[Lori Bell]

Originally Posted by JayEll

Yeah, but did you see how low they had those poor people in the study eating? 500 to 550 calories per day! That would throw anyone's hormones and metabolism out of whack.

Jay

True, that would be enough to send anyone over the edge!

[sept15lija]

I'm 6 months into maintenance, and so far so good. I eat around 2000 calories per day (I'm very happy I can eat at that level, too - I thought it might be much less!) and I'm rarely hungry. Hunger for me is mostly boredom. If I am busy, I can go hours and hours without eating, with no trouble. Really, I don't think I actually ever really get truly hungry in the tummy rumbling sense very often, I just start to get really cranky and then I know I need to eat something. I hope it stays like this! It's a scary thought that it could get harder and harder, however I guess the only thing we can do is wait and see and deal with what comes.

[lynnien]

Originally Posted by ValRock

I find that I'm MUCH less hungry. I don't attribute it to my size I attribute it to habits I've picked up and maintained for so long. Being physically hungry doesn't bother me like it used to. I just kind of roll with it. I have learned that it's OK to not feel stuffed to the gills all. the. time. and being a little hungry sometimes is not going to kill me.

I was worried in the beginning too but I've found it to be a nonissue. Maybe it's because I do IF? I don't know... I'm rarely hungry unless TOM is about to rear her ugly head and that's not 'real' hunger it's emotional hunger.

Having maintained my goal weight for a little over a half year, I also have found that I've become much better at tolerating hunger. It's not as uncomfortable as it used to be. I have taught myself to more intensely dislike feeling overstuffed.

[lynnien]

learned from sister who's a med. doctor that although the stomache itself does not shrink when losing weight, metabolism does change for the better. Somehow (no clue about the medical details here) this relates to more quickly feeling full, that is, finding it more uncomfortable to eat more. That's a helpful thing.

[ValRock]

You know... I've often wondered if a small metabolism decrease wasn't a good thing?! We're always hearing that this and that slows your metabolism bla bla bla... but to a certain extent don't we WANT that? A super fast metabolism makes you hungry enough to eat a horse and I'm sure many of us eat way too much to overcompensate for that and GAIN weight. I'll take a midrange metabolism and a low hunger level, over that, any day!

[surfergirl2]

Originally Posted by ValRock

You know... I've often wondered if a small metabolism decrease wasn't a good thing?! We're always hearing that this and that slows your metabolism bla bla bla... but to a certain extent don't we WANT that? A super fast metabolism makes you hungry enough to eat a horse and I'm sure many of us eat way too much to overcompensate for that and GAIN weight. I'll take a midrange metabolism and a low hunger level, over that, any day!

That's how i feel too. I think i have a pretty high metabolism and i am just a few pounds overweight because i eat so damn much...i'm always hungry. I decided that overexercising wasn't helping...so i have decided to not overexercise anymore. now i do about 30-45 minutes twice a day...sometimes it's just walking, other times more intense.

[fitmom]

I find it depends on my activity level. If it's a training day, I'm really hungry. If it's a maintenance day, not so much. I've also trained myself to recognize the signs of real hunger vs. say, dehydration. I'll drink a glass of water first. If I'm still experiencing hunger pangs ten minutes later then I'll eat something. Whereas before, I just ate out of boredom or when I was stressed out. It's a totally different mindset now for me.