Just another item to mull over: I tried IF, and while I really like the concept, I found that it just didn't fit in well with my social eating schedule (i.e., a couple of times a week my husband and I go out for breakfast and we eat dinner together every night). However, what I have been successful with at times is eating just two meals a day. Sometimes, I'll have a nice breakfast (e.g., 1/2 a bagel, smoked salmon, cream cheese, side salad---I have this at one of our favorite breakfast places). Then I don't eat anything until dinner. If I get hungry during the day, I'll drink some ice water or I may even have a cup of coffee w/ just 1 tbsp. of half and half (20 calories). I find that once the initial strong hunger passes (and it does pass), I'm fine until dinner time. Then, I really have a good appetite for dinner, enjoy what I'm eating more, and tend to get full more quickly. Also, I don't have to obsess over calories as much. I eat about 600 - 700 calories per meal (I'm in losing mode), or more since I cycle my calories (so it averages out to be about 1400 per day). I've known my husband for 22 years, and this is the way he typically eats, and he has never had a weight problem.
Whether you try IF or not, one thing that has been helpful to me is to realize that the feeling of hunger is natural and that I won't die if I don't eat something immediately when I'm hungry. I just think to myself, "So, I'm hungry? So what? I'll just ride it out." The other great thing about being hungry before eating is that I can usually pinpoint exactly what I want to eat, and when I get it, it tastes fabulous. When I'm in a constantly "fed" state, sometimes it's difficult for me to tell what I really want to eat.
Last edited by lin43; 07-12-2011 at 07:39 PM.
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