I definitely agree with the person who said maybe our feeling full system is broken. I know mine is. I can wake up from surgery, everybody else in recovery is throwing up and I'm looking for food, and that's the truth. I don't know if it's from years of eating portions that are too big, but I could almost always eat more. I wish I could have that stomach growling "oh I must be burning fat" kind of happiness, but for me it's just misery.
icon
I have been sitting and thinking about all this. I think it is a very interesting topic. I am not really sure why some need less calories and such than others. Why some need more calories and such than others. I think the reason I am never hungry is because I break up what I eat into 6 to 8 meals ( I eat every couple of hours usually and sometimes one of those " meals " might be nothing more than celery ). There isn't that much time in between when I eat so there really is very little time to get hungry.
Since I happen to be on a few links that we put in our exercise I looked to see how much I have averaged a day for the last 18 week days since I don't general exercise on Saturday or Sunday. I average 2 hours each week day of walking aerobic videos or about 8 miles each of those 18 days, some days more of course and some days less but never less than 3 miles each day. I also averaged 45 min of resistance training 3 times a week during those 18 days ( 11 days ) sometimes more of course and sometimes less but never less than 30 min.
I am sure we need carbs and protein when we exercise but I am not sure how much more we need than what we are already taking in. Now this can depend on what percentages a person allows them selfs out of their calories I am sure. If a person only allows them selfs very few carbs they may need to eat a great deal more of them when they exercise for example. I know I don't eat anymore than I have planned for the day no matter how much exercise I do. I do know I change around what I eat so I have carbs before workouts, or I just don't have enough energy for a good workout and proteins after workouts or I just don't feel well. I only lose on average 1 pound a week and that is just about all I have lost since about 5 weeks after I changed the way I was eating.
Maybe it has to do with the way our body process food. Maybe some of us process nutrients better than others. Maybe some peoples body's need more nutrients than others do. There could be so many reason why the same built person at the same height might need more or less than someone else built about the same and about the same height as they are. Maybe, it could be the choices we make in our foods. Maybe some people choose lower calorie foods and others choose higher calorie foods out of the same food groups.
If a person is eating the required amounts of the four basic food groups and they are getting all the nutrients they need to keep the body healthy. Does it really matter if they eat more or less than someone else as long as they are still losing weight?
Many have lost touch with true hunger and satiety. If you watch tv, read, etc. while eating, you are mindlessly eating and will overeat if you aren't careful. Many think what you eat is not important, just the total number of calories. That is also not true. We all have days we are more hungry and days we don't feel like eating so much. We all need to retrain our minds and bodies to eating good food in proper portions. For this you need a scale, measuring cups and spoons, and a menu that is planned at least one day in advance. Eating on the fly often equals bad choices or too large portions. It's a difficult hurdle but it can be overcome.
Ditto what ennay says. I eat 2,000 to 2,200 a day and I struggle to stay that low; if I didn't monitor my calories it'd probably be a lot more.
Add me to the bunch who easily eat a lot more without any problem. When I read some of the descriptions of what people eat in one day, sometimes it looks to me like mere appetizers.
I don't think I could eat only half of an apple or a half of a banana - what do you do with the other half? Wrap it in saran wrap and put it in the fridge for the next day? (whoever posted this, please don't think I am picking on you). I know fruit has calories and carbs ....... I guess I just find it too hard to constantly count calories and limit myself to just 1,200.
Wow, hasn't this turned into the great and lively debate Thanks for getting us rolling 3Beans.
As a "non-hungry" person, do I really think that one of these days my poor, nutritionally abused internal organs aren't going to perk up and say "Hey, we really like this good stuff. Give us MORE!" No. I'm pretty sure that somewhere down the line I'm going to be slapped with some pretty amazing hunger pangs. All I can hope is that by the time that happens, I'll have retrained my tastebuds well enough that what they'll be asking for is the good stuff.
On that note, here's another one of my totally unresearched and based on nothing more than opinion theories (I'm just full of them - or full of something anyway ) I think our bodies are incredibly adaptable creatures who, unfortunately, don't speak English (or whatever your native language might be). They take communication from us entirely based on the signals we give them. Soooo, if we've been telling them they are always going to get 3000 calories (even if that's more than we really need and we get chubby) then we suddenly cut that intake in half, boy are they are going to holler by hitting us with some really nasty hunger pangs because they think we've been telling them we want to be chubby. Conversely, if we've spent years and years telling them they are only going to get 1000 calories (or even less) they're going to figure out how to get by on nearly nothing. Then we suddenly double that intake, they are going to be pleasantly surprised and quietly hoard every extra molecule in case we stop feeding them again - and we get chubby. So this whole experience is really all about figuring out how to get the old bods to understand the new signals. Makes me feel like I'm playing an internal game of charades.
'k - I'll quit with the thread hog thing
Last edited by JayEll; 03-28-2008 at 12:21 PM.
Reason: Avoid further arguments
I can see this both ways. I went for years barely eating. At my worst, I would exercise for 3-4 hours a day (swimming, aerobics, biking, etc) in addition to my normal day to day life. Since this period was during the summer, my "day to day" life included heavy gardening, house work, yard work, etc. So my entire day was spent exercising, I would only sleep for 2-3 hours, and eat no more than 400 calories a day (all in one shot via a bowl of pasta). Did I lose weight? Oh yeah...
The result of this was years of not having that "hunger" signal. I'd either have the tummy growls and ignore them mentally, or I'd be mentally hungry put ignore it because I wasn't feeling the physical symptoms. To this day, if I go several days without eating a lot (like right now, SPRING CLEANING) I can just "forget" to eat. As I type this, my stomach is rumbling away - this thread has actually reminded me that I need to eat something.
However, once I break this cycle, I don't "overeat". I don't sit at the TV or compie with a bag of lays and chow down. I'll get a little rumbly and grab whatever's there. A handful of chips? A glass of chocolate milk? Whatever is most convenient and tasty, I'll take a little bit. And that all adds up real fast (a handful of chips doesn't keep you full very long!).
When I eat very clean, I have trouble hitting a mark. On Atkins, I have trouble getting to 1600 calories a day (I still track it in FitDay). Some days it's hard to get to 1300. Part of it is that fat-woman mindset of "OMG I'm STILL eating?" I'll walk away, even when I'm still hungry, because I feel "guilty" for eating so much. Another part is that 3 cups of broccoli only has 60 calories. So even if I slather my broccoli in a tablespoon of butter, I'm only at 160 calories - but I'm set for about 2 hours.
But, it also all depends on the day. On cold days, I can't survive on Atkins. I need carbs. So no matter how much I actually eat, I'll still be hungry if I don't get in a decent portion of carbs. My body is just working so fast to turn whatever energy I take in into heat, that veggies hit my stomach and disappear. So either I walk around with celery and peanut butter all day, or I give in an eat some warm pasta.
Alteri
I am so glad I see someone else that forgets to eat lol. I do that, there is always someone saying did you eat lol. I don't do that so much these days because if I don't eat every few hours by body lets me know it is hungry. Sometimes it is more not taking the time to eat. We need to eat to lose. My body loves food and it lets me know it wants it at regular feeding times lol. I have days that smells make me hungry and I know I am not really hungry. Isn't it funny that smelling food can make a person hungry. Something I have pretty much given up is fried foods. They really are horrible for us but darn, let me walk through the food court at the mall and I crave the stuff all day long and sometimes I crave it for a couple of days. I am always busy. I clean and clean and clean. Ok, don't hate me I love to have a clean house. I do volunteer work, I keep my hands busy, if they hands are busy they can't put food into my mouth . In the summer I have 1 1/2 acres of yard to mow and take care of, this keeps me busy. I am going to put a garden in again this year. As you can see from the sites I post on I exercise. I have found I love the Leslie Sansone walking/aerobic videos and do a few a day. They give me such great energy. That is strange what you say about the cold. I find when it is cold I need or want to eat more than when it is hot. During the colder months I have no problem at all getting all the foods in I want to eat generally. When it is hot it is torture sometimes to get myself to eat. I am just not hungry a lot of the time.
Quilter
I do agree with you. I don't eat and watch tv or read a book or do anything else. I chew my food 28 times ( mother always said you should do this lol ). I measure most things. I never thought I would do this but it isn't that big of a deal, I have a scale that I weigh my meat on. Something good that has come from all this is we eat the best cuts of meat now. Use to go out and buy a cheaper cut of roast and the family would scarf it all down in one sitting. Now I buy the better cut of meat and we eat 4oz each. The better cut of meat does not cost twice as much and yet we get twice as many servings out of it than we did out of the cheaper cut.
Tomato
I don't care for apples but I know we need a variety of fruits in our diet. I eat half an apple and save the other half for the next day. Bananas are my favorite but they are stocked full of carbs, half a banana fills a fruit group for the day. I save the other half for the next day or might have it as an extra snack for the day if I have enough carbs left over. I don't find any of this hard. I find it very easy actually. I like being in control. I have a set regiment for most things in my life. How I eat is just another thing that I now control.
I never have to worry about calories I have more than enough since my range is 1200 to 1400 but my carbs are another matter. My ranges are 180 to 210 and they can be gone in a heartbeat if I don't watch what I am eating. My ranges are very general. I can have a 1500 calorie day now and then depending on what we are going to have for dinner ( BBQ ribs ). I do NOT plan my day by my calorie count. I plan what I am going to eat tomorrow by getting the required amounts of the four basic food groups in, by eating things I like and staying within those general ranges.
Oops, I guess I forget sometimes that you guys can't hear that I'm using my "being reasonable" voice so some of my last post got edited out for being argumentative Apologies to anyone who may have read it before it got nipped and interpreted it that way as well.
I'll post this under this thread since it is sorta related.
So, unexpectedly, I get an email that were are having a department lunch today. (I have my home-made lunch and salad sitting on stand by at my desk). Reservation was made for 11:45 at East Side Mario's. I am on the phone with a customer, trying to resolve his issue, but neither myself or the DBA have any luck. So at 11:50 we quit and decide to resume after lunch. The rest of the group is already gone. I jump in the car, drive like a maniac to the restaurant, only to find the table set but empty. After the hostess triple checks for me that yes, this is our table, we find out that the reservation is for 12:45 and not 11:45. There is no way I can sit there and wait for the whole group .... I have too many critical issues to handle. So I ask if I can have my lunch and if they can bill it to the rest of the group (the manager will be picking up the tab as it will be on a company's credit card). No problem.
So I have my lunch. I take a few sips from Diet Coke (hate diet pop but I won't drink regular). I decline the freshly baked roll and butter, pick over my caesar (leave all croutons and bacon bits and eat only the pieces that are not completely smothered with dressing). Then my salmon arrives. It's delish, but no wonder, since there it's swimming in butter. There is some sauce on it (I wish I had known, I would have asked for it on the side). I eat all the sauteed veggies and have a few wedges of the Mario's potatoes. I leave most of the potatoes on the plate (normally, I would have polished absolutely everything on the plate).
The whole time I am eating, I am thinking of this thread, how some of us could easily eat two meals at a sitting and others struggle to eat enough.
What I liked was that it was not hard at all to give up the roll and butter, and the bacon, and the potatoes. However, it still was a big meal. I think I should not have more than half of an apple for dinner.
tomato
It really is hard to eat out isn't it. Lucky for me the thought of someone else touching my food is just to yucky so I don't care if we ever eat out. You are not always sure what you are going to get until they bring it to you. What you had sounds really delicious. Sounds like you did the best you could with that meal. You ate and enjoyed ( salmon oh yumm ) but picked around what was really bad. I think you need more than half an apple for dinner lol. Diet pop oh yuck, I never eat or dink anything I don't like lol.
i eat 1200 calories a day. some days i could eat way less. some days i could eat a lot more. some days i always feel hungry...but then back when i ate whatever i wanted without thinking about it...i always felt hungry then too so what's the difference? at least this way i'm losing weight. gotta love those dancing carrots.
I have been experiencing something new lately. I have been reacting to stress differently. Instead of overeating due to stress, I have NO desire to eat. My stomach rumbles and is empty. If I have caffeine at all on these days, (bad idea, I know) I don't have the desire to eat.
Exactly - after I cut out processed foods, my appetite completely changed. Now, I don't count calories and am sure that I eat quite a bit over 1200, but when stressed/depressed I would have a hard time even eating that much.
I do know for a fact, though, that if I only ate 1200 on a regular basis that I would be ready to gnaw on a chair leg most days.
Sometimes I just don't want a whole apple! 
Thanks for getting us rolling 3Beans.
) I think our bodies are incredibly adaptable creatures who, unfortunately, don't speak English (or whatever your native language might be). They take communication from us entirely based on the signals we give them. Soooo, if we've been telling them they are always going to get 3000 calories (even if that's more than we really need and we get chubby) then we suddenly cut that intake in half, boy are they are going to holler by hitting us with some really nasty hunger pangs because they think we've been telling them we want to be chubby. Conversely, if we've spent years and years telling them they are only going to get 1000 calories (or even less) they're going to figure out how to get by on nearly nothing. Then we suddenly double that intake, they are going to be pleasantly surprised and quietly hoard every extra molecule in case we stop feeding them again - and we get chubby. So this whole experience is really all about figuring out how to get the old bods to understand the new signals. Makes me feel like I'm playing an internal game of charades. 
. In the summer I have 1 1/2 acres of yard to mow and take care of, this keeps me busy. I am going to put a garden in again this year. As you can see from the sites I post on I exercise. I have found I love the Leslie Sansone walking/aerobic videos and do a few a day. They give me such great energy. That is strange what you say about the cold. I find when it is cold I need or want to eat more than when it is hot. During the colder months I have no problem at all getting all the foods in I want to eat generally. When it is hot it is torture sometimes to get myself to eat. I am just not hungry a lot of the time. 
gotta love those dancing carrots.
