Full Disclosure: I just posted a similar thread over in L&O
http://www.runningahead.com/groups/LNO/forum/7b19e2bd5eca402b8d2db1e05cf2bbbe/resume#focus
It's a little bit cruder title than I used here, but it fits that forum. Feel free to respond there if you so desire.
Same question though:
For those "big" or formerly "big" folks, after you changed your eating and lifestyle habits, how long did it take until you weren't hungry all the time?
I find I'm hungrier lately as I make healthier food choices. Does it get better as you get slimmer, or does it become the new normal and something you live with?
Trail and Ultra Running User Group
Physically hungry? No, I couldn't live with that at all. There are some days that I feel hungry, some bad weeks even where it was most of the week, but most of the time I wasn't hungry. Of course, "hungry" is different than feeling like I'd like to eat, but that's more habit than it is a physical sensation, if that makes sense.
If you're physically hungry, see if there's something you can change up. Have you restricted your calories to a level that's lower than what you could live on long-term? Are you getting plenty of fresh, unprocessed foods? Plenty of fiber and protein? All of those foods are going to keep you full for much longer than the same amount of calories from more highly processed foods, or foods with more carbs and fat.
Full Disclosure: I just posted a similar thread over in L&O http://www.runningahead.com/groups/LNO/forum/7b19e2bd5eca402b8d2db1e05cf2bbbe/resume#focus It's a little bit cruder title than I used here, but it fits that forum. Feel free to respond there if you so desire. Same question though: For those "big" or formerly "big" folks, after you changed your eating and lifestyle habits, how long did it take until you weren't hungry all the time? I find I'm hungrier lately as I make healthier food choices. Does it get better as you get slimmer, or does it become the new normal and something you live with?
It does get better. I dropped 45lbs in 3 months and radically changed my dietary intake. I'd love to help if you don't mind.
BTW...How much water are you taking in daily? I remember when I was in the midst of my weight loss that I dramatically increased my fluid intake. I hate plain water, so I opted for sugar free green tea...lots of it. It did help curb my appetite.
dave, I'm drinking to thirst. not sure on an exact amount. I'm trying to limit my fluids to water and an occasional sugar free powerade or Gatorade (1 a day. I'm working out in the heat all day so I justify it.)
calorie wise, I have no idea where I am. I haven't been tracking it at all, just trying to make better choices. I eat out daily due to random location and scheduling for work. Work is my biggest hurdle in eating healthy. being on the road as much as I am makes it tough.
A lot of times when I eat out I find that I am not getting the fresh fruit and vegetables I need to really be full. Or I can order a salad, but then there's no protein in it that will fill me up either. Can you pack fruits and veggies to take with you as snacks between meals on days that you eat out?
Antipodean
Julie
"It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves."
~ Sir Edmund Hillary
I will give a more constructive response than the one I gave in L&O.
To echo Zel's comments, if you must eat out, can you bring some fruits/veggies to snack on? Of course most of what you can get a restaurants or fast food places is crap. Sometimes I end up getting my lunch at a grocery store.
Dave
Fear is a Liar
Ok this is a skinny guy with my observations. I'll group "bigger" folks into 3 categories.
1) Overweight - this person has a gut and shows signs of fat starting elsewhere. Generally they make bad food choices and eat more than they burn off. They realize they are overweight but negate it by telling themselves they are not that bad.
2) Fat - this person is starting to bust at the seams. All clothes are tight. Fat jowls. Wants to get their moneys worth at the buffet and eats to capacity. This next point is important - at times they don't eat because they are hungry, they eat because the food tastes good. They realize they are fat but have an attitude as if it's all right and "ehh, what I am I going to do about it - stop eating?" Exercise is not in their vocabulary.
3) Obese - Food is their best friend. It is always around. It is always there for them. Eating is their exercise.
All 3 have a physical and mental aspect. As you go down the line the mental aspect is deeper and harder to conquer.
Portion control, small meals more often, letting the food settle before going for seconds, more non-calorie fluids are physical suggestions.
The mental battles are the tough ones.
I'm so vegetarian I don't even eat animal crackers!
You Rang?
I don't recall being physiologically hungry many times while I was losing the weight. I lost the weight by religiously tracking what went down the pie hole. I ate the same crap that made me fat (I did and still do deserve a break today!). I ate a whole lot less of it. I treated/treat calories like money and only ate my allotted daily portion. When I was done, I was done. How I felt was irrelevant, so I suppose I suppressed it.
My advice is to track what you eat in an effort to figure out why you feel hungry. You could be feeling hungry because you are not eating enough calories. You could be feeling hungry as a reaction to non-food related stress. If you are not eating enough, you should eat more. If you are feeling hungry as a reaction to non-food related stress in your life, you should deal with the stress. You shouldn't eat any more food. There are many good smartphone apps out there that can help you with this, most of which are free.
In my case, morbid obesity was simply a symptom of a greater mental illness. By treating the illness, weight loss was relatively easy.
Rick
PR: 5k 25:01 (10/15) 10k: 57:44 (7/14) HM: 1:57 (5/15) FM: 4:55 (1/15)
dave, I'm drinking to thirst. not sure on an exact amount. I'm trying to limit my fluids to water and an occasional sugar free powerade or Gatorade (1 a day. I'm working out in the heat all day so I justify it.) calorie wise, I have no idea where I am. I haven't been tracking it at all, just trying to make better choices. I eat out daily due to random location and scheduling for work. Work is my biggest hurdle in eating healthy. being on the road as much as I am makes it tough.
Well, FWIW, that's probably where you might want to start...logging your food. I found a great site that had a huge food database and a good activity log. Check out caloriecount.com and give it a try. It was a great resource in my weight loss quest.
Oh, I hear ya about eating healthily while on the road, but it can be done (to a certain extent).
Sloooow.
I've cheated with my weight-loss, I still eat the same and I'm rarely hungry. I've gone from 256 or so to 204 from running. To get to 204 to my goal of 170, I'm probably going to have to fix my eating. Boo. Full disclosure, I don't eat badly/poorly/junk food, I just eat too much of the good food I make. And Twix bars.
I ate the same crap that made me fat...I ate a whole lot less of it. I treated/treat calories like money and only ate my allotted daily portion. When I was done, I was done. How I felt was irrelevant, so I suppose I suppressed it.
That is a great post.
Strict WTF adherent
I'm usually hungry. Unless I've eaten so much that I feel ill. It the same now as when I was 100 pounds heavier. So there's that perspective too. It's just something you learn to live with.