A Question of Hunger - What do You All Think? page 3

[JoanieL]

I'm really not trying to avoid hunger, I'm trying to learn to recognize real hunger (not starvation). I'm not sure the grumble in the stomach is correct because I'm guessing that most people who walk into a pizzaria will get the grumble even if they weren't particularly hungry when they walked in. Also, some people have noted that drinking something will often make the grumbles go away.

OTOH, the definition of hunger in the quote in my first post seems a little extreme also, unless humans aren't meant to eat almost every day, in which case we need to turn everything upside down, even Paleo and Primal.

I think it makes sense that with an extra 25-30 pounds on my moderately small frame, I'm only "hungry" once per day. It would actually make more sense to me if I wasn't hungry at all until I was back down to my right weight. If the purpose of an organism is to continue to exist and to reproduce, it would make sense that overweight people (who would be slow and big and so the first ones the lions would eat) would be "naturally" not hungry until they attain a weight where they can run and climb. Obviously, that isn't the case.

Anyway, natural hunger seems to elude me and I'm hoping to get some clues as people continue to respond.

[Leida]

In my uneducated opinion people can go without meals every day if either forced by poverty (and they will suffer) or live in a pastoral setting out in the open benign weather walking around, sleeping and having fun. When boxed into modern lifestyle in the office when you have to stick to a schedule and can't take of for a 2 hour walk to enjoy the sunshine or take a nap or paint a masterpiece on a wall, and of a lower body fat percentage, I am feeling that regular meals are of importance.

[Leida]

Oh, I forgot one thing. I don't know if anyone else has ever experienced this as a hunger symptom, and my doctor laughed into my face when I asked how to deal with it, but I experience a tension bordering on pain in the lower back when I am hungry. It is NOT stretchable back pain from the hamstrings. It goes away immediately after eating.

[sbhikes]

When we go backpacking (and we is anybody I've ever been backpacking with) you can tell people are getting hungry when the conversation turns to food. The longer the conversation stays on the subject of food and the more elaborate the food fantasies are, the hungrier we are. For some reason the actual hiking sort of blunts the feeling of hunger, but the conversation gives it away.

In regular life I feel hungry deep in my stomach and there's a feeling that I could eat a horse.

[Graycat]

For me ketosis =/= lack of appetite or seldom feeling hunger. And I have done ketogenic diet for a while in the not so distant past.
I know for certain I was keto adapted as my carbs were way below 50g. for an extended amount of time (read - more than a year). Just a little less intense hungry "i gotta eat now" feeling and just a bit less cravings, maybe. Fat or glucose burning metabolism, a mix of both or whatever, I seem like food a lot and the feeling of actual hunger just never dulls for me.

[Shelly6]

Oh, I forgot one thing. I don't know if anyone else has ever experienced this as a hunger symptom, and my doctor laughed into my face when I asked how to deal with it, but I experience a tension bordering on pain in the lower back when I am hungry. It is NOT stretchable back pain from the hamstrings. It goes away immediately after eating.

If you're describing something along the lines of a muscle cramp, I'm right there with you. I actually say to myself "My kidneys hurt", because it's right in that area.

BTW, I hope you ditch that doctor if at all possible...

[Leida]

Yes, that doctor is history. He also told me: "Yeah, you got a bug" and that was about it when I managed to get to his office running the highest fever I had in my adult life. That was the day I decided to find another doc.

[Paleobird]

What I have learned about listening to my body and trying to figure out when I'm truly hungry is that the first tummy rumbling or feeling of emptyness is just kind of an alert, but not really 'I need to eat now'. I don't usually eat at that first sign, but wait a little while to make sure it's really a true sign of hunger my body is giving me. If it is then about an hour later I will still be getting those feeling of rumbling and emptyness that makes me know it's hunger.

It has taken me a long time to learn how to listen to my body and even still I usually just eat on a schedule, so this is a good thread to help remind me to listen to my body. Good to hear from other's to what they feel. I think Mark did a post on hunger??

I used to get moody, light-headed, etc. if I didn't eat every few hours... no longer!! Love it!

Yes, I have stopped fasting on any given schedule, (16/8, fast 5, warrior diet, etc.) I really like the approach Mark takes in the WHEN style fasting. I.e. eat When Hunger Ensues Naturally. I do what I call WHEN X 2 which mean that the first time I hear the grumbles, I usually ignore it and it does go away. When it comes back a second time a few hours later, then I know my body is serious and it really needs some food so I eat.

[healthy11]

Yes, I have stopped fasting on any given schedule, (16/8, fast 5, warrior diet, etc.) I really like the approach Mark takes in the WHEN style fasting. I.e. eat When Hunger Ensues Naturally. I do what I call WHEN X 2 which mean that the first time I hear the grumbles, I usually ignore it and it does go away. When it comes back a second time a few hours later, then I know my body is serious and it really needs some food so I eat.

Did Mark write about waiting when your get that first signal? I can't seem to find it, but that was one thing that really taught me how to understand true hunger. If you can find it, please post it here!

[Paleobird]

Did Mark write about waiting when your get that first signal? I can't seem to find it, but that was one thing that really taught me how to understand true hunger. If you can find it, please post it here!

No, Mark invented the WHEN term. (Do a search on that) I just took it to the x2 stage by ignoring the first growl. Seems to work well for me.