[kimmieval]

I do calories/calories out and so it never mattered what time I ate. The first time around, I lost 40+ lbs and I ate as late as 1am. Funny enough when I tried not to eat late, I felt so sick. I pushed through it for days but my stomach would cramp and then I would get no sleep. If I do not eat every 4-5 hours I get dizzy and cranky.

Case in point, ate dinner at 7.30pm last night and at midnight, my stomach made so many noises that it woke up hubby. If I ignore it, then I get very pooty as I get gassy (TMI I know). Furthermore, drinking water or tea does not work. I have to add some fibre/bulk etc. Even worse when I choose not to eat late and go to bed early is the fact that I wake around 3-4 am STARVING and with stomach cramps.

As I am writing this, I ate 2 servings of cornflakes for breakfast (who eats 1 serving of cup?) and a cup of creamy homemade butternut squash soup for lunch as well as a cup of blueberries. Now my friend who is a mini me, can eat this and be full.

As for me, stomach is hurting and if you take my blood sugar, it is clear I need sustenance. I am not diabetic but my mother had the same issue when she was my age but now she is diabetic. All the more reasons to lose weight as the doctor notes it is genetic in my family.

I am currently eating 1300-1500 cals per day (not hard and fast and I alternate days). I eat protein in the form of lean fish and meats, greek yoghurt with my smoothies and I do eat brown rice and other carbs so I am not starving myself at meals.

Not sure how to break this frequent eating issue. Any ideas?

[JohnP]

How do you know what your blood sugar is? Are you measuring it?

I'm all for counting calories but how you feel will vary with what you eat. Protein and fat tend to be more satiating.

[SineX]

I have the same problem. No matter what it's just never enough. Damn, I wish I had an answer for you, babe.

[Munchy]

Quite a few of us follow volumetric methods to avoid hunger and we have a little thread with ideas.

I have been eating this way for years and never have a problem with hunger because my meals are so huge, but low in calories.

Is there an issue with eating every 4 hours as long as your calories are adding up?

[kimmieval]

No, there is no issue with eating every four hours and I will check out the volumetrics thread

I did get my blood sugar measured over the course of a week and it seems like I do have some hypoglycemic issues- could be as a result of my illness.

I do vary what I eat and it doesn't matter if I ate a big or small meal, whether fats or protein is involved, I feel the same way within 4-5 hrs I vary my meals daily with one or two meals always have some form of meat or fish and brealfast always including yogurt/milk.

[freelancemomma]

Some people just seem to need to eat often. My mother was one of them. She felt dizzy and nauseated if she skipped breakfast, and if she skipped breakfast and lunch (which she tried to do once a year, for religious reasons) she got violently ill and had to take to her bed. For my part, I don't see any problem with continuing to eat every 4 hours, especially if it doesn't interfere with your weight goals.

F.

[alaskanlaughter]

i eat fairly often throughout the day too and it hasn't seemed to affect anything...i'm still able to hit my calorie and carb goals most of the time...i find that if i skip a meal, i will also get dizzy, nauseous and shaky...i already know through blood tests that i am prediabetic, which started me years ago on a weight loss journey...

one thing that i have to work on is eating WHEN i'm hungry because often i realize i'm hungry, get distracted and busy, forget to eat and often the hunger turns into nausea and then i don't WANT to eat because i feel like throwing up

i am busy from 6 a.m. til 8 p.m. with a variety of work, chores, errands, kid stuff, meetings and other things and i've scheduled times in there to eat, focusing on protein to keep me going longer....and i pay dearly when i skip one of those times to eat...like yesterday when i skipped my morning protein and ended up shaky, starving and eating carbs which set me up to eat carbs all day long sigh

[kimmieval]

OMG, i know that feeling of skipping a meal because I didn't think I should be hungry and then getting awful carb cravings

[Waterbunny77]

I think eating every 4 hours is good whether you are hungry or not to keep your metabolism up. If a person is not hungry then it's a choice but better to keep your body stable. I think you eating every 4 hours makes sense but then I do so and I'm basing this on my own need to eat every 4 hours. Many times a small snack in 3

[Tilly5]

Originally Posted by kimmieval

I do calories/calories out and so it never mattered what time I ate. ...when I tried not to eat late, I felt so sick. I pushed through it for days but my stomach would cramp and then I would get no sleep. If I do not eat every 4-5 hours I get dizzy and cranky.... STARVING and with stomach cramps...I am currently eating 1300-1500 cals per day ...

Not sure how to break this frequent eating issue. Any ideas?

I have to admit that when you said you are even dizzy from lack of food it makes me a bit concerned. You don't want to go so low that it is unhealthy or that it will trigger a yo-yo effect. (I know the yo-yo thing - look at my avatar.) Yet I know you want to pick a calorie intake where you are losing weight. My thought is to make a slight adjustment. You could adjust calorie intake (raising it slightly) or adjust when you eat (like eating your dinner later or adding a midnight snack) or adjust what you eat (go very heavy on protein and good fat for the meal before you are experiencing the most hunger). Just a thought... But I think you might want to try changing something up.