bec skinny ppl eat to live - they don't live to eat.

they don't use food to assuage feelings of guilt, frustration, sadness, happiness, etc.

that's the part that's hardest to overcome, esp if you're from a family that uses food as a reward or punishment ("finish off your plate and you can have dessert").

I've been maintaining for three and a half years now and I'm sure my brain will never be that of a naturally slim person.

Fortunately we can fall back on the good habits we learned while losing weight to compensate!

Good luck on your project; hope you get a good grade!

9 snacks in 4 hours? Are you sure you're HUNGRY, as your post title implies, or are you just bored/antsy? I have the boredom eating problem when I'm at work (I work from home, the kitchen is right there!). I get up every so often when I just don't want to work anymore and go graze. It's not about thinking like a skinny person... I am sure plenty of them are hungry too... It's about identifying your triggers and moments and finding work-arounds to those.

Good luck

I've always read that snacking a lot is good for the metabolism and can actually help you lose...as long as the snacks you're eating are healthy and fairly low calorie. I've noticed lots of skinny people who eat constantly...but they eat things like carrots, bananas, handful of goldfish etc.

Also, if you're like me, when you're working on some sort of project for any extended period time, food because an excuse to take a break. Maybe try taking breaks, but doing something other than eating such as browsing the web, texting a friend, playing a cell phone game or anything else that doesn't take too long but still gives you a break.

I have also seen a few articles suggesting that the first sign of dehydration is feeling hungry. So, if you're feeling hungry when you don't think you should, maybe try drinking a glass of water and see if that helps any. This is also another option of something to do when you need a break from your work.

Hope you find something in all that to help

Are you sure it's really hunger you're feeling? Like real physical hunger, not emotional hunger, or boredom, but HUNGER?

It took me a really really long time to separate my feelings from my physical needs, of that makes sense. I *thought* I was always hungry... but it was emotional and not physical. You have to deal with those feelings, and find a new coping mechanism, before you'll ever not be *hungry* like your 'thin' friends.

*hugs*

I actually had this conversation with myself about a year ago.

After talking to myself for a bit, I realized, my normal, is not like others.

Am I bored, am I thirsty, am I tired, am I frustrated, who knows?

The the conclusion I came to, is NORMAL for me is NOT normal for other people.

However, at the same time, I realized, that those other people, may not be as normal, as I thought they were. And maybe the place where they are, might not be a place I wanted to be.

In the end, it all boils down to choices, we have the freedom to choose. We just need to figure that out, and then do it!

You read faulty information. In a comprehensive review of all the studies done to date nutritional scientists determined that your metabolic rate is not affected at all by how often you eat.

Everything else being equal your metabolism is not sped up by frequent eating nor is it slowed down by less frequent eating.

To the OP - you might want to look into intermittent fasting. Sounds like it might set you free from what you're dealing with.

Dear OP,

Maybe your roommate felt cravings for food, too, but only went out to get a glass of water because she doesn't give into them. Some people seem blessed with only desiring the amount of food that their body needs. Others, like myself, desire food all the time no matter what state of hunger the body is in. Giving into your urges and feeding your desires every time they come will only make them persist. If you only eat when you are truly hungry and ignore your desires they will become less and less of a problem.

I like to characterize my desire to eat as a spoiled child. Every time the child cries, and I don't feed it is a win for myself. By eating when my desire throws a tantrum I am just reinforcing those habits. Hope this helps.

WHat! What study was that? My nutritionist says that it absolutely does affect your metabolism.

I don't believe this. There have been SO MANY studies showing that even eating breakfast instead of skipping it has a major affect on weight loss. Not to mention, I've read other studies that showed when you don't eat after working out your metabolism the next day is lower than if you did.

The studies that you speak of report an inverse relationship between meal frequency and BMI which does not show in itself that infrequent meals = lower metabolism. Also, people who are higher up the BMI scale do not accurately report their caloric intake and frequency. Analysis has been done that corrects for this and showed that in actuality meal frequency has a positive correlation with BMI because the more often one eats (in general) the more calories one consumes.

http://jn.nutrition.org/content/141/...4-3e2e8949b357

A kabillion times THIS! Regardless of metabolic effect, it is SO Much easier to underestimate calories when you're consuming 10 tiny meals than when you're consuming a couple large ones. I have done it both ways. I am both hungrier, and less successful, snacking all day.

Your nutritionist huh? Considering how much school one must go through to become a nutritionist I would suggest they wasted their money.

Also, you're misinterpreting what I am saying. Lets take these issues you present one at a time.

First, meal frequency. Take a look at this study. "We conclude that there is robust evidence from several independent laboratories to refute the hypothesis that feeding frequency is a significant determinant of energetic efficiency in human subjects when assessed over 24 h or longer. Consequently, feeding frequency has no significant impact on the rate of weight loss during energy restriction"

Second, breakfast. - All the studies done show correlation - not causation. If you look at the studies the people who eat breakfast simply seem to have poorer dietary habits overall. In addition if you occasionally eat breakfast and occasionally skip it some research from the Imperial college of London shows the brains reward centers are lit up more simply by the sight of high calorie foods if one skips breakfast. So the point is it isn't skipping breakfast that is the problem it is dietary habits.

Third, metabolism the next day after working out. You'll have to provide a link I am not familiar with this research - on the other hand this particular point has nothing to do with meal frequency or skipping breakfast.

Ouch.

I might be a little bitter. I looked into how much school I would need to go through to become one....

I actually feel sorry for most nutritionists. From what I have read a lot of the things they learn are suspect...

Consider the food pyramid. Even though it recently changed it is still a joke and previously it was down right silly.