literally! It is difficult to tell when I am hungry anymore. I am trying to 'time' my meals so that I am eating basically all the time ~ really it is three meals and two snacks a day (plus all that water!) This is kind of hard for me as the last time I tried to lose weight I was only eating when I was hungry.

So, is that the goal? To avoid being hungry, to avoiding binging? Makes since but this eating all of the time can be bothersome!

I think it helps me tremendously to eat something every couple of hours. If I don't get that hungry, then I'm less tempted to eat something I shouldn't. The times when I've gone off plan are the times I skipped a meal or snack end ended up really hungry and without something on-plan and appealing already fixed up and ready in the fridge.

Same here. If I allow myself to get very hungry, the craving monster seems to come alive. I scour the kitchen for something to eat - usually something that doesn't take a lot of time to prepare and often not OP. One real key for success for me is to eat every few hours.

"So, is that the goal? To avoid being hungry, to avoiding binging? Makes since but this eating all of the time can be bothersome! "

That's my goal, all right. Exactly.

Intuitive eating - eating when I'm only hungry never worked for me.

I actually need to plan and time my meals. I HATE, HATE, HATE that hungry feeling. I know it won't kill me, but nevertheless, I do my very best to AVOID it and therefore I eat frequently. Every 2 - 2 1/2 hours or so. It's what keeps me sane, in check and on plan.

i agree with rocken robin about planing meals and eating frequently, but i still get hungry.. hee hee, i try to have lots of small meals, but i married a fabulose cook, so its hard not to get up for seconds at dinner time (hardest meal to stay on plan for me!) good luck!

Yes.........I agree. If I get hungry, seems like I am likely to overeat. I plan three meals and two or three snacks. If it's planned, then I don't have think about what will I eat next. For me, there's freedom in that.

I know exactly were you are , I was there last year....I almost forgot to eat...really.....If i could bottle that feeling I would be rich ..... Have you done without suger????

Thats what did it for me

Whenever I get really hungry, I tend to over compensate when I eat to make up for it.
What works best for me is to have 3 small meals and 2 balanced snacks. I try very hard to avoid actual hunger pangs, and being over full.

I believe what you are doing is really smart. I try and eat every three hours because I hate feeling hungry and rarely over eat these days.

I think the difficult think for me is that it is a "new" thought. It seems as though everything I have ever known says not to eat unless you are hungry. Makes since...but, as I am a teacher I cannot necessarily eat when hungry (can't exactly put the kids on hold, ya know?) so I end up REALLY hungry and overeat, of course.

I feel better eating all the time but I don't think I have planned things that well for snacks, moods, etc. As we go back to school I am totally planning my meals/snacks to keep myself satisfied ~ dh and I are working on that this morning, as a matter of fact. And, like many wise women before me, I plan to put everything into one serving containers so they are ready to go when I am!

I appreciate hearing your comments and encouragment! Sugar? I have not eliminated it just yet...give me time....baby steps...

Hi Tonia! Sounds like you've put a lot of thought into how to stay on-plan. That is one of the major keys to success.....pre-planning!

I have never been hungry while on-plan. This is good as I tend to be a spoiled child that can't stand to be uncomfortable. And, being hungry is definitely uncomfortable. I did have a small problem with this when I started my plan last January. I didn't "feel" like I was doing well because I wasn't hungry. Afterall, all of my diets before required some form of starvation. But, the scales did drop which let me know that it was okay to not be hungry.

I can't stand to be hungry as well. When I get too hungry, it's all over. That's when the binging starts. I've noticed that it's sometimes difficult for me to tune in to the subtler signals that hunger is approaching, and so going only by hunger signals, I tend to wait too long to eat. Until I am better at identifying them (if I ever do), I do some prophylactic eating. Little snacks and bits of food throughout the day really, really help me from getting too hungry.

Through trial and error, I've found out which foods help me stay full and satisfied, and I make it a point to eat at frequent intervals througout the day. Loading up on protein and fiber works well for me.

I lost my weight feeling TRUE hunger. It has been the one and ONLY thing that has worked for me. I don't mean starvation hunger. I mean that burning feeling and the full fledged growl. Is it fun? Not in the beginning, but as you become more in tune with your body...it actually became quite freeing. I love it now. In the beginning I actually paniced?? I think I was so use to greazing all day long and never letting my stomach empty out and I was accustomed to that full feeling...the warmness of food being in my stomach??

But, IMO that is not the way God intened our glorious bodies to work. It feels very freeing to actually have confidence in your body and to trust your body. Of course...I was an extreme over-eater and I very much ate out of an emotional need starting in my childhood. So for me to stop grazing, and actually lishen for TRUE hunger saved my life...literally.

If I wait too long to eat, I get an almost panicked feeling that does not lead to good choices. If I waited for actual hunger pains, I'm pretty sure I'd eat the house. I never go more than three hours without something. My husband can't figure how I'm losing so much weight because I'm constantly eating.

I'm not a big fan of deprivation in any form. Especially food.

Skinny4baby, that is exactly what I thought I was supposed to do/feel but it simply wasn't working for me. I am thrilled...WOW, WOW, WOW...thrilled that it is obviously working for you...105 pounds?!!! YEA YOU! Tell us more! You are so modest that I had to actually read that a couple of time until I was confident I read it right.

Rhonda, I took on the VDay challenge to lose 20 pounds (just really started so I didn't think it would be a stretch) and I will weigh in on Monday...I am staying in my calorie allotment so it should work and your words are encouraging me that it will!

I did go to Trader Joes today and load up on some healthy snacks (my daughter put them into single serving size packs for us) and while we have always planned our meals (it really helps when you are on a budget) planning the snacks really seals the deal for me. Weird, huh?