Hungry

(Gary Villines) #1

So I am a good sized guy. 6’3" 250# (and going down!) so when I don’t care about my diet, I eat because snacks make me happy. And when I do care, food is fuel so “MORE FUEL!!!”
So please don’t judge me for my first world question. But with “eating to satiety” what does hungry feel like to you. Physically. I usually eat due to time of day or mood. And I had an epiphany. What is the physical state of hungry? And use that as a marker to eat then.

#2

For me it is a subtle sense of nausea…not wanting to put another morsel in my mouth.

(Michelle) #3

Clearly, I wasn’t reading this when I wrote my first reply…

I think I always question if I’m hungry or thirsty. If I’m having a craving or not. And I usually let one wave of hunger pass before I even think about eating.

(Jennifer) #4

I have been fasting a lot and since I am fat adapted, I don’t even really notice hunger pangs anymore, except to drink a big glass of water or tea. Boom gone…

It did take a bit to notice the feelings of satiety, but like @Fiorella mentioned, it is that sense of fullness that you are going to get sick if you eat another bite. Now I get that feeling a lot and it proves to me that my eyes are bigger than my stomach. Lol. As a sugar burner, I would NEVER not clean my plate. Now it is different, I leave food on my plate all the time…

(What The Fast?!) #5

Yeah…this.

I am literally always hungry. I’ve been doing keto for about a month now and cannot comprehend what all this “satiated” business is all about. I don’t know if it’s a deranged metabolism or what, but I counted calories for so many years that I just don’t know what it feels like to “listen to my body” and “stop eating when I’m not hungry anymore.” I don’t ever feel like, “oh my God, I couldn’t possibly have another piece of cheese…” I could literally always eat more eggs and bacon.

I’m around 25-26% BF and would be super stoked if I could get down 10-15 lbs (the same 10-15 lbs I’ve been staring at for many years, regardless of counting macros, working out, etc). That would leave me pretty lean and it’s where I really want to be. Before anyone accuses me of undereating, I think it’s important to distinguish between mouth hungry and stomach hungry; I’m pretty sure what I’m feeling isn’t real hunger. Also, if you have been used to defining how much you eat by what your calorie tracker says, it’s really difficult to turn that off. I currently track everything I eat even though I’m not restricting calories and I’m usually over 140g of fat a day.

What’s annoying is that my boyfriend has been doing keto for exactly 1 day and at the end of the day, he said to me, “I totally get what you told me would happen about feeling full all day - I wasn’t hungry for snacks like I usually would be.” As happy for him as I was…I really wanted to punch him.

And PS @Gary_Villines didn’t mean to hi-jack your post! To everyone else’s point…when I feel hungry, I usually drink a big glass of water or make a cup of tea (tea especially in the evenings).

(Gary Villines) #6

That is totally the terminology I needed. “Mouth hungry and stomach hungry” lol I love it

#7

@KetoLikeaLady - Do you use artificial sweeteners? Some people find they can trigger hunger and cravings. Dairy can also spike insulin and hunger.

Be patient with your body, I went from CICO to keto and although hunger was no longer an insane sensation I was very hungry for the first few months and found myself eating with what felt like reckless abandon to feel satiety. I gained weight but there was visible muscle gain and my clothes still fit. It took a long time before I could contemplate fasting, both physically and mentally.

I completely agree with mouth hunger vs stomach hunger, if I’m feeling hungry I try to assess whether I’d want to eat plain nuts (which are ok fuel but I prefer salted) and if the answer is yes I know it’s not just a craving for flavour.

(Rein) #8

I try not to overthink the feeling of hunger, but focus on the remedy instead, and keep raising my bet.

What does that mean? Some mini examples of what I feel versus what I do:

Head is cloudy, have some broth.
Still cloudy. Find a snack. Extra glass of water.
Gone.

Stomach rumbles. Have one egg.
Oh, it’s gone.

I’m tired. Sleep. Why eat when tired? Sleep when tired.
Little nap, tiredness gone. Not gone? Nap some more.

Drowsy after nap? Whizz up some bulletproof coffee.

I don’t feel anything but walk over to the fridge, probably an old habit. Ask self: why? Have some tea instead.

Stomach making nooooiise! Have half an avocado with mayo. I want more! Have other half. Wait 15 minutes. Feeling still there? Hmmm. Let’s bring out the big guns, cook something. Eat most of it, save the rest. 10 minutes after stopping eating, I am full.

For me personally, that’s how the days look. Also, allow yourself some time to become really really hungry every now and then, so you start learning that your ‘normal’ hunger is actually… not hunger, but habit.

(Christopher Bingel) #9

A big part of my keto journey has been learning what hunger is, so don’t be apologetic or self conscious about asking! I’m nearly 40 years old, and for my whole life, I never really knew what hunger was. It’s something I’ve had to learn as part of my journey.

Our bodies are amazingly complicated, but the way they communicate with our minds seems to be remarkably unchanged from our poo-throwing ancestors. Fear is what makes us run away from the tiger, anger is what makes us defend our territory. Hunger is what makes us put things in our face. That’s an unfortunately large brush to paint a broad category of needs which all have different solutions. This is complicated even more for those of us who are insulin resistant and the hunger signal gets all out of whack in relation to what our body needs.

I think I’ve heard Richard use the term “mindful eating” a few times, and I think that’s the best way I can describe the way I deal with hunger. When I get hungry, it’s a general discomfort in the belly-region that gets more acute the longer I ignore it. This hasn’t changed on Keto. What has changed is that I’ve learned to interpret the signal and what it might mean, and to better manage it. But most importantly, not to react to the hunger signal, and instead think about what it means and how to respond to it.

The first assessment I make is, “Am I actually hungry or just bored?” If I’m at work doing something I really don’t feel like doing, or slogging though some reading, it’s almost an ADHD reaction for my brain to tell me “Hey, wouldn’t you rather go get a snack than do this?” So I either try to gut through it or I take a quick 5 minute break and walk a lap around the floor and go refill my water.

The second assessment is “Am I hungry or am I thirsty?” Sometimes the fullness of a big cup of water will be enough to shut the hunger up, so I’ll go drink a big cup of water and see what happens in 10 or 15 minutes.

If my stomach is still talking to me, then I can assume that I’m actually hungry. If it’s not a planned meal time, I’ll usually make some bouillon/stock and drink that, have another big cup of water, and wait about half an hour. If I’m still hungry then I’ll go eat some cheese or nuts or something.

The key to all this is to be patient and contemplative in response to the hunger and not reactive. I’ve found this to be less a function of the diet and more a function of mental discipline and habit-building. What the diet did was to remove some of the noise from the signal and let me have that conversation with my hunger without my brain going all fuzzy and my stomach starting to cramp and without even realizing it, I’m raiding the fridge or walking to the convenience store to get a snack.

I hope this helps, it’s something I’ve thought a lot about and I’m happy to share my thoughts.

(Gary Villines) #10

That is a great insight thank you! I work in a factory so I will actually force this internal dialogue today! I also am going to fast today and see what signals I get and think through those. Thanks again @cbingel and everyone that has replied!!

(Christopher Bingel) #11

Glad to be helpful! Fasting is great, but don’t rush to it. Trying to force it when you’re not ready is a short road to bad times. If you’re actually hungry, eat something appropriate.

(migorstmarseille) #12

I’m with Fiorella on this one. Slight sense of nausea.

I used to be an emotional eater, and even on the keto diet, I did that for quite a while. Yet, if I kept my macros “proper”, that worked. Now, I find that I fill my plate, get 2/3 through and get that feeling of “you could go on, but why would you?”

(eat more) #13

i can tell you i am truly stomach hungry right this minute…

stomach is kind of rumbly and “hollow”…to me it feels like what i think a black hole or a whirlpool look like… with all of the juices swirling around into nothingness LOL

i obviously didn’t eat enough yesterday…was too busy and kept pushing it off and because i was distracted i didn’t notice the stomach hunger…as much.

(What The Fast?!) #14

I cut out artificial sweeteners (Stevia is what I usually use) last week and dairy this week.

I’ve only lost NET 1.5 lbs at this point (a month into keto) and haven’t had any of the benefits that people talk about (lack of hunger, amazing energy, better strength). I’m starting to get super frustrated and afraid that I’ll gain weight rather than lose it (I’ve been gaining the weight I lost since last week), so it’s good to hear your story. I’ve been trying to do IF - did you do that?

(bren.mannin) #15

GV- I have been a compulsive overeater since 6th grade. I’m almost 50. I love Keto b/c this is the first time in my life the out-of-control hunger is gone. I still have problems having to ask myself if I’m hungry for chocolate (really) or if I would eat a pork chop covered in butter if presented to me? Or broccoli? I am just so grateful that I can pass up cake & cookies at work now. Some days I feel full from a fatty meal and can’t tell if I have a stomach bug. Other days I have to keep filling my water glass to keep my thoughts quiet. I am still in the habit of thinking about food when not hungry. The difference now it I can NOT do anything about it.

(James storie) #16

I’ve Been Keto For 2.5 Years And I Still Have Trouble With The signals. I’m almost 38 and have been heavy most of my life. I was an emotional eater. I have always loved to cook and still do. I have had great success with this way of eating, but I have had some substantial stalls. It is a work in progress. All I can say is keep calm and keto on!

(Mike Glasbrener) #17

When I was a carboholic my hunger was incredibly insulin dependent. I’d have latte and a scone for breakfast and be good for a couple of hours (meanwhile insulin i cranked up storing the BS as fat) then I’d go from satiated to starving in 2 -3 hours (BS crashing, insulin still storing what little BS is in my blood). Lunch, snacks and dinner were more of the same. I did a low carb diet a few years back and my hunger was much more linear. Over 2-3 hours I’d go from “it’d be nice to eat to jeepers I’m pretty hungry”. But I never was “starving”. I put the weight back on (it’s a long story). Now since going keto I’m just not every “really hungry”. I eat sort of on a schedule but keto and I can put off meals for quite some time w/o feeling “starved”.

#18

The scale can be your worst enemy sometimes. I know it’s frustrating but try focusing on how you’re feeling rather than the numbers on the scale for a few weeks. Are you measuring ketones at all? When you’re fat adapted and in ketosis you should notice a difference in your energy levels, but hunger may take until your body has settled into its new, fat fueled, non calorie restricted groove.

Yes, I do IF, it’s taken me over a year building up to 24 hour fasts. I used to eat two meals a day regularly but I’m finding longer fasts work better for me. The nice thing is it’s started becoming a spontaneous choice rather than scheduled - if I’m not hungry when I wake up, it’s a fast day.

You will get there, but things take time. :slight_smile:

(What The Fast?!) #19

Thanks for the encouragement. :slight_smile: I’m measuring ketones - I’m generally below 1.0, but today I was 1.1, woo hoo! No lost inches or anything like that yet, no difference in energy levels, etc. I had to take 3 weeks off of working out because of an injury but now I’m getting back to it, so we’ll see how I do at the gym.

#20

For me, if I’m getting a feeling of thirst, I grab a solid glass of water and pound it. If I’m still feeling something 15 minutes later I grab some food.

If my stomach growls I eat.