Question about hunger

I'm confused. In order to lose weight, are you supposed to be hungry all the time, or not hungry all the time? I've heard conflicting things. I spoke to a trainer the other day and he told me it was okay to be hungry. Others have told me that you shouldn't. I'm curious to hear how other people have found successful for them.

Fri. Nov 18, 7:06pm

You don't have to be. A great example is loricbme in the spotlight. She has lost 40 pounds and specifically says she does not starve herself.

Friday, November 18, 2005, 9:13 PM

I have lost 16 pounds without feeling hungry. For me, it was a matter of changing my food choices and adding exercise. I am amazed at the wonderful meals I can eat and still lose weight. I'm going the calorie counting route, but I am still eating really well. The other night I was having steak, shrimp, broccoli, and carrots for dinner, and I thought why did I ever want to have greasy fries over this?! Better yet, it fit into my diet plan for the day, so I had zero guilt.

The case where I think your trainer is right about it being ok to feel hungry is that a lot of us eat when we aren't really hungry. We confuse other feelings with being hungry. I think it's good to feel a little hunger (not raging) before we eat, because then we're listening to our bodies. But going around with a growling, painful stomach seems unnecessary and possibly harmful since, for me anyway, that often leads to overeating and poor food choices.

Saturday, November 19, 2005, 1:06 AM

hunger

I think I need to allow myself to get to the point of being physically hungry but not too much. If I am too hungry -- It can trigger binge type of eating at the next meal. If I don't wait to feel hungry, I think I am eating for emotional reasons and too often.

Saturday, November 19, 2005, 1:27 AM

My feeling is that you DO NOT have to be hungry to lose. If I'm hungry I keep eating until I'm not. I eat a lot, but try to find foods that fill me up and are not really that fattening. Large salads that take a long time to eat; chicken on the bone; big plates of veggies; and I eat a minimum of 1 teaspoon of olive oil or butter with breakfast and the same for lunch, and at least 1/2 Tablespoon of oil or butter with dinner.

Saturday, November 19, 2005, 1:34 AM

When I read this, I thought it said question about humor! And I wanted a laugh this morning. LOL.

Saturday, November 19, 2005, 8:05 AM

No, you should not be hungry at all. I have lost 58 pounds and never felt hungry, I am working on my last 30 and still don't ever feel hungry. The ONLY time I feel hungry is if I wait to long between meals. I don't believe you should ever feel hungry to lose weight. If you eat healthy you can always snack on fruit and veggies, no one ever got fat on fruit and veggies. I would find a new trainer.

Saturday, November 19, 2005, 9:27 AM

Thanks for the advice. I'm not sure how many calories I should be eating though. How many calories do you shoot for a day?

Saturday, November 19, 2005, 1:45 PM

it depends on your metabolism. http://www.metabolicfingerprint.com/whatismfp.htm

Saturday, November 19, 2005, 2:39 PM

I would say you should never be really hungry. If you get hungry, your body goes into survival mode and starts to slow down to preserve calories. This can actually make it harder to lose weight. The secret to easy weight loss is to feed your body well with lean proteins, complex carbs and healthy fats.

Saturday, November 19, 2005, 9:16 PM

You shouldn't be hungry. Eat 6 small (200-300 calorie) meals a day. When you are hungry your metabolism has already dipped below maximum efficiency. If you prefer eat 3 meals with snacks like carrot sticks, apples, celery sticks, etc in between. Make sure only to snack on fruits/veggies because they are low calorie and filling.

Monday, November 21, 2005, 12:45 AM

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