Comments on: The Hunger Excuse

By: Struggler

Struggler — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:06:25 +0000

I’m a terrible snacker, mainly (I think) when I’m bored. Right now I’m getting away with it because of all the running I’m doing, but I need to watch this habit in future.
I read recently, when you find you’re “hungry”, ask yourself if you’re hungry for steamed chicken with broccoli. If the answer is No, then you’re not genuinely hungry. If it’s hunger, the chicken will sound good!
.-= Struggler´s last blog ..Still some gas in the tank =-.

By: Sagan

Sagan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:31:46 +0000

I use this excuse ALL THE TIME.

What I’ve found is that often I’m not actually hungry. I’m really hungry for something else. Love or affection or something. There’s a lot of root causes beneath that “I’m hungry for food and need food ASAP” excuse. I’m still struggling with this one. But my awareness of it helps a lot.
.-= Sagan´s last blog ..Judgments Based on First Impressions =-.

By: Andrea@WellnessNotes

Andrea@WellnessNotes — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:00:45 +0000

I think I used the hunger excuse mainly when I felt emotionally hungry and turned to food for a period in my life. During that time, in addition to many stressful events taking place, I taught night classes in addition to working during the day, and I was very stressed and burned out. I would eat dinner before teaching my classes and then come home after work and eat another dinner, often with more calories than the first one. I told myself I was hungry, but honestly, it was just to quiet myself down, to not feel the stress…

I had to realize that I had to find different ways to deal with the stress. Ultimately, I ended up making changes in my work schedule and prioritizing things. I finally put myself first, and it has truly made everyone’s life better.

By: South Beach Steve

South Beach Steve — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:49:10 +0000

There is so much truth in this post that really resonates with me. I would eat just to eat. In fact, I still have this temptation. Of course, I had no idea what real hunger felt like. .-= South Beach Steve´s last blog ..Medical (Bloodwork) Update =-.

By: MackAttack

MackAttack — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:32:02 +0000

i notice that when my stress levels go up I feel more of a NEED for food. I need to sit back, recognize that I'm stressed and not hungry and try to find a new way to make myself feel better... .-= MackAttack´s last blog ..new clothing =-.

By: Taryl

Taryl — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:53:18 +0000

I am so blessed that the primary resource I was brought to at the near-beginning of my weight loss journey was “The Don’t Go Hungry Diet” by Dr. Amanda Sainsbury-Salis, and her primary (and extremely well researched) focus is in recognizing hunger and satiety cues, and not eating when I am not hungry, as well as not overeating to satisfy hunger. She posits that our body has very sophisticated regulatory systems for fat storage and weight management, just as it does for temperature and eveything else, and that if we do not ignore the cues of this delicate system and eat to our hunger our weight will gradually drift downward to our natural setpoint, or our body’s comfortable weight. Her only limiters are that we eat healthy foods (unprocessed, mostly fruits and veggies) most of the time, and exercise moderately (8-10k steps per day), as this is crucial to good health and weight management.

I lost weight effortlessly with her approach, and even what I do today is only a modification of her basic method. Calorie counting helps me be aware of my food and lose written at a slightly faster rate than if I just eat intuitively, but observing hunger cues and emotions that go with my eating, as well as journalling my food, are lifelong skills I picked up from Dr. Amanda, and ones that are crucial to my success.
.-= Taryl´s last blog ..All or nothing? =-.

By: Dr. J

Dr. J — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:17:46 +0000

PS I look forward to your column on addiction
.-= Dr. J´s last blog ..Biggest Loser season 8, episode 10: Sporting a New Look =-.

By: Dr. J

Dr. J — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:15:46 +0000

Once I found a way to eat that worked for me, and was able to maintain my health and fitness, I started to look forward to being hungry. I think it’s key to be consistent with an eating style, if possible. The body adapts, and isn’t hungry all the time, I think
.-= Dr. J´s last blog ..Biggest Loser season 8, episode 10: Sporting a New Look =-.

By: mamajuliana

mamajuliana — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:57:52 +0000

Hunger? I thought I was always hungry and that was the reason why I did not want to lose weight. If I was hungry all the time when I was fat…how could I ever handle actually eating less? It was a real fear for a while…

It took actually taking the step to try to eat less to make me see that I wasn’t hungry all the time…I just wanted to eat all the time.

I was so out of touch with my own body that I couldn’t tell what was real…

Thank you for another great post! I admire you so much!!!!!
.-= mamajuliana´s last blog ..My walking habit =-.

By: Diane

Diane — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:26:23 +0000

Marcelle – I’m ashamed to say it but yes, I honestly did eat that much. Not every day, but many days out of the week I just ate all day long. I’m sorry I did that to myself, but am glad I live a healthier life now.