There are some days where I don't feel hunger, but most days I am hungry and almost always right before going to bed.

It's such a double edged sword. I love that I can wear smaller sizes now and can shop wherever I want and most things look at least ok on me, but man. I really would like to just eat and I mean really eat.

Sure, I can make food choices that are more filling - like tons of veggies and big green leafy salads, but when I say I want to eat. It's not the veggies I want to snarf on. I want a plate full of cookies and a big juicy steak and big baked potato with tons of butter and maybe some onion rings. I want some rich, fatty food.

And I ate well today and I'm not dealing with hormones. There are just times when I am so tired of restraining myself and we allllll are restraining ourselves. Eating less than your body needs to maintain its weight is not its idea of a good time - It doesn't know that it's bad for it to get fat.

Sigh... In bed, and really dreaming about food. I haven't done that in a long time, but man... I want FOOD! But I'm not going to give in. Tomorrow morning I'll have a hearty breakfast and that is that!

I know what you mean. Hang in there, you got this! I am having TOM today and all I want to do is eat chocolate and something sweet and crunchy!

I know what you mean. Its not just a mood craving, sometimes I do feel hunger pangs (but not from actual deprivation because I eat enough)-but that is after I reach my calorie limit and I eat food with plenty of protein and fiber. I think that my body is just plain used to having huge quantities of food, more than it needs to.

I sure can relate!

You're right too it is hormones at work. It is a big part of the set point theory ... Leptin is one of the primary culprits. Genetics play a big role in how hormones rule us ... unfortunately.

For me the answer has been intermittent fasting. I know you've heard me talk about it and talk about it but your post is EXACTLY why I do it.

Bigger more satisfying meals.

IF helps sooo much. But before I have my "feeding period" I get grumpy and hungry lol. Not for most of my fasting period, its usually a couple hours before, so its bearable.

Many times I do a reverse intermittent fasting. Well, its still intermittent fasting, but it's not how most people do it, I am very hungry the beginning of the day, so there are times I will eat a medium sized breakfast, a good sized lunch, and then a very early dinneer - like before 3 pm. All my eqting between 8 am and 3 pm. And then I won't eat for the rest of the day and I'm usually up until 11 pm or later so then fasting for 17 hours.

Weird I'm hungry tonight though. We had a bigger dinner than usually and I actually skipped lunch to have the big dinner. Made an African groundnut stew with chicken and served it over quinoa. I had a big plate of it and was so full, but now? Man is my stomach rumbling!

And I can't eat now which is good. I take my thyroid meds at night and I need to take it on an empty stomach (no eating at least 2 hours before) and can't eat for at least an hour after taking it.

But you know, even if I ate one big meal for the day, wi would still top my caloric limit with what I would want in that one meal. Kind of scary when I think about how I used to eat. Makes me wonder how I wasn't heavier!

I hear you, Melissa. Sometimes I do wish I could still eat like I used to. In a way it was extremely freeing.

I completely understand what you mean. I was just thinking the other day that there are some foods that I will never be able to eat regularly in the quantities I really want to in one sitting: pizza & pecan pie come to mind. I'm not kidding when I say that I could easily eat three pieces of pizza (the large, NY style slices) in one sitting or half of a pecan pie---perhaps even both, but I probably would feel somewhat sick afterwards. (A few months ago, I actually did eat half of a pecan pie in one sitting). Both are extremely high in calories, so even eating one slice of either would be a lot.

I would like to do IF, but it doesn't fit into my day-to-day social activities, but for the past few days, I've been eating just breakfast and dinner. I've done this because I wanted some way to be able to eat a big quantity in one sitting without going over my maintenance calories. For now, it's working out well. It seems easier for me to just accept that I cannot eat anything during the hours between breakfast and lunch than to figure out what I can eat that will e 350-500 calories. I usually eat breakfast about 9:30 - 10:30, and then I don't really start feeling hunger pangs again until around 4:00.

Just know: You are not alone.

And what do you think I do?

but that still doesn't mean that I don't want to reallllllllly pig out once in awhile.

I knew you guys/gals would understand. I just ate a very filling breakfast (as I'll be busy around lunch time today) and now I don't have those thoughts I did last night.

Down a pound on the scale this morning too. Now imagine if I would have caved and eaten all handful of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies sitting on the counter? I did have one - that's my treat for the day - ONE cookie. Otherwise healthy and lower carb all the way with a really good workout thrown in.

It sounds like you haven't really committed to a healthy lifestyle.

Of course, I have committed to a healthy lifestyle. I wouldn't have lost 87 pounds and dropped my body fat percentage to around 28% (from around 50%) in 14 months without being completely committed.

However, that doesn't mean I lost my taste for foods I used to eat without abandon. It doesn't mean I can unteach my brain everything it learned for 41 years about food. It will probably mean that if I go have a total huge meal without abandon that I'll feel sick, but that doesn't mean my brain still doesn't think it wants that food.

I don't think anyone but you on this site can say they are never, ever been tempted by their old lifestyle. You are amazing, but so are the people who have temptations, but manage to resist them. They are committed, as I am committed to this journey. We're just not as immune to the call of the past as you seem to be.

I and others like being able to be honest on this site without being judged. You have just taken that away. Not to mention I believe you are completely wrong in your judgment.

I appreciate your honesty, Berry, and I know exactly how you feel.

On a positive note, I think it really does come in cycles. I have times where I crave junk much more than others. I also have to say that my desire for it has decreased significantly the longer I've been at this. It used to be (and this was even after a year of being at this) that I would go through times where I HAD to have junk food. Now I don't have that temptation nearly as much.


Another thing too, could you play around a bit with what you're eating and when? Or try adding in some new recipes? I get like this too if things start to stagnate a bit or if we're always eating the same meals. You could also look to see if you're getting in enough fat/protein because that's sometimes a culprit for me.