I posted this in the forum yesterday but wanted to get a discussion going about this - Because it's such an uncomfortable place for me to be - Especially if I've just finished eating and I don't have that full feeling - I don't mean uncomfortably full just slightly full.

This past weekend when I was out of town, I noticed that the 4 hours in between breakfast and lunch were uncomfortable for me - Not because I was hungry but because I wasn't full - Or "could" have been hungry. And in the past I know if I have a snack at that point, it's like a drop in the bucket and does nothing to quell the feeling - which means it's NOT REALLY hunger.

I know there's a fine line between comfortably/uncomfortably full and it may just take a few bites to go from one to the other.

Thoughts?

I've noticed this a LOT in the past couple weeks. I used to be able to eat a yogurt in the morning and then just wait until lunchtime, but now I sit around feeling peckish. If I've brought snacks to work they are invariably gone by 11 am, and often half my lunch will be gone by then too.

I have to convince myself to accept that it's okay not to be full all the time, because I find that when I really desire to be full, no amount of food/binging can fill that void. As it stands, the worst feeling in the world is finishing a meal and going "that's IT?"

Hunger is SUCH an uncomfortable feeling for me as well - My fiance (who is lean) is able to go hours without eating - He can eat lunch, go to band practice that night and not eat until midnight (12 hours later) without batting an eye.

And I've read/heard that hunger is not a bad feeling and that people should feeling hungry sometimes. So I would like to get more comfie with the feeling of hunger.

Maybe it's because we have other types of hunger (emotional etc.) that we equate biological hunger with emotional hunger (I know we/I OFTEN equate emotional hunger with biological hunger).

I've identified two different states of "hungry" for myself -- the stomach-growling type of hungry and the "feeling sort of empty and I'd like something to eat" type of hungry which I call "longings". For me, "longings" almost always come within two hours of eating and usually happen when I've not eaten enough protein coupled with too many carbs. If I can eat enough protein and keep the carbs down at mealtimes, usually I can get through the day without the "longings" and don't even think about food until my stomach is actually growling.

Am still working on a way to prevent "longings" after vigorous exercise. Maybe protein right afterward ...?

I know what you are saying. I am trying to eat intuitively, and I often have to think about whether I should keep eating or stop. I also struggle with feeling mentally hungry/unsatisfied unless I get some sort of "full" feeling from my stomach. When I am just "neutral" I don't feel satisfied, but I am tryiing to work on it. I tell myself if I still want something in 10 minutes, I can have it. Somtimes I do, sometimes I don't. Or I have a small something-or-other afterwards to try to get to that comfortable fullness. I find that if I stay in that not hungry-not full feeling, I will be hungry kind of soon after that, so I'd rather feel slightly to moderately full.

I use to be terrified of hunger. I hated the feeling. Now I love it! I did a lot of experimenting with it over the last 17 months, finding how long I could go, discovering that it comes in waves and goes away for awhile. I even figured out how much to eat at each meal so that I would be hungry for the next meal, like training the body to say "ok, it's time to eat!".

But that is real hunger and manageable. The one that is hard to manage (heck even to identify) is the mental hunger. While I can make a rule not to eat unless it is true hunger, the mental hunger can be most persistent!

I totally hear you OP---I used to be really uncomfortable with the idea of being hungry. Now, I learn to embrace it---it is good to feel hunger so you know what your body actually needs and when to eat. And in reality, many experts say you should never feel full, just satisfied. On a scale of 1 to 10, you should eat to a 6 or 7 (10 is stuffed). And then you should eat again when you are at a 3; before you feel faint or sick. I think so many Americans think it is 'bad' to feel hunger (note our portion sizes!), but in reality, I think a lot of us ignore our natural built-in mechanisms to maintain a healthy weight.

Why do you think you are uncomfortable with feeling hungry? You are really close to your goal weight, so you must be doing something right, congrats!

Try having a glass or two of water before you decide to have a snack to fix the "maybe hungry" feeling...a lot of the time our bodies confuse thirst for hunger.

If you still want a snack afterwards to tide you over, have a small snack! If you don't respond to your bodies needs your metabolism will get slower.

I wish it was just thirst

Have you read The Beck Diet Solution? One of the concepts in it is that "hunger is not an emergency." And while she emphasizes that you should not skip meals, she does have you not eat between breakfast and dinner *just one day*, so you can experience and identify true hunger. And it's true -- there's nothing wrong with getting a little hungry.

I've noticed that a lot of days I'm having snacks when I'm not hungry at all, on the theory that I need to avoid feeling hungry so I don't overeat at meals. Maybe that works for some people, but I've pretty much phased out my morning snack because it seems not right to eat just because it's scheduled or out of habit instead of response to actual physical need, ykwim?

One of my challenges is that I really like to get FULL, really really FULL, especially at dinner. I think I will set two goals for the next week -- to only eat in response to true physical hunger, and to stop when I am simply satisfied, and not keep going to FULL.

(also, Beck discusses the differences between true hunger, which she describes as a feeling in the stomach, and cravings (she might use another word), which she describes as a yearning in the mouth or throat. Definitely true for me.)

Thanks for starting this thread SIB -- very important topic!

I know exactly what you mean... because I am so used to being stuffed... not stuffing myself and feeling light and ... the words I use are stuffed vs light really. I am not hungry I eat to the point of full but not that old kind of comforting overflowing full but just light full and sit with it for few hours until I am properly hungry again.

It used to be really really weird and abnormal, it still is but i am enjoying it, my habits part of me is terrified but my body does like to be light. I feel loss of control and loss of comfort but my body likes to just take a break from being stuffed.

I would like to do it in the future more often!

To be honest, I think this is why I am losing weight because I am not on any kind of a diet at all and my exercise is very little. I figured that if I was always stuffed and put on weight then if i am eating lightly I would lose weight. It works so far.

thesame7lbs, I know exactly what you mean about the snack by schedule, if I am full it does not feel right to have it! So I don't. I suppose the idea behind is to get the metabolism going so it depends on the snack, apples really help me, an apple after breakfast, I am hungry 3-4 hours after that. A big breakfast with no apple and i am just no hungry. Thank you for the tips, I might try to just stay hungry for a bit, not starving myself but just staying with it to see what happens.