Hi folks -
Just about one week on plan here -- and I am wondering how you all handle not overconsuming when it is time to sit down and eat. I am finding that it is actually pleasurable to get hungry before meals (that seems funny to say), but sometimes I find I am so, so hungry that I know I am eating more than I would have normally. I feel like I am almost in a panic sometimes. Will this feeling go away?
I am a 39 year-old woman with about 30 # to lose. I don't really miss sweets that much (since I know I can have them on S days), am not a binger, but do get shaky, ill feeling, and irritable if I go too long without eating. So, this whole "ignore your hunger and wait till dinner" thing is new to me. I am struggling with it a bit. Any help is appreciated.
Hunger and Meals
Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating
Hello icz,
I think it will probably go away. Perhaps you don't eat enough whole grain carbs? Feeling shaky and irritable might be a sign of low blood sugar. I think I remember it happened often at first it then happened less. Your body adapts. But it sure helps if you take care to have enough carbs at every meal, and if possible not too refined carbs (breads that are too refined, eg McDonalds hamburger bread, are digested more quickly than whole grain ones).
Also, I avoid sweet seasonings (jam, sweet sauces...) because I noticed they tend to make me hungry too early.
Anyway I'd recommend two steps:
First, try to avoid being too hungry. If you do get very hungry with the shaky/irritable feeling, think about your previous meal, and how you could change its quantity or quality to prevent getting that hungry. Then the next day experiment with that meal.
Second, when/if you do get very hungry/shaky/irritable, take note of the food you are about to eat. Then after the meal take note of how you feel (bloated? too full? sleepy? like a glutton?). The next day, if/when you feel the same before the same meal, take note again of what you are about to eat. Fill your plate just a little less than the previous day. Take care to eat slowly and savor your food. Then take note of how you feel after the meal.
It's an experimental process. After a while you learn what/how much/how you should eat to make No-S effortless in your current circumstances. Then circumstances change (season, marriage, kids, work ...), and you have to adapt to a whole new set of contraints
In that sense it's a lifelong process, but it should get easier after a while in a stable environment.
I think it will probably go away. Perhaps you don't eat enough whole grain carbs? Feeling shaky and irritable might be a sign of low blood sugar. I think I remember it happened often at first it then happened less. Your body adapts. But it sure helps if you take care to have enough carbs at every meal, and if possible not too refined carbs (breads that are too refined, eg McDonalds hamburger bread, are digested more quickly than whole grain ones).
Also, I avoid sweet seasonings (jam, sweet sauces...) because I noticed they tend to make me hungry too early.
Anyway I'd recommend two steps:
First, try to avoid being too hungry. If you do get very hungry with the shaky/irritable feeling, think about your previous meal, and how you could change its quantity or quality to prevent getting that hungry. Then the next day experiment with that meal.
Second, when/if you do get very hungry/shaky/irritable, take note of the food you are about to eat. Then after the meal take note of how you feel (bloated? too full? sleepy? like a glutton?). The next day, if/when you feel the same before the same meal, take note again of what you are about to eat. Fill your plate just a little less than the previous day. Take care to eat slowly and savor your food. Then take note of how you feel after the meal.
It's an experimental process. After a while you learn what/how much/how you should eat to make No-S effortless in your current circumstances. Then circumstances change (season, marriage, kids, work ...), and you have to adapt to a whole new set of contraints
In that sense it's a lifelong process, but it should get easier after a while in a stable environment.Started NoS Jan 07 at 74.5kg (164 lbs, BMI 26.7)
Stable since Jan 08 at 64kg (141 lbs, BMI 23)
My progress chart
Stable since Jan 08 at 64kg (141 lbs, BMI 23)
My progress chart
Because "drinking is not snacking," I use drinks as a security blanket. That way I'm not so worried at a meal if it will take me through to the next one.
Tea or coffee, if I'm having a craving or habit pangs -- a common thing at "second breakfast" time mid morning; milk or veggie juice to tide me over if I'm truly hungry.
Tea or coffee, if I'm having a craving or habit pangs -- a common thing at "second breakfast" time mid morning; milk or veggie juice to tide me over if I'm truly hungry.
I do think unpleasant hunger between will largely go away (there will always be odd occasions where you didn't plan quite right, but strictness makes you a good planner FAST). 3 meals is PLENTY by world historical standards -- most of your ancestors would have counted themselves lucky to eat that often. And I think time and habit will make it feel like plenty again for you soon enough, if you stick with it.
And you don't have to completely "ignore your hunger." Do remember that you can drink between meals -- even caloric drinks. Often water is enough to do the trick (thirst is often confused for hunger), but feel free to grab a glass of milk or even 100% fruit juice. The calories in there should be enough to appease any real physical hunger you are feeling, yet keep the habit of no food between meals.
If after a few more weeks worse comes to worst, and drinks and habit do not do the trick for you, you can always consider adding an official fourth meal. There's a risk, in that an additional meal means an additional chance for excess to sneak in, but the risk might be worth it. I wouldn't try this up front, because I do think 3 meals is a better choice for most people, but it is a legitimate option. And it can be a comfort to know you have this option, should you need it, even if you never wind up resorting to it.
Best of luck, and hope you soon only feel the good kind of hunger,
Reinhard
And you don't have to completely "ignore your hunger." Do remember that you can drink between meals -- even caloric drinks. Often water is enough to do the trick (thirst is often confused for hunger), but feel free to grab a glass of milk or even 100% fruit juice. The calories in there should be enough to appease any real physical hunger you are feeling, yet keep the habit of no food between meals.
If after a few more weeks worse comes to worst, and drinks and habit do not do the trick for you, you can always consider adding an official fourth meal. There's a risk, in that an additional meal means an additional chance for excess to sneak in, but the risk might be worth it. I wouldn't try this up front, because I do think 3 meals is a better choice for most people, but it is a legitimate option. And it can be a comfort to know you have this option, should you need it, even if you never wind up resorting to it.
Best of luck, and hope you soon only feel the good kind of hunger,
Reinhard
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Buffalo Gal
- Posts: 99
- Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2008 1:11 pm
Icz,
I force myself to eat slowly.
My lunch hour at work is 12-12:30 and I don't eat dinner until 6:30-7ish. Needless to say I am starving.
So I plate my food, sit down, take a deep breath and say grace. It is not always easy but it really helps.
Buffalo Gal
I force myself to eat slowly.
My lunch hour at work is 12-12:30 and I don't eat dinner until 6:30-7ish. Needless to say I am starving.
So I plate my food, sit down, take a deep breath and say grace. It is not always easy but it really helps.
Buffalo Gal
If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.
Wow, thanks so much, everyone. I have been trying to tell myself that I am eating "enough" to help make the panicky feeling go away. I do get low blood sugar on occasion, which is made worse if I eat simple carbs at the previous meal. (Pancakes and things like that are the kiss of death for me; two hours later I want to hurt someone!!)
So, I will work on the whole grain aspect and just reminding myself about being able to drink milk, etc. I love coffee, but it tends to make the low blood sugar worse if I am hungry.
So, I will work on the whole grain aspect and just reminding myself about being able to drink milk, etc. I love coffee, but it tends to make the low blood sugar worse if I am hungry.
I've been making a cafe au lait. About 2/3 milk, 1/3 coffee and sometimes just a little sugar. It gets me through to the next meal if I need that.icz wrote:I love coffee, but it tends to make the low blood sugar worse if I am hungry.
"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."
"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."
icz,
I also have the "jittery fainting weak hypoglycemic" problem now and again.
Make sure you eat about a half cup or more of grain plus fruit plus protein for your meals. Cereal/milk/yogurt/fruit, oatmeal/milk/nuts, eggs/bacon/grapefruit, whatever. (Vegans: you know what to substitute!
) This should pretty much do the trick. Also, I never go more than 4 hours between the 3 meals, and eat the last one around 1800.
I KNOW you're not supposed to do numbers in this system, but they're very helpful. If you know roughly that you need x grams of protein for your weight and look up or chart the foods that contain same, you can just plan your meals without thinking. Ditto carbs, e.g., half a cup of oatmeal makes about 1 cup, 150 calories, lasts 4 hours. And so on.
f
I also have the "jittery fainting weak hypoglycemic" problem now and again.
Make sure you eat about a half cup or more of grain plus fruit plus protein for your meals. Cereal/milk/yogurt/fruit, oatmeal/milk/nuts, eggs/bacon/grapefruit, whatever. (Vegans: you know what to substitute!
) This should pretty much do the trick. Also, I never go more than 4 hours between the 3 meals, and eat the last one around 1800.I KNOW you're not supposed to do numbers in this system, but they're very helpful. If you know roughly that you need x grams of protein for your weight and look up or chart the foods that contain same, you can just plan your meals without thinking.
Ditto carbs, e.g., half a cup of oatmeal makes about 1 cup, 150 calories, lasts 4 hours. And so on.f
I, too, get that "shaky, irritable, headachey" feeling if I don't eat regularly (every so-many hours). So, I'm often suffering from this in the afternoon.
I eat breakfast around 7:30-8 a.m., lunch around 11:30a.m./'Noon, and then try to make it until 6 p.m. to have dinner (when hubby gets home from work). I like to eat with my family.
So, that afternoon stretch is a long time for me to go without food. Water does help (I keep a bottle beside me), but sometimes it doesn't. That's when I reach for a cup of tea with millk and 2 tsp. sugar (how I like it). ;o)
The "trick" is to learn which foods "last" the longest... and eat those at lunchtime. Stuff without much substance isn't going to last you very long. But, stuff with more protein (like PeanutButter, or eggs) will last for quite a while. Eventually you "learn" which foods are more lasting.
So, that's what I've been working at, despite being very new to NoS... I've been trying to make sure to pick the "right" lunchtime foods, knowing I'll have about 4-5 hours before I can eat again.
I eat breakfast around 7:30-8 a.m., lunch around 11:30a.m./'Noon, and then try to make it until 6 p.m. to have dinner (when hubby gets home from work). I like to eat with my family.
So, that afternoon stretch is a long time for me to go without food. Water does help (I keep a bottle beside me), but sometimes it doesn't. That's when I reach for a cup of tea with millk and 2 tsp. sugar (how I like it). ;o)
The "trick" is to learn which foods "last" the longest... and eat those at lunchtime. Stuff without much substance isn't going to last you very long. But, stuff with more protein (like PeanutButter, or eggs) will last for quite a while. Eventually you "learn" which foods are more lasting.
So, that's what I've been working at, despite being very new to NoS... I've been trying to make sure to pick the "right" lunchtime foods, knowing I'll have about 4-5 hours before I can eat again.
http://jaymiz.wordpress.com (The 'No S' Life)
"The more you do a thing, the easier it becomes" ~ Anon.
"The more you do a thing, the easier it becomes" ~ Anon.