Survivalist Forum banner

Eating makes me hungry

4K views 28 replies 23 participants last post by  falconbrother 
#1 ·
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How does one throw that switch in their head to make them stop eating? I can eat a full meal and want something else half hour later. I can't stop eating if there is food around. If my wife isn't home when I get there I sneak food, and then eat dinner. WTF?
Is it my age? 61 I weigh 245 and am 5' 10". I even go to the gym 3 times a week and actually have some pretty good workouts. What's the secret? What am I missing?
 
#3 ·
the secret :)

eat less... I am loosing weight for the first time in my life now... Never really cared before... I joined the local volunteer FD and figured I didn't want to have heart attack in the middle of a fire (which is more common then you think)

I started using myfitnesspal.com to track all my food... which yes means I weigh things... or measure in measuring cups... it's really not that hard...

I started in September (around the 15th)... I didn't have a scale and I guessed my weight at 265... bought a scale and had to add 16 pounds... so my starting weight was 281 @ 6' tall... uggg...

I am now down to 245... I work out at the gym 5 days a week... on the weekend I've been running... I'm up to 4 miles @ a 10 minute pace right now... but with winter coming that might come to a halt...

I eat less then 1900 calories per day... and the weight is falling off... tracking my food makes me less likely to snack... you think about it before stuffing your face...

I do go over 1900 some days... but hardly ever... what I am noticing is that I was eating way more then I thought I was before... do you have any idea how many calories are in a foot long buffalo chicken finger sub with cheese and blue cheese.. I was probably averaging 2800-3000 before I started tracking...

good luck and find something that works for you...
 
#5 ·
Good work Cleb, I have no idea how much I eat, never measured it. I'm going to check myfitness.

When I say hungry I'm sure I don't mean a hungry feeling, just find it hard to stop eating. I'm trying to figure out why I eat way more than I need to eat. It's starting to mess with my head a bit.
 
#7 ·
I believe it is an indication that what you are eating is satisfying the needs of your body. The harder it is to stop the more the bodies needs. You might add a superior smoothie. A have a similar problem now and then. When that happens I increase my nutrients. Sometimes I take multi vitamins with each meal and that works as well. Water is a bigy too as mentioned above
 
#9 ·
You may be bored. At night when I watch TV I eat - my mind is marginally engaged, not occupied/challenged. When I'm on the computer working on something (not watching videos or reading gossip), my mind is occupied and time flies. Same thing w/ a good book.

When I was younger and active, aerobic exercise/activity was a natural appetite suppresant. Or I was just away from the food, either way I ate less often back then.

Water sometimes helps. Sometimes milk works better than water, if the trigger is a blood sugar fluctuation and not dehydration. Good Luck.
 
#11 ·
Also we must remember that eating triggers certain chemicals to be released in the brain that give us that good feeling (dopamine?). I believe it is the same as the way some addictive drugs interact with the brain. It can almost be addictive to eat in order to get that satisfying feeling that those chemicals release.

I try to drink a lot of water during the day to keep my stomach feeling full. It keeps me from even wanting to eat since I already feel stuffed.

I am 6'2" and used to weigh around 265 at my heaviest. I went no carb for a couple of weeks then low carb with exercise and lost 30 lbs. in 30 days. Then another 15-20 lbs in another 30 days. That was back in 2006 after a bad leg injury. I have maintained a 200-215 lb. body weight since then just by watching my portions and keeping my carbs low and protien high for all of my meals as well as regular weight training and cardio.
 
#12 ·
It's all in your head, Henrybo. Really. I'm not kidding. The way to fix that is to change the way you think, assuming, of course, that you are well hydrated, are getting good nutrition and have consumed all the food your body needs.

Have you tried a little brainwashing? It works for me. I use guided relaxation and subliminal tapes to keep myself from overeating, among other things. After a 30-minute session, I am so energized and feeling so great that the last thing that's on my mind is all that great food in the refrigerator. Not only will you not want to stuff yourself but you will learn to really enjoy that empty feeling--up to a point, of course--and the feeling of having so much control over your body.
 
#13 ·
And, yes, eating does make you hungry.

If you eat too much, you stretch out your stomach so it wants more food the next day. Whereas, if you cut down on the quantity, your stomach will adjust to that quantity and it will be your new norm.

Have you ever noticed that if you eat a big meal at night, the next morning you wake up hungry and want more food but if you eat light at night you wake up not wanting to eat much, or at all, and you have lots of energy? That's how it works for me, anyway. The less I eat, the better my body responds to what I eat and it doesn't take all my body's resources to process all that food, so I feel much better, too. YMMV, of course, but that's how my body works.

I always say that I don't eat because I'm hungry. I eat because I'm crazy. And the only way I have to control that is by getting my brain under control. Since you "sneak" when the wife is not around but apparently not when she's there, maybe my way could work for you, too. You could also make plans to do something important when she's not there to help you keep your mind off food while playing a tape as a "booster shot" at the same time.
 
#14 ·
Try looking at the ingredients in the foods you are eating. Food with high fructose corn syrup (which is in about every prepared food on the planet) will inhibit uptake of leptin, which is the hormone that your body uses to signal you've had enough to eat. Without leptin uptake, we'll eat until we have no room left. And that's not full, it's over full.
 
#15 ·
Fats are what triggers "the I'm full" switch.

Carbs, sugars.. unbalanced diets, pop.. Keeps ya eating.
Fake sugars.. Sugar replacements are proven to trigger hunger.
Things like raw sugar, turbino sugar, Stevia, raw honey actually curb hunger as does hot drinks.

If you have an unbalanced diet your body craves what it is not getting so no amount of foods other than "the deficit foods" will satisfy.

Also, the stomach may be saying to you "I'm hungry" when the actual need is just hydration.
 
#19 ·
Fats are what triggers "the I'm full" switch.

Carbs, sugars.. unbalanced diets, pop.. Keeps ya eating.
I think that is individual. My mom eats LCHF and me and friend were visiting. We ate well and felt OK, went to bed while after. At night I wake up, so hungry! I sneak into the kitchen for a raid and I find my friend there going through the cabinets! LOL. Seems like both me and friend are simply NOT satisfied eating high fat. We both eat high carb (not sugars but slow carbs + starches) which keeps us satisfied. A bowl of oatmeal makes me full for longer than bacon most definitely! We're not all made the same.
 
#16 ·
Food can be a very complicated issue. It isn't just "one thing" that is causing you to overeat. It's a combination of things. A lot of good points have been made in this thread. Most people DON'T drink enough water. Thirst can masquerade as hunger. You need at least 8 glasses of water, daily. Not sodas. Not coffee. Not tea. Not the cutesie flavored waters. Plain old H2O.

Also, a lot of people have a habit of mindless eating and snacking in certain familiar situations. Like snacking while you are using a computer. If you are doing something else.........you aren't really concentrating on what, or how much, you are eating. Ditto for carrying a plate of food out of the kitchen to sit down to eat and watch TV. You will be watching that TV program and you won't be mindful of what..........or how much.......you are eating.

A lot of binge eating is triggered by things like high fructose corn syrup in foods and beverages. That corn syrup additive wll give you a raging appetite that is impossible to control. None of the "ose" ingredients in food are good for you. But high fructose corn syrup is probably the worst of the bunch.

Learn to wait 30 minutes after you "think" you are hungry. If you are still hungry after half an hour has passed (and you have been drinking lots of water every day)......it's probably real hunger. And you are definitely hungry, if you can hear your stomach growling with hunger pains.

Something that a lot of us do is to get food mixed up with entertainment. In our current society, food is presented as "entertainment" more often, than not. We "go out" to eat at restaurants. We order pizza for home delivery. We have tailgate parties (with lots of food) at football games. We throw barbecue parties in Summertime. Food is present (usually in huge quantities) on every major holiday. There is tons of food at every type of celebration. Thanksgiving revolves around food. So do Christmas and Easter.

So, we have all been conditioned to think of food as entertainment. All of this is fun........so most of us overeat. We need to get back to thinking about food as what it is........which is fuel for the body. Not entertainment. Not as a substitute for love. Not eating when we are bored and just want something to do.

As we get older, many people find that they do a lot better with 5 smaller meals a day.......instead of 3 BIG meals. It's easier for your body to digest, and keeps your metabolism working well, which means you will burn off the calories faster.
 
#17 ·
It takes the body 20 minutes to recieve the stomache is full message so eat slowly. Make sure your not dehydrated as some people can confuse these messages.

Look at what your eatting, some things do not satisfy hunger so you would need a good carbohydrate base to each meal for the food to last longer. Things like Macdonalds just wont last the course compared to a good roast etc.

In the winter you need to eat more to keep the body warm then you do in the summer, plus when you exercise you burn more calories so need more food to stop you feeling hungery.
 
#18 ·
WOW, so many great responses, and they pretty much all make sense. I do eat fairly healthy stuff, except for occaisional salami sandwich. I think I may not be drinking nearly enough water, though. I am going to try more water for starters and try to change my mindset about mindlessly eating while preoccupied. I don't go for junk food or candy, cakes, or pastries, I just have a hard time stopping once I start. I'll have to work on the brain control part too.
Thanks for the great advice, I'll try to lose a few before turkey day.
 
#20 ·
I get that constant hungry feeling when I don't have enough meat in my diet.
Real meat, elk, deer, buff, not burnt wienie sandwiches or soy burgers.

When I found myself coming out of the ICU - the dietician put me on a measured carb diet. Now all I hear is "carbs baaad!" and I wonder if moderation isn't the key. Extremes are what we need less of, no huge doses of fat or sugar, wheat or meat, just a well balanced diet.

And eat a light snack and drink some water an arf hour before you hit the table.

Hmm, if munching is all your body wants, I have an oral fixation, try sugar free gum. I like the peppermint sugar free Bubble Yum, good for blowing bubbles and satisfying that part of my mind that wonders what's in the fridge.
 
#22 ·
Sometimes we want to feel full, when the goal really is not to feel hunger. I know the difference from when I was really poor and there was something great about just being able not to be hungry. Back then I couldn't cared less about being full. Now, with more access to food, my attitude changed, and I want to feel satiated. I simply have it too good! LOL.
 
#24 ·
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How does one throw that switch in their head to make them stop eating? I can eat a full meal and want something else half hour later. I can't stop eating if there is food around. If my wife isn't home when I get there I sneak food, and then eat dinner. WTF?
Is it my age? 61 I weigh 245 and am 5' 10". I even go to the gym 3 times a week and actually have some pretty good workouts. What's the secret? What am I missing?
Also, take a look at the type of foods you are eating in that full meal. You could be causing your insulin to spike - and that makes your body crave carbohydrates to offset the extra insulin. Then, of course, the new carbs have a similar effect and you are on the merry-go-round. If you can reduce the sugar carbs - starches, things with HFCS, sweets - and replace that volume with protein and/or complex carbs (greens) you may see some of those follow-up cravings diminish. If you do experience that effect, then you have the knowledge about your body's response to your diet that will allow you to make more substitutions and perhaps eliminate the eating issue. Good luck.
 
#27 ·
I know if I eat breakfast, I'm starved around lunchtime. But if I skip breakfast, I'm fine until dinnertime. See, my job is too busy to break away for lunch. I work a regular 8 hour shift, so it's not like I'm not going without or anything. I just skip breakfast so I'm not angry and suffering during work. I just thought that was fascinating, that eating 'made me hungry' 4 hours later. You could also try altering you actual mealtimes.
 
#28 ·
You don't need to eat 3 times a day. That's one of the major problems, IMO. That nonsense gets pounded into us from birth. We stop maybe 3-400 calories short of what will make us feel full at a meal. It screws with the brain and we end up taking in more calories in the long run while still feeling like we're hungry.
 
#29 ·
Henrybo, I'm the same as you man. I can eat like a horse. The solution for me is a kind of reset, which I'm in the middle of right now.

If you have an hour and a half may I suggest that you watch "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead". It's on Hulu for free. I began to get hives for no particular reason. That told me that my autoimmune system was screwed and I needed to stop eating like I was on death row. I need to lose 40 pounds to get down to my ideal weight, maybe a little less now.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/289122

I didn't buy the juicer they show in the documentary. I bought a decent one at Wallyworld. I use the heck out of it. They say it's time consuming to juice and clean up but, I haven't found that to be true. I grab what I need, turn the juicer on, wash and cut up the fruits or veggies, stuff them in the juicer, and when I finish the juice I rinse and wipe everything down for the next time. The juicing takes five minutes and the cleanup takes three.

I know that I have to confront my appetite with the big guns, I have to make war on it or I'll get no where. The way I figure it I need to shrink my stomach, detox, and get healthy.

If I might make a suggestion, should you decide to go this route, start out with juicing recipes and don't just start throwing stuff in the juicer. It is possible to make some nasty tasting juices. Some good ones are "Mean Green Juice" and pretty much all the citrus and berry juices. Go simple on the veggie juices and they will taste better. Too much variety and it taste like dirt.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top