Eat when hungry stop when full

[mystang52]

"If you've kept weight off for 12 years your words carry credit, but I am surprised to hear that you attribute it just to this simple change. I wonder if you are exerting continual willpower and that your statement fully reads "Stopping after no longer being hungry and enduring any recurring hunger that arises before the next mealtime, is enough."

I try to keep my replies relatively brief so of course I did leave out a couple of important details. Most important, besides diet I "discovered" running and other exercises which I do 5-6 days per week.
To your inquiry, honestly I am not starving myself. I eat normal portions, just not "mega size."

 

[jerome len]

Most days I eat a small breakfast, a salad for lunch and a big meal at dinner.
When do I get hungry? Only time all day......after I finish dinner!

Anybody think this is a mental issue? I know I do.

The good news is by limiting sugur and eating lots of lean meat and veggies, I've lost 3 lbs every six months for the past five years, measured by my Doc during my physical......or a total of 32 lbs. We're all different....we all have mental roadblocks and we all have to find our own solutions.

 

[Moscyn]

I still like the traditional approach - eat 3 to 4 meals a day (any one of tea or snack or late super counted as the 4th meal). Eat till you are around 80% full = how do you know when it is about there? Listen to your body - everyone gives different symptoms - for me, my tummy gets that almost to bloaty feeling and my throat gets starting to feel congested like it wants to burp. Nowadays, I know roughly how much is enough and just cook those approximate portions.

 

[steelyman]

It must be an INTJ thing. I never heard of it before.

There is so much to learn here!

Ha

A friend gave me a M-B test about 10 years ago - I was INFJ. Do I have to lesve the room?

 

[ratto]

While it appears the American diet has evolved to include (way) too many carbs, especially simple (vs complex), I'd be wary of any extreme diet focused on certain foods and forsaking other foods entirely. Americans simply eat too much in general as well it seems.

Couldn't agree more. Focusing only on carbs really doesn't help much because there are so many other factors being ignored. For some cooking shows, whenever the host says "just a little bit of olive oil/butter/cream/sugar", I would be shocked by the final amount being put in. There's just too much consumption on meat/fat/sugar, but too little on vegetables/fruits in America. For the dinner portion, it's probably better to feel a little hungry before going to bed (at least 3 hrs after dinner).

 

[rgarling]

...Focusing only on carbs really doesn't help much because there are so many other factors being ignored. ....

Here are some factors to consider. Depending on your hypothesis, the human genome was set between 50,000 to 250,000 years ago. Agriculture was developed about 10,000 years ago. Therefore, our genes were designed to operate properly in a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, as opposed to an agrarian lifestyle. This implies the following factors are likely important: seasonality, circadian rhythms, pre-agriculture foods, pre-agriculture meal frequency, low intensity exercise, occasional high-intensity exercise, among others.

If you don't take these factors into consideration, and follow what has become the modern lifestyle, you get neolithic disease: cardio-vascular disease, cancer, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and various autoimmune diseases.

 

[haha]

If you don't take these factors into consideration, and follow what has become the modern lifestyle, you get neolithic disease: cardio-vascular disease, cancer, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and various autoimmune diseases.

The more I look into these things about diet, the less sure I feel about any of it. For me, it does seem to be true that I control my blood sugar much better on a low carb diet, but that is about as much as I feel confident about.

Many people today are true believers. All they look for is confirmation of their beliefs, and almost any belief system can find followers. I believe the internet supports this tendency pretty well.

Ha

 

[a]

Anybody think this is a mental issue? I know I do.

it's probably better to feel a little hungry before going to bed (at least 3 hrs after dinner).

That's the hardest time for me too. I'm tired and my willpower is low, and I worry about not being able to fall asleep because I'm hungry.

In the morning I'm so energized that I would rather work than eat breakfast, and when I do eat breakfast (usually because I've recently read a report that breakfast eaters are healthier and gain less weight over time), I find it easy to summon the willpower to stop whenever.

 

[mystang52]

...oh yeah, lest I forget to mention my other seemingly contradictory "diet" food: my daily low-fat chocolate ice cream for dessert. Although I limit myself to one cup, that cup is jammed down pretty tight with ice cream!
Yeah, I am sorely tempted to go for a second portion, but I almost always resist, knowing that in just a few minutes the "need" for that second portion completely fades away.

 

[rgarling]

The more I look into these things about diet, the less sure I feel about any of it. For me, it does seem to be true that I control my blood sugar much better on a low carb diet, but that is about as much as I feel confident about.
...

Consider this: until the evolutionary template was applied to the field of nutrition, there was no over-arching theory which applied. Real progress is now being made, and the findings are quite different than what we previously 'knew' to be true. A measure of mental discord is appropriate. I can't imagine how current practitioners will gracefully make the change...

 

[eytonxav]

...oh yeah, lest I forget to mention my other seemingly contradictory "diet" food: my daily low-fat chocolate ice cream for dessert. Although I limit myself to one cup, that cup is jammed down pretty tight with ice cream!
Yeah, I am sorely tempted to go for a second portion, but I almost always resist, knowing that in just a few minutes the "need" for that second portion completely fades away.

Or eat from the container until full

 

[donheff]

I will try that in the future at some point. Do you have any personal data (like TromboneAl's graphs of his blood pressure) that charts beneficial effects cutting out grains had on you?

This wasn't directed at me but I have anecdotal evidence from my own experiment with TAl's regimen. One year ago, 6' 195 pounds. Quit sugars and down to 180 in a few months. Gained back to 182 (cookies slipped in) and went LCHF, down to 165 in two months. Hunger is gone, sweet tooth is controlled. For now

 

[a]

I tracked how full I felt and how much I enjoyed the last few bites of what I ate, at meals, for a few days. The point was to see how correlated these two subjective measures of fullness were.

The results pretty much satisfied my hopes, that they correlate strongly. This means I can simply think about how full I feel instead of worrying about other signals my body may be sending to tell me I should stop eating.

I attached a graph of the data. The black points and line are the ratings of how much I enjoyed food at the end of the meal, and the green points and line are (100 minus fullness) at the end of the meal.

 

[haha]

Consider this: until the evolutionary template was applied to the field of nutrition, there was no over-arching theory which applied. Real progress is now being made, and the findings are quite different than what we previously 'knew' to be true. A measure of mental discord is appropriate. I can't imagine how current practitioners will gracefully make the change...

This is OT, but one thing I wonder about this "evolutionary template"- who was around taking notes on what Thor and Helga had for dinner?

Ha

 

[a]

More on my experiences trying to find a system for knowing when to stop eating..

I think there's a difference between feeling stuffed in a physical sense - when one groans and it hurts to move - and being satisfied in a "chemical" sense. By chemical, I mean the sense that you have been talking about when you say that certain signals don't register with the brain until a little while after stopping eating.

This means, then, one can never know when to stop; one can only guess.

It does seem reliable to ask oneself, "How much am I enjoying the flavor of what I am eating this instant?" I notice that whenever I eat mindlessly and am not really enjoying the flavor, then afterwards after waiting I feel that I really overdid it and don't get truly hungry again until a long time. However, gauging the enjoyment of eating is even more subjective than trying to feel how physically full I am.

 

[Khan]

Without getting into other areas, I have found it quite helpful to use smaller plates. Dessert plate heaped up looks very satisfying, and you can always go back for a second helping after the above mentioned 20 minutes.

 

[Retire2013]

This wasn't directed at me but I have anecdotal evidence from my own experiment with TAl's regimen. One year ago, 6' 195 pounds. Quit sugars and down to 180 in a few months. Gained back to 182 (cookies slipped in) and went LCHF, down to 165 in two months. Hunger is gone, sweet tooth is controlled. For now

Hello Donheff,

I am just curious, how has the LCHF affected your cholesterol and blood pressure? Are these stats just as good as before the LCHF? If so, this is wonderful news. Thank you for sharing.

Retire 2014

 

[donheff]

Hello Donheff,

I am just curious, how has the LCHF affected your cholesterol and blood pressure? Are these stats just as good as before the LCHF? If so, this is wonderful news. Thank you for sharing.

Retire 2014

I stopped statins a month before the diet so it is confusing. I was at 205 total cholesterol with the statins, with HDL of 67 and triglycerides of 137. All were getting progressively worse year by year and the doc had written a prescription to up my statins. Having dropped the statins I expected a substantial rise but with the diet I got a mild rise -- up to 241 total cholesterol. But, my triglycerides dropped from 137 to 91 and my HDL rose from 67 to 87, both very good changes. I was back to the doc a couple of weeks ago and she felt I don't need statins despite the total number being "high," since everything else is excellent. Also, I am now down to 163 pounds and am adding a bit more complex carbs into my diet. My blood pressure was always good -- in the 110/80 range. At the last appointment it was 105/70. I did not do a radical LCHF diet. I started with what the Atkins people would call a maintenance level - up to 50g of carbs a day. I am still under 100g most days but slowly adding low GI stuff back in. Had a chocolate milk midway through a bike ride the other day.

 

[Moemg]

Two years ago I started cutting portions . I put half of what I used to eat on my plate and never added anymore . I did also lower carbs .I have lost over 22 pounds and feel better but the big pay off is I no longer want larger meals and have maintained this weight .I did have to buy new clothes but what women doesn't love that .

 

[houstenh]

I'm doing like Kahn suggested. We bought a set of 8 1/2" diameter plates to use. It also helps if I wait awhile before going back for seconds.

 

[donheff]

On the question of diet and cholesterol/triglycerides studies have shown that what I experienced is common. Here is a slide showing the results of one. Makes it easy to see:

 

[ItDontMeanAThing]

A good way to know whether or not you're really hungry, is to keep a bag of fresh peeled carrots, or fresh raw broccoli, or whatever veg you enjoy, in the frig. When you think you're hungry, decide if eating some of the veg sounds good. If not, then you are not really hungry for food.

Bingo.

"Am I hungry?" reminds me of one of the best bits of safety advice I learned as student pilot. Before flying every pilot should ask himself "Is it safe to fly?" The advice was if I have any doubt then there is no doubt. That is, if I have any doubt whether it's safe to fly that tells me it's not. Similarly, If there is any doubt about whether I'm hungry, that tells me I'm not.