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Mandi · #1 06-01-2005, 09:38 AM

Really, I was thinking about this today. I actually read somewhere about how Oprah loves that little rumble in her tummy, she "welcomes" it, so to speak. Today I was feeling a little washed out, I guess about 4 hours after my big lunch and I was a little confused as to whether a.) I didnt eat enough (but I had a big breakfast and big lunch) B.) If I was truly in need of a little snack c.) Im getting back into Ketosis from the Saturday night binge on peanuts. To be honest, I think its not C because I was in ketosis late monday.
Anyways, the point is- today when I was feeling a tad weak I didnt get the rumble in my stomach, and I still felt a little woozy after I had 2 oz of chicken, so what gives on the hunger?
Is it a sign like "hunger pangs" or is there a feeling of general malaise that washes over you that signals you're are in need of some e-n-e-r-g-y.

KCTinter · #2 06-01-2005, 10:29 AM

I think it's easy to confuse hunger with boredom. But if you are active, and it was 4 hours after lunch, even if lunch was a big one, what you are feeling probably is a little hunger. I forget what exactly Atkins said, but I think it was close to "Never go 6 hours between eating something."

I usually have lunch around 12 - 1. And it's usually a large salad with some protein (chicken or tuna). Around 4 I start to get a hankering for SOMETHING. And since dinner is at 6, I don't want to eat too much. So I'll make a large cup of green tea and have a Dannnon LC yogurt or a piece of flax "bread" (recipe in cooking forum). Some celery dipped in a little LC peanut butter, or LC dressing would be good, too. Or a hard boiled egg. If you're on OWL, a half cup of berries is an excellent snack.

Goddess · #3 06-01-2005, 01:34 PM

feeling lackluster is not the same as feeling hungry. on low carb, if you do feel hungry, then eat. and if you're feeling under the weather, then get extra rest.

Mandi · #4 06-02-2005, 04:01 AM

Thanks for replies
Goddess- if Im hungry it would be a little ridiculous of me not to eat, but I think that Im confusing my state of hunger with something else. Is it boredom? Who knows, quite possible but Im wondering if you actually should get those hunger pangs before you know if you're hungry or not. You know?
It may seem like a silly question to some but I feel Ive fooled myself way to many times in the past saying that "I should be hungry" because its been X number of hours and then I eat and eat and either i over load on calories. At this point in the game, Im watcing calories to because I am close to my goal. There are a ton of behaviors that I have to re-learn because I dont understand what my own "natural" state of eating for nourishment or eating for someting else. Of course I also ask myself if Im really hungry or could it be related to something that has occurred. So, determining what real hunger (such as a hunger pang, an actual sign of hunger vs. a feeling of low energy) is one of those things that are different for differnt people, or is it?

KCTinter- It VEry easy for me to confuse hunger with boresom, so thts why I always have to carry my water bottle with me! lol. Habit- something has to go in my mouth.
And you're right about not going over 6 waking hours without something.
I will usually have piece of chicken or an egg or someting protein if I'm ot sure whether Im bored or really hungry and I know its been awhile since I've eaten anyways.

Thanks for the ideas

KCTinter · #5 06-02-2005, 10:24 AM

Mandi, now I understand your question! Hmm, I have never really thought about what actual hunger feels like. I don't think I've ever had that rumble Oprah talks about. I do think our bodies become conditioned to expect food at certain times. And these times can be different for everyone. For instance, I WANT my breakfast around 8AM. Lunch calls me around 12 or 1. A snack yells at me around 4. And dinner HAS to be around 6. Then, as I sit and watch TV at night, another snack positively screams at me around 7:30. How I answer all these calls is up to me, but I do answer them! I have good days and bad. The bad is an Atkins bar with tea at 4PM, and too much whipped cream at 7:30. Often it's good . . . a LC yogurt at 4 and plain berries at 7:30. The choice is always mine. While low carb is ingrained in all my choices, it's the calories (and sugar alcohols) that have to be watched.

huskersfan869 · #6 06-02-2005, 11:32 AM

I know the hunger pangs...I usually wake up to them in the morning and not again for hours and hours...but I have to eat in the morning...didn't used to ever really eat at breakfast...just grab a pop and something easy on the way out the door...for years it was just a Slimfast shake and on with my day...now if I don't actually eat and drink something I set myself up for a miserable day...and I wake up really hungry...like steak/bacon and eggs type hungry and once I eat I am fine til lunch but still usually add in a handful of nuts or sunflower seeds to avoid the starving point that if I get to anything is fair game and it is usually something not so healthy for me...so I try to choose very carefully and avoid that "hungry" feeling...I do recognize now...almost 18 months later...what true hunger is and what the "I wants" are and how to answer each. I too am conditioned however to "want" lunch at around 11:15, afternoon snack around 3:30, dinner at around 6 and sometimes a sweet snack after 7 sometime...depends on how late dinner was...it usually hits about an hour after dinner even though I am not actually hungry at that point.

Goddess · #7 06-02-2005, 02:03 PM

mandi- i did understand better after you clarified some. people do lose touch with their bodies sometimes, and particularly if you have a history of responding to external cues for eating...and sometimes, people do think that to lose weight, you HAVE to go hungry. they're wrong, but it's a common notion.

kudos to you for getting in touch with your body and your own patterns.

pegster · #8 06-05-2005, 06:02 PM

mandi: Sometimes when I am hungry, I get weak and woozy without the "rumble" in my stomach. I have learned to have a little carb then; a piece of cheese, a hardboiled egg, something small. Unless it is meal time. Then I eat. I also have the "rumble" in my stomach. I know what Oprah meant. There were years when I ate because I was feeling something that I wanted to "stuff" down. I did that with food. Then, I ate because I was bored. It took several months for me to get in touch with what "hunger" felt like. Good for you for asking.

jooneezgrl · #9 06-06-2005, 05:43 PM

This was a hard one for me because before LC, I ate so much I was literally NEVER hungry. I always ate before I was hungry..I guess to insure I wouldn't be!! :(

My hunger feels like a tummy rumble most of the time but like peg said, if I'm a little low on the protein I can feel a little weak or woozy. And it's good to remember that when we do eat something, it can take several minutes (up to 20 I have read) to actually "register" with our bodies that we have eaten.

ElisaJanna · #10 06-07-2005, 04:30 AM

I think this is an interesting question. Sometimes I get that rumble in my stomach but sometimes I just feel really empty. Curious enough if I ignore the rumble it isn't a problem but if I ignore the empty feeling I will get sick sometimes sick enough that when I do eat the food doesn't stay where it is supposed to. I am not always sure if I maybe ignored the rumble and then reached the empty feeling or not but I have learned to recognize that empty feeling as hunger and do something about it very quickly!

CushieButterfield · #11 06-07-2005, 04:24 PM

I have been thinking about this one for a day now. Before LC I used any excuse to eat and basically thought any feeling in my stomach was hunger. So I know there can be confusion. If I didn't feel well I thought "just eat something" and you'll feel better. If I was tired at work I grabbed a mini candy bar from my computer desk because I thought I needed it for an "energy boost" (a cruel taunt-I have left them sitting on my computer desk but now once again pay no mind to them).

I really pay attention now to the feelings in my stomach. First thing I do is drink a big glass of water and wait, then if it's still there I will have a small something...this all when it's not meal time. I'm actually on a pretty regular meal schedule. Like now I am getting hungry and I know it because it's 30 minutes from lunch and this is when my hunger starts during the day. I also know at about 4:15 I'll start to get hungry, I eat supper about 5-ish each night.

celest24209 · #12 06-08-2005, 12:16 AM

Personally, i try to eat something every few hours. If i let myself get to the point of tummy rumbles then i lose control and will tend to overeat. so for me 3 meals and about 3 snacks a day usually keep everything in control. I do get a lil sloppy sometime, but thats part of dieting as well.

Mandi · #13 06-08-2005, 07:47 AM

Pegster, Jooneez,Elisa,Cushie-
I have experienced ALL of what you are talking about. This is where the confusion lies. Especially the eating before ever reaching hunger! That was a big one because, I was always afraid of "starvation mode"-thats a different story. Its been a couple weeks since I posted and Ive been eating 3 meals a day roughly spaced at 5-6 hours in between and I can tell a big difernce between feeling hungry, knowing Im hungry or just wanting to put something in my mouth from habit. This isnt an instantaneous "Wow- Im hungry", I also have to asked myself why would I be hungry a few hours later. My lifestyle is pretty laid back here so im not over exerting myself a the moment, my calories are suffienct for my BMI, Im losing weight and inches amoung other great benefits. I go to bed and m not hungry but Im NOT FULL!! Thats a big difference. Between dinner and breakfast thats a good twelve hours. When I wake up (even though Ive never been a breakfast person), I acknowledge that feeling in my stomach. I always eat breakfast no matter what these days.
I can't even describe the feeling per se, but I know if I ask myself some reasonable questions like
1.)Did I eat enough last meal
2.)Did my meal have an unusual amount of carbs
3.)Am I really hungry? or thirsty?
Hey, come to think of it, I was just reading a post on HALT. The acronym for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired. Basically, its a trial and error for every one.
Another big thin was for me to remember what i felt like when I didnt gain weiht, when I didnt obsess about eating etc...

jooneezgrl · #14 06-08-2005, 06:05 PM

I totally understand Mandi...and the other thing is that I had to get used to just feeling satisfied and NOT FULL. I was so used to being stuffed all the time, there was a time I thought being NOT FULL meant I needed to eat something. LOL! Now I have to ask myself if I am satisfied sometimes, because the habit of wanting to eat because I can, or am stressed or NOT FULL still comes back, but less and less often.

Right now I eat breakfast at 6 am, a small snack (1 oz cheese) at 9 am and (1 oz chick breast) 11 am, lunch at 1 pm, and a snack (walnuts) at 3 pm, dinner around 6, and I try not to eat 3 hrs before bed time, so usually no evening snack unless I am up late for some reason. This is the schedule i have finally evolved into but it took awhile. Eating nothing between meals doesn't work for me. I get HUNGRY and shaky.

You will get more and more adept at listening to your body. If you are like me you ignored and abused it for years. It is not a quick process to retrain our bodies or our ability to listen to what they tell us. I do knwo that it gets easier AND that it is very worth it.

Good luck!

huskersfan869 · #15 06-08-2005, 08:58 PM

In the beginning because I was not a drinker of much of anything...I drank a glass of water before I ate anything...since we often mistake thirst for hunger...if after 15 minutes or so I stll felt hungry I then hunted down a snack...If not...I let it go...I too need to eat or keep the times I have eaten to less than 4 hours apart or by meal time I am not necessarily shaky but starving and liable to eat anything quick that I can get my hands on...I have taken to eating a snack while I cook...sliced veggies or a piece of fruit or whatever...but a snack so I don't start eating the stuff I am cooking or something else while that is not on plan. I usually arrive home hungry too yet...sometimes VERY hungry.

The Dr. Phil book...the 7 keys to weight loss has helped me with the mind body connection too...and when it is true hunger or emotional eating issues.

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