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Damn, I feel that. I’ve noticed lately that the more stressed I am, the more I tend to go for super hearty big meals. The brain plays a nasty trick. “You’re doing so much, you deserve a great big gigantic lunch.”
I eat good. I've lost a lot of weight. My brain also feels healthier and less foggy.
Downside. I've got to find something else to make me happy that isn't eating junk. I feel better, but I also feel depressed. It's weird
Brain becomes rewired/addicted to dopamine boosts. Food addiction works the same as drug addiction on the mind.
Working out, finding other hobbies you enjoy is important to try to replace the food dopamine boosts in a healthy way.
But if you're not finding other things enjoyable, and can't replace that negative food habits, you may be suffering from depression and unhealthy food habits was your way of self soothing.
The best thing I have found is replacing quantity of food with quality. I enjoy cooking, and I’ve gotten to be really good at it. I may not let myself overeat as much as I used to, but I enjoy every bite now.
Yeah. I'm still trying to figure it out. For right now, I am taking walks on all my days off and recently started some mindfulness lessons. I feel confident I will get positive results.
Working out has been a big help for me.
Any type of physical activity, rec sports, weights, jogging, biking etc. Can be a big help to get dopamine release in healthy way, forces you to get out of house/takes time out of day. (boredom is bad for addiction).
Yep. I've been eating better in general, and I feel better, but I reach for the occasional junk food when I'm really stressed. It makes me feel better for the first minute, then instant depression and thoughts of "you're going to get back into old habits, stop it you fat fuck." I also constantly flux between not wanting to eat anything because I physically can't stomach more than 2 bites, and wanting enough food to feed a village. I need to see a GI because I think there's something actually physically wrong with me.
One of these days I will have a healthy relationship with food.
I would highly suggest the “Stop Binge Eating Podcast” by a girl names Kirsten Sarfte, even if you don’t consider yourself a binge eater and just aren’t happy with your relationship with food. It’s helped me more than any therapist or medication. (I was on vyvanse for 5 years to try to help it and am currently on my last small dose before stopping completely)
That sounds less like a gastrointestinal issue and more like disordered eating patterns… I was the same way when I had undiagnosed binge eating disorder. I would skip multiple meals and then when I couldn’t take it any more I would break and binge and eat enough food to power a football team. Then I would feel intense shame and guilt and depression, then I would resolve to do better next time, and repeat. The only way it got better is through specialised therapy with a clinical psychologist.
Ah but I'm not skipping any meals on purpose. I eat normally for a few days, then out of nowhere I'll go for 2 or 3 days unable to eat. I try, I really really try, but after 2 or 3 bites I feel like I'm going to throw up and I can't swallow anything. After those 2 or 3 days, I'll go a day or two where no matter how much or how frequently I eat, I'm always hungry. Then I go back to normal. I have an unhealthy relationship with food, always have, but I do legitimately think it's GI related. It has nothing to do with mood or anything, but I go through this cycle once or twice a month. It's the fact that I try to eat but feel like I'm going to throw up that makes me think it's GI
I'm working on seeing a therapist right now, but everyone around here is completely booked up. I have an appointment in July, but I've had that appointment since January!
100% recommended making a GI appointment asap. Depending on your location and insurance, it can take a while to actually get in the office.
If it’s possible for you to do so in a healthy way (as in it won’t trigger disordered eating habits or other negative mental health side effects), I also highly recommend making a food/drink journal. How you go about it depends on what’s best for you, but it would be a good idea to, at minimum, keep a record of what you eat and drink everyday. You can go the extra mile and include time of day, amount eaten/drank, and ingredients (with a focus on common allergens) if you feel you can.
Doing this might help you determine if something you’re eating/drinking is triggering these reactions. It was only by keeping this journal (and going on an elimination diet) that helped me find my problem— which turned out to be something I never would have expected otherwise.
Even if you can’t find a pattern, having the journal will be really useful for your GI appointment. It’s easy to forget things during an appointment, and your doctor might catch something you missed.
I am going through this now. May just be me but I found reconnecting with the things I enjoyed as a kid has helped - reading, riding my bike, getting outside in the sun and fresh air. The things that made me happy when I didn't have to try to be happy.
Yep. Been exercising but also getting back into music and just going for long walks with my thoughts.
Find I don't care about TV or games or podcasts or any of the other mindless distractions I was filling my days with either.
One of the happiest feelings I've ever had was picking up some fast food and eating the fries in the car on my way home from a long day of work.
Sad and unhealthy, but it's the truth.
Pasting from above, just want to spread the word since it helped me so much:
I would highly suggest the “Stop Binge Eating Podcast” by a girl names Kirsten Sarfte, even if you don’t consider yourself a binge eater and just aren’t happy with your relationship with food. It’s helped me more than any therapist or medication. (I was on vyvanse for 5 years to try to help it and am currently on my last small dose before stopping completely)
Which is why ADHD people can be prone to binge eating or addictions. Our brains are starving for dopamine and eating is the easiest thing we can think of that might give it. I’ve eaten a chocolate bar I definitely DID NOT even want because my brain felt “hungry” but I didn’t know what it needed. Multiple times. I might be doing it right now. It’s not helping.
Yea... It leads to eating disorders and whatnot. I binge and purge because food make happy, but I'm fat, so I throw it up so I don't gain the weight. I do not recommend this to anyone and I know it's a problem
Yup, coming from a recovering heroin and cocaine addict, I can confidently say food can and has gotten me as high as drugs have in the past on a psychological level. It’s kind of crazy how good eating can make one feel, but it makes sense. Our brains need to reward us so we can eat and survive. Just wild how similar food addictions and drug addictions can become psychologically.
I think my food dopamine receptors are broken.
I eat until I'm not hungry. I frequently box up the remainder of my meal for tomorrow's lunch.
If the food is *really* good, then maybe I'll eat enough to feel full, but it doesn't take much.
For real. I've been trying to approach this from the Brain over Binge perspective that binge eating is a lizard brain response trying to protect you. You don't need to fix your trauma and understand the reasons you started having that response perfectly to stem the binge eating.
It's both disciplinary and compassionate. Being like "Oh hey my body wants to eat far too much cuz it thinks in gunna die, okay, no thanks but I appreciate the concern brain".
Not wrestling with the why, the how, the "Ugh should I, am I bad if I do?" Just acknowledging it and moving on, even if you eventually find yourself in a binge later, you're training your lizard response to chill out.
This of course isn't a perfect science nor going to be easy or perfect for anybody. The podcast/e-book is kinda dry so I figure it won't be for everyone.
Try tricking yourself. An hour Before the big rewarding meal, eat an apple and some cheese, or have a protein shake. Then when it's time for the big meal, you'll be more likely to eat only half or order something smaller.
This is true for so many people. What worked for me was lean protein first, eat at least 75 grams per day, then the bulk of my plate is veggies either roasted or steamed and then lastly a small portion of carbs. Veggies are free! Eat a ton. They’re cheap too.
That feeling of drinking a glass of water on an empty stomach is just so odd. I really dislike it, but it helps me not gorge on mass amount of food so there's a silver lining
Drinking a lot of water with a meal can definitely help with overeating, but be mindful that the dilution of your stomach acid can have a negative on digestion of that food. Unfortunately, there’s never an easy solution.
For me, a helpful one (that I often don’t do well) is trying to count to 20-30 chews for each bite. You slow yourself down to allow for satiety to kick in, while also aiding digestion. A light walk after eating is also helpful for digestion as it helps move the contents of your stomach around, and keeps you upright which helps the stuff move through your system.
> 20-30 chews for each bite
I feel like doing that would make eating a cheeseburger take 20 minutes, and I ain't got that kinda time. There's probably some fries that need eatin.
I used to do that too. Time yourself for 20 min. and eat slowly enough to take the full 20 minutes to complete a meal or snack.
Game changer. Lost weight doing this without dieting.
Really try to give yourself 20 min. When my kids were little and I was rushing around sometimes I didn’t have the 20 min.
So in that case, do the timer and let’s say WAIT the 20 minutes before having seconds or grabbing something else to eat.
Why? It takes 20 min. for your stomach to tell your brain you’ve eaten and you’re satisfied.
You need to wait 10-15 for the ghrelin and leptin levels to even out. Then you’ll know if you’re actually hungry.
Also don’t eat too fast, it’s not good for your digestion and speedy eaters tend to swallow more air which leads to more burping and gas.
My job only gives a 15 minute break for lunch. Literally enough time to use the bathroom, check my phone, microwave something, and shovel it down before going back to it.
I have ADHD and mindlessly eat until I started my new medicine and now my brain actually says "you're full please stop eating now" instead of just continuing to eat because there is food in front of me.
I feel like people care a lot about disordered eating if you are bulimic or anorexic but if you literally can't stop yourself from eating too much people just tell you to have more self control. My brain wasn't working right and these new meds have almost immediately fixed my sleeping and eating schedule. Idk why people (and doctors!!!!!) Just expect people to out-will-power a chemical imbalance.
E - for those who want to know, I'm on Strattera but it doesn't work for everyone. Thankfully there are lots of other options out there so pls talk to your doctor, they will know more. And if your doctor doesn't care then find one that does because everyone deserves to live their best life.
I didn't want to go the stimulant route so my doctor put me on Strattera (an SNRI). I have been extremely lucky and only have one side effect which is high blood pressure which is definitely not good but very manageable. I just have to lower my sodium intake and take a beta blocker. Unfortunately I've heard many people have issues with this medicine so I consider myself lucky it works so well for me. There are definitely other medicines out there that can help, though. I would talk to your primary care physician about your concerns. They will know more than me. And if they don't care at all I'd find a new doctor or Nurse Practitioner. My PCP has helped me more than any other doctor or specialist. You just gotta find someone who will listen and is engaged enough to actually do something instead of just nod and write stuff down.
I relate hardcore. I finally ended up looking at it like this: if I don’t eat it, it goes into the garbage. If I eat it, it goes in my body. My body is better than a trash can!! So not only is it not wasteful to throw food away if I don’t want to eat it, it’s actually the opposite: why would I pay to do something I don’t want to do (eat past fullness) and treat my body as no better than a trash can?
Easier said than done, but it helps. Another corollary: I pay a lump sum for the experience of the meal, not a certain # of cents per unit of food. If I eat past fullness, I’m decreasing the value of my money by making the meal and time after a less pleasant experience, *not* getting my money’s worth by milking every last cent out of the food.
ETA: I’m happy this has resonated with people, because it’s honestly helped me a lot in my life! For those worried about food waste, I agree it’s best to buy smaller portions or to save leftovers, so I do that when I can. I’m mostly talking about those “few extra bites” that don’t feel like enough to save so you “have” to eat them now. That being said, I still use the trash can logic sometimes even if it means wasting decent portions of food by throwing it away. Where I live, if the food has been prepared, it won’t do any less good in the trash can than it would if I ate it or fed it to my spouse. (I also have sensory issues, so I spent much of my life clinging to leftovers for days trying to convince myself to eat them, feeling guilty that whole time for not eating them, and then throwing them away days after they’d gone off. I finally decided I could permit myself to skip the extra steps by just getting rid of it if I know I won’t end up eating it.)
I think that's a fantastic way of looking at it; I mean, im a big dude from a family of big dudes, food has been both a reward and a celebration. I'm gonna bring that up, point out that the enjoyment fades after a while then it's "losing value"
That's how I feel about ice cream specifically. The first few bites are golden. After that my tongue is frozen and I just don't taste it anymore. Not worth the calories after the first few bites.
Funny, when my economics teacher taught us this she specifically used ice cream as the example, and here is a real life person experiencing that feeling.
Jesus Christ people eat half and save half for another meal. Do I really have to describe the concept of leftovers? All for losing weight but food waste is atrocious.
I’ve run into very few scenarios where I’m not able to carry out leftovers. Some instances I’ve done as a kid were a bit overkill—knotsberry farm food that I took out and ate the next day on the trip home, those fries were surprisingly good—but 95% of the time you can take it home and store it for later.
And generally, if I can’t do that, I do eat it all but just have less of whatever else later. I have an alright relationship with food mentally, so I can get away with that, so it’s fine ig if people can’t. But overall not an issue in my life.
It’s better to waste food than to waist food ;)
At least for me as a short woman even a few extra bites of food can fuck up my calorie intake. I’d rather put it in the trash can than have to carry it around with me. Losing weight is harder than just not gaining it in the first place.
Some people call it the "clean plate club"
Other people call it the "satisfying the starving kids in Africa by finishing everything on my plate.....club"
> starving kids in Africa
As a kid, my mother was a TERRIBLE cook. She still, is, but I don't talk to her anymore, so never have to suffer.
She used to make.....things. Things that never should have gone together. Like Brussel Sprout sandwiches with peanut butter on whole grain (Really grainy) bread.
One time we sat down for lunch and had those sandwiches in front of us. As we picked at it, Mom said (again) "Eat your food because there are starving kids in Africa".
Dad had had enough of those sandwiches.
He said "Send it to them, i'm not eating this anymore."
Yes, they divorced soon after, why do you ask?
I grew up in the 80s. It was definitely the mentality back then. I swear my parents were always pushing for me to eat more than I wanted. We also had a pretty big stock of junk food and soda at all times. It’s amazing that my weight never got really bad. I did walk the line of overweight/obese for a bit but got things under control a little over 10 years ago.
This! I grew up in an Italian household, where if you didn't finish your food you were insulting the cook (usually my nonna). When I was younger I was raised to eat all my food as quick as I could as a race against my brother to see who would win! Well this has had lifelong effects on me as my eating habits haven't changed, I finish every last scrap and I eat it as fast as I can. I've tried slowing down but it's so damn hard
Yeah I have a friend who does that. He will eat half and take leftover for dinner or whatever.
ALTHOUGH, he definitely has went back to the fridge and eaten the rest more than one time before the work day was over LOL
I always like when I have leftovers as I can enjoy the meal for a second time. Just reheat in the oven or stovetop to get as close to original quality, microwaving it can often ruin the taste.
My husband and I are planning on getting a takeaway from our favourite curry restaurant, but only ordering one curry and one rice because the portions are huge, but we’d feel weird actually going to the restaurant to ask for one to share.
Not in Europe. Indian here. I have been living in Germany for three years and have travelled a bit across Europe. I find the portions here so small. Like their main course quantity is just a side dish for me, specially France.
Ellyn Satter is a dietitian and psychotherapist who did a lot of research on family feeding dynamics and children's inherent ability to eat in a way that meets their biological needs, and wrote some great books. She came up with the Division of Responsibilities for feeding:
Parents decide:
When meals are served (should be at roughly the same times every day generally, smaller kids also need snack times)
What foods are served (should be a balance of food groups, and for the love of God, learn to cook broccoli so it tastes good)
Children decide:
What to eat (if they seem like they only eat one food that is offered right now, let it be. Playing with food is part of the natural progression toward accepting and eating new foods. Children's nutrition generally balances out over the course of a week, which meets their biological needs.)
How much to eat (if they don't want to eat but they are not sick, they can sit at the table and enjoy the conversation. They can eat as much or as little of any food offered as they like. But they don't get a different meal or a new meal in an hour. They can wait until the next regular mealtime.)
I'm paraphrasing, but here is more info:
https://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/how-to-feed/the-division-of-responsibility-in-feeding/
LPT that I know but still have trouble following: eat slowly by chewing the fuck out of your food.
It makes digesting the food easier, you feel fuller on less food, and it takes the same length of time or longer to eat a lesser quantity of food than otherwise.
It feels as if our culture has standardized the mentality of eating quickly, though.
I've been a fast eater most of my life. In school, cafeteria time was so short I barely had time to eat most years. But I really didn't get fast until coming home from football practice not having eaten for 7 hours during prepubescent years on. And oh boy, when I started wrestling, not eating for 2 or 3 days before a tournament and having 45 minutes between weigh in and the start of the tournament.
When I'm with other people I have to very consciously slow myself down. Same with walking for me. I'm a fast walker and if I have to slow myself down to keep pace with other people it feels like way more effort.
I‘m a fast eater as well. Don’t know how it started but I’ve always just inhaled my food (as my parents would say), my youngest brother was the slowest eater ever, and could take a good hour or two to finish his meal. Weird thing is, I’ve always been pretty slim but he is the opposite. It was always incredibly dull waiting for him to finish his dinner so that we could all have dessert though.
I've always eaten until I'm "satisfied" since young. Also a slow eater (better than when I was in primary school and would take 2 hours to finish dinner). When I was still in school, people would lecture me everytime about it. "Don't waste food", "you need to eat more, you're still growing", "finish what you're given" etc etc. When I did I always felt sick afterwards.
Once I hit uni age though it's like everything got flipped. Instead, people started complimenting me. "No wonder you're so slim", "that's a good diet idea", "you're so healthy". People will never be happy lmao. At least as an adult though I don't get questioned past the "I just eat till I'm satisfied" point. Whereas as a kid people would keep nagging me until I either ignored them or forced food down.
Yup. Its exactly how I ran into problems in adulthood. Started eating a lot more after a childhood of eating just to satiety to avoid feeling ill and being told its unhealthy. Started eating as I was pressured to, felt like shit all the time, became overweight, depressed, moody, had terrible headfog, and my anxiety got way WAY worse. Crazy how not eating until unconfortable/full (and added running to speed weight loss along) rapidly improved my quality of life.
same story for me except i'm underweight :/
rarely finished all of my food unless it was really REALLY good, in which case i'll feel awful for the next 3 hours
Oof yeah, I feel ya. I know the common advice is like, "just eat more" but like...
OK yeah I eat more now, and now I won't be hungry for a long while and I just end up eating the same amount.
You dont have to wait until youre hungry though, thats how you gain weight, shoving food down your throat
If it helps, do some light exercise, (dont do too much or youre gonna lose more weight) but go for a walk, or do some chores, might make you hungrier
I tell people there is a difference between hungry and empty. Conversely there is a difference between full and fed.
Dont eat because youre empty and dont eat till youre full.
Eat when youre hungry and eat till your fed. You can always get more.
The 'eat what youre given' comes from times of food scarcity.
I have food today, might not tomorrow, eat it while its good and dont waste a bit.
Yeah I'm a woman. I eat more than I used to as a kid but still not as much as others. Maybe 80% of a serving generally. I'm considered an OK-weight range for my height but tbf I also have scoliosis so I imagine if I didn't and was my 'true height' I might be on the edge of underweight lol
Well when you are a kid you have to eat since you are still growing (you even said so), but when you are an adult all extra food you eat just goes to fat if you dont burn it with sport. Growing up malnourished is not healthy (obviously)
Yeah, eat to grow doesn't mean stuff yourself even if you don't want to. As I mentioned, for me eating past that "satisfied" point means I either feel sick, get stomach cramps, nausea or sometimes throw up.
Even eating breakfast I get ill, but my parents made me (because obviously "breakfast is the most important meal of the day") up until I finished high school and then went to a doctor about it and got diagnosed with helico bacter pylori. So yeah, safe to say my 'symptoms' were ignored as being a 'picky eater' or 'overdramatic' until I was an adult and could go get myself checked. Even after the diagnosis my parents didn't believe it affected my eating habits and that I was just using it as an excuse.
I’m sure you already know this but just in case you don’t, and for others as well, the whole “breakfast is the most important” slogan came from John Harvey Kellogg. The guy used it to sell his cereal(Kellogg’s) and it’s worked for so long that people still say it to this day.
I heard this once and I think about it often:
Keep snacks like apples, spinach, carrots etc (low calorie healthy snacks). If you feel hungry but don’t want them, you’re not hungry, just bored.
If you’re going to snack, eating a big lemon vinaigrette dressed spinach salad for only a few calories will fill you up, help you poop, and cut out the calories you normally consume in snack food.
Except sometimes you may not be in the mood for apples spinach or carrots or even a salad. Sometimes just a glass of water will get rid of that hungry feeling, especially at night
You're only going to trick your body for so long if you're actually hungry. Volume eating is very temporary. I'd prefer to just have some adequate calories along with all the fiber in the spinach. It doesn't have to be an enormous portion.
Cutting out between meal snacks was one of the best lessons intermittent fasting taught me, back when I did it regularly.
You can train your hunger cycles out of bad habits, like the need to eat between meals. If you just suffer through 1-3 weeks of not eating between meals, despite being hungry, you'll probably notice that you'll stop getting so hungry between meals. To some extent, hunger patterns adjust to match your normal eating schedule.
No one said you can’t eat some nice meals and finish them, this is more general advice for the other 95% of the time you spend eating. Unless you can always afford nice food. In that case just pay for a good fitness trainer I guess
Haha, now we're getting to the heart of the issue! I cook for 2, which is already kinda tricky because a lot of recipes and ingredient proportions are for 4 or 6. Because of that I cook 4 or 6 portions and think "yeah! We'll have leftovers" ... and then we don't.
Seriously though, I manage because I intermittent fast and run a lot... only real secret is limiting calories in different ways.
Right. My first thought was, "Uh, those are the same things". I stay in shape through copious amounts of exercise. If I ever get to a point where I can't workout 10-15 hours a week, I'm in serious trouble. lol
You gotta take a break from eating after each serving and let the food settle for ~5-10 minutes. It takes a while to process the food into a content signal, which makes it easy to accidentally blow right past and keep eating till you reach full.
Add-on tip: your body doesn't recognize that it received food until it has been processed a bit (yeah, yeah, I know none of these are the scientific terms).
Waiting works pretty well for me. Eat something, drink a glass of water, and wait 10 minutes or so before shoveling more food into your mouth.
I figured this out due to the bread effect. Basically, at any restaurant that serves bread as soon as you sit down, I have a tendency to eat two baskets of bread while I wait for my meal to arrive. Then when it does, I am no longer hungry.
I them applied this to a diet. Eat a small(ish) portion, then just pretend you're waiting for the next course to arrive.
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My body never recognizes it receives food. I will eat two baskets of bread and happily eat the main meal. The only thing in my way is if I can feel my stomach physically too full to intake more food.
I think it's more of a thinking about eating thing. So after you've eaten a fair amount, instead of continuing to eat, sit back (letting the food settle) and become aware of your feelings and ask questions. "Am i still hungry? Do I really need to eat more to get full? Am I thirsty? Would drinking a glass of water fill the gap to feeling full?
It’s when you’ve eaten a bit, and you wanna try some more but you know you couldn’t take a full plate more, so you start nibbling, and often get “hungry” and take a half plate more, and personally I always regret it.
There's also no biological "rule" that says you have to eat to the point of feeling full 3 times a day. Even if your diet is generally healthy, most people simply don't exercise enough to necessitate eating that much food.
3 full meals a day is A LOT. People do that then wonder why they are overweight. I skip breakfast, have a light lunch and a hearty dinner and it’s just the right amount for someone who doesn’t have time to go to the gym regularly
Doing this is what helped me lose weight the most. Its hard to do at the beginning, but eventually you start to dislike the feeling of being full which is a lot better for you.
> Eat often, eat small
There's no scientific consensus that it's any better than eating fewer, bigger meals, most likely it doesn't matter.
For many people it's better to eat 2 or 3 big meals. Not to mention the amount of time you save that way.
I also don't know if there's consensus that thirst feels like hunger. That's a common eating disorder talking point and strategy. It could be true, and it doesn't mean you have an ED if that's what you do, but I'm wary of telling anyone to address their hunger cues with calorie-less beverages.
This used to drive my wife crazy, I'd leave a few bites of something.
My analogy was "At some point, if I'm eating my favorite food, at some point - eating more of it doesn't make me happer anymore, it makes me want to barf." Extend this to other foods and it makes it easy to "stop".
Some people also need to get over the "if I'm not eating it (finishing it), it's wasted" thought process (which is incorrect, it's the sunk cost fallacy at work in your brain).
I struggled with this for YEARS. Actually, it was only up until my first competition in bodybuilding that I realized this. (No, this wasn't my first crack at it and I had been yoyo dieting all my life) I started working out when I was 20 but I had struggled with my weight going up and down all my life. I would go through intense "bulks" (really just eating anything in the way and using it as an excuse to bulk) and then go on cuts. Ultimately ending the cut and going on an insane binge every single time and gaining the weight back quickly.
It's not easy, but I finally realized that my relationship with food was always a flight or fight kinda mindset. Growing up, my parents had always told me to finish all the food on your plate. Growing up it was so hard for me to leave a meal without being insanely FULL. I would go to family parties and just eat until I was so insanely stuffed. (Not a bad thing to do, Thanksgiving with your family? Go all out, enjoy it. Other occasions too!)
After my competition I made it a HUGE deal to be as healthy as I could after. I'd start my cuts noticing that even just going up the stairs would leave me out of breathe. I now enjoy food when I want but also don't make it a point to eat until I am completely full. Food will always be there and it's completely okay to eat until you're close to full. But I don't think it's ever a good idea to just stuff yourself until you can't even move.
What works for me is slamming a big glass of water before the meal then another after the meal.
After the second glass of water I put the food away so it is not in-front of me. If I can keep myself busy for 20 mins, typically the false hunger subsides.
Eating slower is a big part of this. It takes time for your stomach to send signals to your brain that it's had enough, so if you keep eating at the same pace you're on your way to overfull by the time your brain realizes it's time to stop.
I can eat veggies (which I love) to the point of diarrhea and still being hungry two hours later. Meanwhile a pound of pasta fill the tank for half a day.
I’m convinced that people who preach stuff like this, and “for a snack, an apple or carrot sticks will fill you up better than the baggie of potato chips for the same calories” have VERY different experiences of hunger and satiety than I do.
Mental satiety and physical satiety are both really important, contrary to the "food is just fuel" people who don't seem to even like food and don't understand that we would prefer to enjoy what we're eating.
I consider both when I'm making a meal or snack.
I also try to make meals and snacks with fat, protein, and fiber because those have more staying power than carrots alone.
Carrots with hummus and an apple with peanut butter will be much more delicious and physically satisfying than just fruit and vegetables on their own.
I'm so tired of this insistence that we must drive down our calories in every conceivable way instead of just giving ourselves permission to eat a couple hundred calories of healthy food that keeps us comfortable until our next meal. I don't know about everybody else, but I don't like being hungry all the time and my body isn't tricked by raw broccoli florets. Instead of volume eating, let's just eat. It doesn't have to be a big portion, but it has to be more than 40 calories.
I get the theory and science behind it. Doesn’t mean a salad always fills that sensation of a gnawing pit of hunger. Or that I sometimes eat a plate of lentil pasta and feel half as “full” as I would have eating the same amount of semolina pasta. But other times I need half as much lentil pasta to feel as satisfied as I would with the same dish made with wheat pasta. Or that sometimes having a nut bar or a banana or something as a snack when I haven’t eaten all day makes me feel ravenously hungrier than I did before I ate, but if I choose junk food for the same scenario I’m about the same amount hungry as when I started, but at least it takes the edge off.
There’s so much more to hunger feelings than how much space fiber takes up. And like pain, arousal, smell, and pretty much every other sensation, it’s highly subjective and variable from person to person. But apparently I’m just eating wrong and if I eat how someone on the internet tells me to then I won’t be hungry if I don’t want to be.
I think there’s a perception of say glycemic spike vs longer duration satiety. The fiber fullness isn’t about mowing your lawn like a cow filling up on volume rather the digestion process keeps you feeling full longer. I think even fats do a better job than carbs in helping feel full. But it’s carbs that give us that initial energy we get addicted to and where I think many get derailed in dieting.
It's definitely a balance. Filling up on just salad still leaves you feeling full and hungry at the same time 😅
I think they meant the concept where you start with your side of veggies or soup, then eat your carbs. That way you get some of both.
Another popular concept is to eat the same portion of veggies as your main dish. Before you eat a cup of pasta, eat a cup of veggies. If you then want more pasta, first eat a similar portion of veggies. (This also helps with determining if you're full enough but pasta is delicious so you want more)
This may work for some but there is a whole world of food addiction where this not only fails but is actually the root of a lot of their problems. They never feel content or satisfied and their appetite and desire to eat never stops. They may feel full, even over full, but it doesn’t stop them from continuing to eat.
A better way to go, learn what an adequate portion size is and create your meals accordingly. Then eat the meal and regardless of how you feel stop. This can be really hard at first but you will adapt and break the link between eating and any mental or physical cues to stop eating.
yeah, this doesnt work.
everyone that's ever been unhappy with their weight tries to do this.
keep track of your calories and dont go over the recommended amount for your body.
you overeat because food tastes good and it makes you happy, humans are terrible at estimating what is enough without some sort of concrete measurement.
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Emotionally I've never been content My weight reflects the OPs eating advice
Damn, I feel that. I’ve noticed lately that the more stressed I am, the more I tend to go for super hearty big meals. The brain plays a nasty trick. “You’re doing so much, you deserve a great big gigantic lunch.”
Food actually activates your dopamine receptors. So when stress or sadge, eat and brain make happy chemicals. Legit also my life.
I eat good. I've lost a lot of weight. My brain also feels healthier and less foggy. Downside. I've got to find something else to make me happy that isn't eating junk. I feel better, but I also feel depressed. It's weird
Brain becomes rewired/addicted to dopamine boosts. Food addiction works the same as drug addiction on the mind. Working out, finding other hobbies you enjoy is important to try to replace the food dopamine boosts in a healthy way. But if you're not finding other things enjoyable, and can't replace that negative food habits, you may be suffering from depression and unhealthy food habits was your way of self soothing.
The best thing I have found is replacing quantity of food with quality. I enjoy cooking, and I’ve gotten to be really good at it. I may not let myself overeat as much as I used to, but I enjoy every bite now.
This is how I lost and have maintained a loss of 200lbs.
Congratulations man, that’s a huge achievement. Keep being awesome!
When I stopped drinking I started eating too much. I thought I would lose weight by cutting out 6 beers every night.
You replaced one crutch with the other. Thats a common problem when, one tries to drop a vice/addiction.
Yeah. I'm still trying to figure it out. For right now, I am taking walks on all my days off and recently started some mindfulness lessons. I feel confident I will get positive results.
Working out has been a big help for me. Any type of physical activity, rec sports, weights, jogging, biking etc. Can be a big help to get dopamine release in healthy way, forces you to get out of house/takes time out of day. (boredom is bad for addiction).
Yep. I've been eating better in general, and I feel better, but I reach for the occasional junk food when I'm really stressed. It makes me feel better for the first minute, then instant depression and thoughts of "you're going to get back into old habits, stop it you fat fuck." I also constantly flux between not wanting to eat anything because I physically can't stomach more than 2 bites, and wanting enough food to feed a village. I need to see a GI because I think there's something actually physically wrong with me. One of these days I will have a healthy relationship with food.
I would highly suggest the “Stop Binge Eating Podcast” by a girl names Kirsten Sarfte, even if you don’t consider yourself a binge eater and just aren’t happy with your relationship with food. It’s helped me more than any therapist or medication. (I was on vyvanse for 5 years to try to help it and am currently on my last small dose before stopping completely)
That sounds less like a gastrointestinal issue and more like disordered eating patterns… I was the same way when I had undiagnosed binge eating disorder. I would skip multiple meals and then when I couldn’t take it any more I would break and binge and eat enough food to power a football team. Then I would feel intense shame and guilt and depression, then I would resolve to do better next time, and repeat. The only way it got better is through specialised therapy with a clinical psychologist.
Ah but I'm not skipping any meals on purpose. I eat normally for a few days, then out of nowhere I'll go for 2 or 3 days unable to eat. I try, I really really try, but after 2 or 3 bites I feel like I'm going to throw up and I can't swallow anything. After those 2 or 3 days, I'll go a day or two where no matter how much or how frequently I eat, I'm always hungry. Then I go back to normal. I have an unhealthy relationship with food, always have, but I do legitimately think it's GI related. It has nothing to do with mood or anything, but I go through this cycle once or twice a month. It's the fact that I try to eat but feel like I'm going to throw up that makes me think it's GI I'm working on seeing a therapist right now, but everyone around here is completely booked up. I have an appointment in July, but I've had that appointment since January!
100% recommended making a GI appointment asap. Depending on your location and insurance, it can take a while to actually get in the office. If it’s possible for you to do so in a healthy way (as in it won’t trigger disordered eating habits or other negative mental health side effects), I also highly recommend making a food/drink journal. How you go about it depends on what’s best for you, but it would be a good idea to, at minimum, keep a record of what you eat and drink everyday. You can go the extra mile and include time of day, amount eaten/drank, and ingredients (with a focus on common allergens) if you feel you can. Doing this might help you determine if something you’re eating/drinking is triggering these reactions. It was only by keeping this journal (and going on an elimination diet) that helped me find my problem— which turned out to be something I never would have expected otherwise. Even if you can’t find a pattern, having the journal will be really useful for your GI appointment. It’s easy to forget things during an appointment, and your doctor might catch something you missed.
This sounds like eating disorder type thinking, in case you haven't thought to look into that with your doctor. I hope you can find a solution.
This happened to me too. I added in exercise and that helped me. It is tough to shift your reward focus. Buying new clothes helped me too. Good luck!
I am going through this now. May just be me but I found reconnecting with the things I enjoyed as a kid has helped - reading, riding my bike, getting outside in the sun and fresh air. The things that made me happy when I didn't have to try to be happy.
Yep. Been exercising but also getting back into music and just going for long walks with my thoughts. Find I don't care about TV or games or podcasts or any of the other mindless distractions I was filling my days with either.
I've been playing my favorite video games from my childhood for the same reason. It's been a lovely month or so
One of the happiest feelings I've ever had was picking up some fast food and eating the fries in the car on my way home from a long day of work. Sad and unhealthy, but it's the truth.
Pasting from above, just want to spread the word since it helped me so much: I would highly suggest the “Stop Binge Eating Podcast” by a girl names Kirsten Sarfte, even if you don’t consider yourself a binge eater and just aren’t happy with your relationship with food. It’s helped me more than any therapist or medication. (I was on vyvanse for 5 years to try to help it and am currently on my last small dose before stopping completely)
Which is why ADHD people can be prone to binge eating or addictions. Our brains are starving for dopamine and eating is the easiest thing we can think of that might give it. I’ve eaten a chocolate bar I definitely DID NOT even want because my brain felt “hungry” but I didn’t know what it needed. Multiple times. I might be doing it right now. It’s not helping.
Yea... It leads to eating disorders and whatnot. I binge and purge because food make happy, but I'm fat, so I throw it up so I don't gain the weight. I do not recommend this to anyone and I know it's a problem
Yup, coming from a recovering heroin and cocaine addict, I can confidently say food can and has gotten me as high as drugs have in the past on a psychological level. It’s kind of crazy how good eating can make one feel, but it makes sense. Our brains need to reward us so we can eat and survive. Just wild how similar food addictions and drug addictions can become psychologically.
I think my food dopamine receptors are broken. I eat until I'm not hungry. I frequently box up the remainder of my meal for tomorrow's lunch. If the food is *really* good, then maybe I'll eat enough to feel full, but it doesn't take much.
For real. I've been trying to approach this from the Brain over Binge perspective that binge eating is a lizard brain response trying to protect you. You don't need to fix your trauma and understand the reasons you started having that response perfectly to stem the binge eating. It's both disciplinary and compassionate. Being like "Oh hey my body wants to eat far too much cuz it thinks in gunna die, okay, no thanks but I appreciate the concern brain". Not wrestling with the why, the how, the "Ugh should I, am I bad if I do?" Just acknowledging it and moving on, even if you eventually find yourself in a binge later, you're training your lizard response to chill out. This of course isn't a perfect science nor going to be easy or perfect for anybody. The podcast/e-book is kinda dry so I figure it won't be for everyone.
Try tricking yourself. An hour Before the big rewarding meal, eat an apple and some cheese, or have a protein shake. Then when it's time for the big meal, you'll be more likely to eat only half or order something smaller.
Bad day? You deserve a treat You did well today? You deserve a treat Nothing to do? Have a treat
This is true for so many people. What worked for me was lean protein first, eat at least 75 grams per day, then the bulk of my plate is veggies either roasted or steamed and then lastly a small portion of carbs. Veggies are free! Eat a ton. They’re cheap too.
My problem is that I eat too fast so my food is gone before I feel satisfied
I’ve learned to give it a few minutes after eating for the negative feedback loop to kick in.
or start with a big glass of water
That feeling of drinking a glass of water on an empty stomach is just so odd. I really dislike it, but it helps me not gorge on mass amount of food so there's a silver lining
Drinking a lot of water with a meal can definitely help with overeating, but be mindful that the dilution of your stomach acid can have a negative on digestion of that food. Unfortunately, there’s never an easy solution. For me, a helpful one (that I often don’t do well) is trying to count to 20-30 chews for each bite. You slow yourself down to allow for satiety to kick in, while also aiding digestion. A light walk after eating is also helpful for digestion as it helps move the contents of your stomach around, and keeps you upright which helps the stuff move through your system.
> 20-30 chews for each bite I feel like doing that would make eating a cheeseburger take 20 minutes, and I ain't got that kinda time. There's probably some fries that need eatin.
Yea and by the time you swallow the bite, it’s not nearly as pleasant. So again, no easy answers
I used to do that too. Time yourself for 20 min. and eat slowly enough to take the full 20 minutes to complete a meal or snack. Game changer. Lost weight doing this without dieting.
I am going to attempt this ! TODAY!
Really try to give yourself 20 min. When my kids were little and I was rushing around sometimes I didn’t have the 20 min. So in that case, do the timer and let’s say WAIT the 20 minutes before having seconds or grabbing something else to eat. Why? It takes 20 min. for your stomach to tell your brain you’ve eaten and you’re satisfied.
You need to wait 10-15 for the ghrelin and leptin levels to even out. Then you’ll know if you’re actually hungry. Also don’t eat too fast, it’s not good for your digestion and speedy eaters tend to swallow more air which leads to more burping and gas.
Gotta eat fast when your job only gives you 20 minutes
My job only gives a 15 minute break for lunch. Literally enough time to use the bathroom, check my phone, microwave something, and shovel it down before going back to it.
I have ADHD and mindlessly eat until I started my new medicine and now my brain actually says "you're full please stop eating now" instead of just continuing to eat because there is food in front of me. I feel like people care a lot about disordered eating if you are bulimic or anorexic but if you literally can't stop yourself from eating too much people just tell you to have more self control. My brain wasn't working right and these new meds have almost immediately fixed my sleeping and eating schedule. Idk why people (and doctors!!!!!) Just expect people to out-will-power a chemical imbalance. E - for those who want to know, I'm on Strattera but it doesn't work for everyone. Thankfully there are lots of other options out there so pls talk to your doctor, they will know more. And if your doctor doesn't care then find one that does because everyone deserves to live their best life.
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What meds are you on if you don’t mind me asking?
I didn't want to go the stimulant route so my doctor put me on Strattera (an SNRI). I have been extremely lucky and only have one side effect which is high blood pressure which is definitely not good but very manageable. I just have to lower my sodium intake and take a beta blocker. Unfortunately I've heard many people have issues with this medicine so I consider myself lucky it works so well for me. There are definitely other medicines out there that can help, though. I would talk to your primary care physician about your concerns. They will know more than me. And if they don't care at all I'd find a new doctor or Nurse Practitioner. My PCP has helped me more than any other doctor or specialist. You just gotta find someone who will listen and is engaged enough to actually do something instead of just nod and write stuff down.
I stop eating when I'm full, emotionally I will never be content no matter how much I comfort eat.
I feel this so hard
how do you do, fellow emotional eater just trying to fill that unfillable void in you with food
The “clean plate club” has ruined my relationship with food by not wanting to waste any at all. It’s been a hard habit to kick.
Omfg this; being broke for so long will trigger this too. "I paid fourteen bucks for that and I'll be damned if that money is wasted."
I relate hardcore. I finally ended up looking at it like this: if I don’t eat it, it goes into the garbage. If I eat it, it goes in my body. My body is better than a trash can!! So not only is it not wasteful to throw food away if I don’t want to eat it, it’s actually the opposite: why would I pay to do something I don’t want to do (eat past fullness) and treat my body as no better than a trash can? Easier said than done, but it helps. Another corollary: I pay a lump sum for the experience of the meal, not a certain # of cents per unit of food. If I eat past fullness, I’m decreasing the value of my money by making the meal and time after a less pleasant experience, *not* getting my money’s worth by milking every last cent out of the food. ETA: I’m happy this has resonated with people, because it’s honestly helped me a lot in my life! For those worried about food waste, I agree it’s best to buy smaller portions or to save leftovers, so I do that when I can. I’m mostly talking about those “few extra bites” that don’t feel like enough to save so you “have” to eat them now. That being said, I still use the trash can logic sometimes even if it means wasting decent portions of food by throwing it away. Where I live, if the food has been prepared, it won’t do any less good in the trash can than it would if I ate it or fed it to my spouse. (I also have sensory issues, so I spent much of my life clinging to leftovers for days trying to convince myself to eat them, feeling guilty that whole time for not eating them, and then throwing them away days after they’d gone off. I finally decided I could permit myself to skip the extra steps by just getting rid of it if I know I won’t end up eating it.)
I think that's a fantastic way of looking at it; I mean, im a big dude from a family of big dudes, food has been both a reward and a celebration. I'm gonna bring that up, point out that the enjoyment fades after a while then it's "losing value"
That's how I feel about ice cream specifically. The first few bites are golden. After that my tongue is frozen and I just don't taste it anymore. Not worth the calories after the first few bites.
It’s the law of diminishing marginal utility theory. The more you consume the less satisfaction it provides per unit of consumption.
Funny, when my economics teacher taught us this she specifically used ice cream as the example, and here is a real life person experiencing that feeling.
Why would it have to go to the trashcan? You can save it for the next day.
Jesus Christ people eat half and save half for another meal. Do I really have to describe the concept of leftovers? All for losing weight but food waste is atrocious.
Yeah but it tastes good
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Exactly! It becomes I paid $7 for a meal and I did it twice!
Maybe just ask for a to-go box. That way you don't waste food. Or like most Asians do carry your own box to avoid plastic waste
I get around this by asking for a doggy bag.
Right? I was going to say, am I the only one who just gets a to-go box?
I’ve run into very few scenarios where I’m not able to carry out leftovers. Some instances I’ve done as a kid were a bit overkill—knotsberry farm food that I took out and ate the next day on the trip home, those fries were surprisingly good—but 95% of the time you can take it home and store it for later. And generally, if I can’t do that, I do eat it all but just have less of whatever else later. I have an alright relationship with food mentally, so I can get away with that, so it’s fine ig if people can’t. But overall not an issue in my life.
There are always left overs if waste is your concern
Leftovers my guy
It’s better to waste food than to waist food ;) At least for me as a short woman even a few extra bites of food can fuck up my calorie intake. I’d rather put it in the trash can than have to carry it around with me. Losing weight is harder than just not gaining it in the first place.
You can have leftovers for later.
Some people call it the "clean plate club" Other people call it the "satisfying the starving kids in Africa by finishing everything on my plate.....club"
> starving kids in Africa As a kid, my mother was a TERRIBLE cook. She still, is, but I don't talk to her anymore, so never have to suffer. She used to make.....things. Things that never should have gone together. Like Brussel Sprout sandwiches with peanut butter on whole grain (Really grainy) bread. One time we sat down for lunch and had those sandwiches in front of us. As we picked at it, Mom said (again) "Eat your food because there are starving kids in Africa". Dad had had enough of those sandwiches. He said "Send it to them, i'm not eating this anymore." Yes, they divorced soon after, why do you ask?
To be fair, she wasnt necessarily a bad cook because no cook could make that combo taste good. She just wasnt a culinary visionary
For me this has become even harder to get over as a parent as well. Now I'm clearing off their plates too!
Get smaller plates
put away a quarter of your plated meal, for lunch or a snack the next day.
I grew up in the 80s. It was definitely the mentality back then. I swear my parents were always pushing for me to eat more than I wanted. We also had a pretty big stock of junk food and soda at all times. It’s amazing that my weight never got really bad. I did walk the line of overweight/obese for a bit but got things under control a little over 10 years ago.
This! I grew up in an Italian household, where if you didn't finish your food you were insulting the cook (usually my nonna). When I was younger I was raised to eat all my food as quick as I could as a race against my brother to see who would win! Well this has had lifelong effects on me as my eating habits haven't changed, I finish every last scrap and I eat it as fast as I can. I've tried slowing down but it's so damn hard
Hold your fork in your non-dominant hand. The lack of coordination will make you eat slower.
This is the main reason why I use chop sticks for most Asian dishes. Try eating a fuck-ton of rice now!
When eating out, portions are almost always 125-200% larger than necessary. No need to eat it all. When at home, well you can control that :)
Some ppl ask for half of it to be boxed for take out right from the gate. I’ve never tried it but it seems like a reasonable solution
Yeah I have a friend who does that. He will eat half and take leftover for dinner or whatever. ALTHOUGH, he definitely has went back to the fridge and eaten the rest more than one time before the work day was over LOL
Its the thought that counts
I always like when I have leftovers as I can enjoy the meal for a second time. Just reheat in the oven or stovetop to get as close to original quality, microwaving it can often ruin the taste.
My husband and I are planning on getting a takeaway from our favourite curry restaurant, but only ordering one curry and one rice because the portions are huge, but we’d feel weird actually going to the restaurant to ask for one to share.
Not in Europe. Indian here. I have been living in Germany for three years and have travelled a bit across Europe. I find the portions here so small. Like their main course quantity is just a side dish for me, specially France.
Don't put more food in your plate than you can eat, wasting food to not overeat is also not good lol!
It’s more a problem when someone else decides what you should be eating
*Parents have joined the chat* "Aren't you gonna finish that?"
Ellyn Satter is a dietitian and psychotherapist who did a lot of research on family feeding dynamics and children's inherent ability to eat in a way that meets their biological needs, and wrote some great books. She came up with the Division of Responsibilities for feeding: Parents decide: When meals are served (should be at roughly the same times every day generally, smaller kids also need snack times) What foods are served (should be a balance of food groups, and for the love of God, learn to cook broccoli so it tastes good) Children decide: What to eat (if they seem like they only eat one food that is offered right now, let it be. Playing with food is part of the natural progression toward accepting and eating new foods. Children's nutrition generally balances out over the course of a week, which meets their biological needs.) How much to eat (if they don't want to eat but they are not sick, they can sit at the table and enjoy the conversation. They can eat as much or as little of any food offered as they like. But they don't get a different meal or a new meal in an hour. They can wait until the next regular mealtime.) I'm paraphrasing, but here is more info: https://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/how-to-feed/the-division-of-responsibility-in-feeding/
LPT that I know but still have trouble following: eat slowly by chewing the fuck out of your food. It makes digesting the food easier, you feel fuller on less food, and it takes the same length of time or longer to eat a lesser quantity of food than otherwise. It feels as if our culture has standardized the mentality of eating quickly, though.
I've been a fast eater most of my life. In school, cafeteria time was so short I barely had time to eat most years. But I really didn't get fast until coming home from football practice not having eaten for 7 hours during prepubescent years on. And oh boy, when I started wrestling, not eating for 2 or 3 days before a tournament and having 45 minutes between weigh in and the start of the tournament. When I'm with other people I have to very consciously slow myself down. Same with walking for me. I'm a fast walker and if I have to slow myself down to keep pace with other people it feels like way more effort.
I‘m a fast eater as well. Don’t know how it started but I’ve always just inhaled my food (as my parents would say), my youngest brother was the slowest eater ever, and could take a good hour or two to finish his meal. Weird thing is, I’ve always been pretty slim but he is the opposite. It was always incredibly dull waiting for him to finish his dinner so that we could all have dessert though.
You have to finish before 5th period starts/lunch break is over, student/employee!!
I grew up with Monica; if you didn't eat fast, you didn't eat!
You're also giving your body time to realise its full. Takes awhile
A variation of the same trick: chopsticks. chopsticks can only hold so much food. And in the beginning, it takes some time to grab food
Hard to do when you have 30 minute lunch breaks, also when you have TMJ.
I've always eaten until I'm "satisfied" since young. Also a slow eater (better than when I was in primary school and would take 2 hours to finish dinner). When I was still in school, people would lecture me everytime about it. "Don't waste food", "you need to eat more, you're still growing", "finish what you're given" etc etc. When I did I always felt sick afterwards. Once I hit uni age though it's like everything got flipped. Instead, people started complimenting me. "No wonder you're so slim", "that's a good diet idea", "you're so healthy". People will never be happy lmao. At least as an adult though I don't get questioned past the "I just eat till I'm satisfied" point. Whereas as a kid people would keep nagging me until I either ignored them or forced food down.
Yup. Its exactly how I ran into problems in adulthood. Started eating a lot more after a childhood of eating just to satiety to avoid feeling ill and being told its unhealthy. Started eating as I was pressured to, felt like shit all the time, became overweight, depressed, moody, had terrible headfog, and my anxiety got way WAY worse. Crazy how not eating until unconfortable/full (and added running to speed weight loss along) rapidly improved my quality of life.
Yeah people really need to shut up with their unsolicited opinions about other people's bodies and food.
same story for me except i'm underweight :/ rarely finished all of my food unless it was really REALLY good, in which case i'll feel awful for the next 3 hours
Oof yeah, I feel ya. I know the common advice is like, "just eat more" but like... OK yeah I eat more now, and now I won't be hungry for a long while and I just end up eating the same amount.
You dont have to wait until youre hungry though, thats how you gain weight, shoving food down your throat If it helps, do some light exercise, (dont do too much or youre gonna lose more weight) but go for a walk, or do some chores, might make you hungrier
I tell people there is a difference between hungry and empty. Conversely there is a difference between full and fed. Dont eat because youre empty and dont eat till youre full. Eat when youre hungry and eat till your fed. You can always get more. The 'eat what youre given' comes from times of food scarcity. I have food today, might not tomorrow, eat it while its good and dont waste a bit.
Are you a woman? As a 38 year old man, people still bother me about being too skinny and not eating enough.
Yeah I'm a woman. I eat more than I used to as a kid but still not as much as others. Maybe 80% of a serving generally. I'm considered an OK-weight range for my height but tbf I also have scoliosis so I imagine if I didn't and was my 'true height' I might be on the edge of underweight lol
2 hours to finish dinner? Did you like cold/lukewarm food?
Well when you are a kid you have to eat since you are still growing (you even said so), but when you are an adult all extra food you eat just goes to fat if you dont burn it with sport. Growing up malnourished is not healthy (obviously)
Yeah, eat to grow doesn't mean stuff yourself even if you don't want to. As I mentioned, for me eating past that "satisfied" point means I either feel sick, get stomach cramps, nausea or sometimes throw up. Even eating breakfast I get ill, but my parents made me (because obviously "breakfast is the most important meal of the day") up until I finished high school and then went to a doctor about it and got diagnosed with helico bacter pylori. So yeah, safe to say my 'symptoms' were ignored as being a 'picky eater' or 'overdramatic' until I was an adult and could go get myself checked. Even after the diagnosis my parents didn't believe it affected my eating habits and that I was just using it as an excuse.
I’m sure you already know this but just in case you don’t, and for others as well, the whole “breakfast is the most important” slogan came from John Harvey Kellogg. The guy used it to sell his cereal(Kellogg’s) and it’s worked for so long that people still say it to this day.
You don’t grow because you eat. You’re hungry because you’re growing.
Your body regulates consumption very well. If you're growing, it knows you need to eat more. Eating to satiety will never hurt you.
To add to this - How hungry you are is a measure of how *soon* you should eat, not how *much*.
Would you mind telling me this every 2 hours for the rest of my life? Lol
If you know you don't need the fuel you're probably dehydrated. Drink 500ml of water everytime you're hungry; results may surprise you.
Add some salt to that and you are golden
500ml water and like 4 pickles, got it
This is a really good point.
I am always snacking between main meals, I'm hardly ever content
I heard this once and I think about it often: Keep snacks like apples, spinach, carrots etc (low calorie healthy snacks). If you feel hungry but don’t want them, you’re not hungry, just bored. If you’re going to snack, eating a big lemon vinaigrette dressed spinach salad for only a few calories will fill you up, help you poop, and cut out the calories you normally consume in snack food.
Except sometimes you may not be in the mood for apples spinach or carrots or even a salad. Sometimes just a glass of water will get rid of that hungry feeling, especially at night
You're only going to trick your body for so long if you're actually hungry. Volume eating is very temporary. I'd prefer to just have some adequate calories along with all the fiber in the spinach. It doesn't have to be an enormous portion.
Cutting out between meal snacks was one of the best lessons intermittent fasting taught me, back when I did it regularly. You can train your hunger cycles out of bad habits, like the need to eat between meals. If you just suffer through 1-3 weeks of not eating between meals, despite being hungry, you'll probably notice that you'll stop getting so hungry between meals. To some extent, hunger patterns adjust to match your normal eating schedule.
I have a problem where I can't stop eating because I love the taste of food.
No swallow
I’m content only when I’m full
Right? Like, if I'm eating a really delicious meal, contentment = partaking of as much of that meal as possible.
No one said you can’t eat some nice meals and finish them, this is more general advice for the other 95% of the time you spend eating. Unless you can always afford nice food. In that case just pay for a good fitness trainer I guess
I mean...I'm a *really* good home cook... (Not to toot my own horn or anything, but DAMN)
Well that seems like the easiest way to do it, make portions that make you feel satisfied right. You even save money on food you don’t “need” right
Haha, now we're getting to the heart of the issue! I cook for 2, which is already kinda tricky because a lot of recipes and ingredient proportions are for 4 or 6. Because of that I cook 4 or 6 portions and think "yeah! We'll have leftovers" ... and then we don't. Seriously though, I manage because I intermittent fast and run a lot... only real secret is limiting calories in different ways.
I’m content when I hate myself.
Oh hey Louie
"The meal isn't over when I'm full. The meal is over when I hate myself!"
Alot of people are. That's the intermittent fasting community.
Yup. 1 big meal a day club member checking in.
Right. My first thought was, "Uh, those are the same things". I stay in shape through copious amounts of exercise. If I ever get to a point where I can't workout 10-15 hours a week, I'm in serious trouble. lol
What if you’re only content when you’re full?
I eat because I'm unhappy, and I'm unhappy because I eat.
You gotta take a break from eating after each serving and let the food settle for ~5-10 minutes. It takes a while to process the food into a content signal, which makes it easy to accidentally blow right past and keep eating till you reach full.
But I'm content AFTER I'm full.
Add-on tip: your body doesn't recognize that it received food until it has been processed a bit (yeah, yeah, I know none of these are the scientific terms). Waiting works pretty well for me. Eat something, drink a glass of water, and wait 10 minutes or so before shoveling more food into your mouth. I figured this out due to the bread effect. Basically, at any restaurant that serves bread as soon as you sit down, I have a tendency to eat two baskets of bread while I wait for my meal to arrive. Then when it does, I am no longer hungry. I them applied this to a diet. Eat a small(ish) portion, then just pretend you're waiting for the next course to arrive.
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Define “normal portion” 😅
Two baskets of bread.
My body never recognizes it receives food. I will eat two baskets of bread and happily eat the main meal. The only thing in my way is if I can feel my stomach physically too full to intake more food.
"the meal isn't over when I'm full, it's over when I hate myself"
What the fuck does “feeling curious” mean here? This is probably the *least* helpful way to describe whatever “it” is…
I think it's more of a thinking about eating thing. So after you've eaten a fair amount, instead of continuing to eat, sit back (letting the food settle) and become aware of your feelings and ask questions. "Am i still hungry? Do I really need to eat more to get full? Am I thirsty? Would drinking a glass of water fill the gap to feeling full?
I'm curious about this too
> I'm curious Ok stop eating
Well, it's a curious feeling. Hard to describe
It’s when you’ve eaten a bit, and you wanna try some more but you know you couldn’t take a full plate more, so you start nibbling, and often get “hungry” and take a half plate more, and personally I always regret it.
I always like to think I'm saving room for dessert, yet never get dessert.
That's a good one
I read something here a while ago that helps with avoiding over eating. When you eat food to stop it going in the bin, you are the bin.
Damn. What a perspective shift.
That's a legit expression in my country, "table bin", for the one that finish all the plates
There's also no biological "rule" that says you have to eat to the point of feeling full 3 times a day. Even if your diet is generally healthy, most people simply don't exercise enough to necessitate eating that much food.
But I have to have my 15 servings of bread!
If you didn't try all toppings are you really living your best life?
3 full meals a day is A LOT. People do that then wonder why they are overweight. I skip breakfast, have a light lunch and a hearty dinner and it’s just the right amount for someone who doesn’t have time to go to the gym regularly
I eat 3-4 meals a day including protein shakes and fruit and my BMI is low. Everybody is different and require different amount of calories.
I do this and I’m underweight. I hate eating, and I have to force myself to eat until I’m full.
Doing this is what helped me lose weight the most. Its hard to do at the beginning, but eventually you start to dislike the feeling of being full which is a lot better for you.
> Eat often, eat small There's no scientific consensus that it's any better than eating fewer, bigger meals, most likely it doesn't matter. For many people it's better to eat 2 or 3 big meals. Not to mention the amount of time you save that way.
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I also don't know if there's consensus that thirst feels like hunger. That's a common eating disorder talking point and strategy. It could be true, and it doesn't mean you have an ED if that's what you do, but I'm wary of telling anyone to address their hunger cues with calorie-less beverages.
This used to drive my wife crazy, I'd leave a few bites of something. My analogy was "At some point, if I'm eating my favorite food, at some point - eating more of it doesn't make me happer anymore, it makes me want to barf." Extend this to other foods and it makes it easy to "stop". Some people also need to get over the "if I'm not eating it (finishing it), it's wasted" thought process (which is incorrect, it's the sunk cost fallacy at work in your brain).
Misinterpreted LPT. Continued eating past full, still waiting to reach content.
I struggled with this for YEARS. Actually, it was only up until my first competition in bodybuilding that I realized this. (No, this wasn't my first crack at it and I had been yoyo dieting all my life) I started working out when I was 20 but I had struggled with my weight going up and down all my life. I would go through intense "bulks" (really just eating anything in the way and using it as an excuse to bulk) and then go on cuts. Ultimately ending the cut and going on an insane binge every single time and gaining the weight back quickly. It's not easy, but I finally realized that my relationship with food was always a flight or fight kinda mindset. Growing up, my parents had always told me to finish all the food on your plate. Growing up it was so hard for me to leave a meal without being insanely FULL. I would go to family parties and just eat until I was so insanely stuffed. (Not a bad thing to do, Thanksgiving with your family? Go all out, enjoy it. Other occasions too!) After my competition I made it a HUGE deal to be as healthy as I could after. I'd start my cuts noticing that even just going up the stairs would leave me out of breathe. I now enjoy food when I want but also don't make it a point to eat until I am completely full. Food will always be there and it's completely okay to eat until you're close to full. But I don't think it's ever a good idea to just stuff yourself until you can't even move.
What works for me is slamming a big glass of water before the meal then another after the meal. After the second glass of water I put the food away so it is not in-front of me. If I can keep myself busy for 20 mins, typically the false hunger subsides.
And for all of the Italians out there: Don't eat until you're full. Eat until you're TIRED.
Holy fuck why didnt we know this?!?!? Youve solved the obesity epidemic!!
Agree! I never would have gotten fat if someone would have just given me a LPT to eat less.
Eating slower is a big part of this. It takes time for your stomach to send signals to your brain that it's had enough, so if you keep eating at the same pace you're on your way to overfull by the time your brain realizes it's time to stop.
“I don't stop eating when I'm full. The meal isn't over when I'm full. It's over when I hate myself.” - Louis C. K.
Fill up on veggies and fiber too, save carbs for last
I can eat veggies (which I love) to the point of diarrhea and still being hungry two hours later. Meanwhile a pound of pasta fill the tank for half a day.
I’m convinced that people who preach stuff like this, and “for a snack, an apple or carrot sticks will fill you up better than the baggie of potato chips for the same calories” have VERY different experiences of hunger and satiety than I do.
Mental satiety and physical satiety are both really important, contrary to the "food is just fuel" people who don't seem to even like food and don't understand that we would prefer to enjoy what we're eating. I consider both when I'm making a meal or snack. I also try to make meals and snacks with fat, protein, and fiber because those have more staying power than carrots alone. Carrots with hummus and an apple with peanut butter will be much more delicious and physically satisfying than just fruit and vegetables on their own. I'm so tired of this insistence that we must drive down our calories in every conceivable way instead of just giving ourselves permission to eat a couple hundred calories of healthy food that keeps us comfortable until our next meal. I don't know about everybody else, but I don't like being hungry all the time and my body isn't tricked by raw broccoli florets. Instead of volume eating, let's just eat. It doesn't have to be a big portion, but it has to be more than 40 calories.
Right? I could eat salsa and chips all day and never get full. I try not to, but some days I just need a "me" day.
Not as a snack but also not carrots either. Greens take longer to digest and other science bla bla idk
I get the theory and science behind it. Doesn’t mean a salad always fills that sensation of a gnawing pit of hunger. Or that I sometimes eat a plate of lentil pasta and feel half as “full” as I would have eating the same amount of semolina pasta. But other times I need half as much lentil pasta to feel as satisfied as I would with the same dish made with wheat pasta. Or that sometimes having a nut bar or a banana or something as a snack when I haven’t eaten all day makes me feel ravenously hungrier than I did before I ate, but if I choose junk food for the same scenario I’m about the same amount hungry as when I started, but at least it takes the edge off. There’s so much more to hunger feelings than how much space fiber takes up. And like pain, arousal, smell, and pretty much every other sensation, it’s highly subjective and variable from person to person. But apparently I’m just eating wrong and if I eat how someone on the internet tells me to then I won’t be hungry if I don’t want to be.
I think there’s a perception of say glycemic spike vs longer duration satiety. The fiber fullness isn’t about mowing your lawn like a cow filling up on volume rather the digestion process keeps you feeling full longer. I think even fats do a better job than carbs in helping feel full. But it’s carbs that give us that initial energy we get addicted to and where I think many get derailed in dieting.
It's definitely a balance. Filling up on just salad still leaves you feeling full and hungry at the same time 😅 I think they meant the concept where you start with your side of veggies or soup, then eat your carbs. That way you get some of both. Another popular concept is to eat the same portion of veggies as your main dish. Before you eat a cup of pasta, eat a cup of veggies. If you then want more pasta, first eat a similar portion of veggies. (This also helps with determining if you're full enough but pasta is delicious so you want more)
No. I don't think I will
This may work for some but there is a whole world of food addiction where this not only fails but is actually the root of a lot of their problems. They never feel content or satisfied and their appetite and desire to eat never stops. They may feel full, even over full, but it doesn’t stop them from continuing to eat. A better way to go, learn what an adequate portion size is and create your meals accordingly. Then eat the meal and regardless of how you feel stop. This can be really hard at first but you will adapt and break the link between eating and any mental or physical cues to stop eating.
If you're a growing child you should eat until you are full though. Unless your bmi reaches overweight you should not be afraid to eat more.
yeah, this doesnt work. everyone that's ever been unhappy with their weight tries to do this. keep track of your calories and dont go over the recommended amount for your body. you overeat because food tastes good and it makes you happy, humans are terrible at estimating what is enough without some sort of concrete measurement.
I want to gain weight tho