Why do overweight people get hungry? page 4

[jsa23]

everyone is broken in a different way.

And fat people get hungry for the same reason that skinny people get hungry: evolution has made our bodies always crave more food to store up for times of famine. Since there aren't times of famine in the first world, we are still programmed to store extra body fat and we keep eating even when we are already fat.

I'm quoting both of these, because I think they are both correct.

Quelsen is correct in that everyone has their flaws, and obesity has multiple, complex causes. For some it's hormones. For some it can be depression or other mental health issues. For some it could habit - the way they were taught to eat growing up. For others a stressful life(or a life with other priorities besides being lean) could be a contributing factor. It may be different combinations of these from different people. Until people acknlowedge that any of the above can contribute to obesity/overeating, and that some may be present and others absent in different people, we're not going to solve obesity.

I believe jimhensen is also correct in that in the not-too-distant past when food availability was highly variable, overeating when food was abundantly available was actually a highly adaptive behavior, leading to better wellness and survival during times where food was scarce. However in the presence of quasi-unlimited food availability it's potentially maladaptive.

Obesity is a complex, multifactorial problem, period.

[jammies]

Also keep in mind the hunger is only one mechanism that drives us to eat. There is a second mechanism that is regulated in a manner similar to the drive to breath that causes people to seek out an eat food whether or not they are hungry. This drive is really, really strong and is nearly impossible to consciously regulate over the long term.

[CaveWeirdo]

A fat person feels hungry, because the body is not as self-aware as the person...

The stomach does its own thing, and like Grok's stomach, still thinks food is rare and precious. It is unaware that the ass is fat, and that there's plenty of food at the supermarket nearby.

Carb addiction/fat satiety comes into it too, but sooner or later a fat person living in a modern world of easily-available food, needs to figure it out for themselves that feeling peckish is an instruction from the body that the brain must learn to ignore occasionally.

I am fat, but I eat primal, therefore I don't feel hungry often, and I have lost weight easily. Sometimes I crave fruit or dark chocolate, and I indulge. But if I see a cake or something with bread, and wish to eat it, my brain tells my body, 'Nope, sorry Grokette, that is not food.'

[Warmbear]

I have been wondering, what is this pain I feel when hungry? I know everyone feels "hungry" but why is it a pain in my gut? I understand hungry as hypoglycemic issues but why does my tummy hurt, what is that mechanism? Does the lack of filling in my tummy do something bad?

[Andtckrtoo]

^^^ You got fat eating 800 calories a day? And not just fat, but extremely obese?

I know someone else like that. She's about 50 pounds overweight but does not eat enough to keep someone 1/3 her size running. And I know her well enough to know that she's not just saying this. She truly does not care about food and rarely gets hungry. Because of this and massive alcohol consumption about 10 years ago, she has health problems that require a completely different relationship with food, and I've introduced her to the Primal way, emphasizing the fresh foods. It seems to be working for her, she's down 10 pounds already.

For me, I'm an emotional eater and when things are going wrong, I want sugar. If I give in (I'm learning alternative coping methods like yoga) then I'm in for a downward spiral. I also find that I can go pretty low calorie for several days, but then it comes back and bites me. I need to keep a steady 1600-2000 calories a day to lose weight and manage to keep it off (I'm 5'10). The weight loss is slow, but it is loss.

[fatisyummy]

It's as simple as: because they don't have easy access to their energy stores. They're tired and starving, despite having the extra fat right there on their body and it is very sad.

[jimhensen]

It's as simple as: because they don't have easy access to their energy stores. They're tired and starving, despite having the extra fat right there on their body and it is very sad.

What? You want to expand on this a bit more?

[CaveWeirdo]

I have been wondering, what is this pain I feel when hungry? I know everyone feels "hungry" but why is it a pain in my gut? I understand hungry as hypoglycemic issues but why does my tummy hurt, what is that mechanism? Does the lack of filling in my tummy do something bad?

Your stomach walls have stretch receptors that sense fullness, and chemical receptors that detect which macronutrients you've eaten and give a sense of satiety as well. When the stomach has emptied, and until you next eat, you'll occasionally feel hunger pangs in the region of your ribs, which is completely harmless reminder to you to find something to eat fairly soon. While your stomach is empty it is just chilling out, cleansing/repairing itself, producing some fresh bile, not doing much other than nagging you.

Sugar addicts describe hunger pangs as 'hunger pains' and will whinge and even get quite upset if they don't eat something every 3 hours to get rid of this pain they perceive. As a primal eater I would never describe hunger as a pain, as being punched or stabbed is pain, hunger is a pang, there is a big difference! I will quite happily ignore and sometimes not even notice being hungry for half a day. It's possible to filter out harmless bodily signals. Just as we learn not to cry when we need to pee but calmly hold onto it around the age of 3.

Of course if there is a genuine pain in the stomach there may be something wrong, such as an ulcer. Pain in the abdomen is more usually, beneath the ribs and to do with excessive trapped wind in the intestines, or IBS or similar.

[CaveWeirdo]

Interestingly, obese people (BMI >30) actually have HIGHER levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone, than normal weight people. So they are actually MORE hungry. It's definitely NOT a mental thing, although oral fixation sure plays a role for a lot of people. Why are the ghrelin levels higher? I have no idea, but hopefully in the next decade or two we'll find out - we've only been aware of ghrelin for a decade or so. I recently spoke to a brand-spanking-new gastroenterologist who had never even heard of ghrelin until her fellowship exam - that's how new it is.

That's a startling fact. Which leads me to wonder, is higher ghrelin level a pre-set thing, which makes some people tend to get fat? Or is it that ghrelin increases in response to weight gain and becomes a vicious cyle?

I think oral fixation definitely plays a part in over-eating too. I find I tend to grind my teeth sometimes when I'm tired. Thankfully I don't often feel the need to overeat any more, but my jaw still seems to think I need to chew on something!

[quelsen]

That's a startling fact. Which leads me to wonder, is higher ghrelin level a pre-set thing, which makes some people tend to get fat? Or is it that ghrelin increases in response to weight gain and becomes a vicious cyle?

I think oral fixation definitely plays a part in over-eating too. I find I tend to grind my teeth sometimes when I'm tired. Thankfully I don't often feel the need to overeat any more, but my jaw still seems to think I need to chew on something!

Dr Simeons felt that obese (women) would benefit from uninhibited sex. That this can work explains what a very crude acquaintance used to tell me "A dick in the mouth makes everyone feel better"