I'm so hungry!

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apple
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I'm so hungry!

Post by apple » Wed Feb 06, 2008 8:03 am

My day is like this:
07:00 wake up
07:30 breakfast
12:00 lunch
15:30 afternoon meal
18:00 dinner
23:00 bed

I feel like I'm eating a lot: breakfast, lunch, dinner and a small afternoon meal. But I'm always hungry when I go to bed, and hungry when I wake up. Does anyone else have this too? And any ideas on how to solve this? I thought that I was doing everything right, but before No-S I was never this hungry.

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laura99
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Post by laura99 » Wed Feb 06, 2008 9:02 am

i too have this hungry problem, i solved it with water lots and lots of water. i fills me up, i realized that i'm not hungry as much as i am craving sugar. are you sure its hunger and not you fat tellling you i want to eat feed me now,lol. losing weihgt is a mental process as well. your fat is fighting with you and trying to trick you into eating, don't let it win. looks like you had a great day , good for you keep going. YOU CAN DO IT!

rose
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Post by rose » Wed Feb 06, 2008 9:50 am

Hmmm...
first you wait 4h30 between meals then 3h30 then 2h30. And then you fast for 5 hours before going to bed.

I'd suggest either scrapping the afternoon meal and having more filling lunch and dinner meals, or delaying dinner until 19:00 or 20:00.

Also you might want to look into what you are eating. Having balanced meals makes it easier. Refraining from having any sugar might also help. I used to have cravings at 11:00 when I sweetened my breakfast.

Personnally my eating schedule is 8:30, 12:00, 19:00 which makes for a long afternoon stretch but I've gotten used to it.

wosnes
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Post by wosnes » Wed Feb 06, 2008 11:35 am

My eating schedule is almost identical to yours. I'm rarely hungry in the morning or at bedtime. Make sure that you're eating enough food at your meals. Pay attention to portion sizes, but don't make them so small that the meal isn't going to "last" until the next one. Also, give yourself time to adjust to your new schedule. If you've been permasnacking, eating only at certain times is going to be a shock to your system.
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

sandra
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Post by sandra » Wed Feb 06, 2008 12:32 pm

This is my 3rd week of NoSing and being hungry was my biggest fear.
Previously I would never be without an emergency snack in my bag for when I got hungry which was alot! Like Laura99 I now drink lots of water between meals which definately helps and I make sure that the 3 meals I have are filling ones.
Breakfast 8am bowl of Bran Flakes & banana
Lunch 1pm Either chunky soup or Jacket potato or pasta.
An apple.
Dinner 6pm Either fish, chicken etc with either potato,rice or
pasta and veggies or salad.
If I'm hungry at bedtime, I'll have a small glass of milk.
How does this compare with what you eat Apple?

thtrchic
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Post by thtrchic » Wed Feb 06, 2008 12:57 pm

In addition to making sure the meals are big enough, make sure they have enough fat and protein in them. Carbs won't last you too long.

Also, a helpful thought that someone gave me a few months back when I complained of htis same thing one night -- when you're hungry like this is when you're losing weight. Your body will use the stored fat. When I'm feeling hungry at night, thinking that that means I'm burning off fat helps me stick to it. I've heard that same thing in other words specifically related to waking up hungry -- that if you aren't hungry in the morning, you're eating too much.

Of course, you should be starving and miserable all the time. I guess finding that balance is the key we're all looking for.

Julie

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apple
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Post by apple » Wed Feb 06, 2008 3:47 pm

Thanks for all your replies!

To be more specific about what I'm eating:
Breakfast = glass of milk, two slices of bread with some kind of protein topping (like tuna salad), piece of fruit
Lunch = two slices of bread dipped in peanut sauce, boiled egg, salad, glass of milk
Afternoon = apple, rye bread with cheese
Dinner = can be many things, e.g. potatoes with vegetables and a veggie burger
To me, this sounds like enough, but I'm not sure.

I'm going to try out eating more fat and protein, see if that helps. Already I'm drinking about 2 litres a day, so that's got to be enough.

Rose, scrapping the afternoon meal might work if I eat more at lunch. I will give it a try.

It would be nice if the hunger means losing fat, but so far my waistline is not decreasing.

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reinhard
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Post by reinhard » Wed Feb 06, 2008 4:01 pm

Hi Apple,

I'm sorry you're feeling unpleasantly hungry between meals, but I'm confident that with a little patience and tweaking this will go away.

1. The best cure for hunger is habit. 4 meals a day is PLENTY. The longer you consistently eat this way the more hunger will learn when it's time to eat. Your appetite is like pavlov's dog in the famous experiment with the bell. Be a firm trainer and it will come to associate food with mealtimes, and not in between. When you feel hungry, picture a dog whining. You're the trainer. You're the boss. Don't let the animal train you. Be firm and that animal will learn (and wind up much happier).

2. There is a rather long gab between dinner and bed. Maybe move dinner back an hour to 7pm? Even just half an hour might help.

3. Drink. Drink proactively. Drink caloric beverages if necessary. A glass of milk can do wonders -- lots of protein, and apparently it has soporific properties as well. Unlike sweet beverages (juice or diet soda) it won't mess with your no sweets habit.

4. I find that nothing has the stopping power of fiber. Whole grains like oatmeal and brown rice aren't just good for you, but they fill you up like nothing else, it's like eating cement.

5. Try to spin (moderate) hunger as something positive. At this point that may just seem like absurd pep talk, but I think in time you will actually come to see it this way. It's not a disease. It's good to be hungry before a meal. It makes the food taste better. "Appetite is the best sauce."

Reinhard

sandra
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Post by sandra » Wed Feb 06, 2008 4:42 pm

Reinhard, how did you get to be so clever??!!

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apple
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Post by apple » Thu Feb 07, 2008 9:07 am

Thanks Reinhard!

I'm going to try to move dinner foward, that should be possible. Maybe first half an hour, and then to 19:00 if all goes well. Breakfast and lunch are fixed though.

Regarding the fibre, I am eating dark bread for breakfast and lunch, so that is under control. But the brown rice I will put on the shopping list. And fruit and vegetables have fibre too, right?

I shall be tough with myself and make it work, because I know I can do this. It's just very difficult at the moment. I really considered giving up this whole thing yesterday, but now I have decided to stick with it and not let one hurdle stop me from doing this.

elizabeth333
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Post by elizabeth333 » Fri Feb 08, 2008 4:34 am

I've had alot of hungry moments this week and I just remember what Oprah said on one of her shows about weight loss: When you feel hungry like you just need a little snack, you just need something.. that's when you're losing weight.

franxious
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Post by franxious » Fri Feb 08, 2008 1:27 pm

That's a good way to think of it...that hungry sensation is the feeling of fat being burned off!!

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apple
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Post by apple » Tue Feb 12, 2008 7:54 am

That's a nice way to think of it, I will keep that in mind when I need to be strong.

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laura99
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Post by laura99 » Tue Feb 12, 2008 8:51 am

i love oprah, she's clever :D

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