One of my personal rules is that I don't eat until I'm hungry, but I also don't let myself get "too" hungry. Therefore, I do sometimes eat when I'm "not hungry." I'll have a small healthy snack, such as a handful of nuts or a piece of fruit, usually around 10am, so that I don't get "too hungry" before lunch which would possibly cause me to over-eat at lunch (or dinner, whatever.)
I try not to eat while doing simple stuff, such as watching TV. Unless it's meal time. Coincidentally, I don't eat "just because it's meal time" unless I am hungry for that meal. And I have no problem moving meal time up or back by a half hour, an hour, or even 2-3 hours if necessary.
What are your "hunger" rules? Do you stick to a 3-meal-a-day strict schedule? Do you eat only when hungry? Do you have snacks, & if so, do you have snacks BECAUSE you're hungry, or to stave off hunger?
I've been trying to stick to somewhat of a routine. Breakfast at about 7:30, morning snack at 9:30, lunch at 11:00 snack at 2:00 and then dinner about 6:00.
I find that because this is my schedule, I do start to get hungry (like right now LOL) right around those times.
So while I'm not super strict with the times, sticking to them works for me.
See, I'm someone who really need to avoid hunger at all costs, which means a big thing for me when it comes to dieting is: don't let myself go hungry. I know some people on here are really big on waiting until a meal but I actually do a lot better if I'm really hungry if I have a piece of fruit while preparing a meal or some cheese.
I'm not always the best at planning out meals/snacks and when it goes wrong I'm really prone to overeating at night. Plus, I'll even get headaches/feel sick if I haven't eaten enough. So I try to stick to 3 meals a day+snacks between each meal and sometimes something after dinner. Part of being able to maintain that, though, is eating lots of meat. I'm not the biggest fan of meat, but meat+veggies+small amount of whole grains seems to be the perfect combo for me! Doing completely low carb makes me hungry and too high carb does too but just a bit sneaked in there seems to be the right recipe for me.
Oh and if I'm in the "i know i need to snack mode" I try to chew gum or have coffee.
Beach patrol, I'm a lot like you. Beforee I got my sugars under control, I needed to eat with more frequency as I went from not hungry to having the shakes, but I don't deal with that any more.
Typically I eat a smallish breakfast around 8 am (waking around 6:30 to 7:00). Then I'm hungry for lunch by 11:30. Typically I need a snack around 2:30 pm, but sometimes I'm not hungry. And then I'm usually hungry around. 5:30/6 pm. And then not again for the rest of the night and into to bed between 11 pm and midnight.
There will be days I'm hungry for dinner earlier than my husband will be home, soni just prepare myself something early and fix their meal later. I cannot ignore the "really hungry" signals because those are the ones that lead bad food choices and overeating. But dealing with a little hunger is fine.
I DRINK a lot because I ALWAYS seem to be hungry!!! I always eat healthy snacks and if I am going to be bad I eat pretzels. I get sick of the 100 calorie snacks! There are times where you just want to be able to snack and snack and snack so I find that pretzels are my food I go to when I just want to mindlessly eat. I try to mostly fill up on coffee/green tea and water though.
Mealtimes at regular hours to avoid getting too hungry, snacks on an as-needed basis on top of that. I have a variety of snacks so that I can grab something low in calories or high in protein or what have you.
I was always hungry before I started reducing my carbs. If I keep the carbs under 100 a day (closer to 75), I do pretty well. It seems like the less grains I eat, the less hungry I am.
I usually eat 3 meals a day. If I'm hungry in the afternoon, I'll eat a piece of fruit or a hunk of meat. I usually have sliced turkey in the fridge. I have a much harder time at night staying away from snacks.
I try to stick to a routine - at work I have my morning coffee aroun 10:30, then around 12 I will have a protein bar and in the afternoon I will have a peice of fruit - or another protein bar around 3pm so when I go home I will have my sensible dinner.
i eat about 8 am, try and have fruit at 11, lunch at 1, then dinner 5-6pm, if im peckish il eat a yoghurt for 'dessert' try and curb hunger by drinking
I eat 3 meals a day and a snack if I get hungry in between. My morning's are pretty simple, I wake up and within 30mins I have had 2 glasses of water and then I eat a bowl of cereal. I use the water before the cereal because it makes me feel full even before I've had anything to eat!
Lunch is usually small and simple for me because I tend to work out at 2 in the afternoon and there is nothing more uncomfortable then running with a full belly! After running if I am hungry, I will have a small snack or protein shake before dinner.
My dinner is usually between 4-5pm and then desert is directly after and usually consists of fruit with Greek yogurt dips but if I need something sweet, I have cut up chocolate bars in my freezer and I'll have a piece of those! I am usually done eating everything by 5:30-6pm.
Looking at hunger cues is interesting and I've been exploring mine recently. I mentioned this in another thread, but very rarely do I feel actual hunger—only in the morning when I wake up do I feel hungry. A small breakfast is enough to satiate that hunger though.
I really think that if I were raised to listen to my hunger cues rather than forced to eat when I wasn't hungry that I would not have had the weight problems I had my entire life. Actually I think that I might have had the opposite issue—weighing too little! If I eat only when I'm hungry I will barely eat at all.
I was underweight when I was very little (before kindergarten) and I ate very slow and very little amounts. My mother always jokes that she had to rush me to finish my food and I remember always getting told to clean my plate and getting yelled at if I argued that I was full. Looking back at that I'm pretty angry at how I was raised! If I was left alone and allowed to eat what was normal for me then my entire life could have been different and I wouldn't have had to go through the whole weight loss process :/ As it is now when people ask me for advice, I always say "yeah, don't get fat in the first place," because I think it's much easier to never have to go through it all!
Back to the topic: I have to schedule my meals and snacks because listening to my hunger cues has kept me losing weight and I'm at the point where I'm getting too thin (I'm not hungry, so I don't eat...). I know that many look at my height and weight and it does't seem too thin to them, but I'm large framed and I strength train so I weigh more than I look and now my ribs are starting to stick out. If I go past 128 or so I'm going to start really worrying.
I eat 3 solid meals a day but always pack healthy fruit or nut snacks during workdays in case I get the hunger pangs between meals.
Breakfast is usually a forced meal because I'm rarely hungry at the time of day I have to eat it, and if I wait to get hungry it's nearly lunchtime.
These days I find myself only getting 'tiny' hunger pangs, which last only a few seconds - just long enough for me to register them, and then I have to gauge whether I eat something (to maintain blood sugar levels... I"m trying to make sure I don't end up with the shakes) or not.
If I don't snack when I get the urge it will usually go away for an hour or so, and by then it's usually too close to the next mealtime so I often just wait till then.
I used to get the sugar shakes around 4pm quite regularly and I always freaked out, and would go looking for sugar for a quick fix, but thankfully this doesn't happen as often (I'm guessing maybe my blood sugar levels are more stable with the increased exercise I"m doing).
Before an intense workout or run etc. I'll spend the couple of hours before just eating a few small snacks (milkshake, nuts/fruit, oh, and a nice strong coffee ), 'fuelling up' I guess, as this seems to help me perform better, but I"m not having these because I'm hungry, I'm just stocking up for later, because generally after a run I don't want to eat at all (though I know I have to).
That "hunger" thing
