That great, Rob. I hope it works out well for you. I've done it so long now, I can't imagine not having a snack at night.

LC Soup is a nice filler, Ilse. I'd just recommend adding a bit of protein if you are going to us it as an evening snack.

The protein contains the building blocks of all your neurotransmitters, and is responsible for growth and repair of tissues. A good reason IMO to make sure your system has a bit available.

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BC
LC Since 1998
Highest Weight 172
Current 104-108

I have determined that I am definitely a grazer. Actually, I do pretty good until about 4:00, then it's a constant stream of something until dinner which is often 8:00 to 8:30 PM. It used to be that I would graze on the high carb stuff and of course that led to a ballooning of weight. Now, it's nuts, or a high fiber cracker with cream cheese, or any number of other things. Actually, as I think about it, I probably do eat something every two hours or so. I believe that's the beauty of LC --- I can eat/graze and still stay at my goal weight. I love it!

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Judy
highest = 180, goal = 138-140
Every single time I put food in my mouth, it matters. No more fooling myself!

It's great, Judy, when your WOE fits your natural habits. I think that's a recipe for success in itself.

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BC
LC Since 1998
Highest Weight 172
Current 104-108

I saw a medical special/documentary last year that was focused on ghrelin. (The 2 articles gave different pronunciations, but the researchers on TV called it GRELL-in.)
My sister had gastric bypass surgery almost 3 years ago. It was a "piece of cake" for her. She lost 203 pounds and has kept it off, although she grazes constantly. HER grazing is largely emotional and habitual. She told me that she eats out of habit and nerves rather than hunger. She is "never hungry" and sometimes forgets to eat when she is busy and in a good mood.

This surgery and our relationship is a long story I won't bore you all with....I just wanted to say that after watching that show, I came to this conclusion: gastric bypass patients lose and keep off weight because 1. their stomachs are the size of an egg. 2. their intestines are re-routed and they don't absorb nutrient and calories the way we do and 3. as the article states, their ghrelin production is all but halted by the vast reduction in their stomach size. One of the researchers said they are fairly sure that ghrelin is produced in the stomach lining....makes sense.

I do try to eat smaller meals spaced out through the day, just so I'm never famished and my over-eager body doesn't give the "omigoditsafamine" call out to my fat cells!

B.C. Thanks for sharing your wealth of info!

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I'm a believer in the benefits of grazing theory. Lately I've been focusing on portion control and timing. I've been eating something every 3-4 hours and keeping portions small. My days are pretty routine and that makes it relatively easy to plan my daily eating.
As a semi-serious weight lifter, I had always heard to eat every 3-4 hours so as not to get catabolic(sp?) where your body will scavenge not only stored energy, fat, but muscle and even organs as well for energy. Rob, if you don't eat for 2 1/2 hours before bed time and then sleep 6 hours, you are going catabolic for sure.
Ilse, I think there is something to the shrinking stomach. If you get used to smaller more frequent meals and snacks, I think you just learn to be satisfied with smaller amounts of food and it takes less to feel satisfied. How about a couple slices of bacon or a meat and cheese roll-up for snack/meals? I'll make a couple extra slices of bacon at breakfast and slip 'em into a zip-plock, they seem to keep well for 3-4 hours at least. Or you could make a few roll-ups and keep 'em in the fridge or a little cooler if you are going out.

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keep on keepin on

211/165/170

And it seems like you are having great success, too, Gregg Yes, catabolic--that's a word I never can remember, LOL! So if your body is busy scavenging itself, it's certainly not going to be nicely replicating and repairing cells, producing hormones, and destroying interopers--and doesn't sound like pleasant dreams, either

Really interesting, Maxibee, that your sister doesn't experience physical hunger now. You may have the answer exactly right, too, about why bypass works for most people--a combination of factors, rather than the reduction in stomach volume alone. And LOL, yes, I just hate it when my fat cells call for reinforcements.

Ilse, thanks for bring the subject up. I've got a lot of questions now about the "shrinking stomach" phenomenon as it relates to ghrelin. I suppose I thought "shrinking stomach" was a figure of speech as much as anything. Maybe not.

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BC
LC Since 1998
Highest Weight 172
Current 104-108

I don't think our stomachs actually shrink, but we can certainly stop over-stretching them and learn to recognize when they are pleasantly full. It seems a lot of us with weight issues have somehow lost (or never developed) a reliable "I'm full" sensor. I, too, tend to pack in too much food too fast, and if I get real hungry I have a hard time stopping at a reasonable point. I think that eating smallers amounts more often is probably the best way to go, and I do that most times. But it's still a challenge for me to eat even a little something when I don't feel hungry....vestiges of that old low-cal mentality - you know, the idea that skipping meals will help us lose weight. And I still have to fight that silly notion in my head about not "spoiling my dinner". That early conditioning dies hard, doesn't it?

Sky
Atkins since 8/02
196/144/under 150

Amen, Sky. If we could start an eating plan without all the emotional, habitual, and familial baggage, most of us would have been thin years ago!

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BC
LC Since 1998
Highest Weight 172
Current 104-108

I'm just chiming in here with what my daughter's pediatrician said to me a few years ago. "If adults would eat like small children eat: ONLY when they are hungry...there would be no fat adults." (See, she would not eat well for a few days, then eat like crazy for a couple of days, then taper off.) He related the eating spells to growth spurts. BTW, she is almost 7 now, eats the same way, and is still thin. We DO NOT get into food related arguments/issues in my house. I AM taking THIS advice from him:"Only SHE knows if she is hungry/full or not. Don't force her to eat or she will grow up with food AND Mom issues."

I'm not so sure he is correct about the eating "only when they are hungry". When I get hungry is the danger time, hence the grazing technique...to KEEP from GETTING hungry!

The part I DO agree with has to do with what Sky was mentioning about "early conditioning". So, what country did YOUR family use in this line:"Clean your plate! There are starving children in (__________) that would love to have a meal like this." And I heard the old "Don't eat that now, it's spoil your dinner." Hey, ma....maybe if I'd "spoiled my dinner" a little more often, I wouldn't have gorged myself AT dinner!

LOL! I've had to "get my thinking right" as part of following Dr.Phil's 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom. It's his belief that what's "eating" us is as important as what we are eating. I do hope my little girl grows up eating only when she wants to and I hope she doesn't allow herself to be peer pressured into eating socially to fit in. Being fat is painful and it's my prayer that she never has to experience that. Later!

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Good for you, Maxibee. Hopefully your daughter will find that food won't be one of her issues as she grows up (you, either, LOL!). I know the pain of being a fat kid, too.

My take is that since kids usually have normal insulin responses, it isn't damaging for them to use hunger as a signal to eat. Most of us adults here no longer have normal insulin responses after a lifetime of eating crap and/or being overweight, so hunger is not the best determinant.

Sky, I'm also one of those without a reliable "full" sensor, which is probably why the zone works so well for me by establishing some sense of portion control. Honestly, I can't even rely on physical pain to tell me when I'm full. Strangely enough, being even slightly "overfull" actually gives me a signal to eat more, almost as if it is a hunger pain. Go figure.

Thus having several meals and snacks throughout the day works on a number of levels for me.

__________________
BC
LC Since 1998
Highest Weight 172
Current 104-108

That is very interesting, Bren. I see why the Zone has worked so well for you...

I'm just chiming in here to say that I've been trying this "grazing" technique for the past few days. I know it is only a few days and nothing long term, but I can say that I'm feeling a lot more satisfied at meals and not approaching meals being ravenous. I missed my snack yesterday afternoon and ate more than I have been at dinner. It is nothing conclusive, sure, but it is encouraging and I plan to stick with it!

Thanks, Ilse, for letting us know about this

Keep us posted on how your snacking/grazing goes Sharron.

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BC
LC Since 1998
Highest Weight 172
Current 104-108

Well, I learned something this morning -- this actually goes along with my comments in the Zone thread about a similar topic -- I do a lot better with my snacks when they are more Zonish. I had just eggs this morning, whereas the past few days I've been having a 1/2 tuna sandwich on WW with a glass of raw milk (about 3 blocks) and I had the serious hungries later in the day!

Right now I'm not eating to lose because I've been so ill -- feels like it would be too much stress on my already stressed system. I'm just eating to maintain. If I lose, I just count it as a blessing

Anyway, I did lose 2# yesterday starting my day off like that. Today, I dunno. I'm thinking I need to look more closely at how I ate early in the day and get more of my carbs in sooner.... Hmmm... seems like I was on this path before I got sick.

Probably more information than you wanted, eh :o

That's interesting Sharron, and it makes sense to me. :fork:

__________________
BC
LC Since 1998
Highest Weight 172
Current 104-108