Humans have this amazing adaptation that allows them to eat pretty much non stop and store that energy around their center and carry it around with them. That adaptation came about in a time when calories were not unending. So yeah, you shouldn’t be dosing yourself with food all the time.
Three squares a day of real food (or some variation of that). Planned as best you can. That’ll go a long way. No snacking. |
Then the hour after that? |
My family teases me all the time, because I can usually stretch a Cava bowl for three meals. My attitude is that I just Need the taste of cava not necessarily all the substance. So I always double up on everything, take it home and add a third of the ingredients to a chopped head of Romaine lettuce in a big mixing bowl and drizzle dressing on top. It looks like I’m making a big salad/meal for a family but I actually sit down and eat it right out of the bowl. The secondary benefit is it’s makes eating out actually a financial deal. I’m still not a skinny Minnie, but my weight is maintained, it’s delicious, and I feel full and less guilt when I do binge. |
This wouldnt satisfy me and I’d be hungry 1/2 hr later. I need something like a big salad with tons of greens and veggies, a protein, some seeds, a little avocado, a small portion of a whole grain. It’s healthy but much more filling. |
I usually eat a large breakfast and dinner. I like to have larger meals spaced out over a longer period of time vs multiple smaller meals throughout the day. I'm just not hungry for lunch after a large 3 egg omelette for breakfast. Everyone is different OP. |
Nothing after the blueberries until dinner, where I had a lot of popcorn, four leftover shrimp dumplings, leftover baked ziti, carrot sticks and some chocolate almonds. |
This doesn’t seem too bad. Unless you’re not mentioning items. Of course it depends how much chicken / potatoes there were, how they’re prepared, and what type/ how much salad dressing you used. But I’d rather eat chicken / potatoes and lettuce than a muffin with cheese which would leave me starving an hour later. |
I just had visitors from Europe - ladies ages 31, 46, and 59. Ofcourse it took them days to get the plane food out of the system, but when they did, they only bought/ate fruit, salad, and wine. Few desserts like donuts and cupcakes, but not because they were graving but to taste local offerings.
Nothing sugary for morning, but coffee and small open face sandwich with cheese. While I kept asking if they were hungry, food was not on their mind at all. |
I mean… |
Sadly, food is always on my mind, and I always worry that whatever I'm eating "won't be enough" and that I'll be hungry. |
If you haven’t ever tried weight watchers, it’s worth looking at. I think it really helped me with learning portion sizes and overall eating healthy. The keeping a log of what you are eating makes you more accountable as well. |
Good catch. Also, set meal times are not helpful. Then you may be eating when your body isnt actually hungry. Or you start to feel hungry right around the time you always eat because it's what youre conditioned to do. Like a dog. No thanks. |
This would make logical sense if you are an amateur athlete or bodybuilder. And those people do structure their eating around their activities. Since that’s not the overwhelming majority of people, structured eating is extremely helpful. Intuitive eating is code for being addicted to food. |
Facinating! |
Why do you worry? Being hungry for a couple hours before eating is a good and healthy thing because it helps regulate the insulin/leptin balance. Quite the opposite, if you never feel hungry, you're probably headed for pre-diabetes. |