet instead of diet food and lose, because I'm not filling up on all those snack foods that most diets tell you to eat. I didn't realize how many calories are in a protein bar. You might as well have a Snickers! Now I eat what I want in moderation, and I'm actually losing. I had tried this diet in the past, but was put off by the slow weight loss. I went on a more radical diet and lost all the weight quick just to put it back on quicker. I swear it was like a time lapsed video! Now I know slow and steady wins the race.

Good luck to all my fellow No Sers. It's a fight worth winning.

God Bless

[quote= Now I eat what I want in moderation, and I'm actually losing.
[/quote]

A good place to be.

Cherish obvious signals, if you have them. IMHO, there is a big difference between the feeling of hunger that comes from a combination of the mostly hormones associated with it and that antsy feeling which I equate with drug withdrawal. But it can change as you age. It has for me. My first six years of No S, I was able to manage meal timing and content so that I felt that wonderful empty feeling after which those first bites of food tasted and felt so glorious. Since 2016, it’s been rocky. Starting last summer, I did a modified version of eating when “hungry” not to lose -was already in mid “normal” range of BMI- but for other reasons. I lost some weight but 40% of it was muscle! Wish I had that tissue back. I now force myself to eat three meals with a 40 gram of protein each. I am almost never hungry but I can’t risk losing more. Also doing resistance work.

oolala53 wrote: ↑

Wed May 25, 2022 6:44 pm

IMHO, there is a big difference between the feeling of hunger that comes from a combination of the mostly hormones associated with it and that antsy feeling which I equate with drug withdrawal.

Yes, there is a difference. Fortunately the no snacks rule helps in practice. And I have come to dislike that feeling of withdrawal so much that I have gone off eating some foods because they are followed by physical withdrawal.

Exactly! That is the major motivation many people discover. It's so much more effective than someone telling you from the outside that such and such is bad for you. When you start experiencing that the pleasurable item is later causing more pain than it's worth- that yen for more-, and especially when you realize that you will not be missing out on any important nutrients because of it, it is relatively easy to drop it. I never thought I'd go "sweets-less" but since Jan. of 2020, I gave up desserts (still have up to 10 grams of sugar a day in dark chocolate). I still use stevia but not in anything dessert-ish.