Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Hunger is Not an Emergency

I woke up Sunday morning and had a green smoothie around 9-ish. I decided that I would wait until 12 and have a snack, then have lunch at 2.

Around 11:30 I started to feel hungry. Not I-wanna-eat-so-I'm-telling-myself-I'm-hungry hunger...but real, actual hunger.

I panicked. "Oh crap, I'm hungry. I'ts not time to eat yet. I have to eat. I don't want my metabolism to slow down. If I eat now I'll be hungrier tonight because all my meals will be pushed up."

STOP!

I caught myself. Being hungry (I'm talking about mild hunger - not starving myself, and I'm eating the proper calories for me), is not an emergency. I will not shrivel up and die if I feel hunger for 30 minutes until I eat my snack.

So, I drank some water and waited for a little while until it was time to eat.

Some of you might say that I should eat when I am hungry - but I just don't trust myself with that yet. Hopefully I will get there soon.

So, crisis averted - I started thinking...


Why did/do I react to hunger this way?


Is it because I've rarely (if ever) let myself feel hunger before I decided to change my life?


Am I the only person who feels this way at times?


Am I the most food obsessed person on the planet (sometimes I feel like it)?


Am I crazy?

Well, am I?

5 comments:

  1. No not crazy ...my worst time is at work ... I just think about food all the time cuz I'm just sitting there its awful ... Literally all I think about at .work ... It's awful .... Love you !!! Keep up the good work ..Ashley d

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a HUGE lesson to learn on the journey with the lap band. :) Way to go!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Crazy? If you think you're crazy because you think about food all day then I must be insane. I also have scheduled eating times and restrictions on what I eat. Not because of weight (though it wouldn't kill me to lose a few lbs..) because I was eating all JUNK! Breakfast was cookies and a soda and a Starbucks coffee with God knows how many calories. get to work and ooh! Whats that? Someone brought in cake. yum! Lunch was the same. JUNK! I felt like pure crap all the time and looked for sugary foods for that sugar high energy. NOT HEALTHY. Now I get my energy from a light walk in the morning to get blood flowing (a banana before I start of course) the a healthy breakfast (eggs, oatmeal or cereal) and same for lunch. I bring my lunch EVERY DAY and do not go out. If I don't go out, I can't get a Zaxby's chicken finger basket with extra fries.I have to eat my turkey sandwich, carrots and apple. Grapes for a snack and some Almonds for my after lunch/ before I go home snack.
    You are not alone with your obsession for food. And yes, you can and will get to a point to when your body says FEED ME!! OM NOM NOM. you can say "hang on just one damn minute! I'll feed you when I'm good and ready"
    Very VERY proud of you Martha Jane!
    Christine Woodward

    ReplyDelete
  4. I absolutely have felt that way...and not only that, I've wanted to plan it out so that it will last throughout the day and I won't have to add in another meal/snack later. What I've found though is that once I'm in the routine, my stomach gets there too...butttt believe me, I think about food a lot. And when you're trying to loose weight even more so! Like "can I have that?" "should I have that?" or "why can't I have that?" The journey there sucks, but with support it's that much better, and once there, need I say more?!

    ReplyDelete
  5. From my personal experience, and opinionated brain:

    Why did/do you react to hunger that way? In short, it's a habit. Offhand, I think it's best for you to stick to an "eating schedule" where you eat and predefined times during the day. Do this for several months. If you get the urge to eat off schedule, down some water (this will take will power, which is the hardest part for me). After a few weeks of doing this, the size of your stomach organ will shrink, and it will take less to fill you up. Also, your body will become used to the schedule, and it will make it easier for you to stick to your weight-loss program. In my opinion, the way you handled that "hunger attack" was right on target.

    Is it because you (rarely) let yourself feel hunger before you decided to change your life? Yes. An ingrained habit that you will battle throughout your life to overcome. And you won't always win. But as long as you win much more than you lose, you will be just fine! I think it has gotten easier over time.

    Are you the only person who feels this way at times? Absolutely not! Even waif-thin modelesque women feel this way. Some people do not have the food battles like you, me and so many other women; therefore, if they indulge, it's no big deal -- it doesn't throw them offtrack because they view food extremely differently.

    Are you the most food obsessed person on the planet? Hell no, chica ;) I love you very much!

    Are you crazy? If you're crazy, I'm certifiably insane so . . .

    Well are you? Nope! Keep on keeping on and fight the good fight for all of us!

    ReplyDelete