Is hunger just a part of remaining thin?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a lot older than most of the people on this thread and have leant a lot about being healthy this past year.

- BMI is outdated. A better measurement is % body fat vs muscle.
- After 40, our female bodies start loosing muscle at an accelerated pace. This can be Sarcopenia (skinny fat) which means if you are on a restricted diet, your body will eat its own muscle to maintain vital functions. Over time you increasingly need to maintain weight. Whereas if you maintain grow/maintain muscle, you can eat more since your body works much harder (burning more calories) to digest protein
- Bone loss also starts at this age and accelerates as a part of aging. This is critically important for your 60's and beyond
- The hard part is this happens in a period when we are busier than ever with family and career.
- Some people do this naturally but I didn't. This is what I had to change to:
- Lifting weights 3X week progressive. Prioritizing that over cardio. I do both but always strength first
- Allow for recovery time. Your muscles first breakdown before rebuilding. During this period it is very important to eat enough protein to support that process. Rule of thumb is 0.5 -1.0 grams per pound of body weight. Ideally you would start your day with at least 15 grams, and eat again within 1 hour of working out.
- Intermittent fasting works for young woman below 40 but for most over 40, it leads to sarcopenia/muscle loss.
- As you increase your muscle mass, your metabolic rate goes up meaning you can eat more to just sustain your vital functions. To lose lbs you would eat slightly below the active calories earned (from day's exercise)
- I'm in my late 60's which makes this so much harder than if I had started 25 years ago. But it's working. BTW the stress never stops because our parents age and we find ourselves needing to be physically stronger to help. And, to make sure we are functionally. strong and mentally agile for as long as possible. So much more important than how we look, although I must admit that I enjoy that side effect.
- I'm no expert but I thought I would share some of the problems I've encountered this past year and what I learned.

thanks

[Anonymous]

No. The initial phase of getting accustomed to eating less involves hunger, but staying there does not. You can’t get used to eating huge volumes at meals (you may think they’re reasonable but they are not) and snacking all day. You can also eat to quell the hunger, but it doesn’t have to be a whole meal each time. If I eat three “proper” meals a day, I will gain weight. I make one light (usually breakfast), and one medium (usually lunch), and eat dinner with my family. If I could I’d make lunch the biggest meal. I don’t get hungry. I hate cooking so yogurt with granola is usually one of my small meals. I still often eat pastries, pizza, ice cream a few times a week, so I’m not depriving myself. Plus, hunger isn’t awful. Think about when you exercise… you experience muscle pain temporarily so you are fit in the long run. That’s a good pain.

[Anonymous]

No. I’m in my late 50s. I’ve lost 20 lb over 6 months and I’m almost never hungry. When I’m hungry I eat. Like many people I’ve found that what works for me is prioritizing protein and fiber. I don’t routinely eat bread, pasta, rice, or potatoes, but nothing is off limits if it looks really good. I generally eat 1200-1500 calories a day, but there are probably several days a month when I indulge/go out/don’t track. Admittedly this works for me because I don’t care that much about food (other than desserts) - I eat very simply most days - and because I’m no longer making family meals. I don’t think I could have done this when my kids were at home. The other thing that has made a big difference is that for the first time I’m motivated by something other than dissatisfaction. I’ve found a sport I love and I’m motivated to get better and avoid injury, which helps me think of food in terms of fueling rather than avoidance.

[Anonymous]

Not for me. I was always a little on the heavy side through my mid 20s and then just made some changes which I guess fall into the “intuitive eating“ category (I’m rolling my eyes a bit at that but basically I just started listening to my body more) And now 53 I pretty much weigh the same as I did at 25. I eat healthy but I get treats when I want them, I exercise but not excessively. I don’t have a sweet tooth so that helps and I don’t drink much alcohol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Now that I’m mid 40s yes. Before that I could eat whatever I want which was mostly deli sandwiches and pizza and cake and stay 125 5’6”.

I’m 49 now and put on about 8 pounds over the last year or two. I ate the same as I always had. I then tracked my calories with an app and joined a gym. I lost the weight quickly doing both of those things. I’ll keep going to the gym since it seemed to help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a lot older than most of the people on this thread and have leant a lot about being healthy this past year.

- BMI is outdated. A better measurement is % body fat vs muscle.
- After 40, our female bodies start loosing muscle at an accelerated pace. This can be Sarcopenia (skinny fat) which means if you are on a restricted diet, your body will eat its own muscle to maintain vital functions. Over time you increasingly need to maintain weight. Whereas if you maintain grow/maintain muscle, you can eat more since your body works much harder (burning more calories) to digest protein
- Bone loss also starts at this age and accelerates as a part of aging. This is critically important for your 60's and beyond
- The hard part is this happens in a period when we are busier than ever with family and career.
- Some people do this naturally but I didn't. This is what I had to change to:
- Lifting weights 3X week progressive. Prioritizing that over cardio. I do both but always strength first
- Allow for recovery time. Your muscles first breakdown before rebuilding. During this period it is very important to eat enough protein to support that process. Rule of thumb is 0.5 -1.0 grams per pound of body weight. Ideally you would start your day with at least 15 grams, and eat again within 1 hour of working out.
- Intermittent fasting works for young woman below 40 but for most over 40, it leads to sarcopenia/muscle loss.
- As you increase your muscle mass, your metabolic rate goes up meaning you can eat more to just sustain your vital functions. To lose lbs you would eat slightly below the active calories earned (from day's exercise)
- I'm in my late 60's which makes this so much harder than if I had started 25 years ago. But it's working. BTW the stress never stops because our parents age and we find ourselves needing to be physically stronger to help. And, to make sure we are functionally. strong and mentally agile for as long as possible. So much more important than how we look, although I must admit that I enjoy that side effect.
- I'm no expert but I thought I would share some of the problems I've encountered this past year and what I learned.

Helpful post. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I’m 40, 5’4 and 145. I started lifting heavy weights with a trainer about a year ago and surprisingly my weight has gone up 10 lbs! However, my clothes fit better than before and my butt and arms/shoulders look amazing!

I’ve learned to not be so concerned with numbers on a scale and instead to focus on how clothes fit and how I feel. I feel energetic, happy, and strong and I love this feeling!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m 40, 5’4 and 145. I started lifting heavy weights with a trainer about a year ago and surprisingly my weight has gone up 10 lbs! However, my clothes fit better than before and my butt and arms/shoulders look amazing!

I’ve learned to not be so concerned with numbers on a scale and instead to focus on how clothes fit and how I feel. I feel energetic, happy, and strong and I love this feeling!

Way to go!

[Anonymous]

I think accepting daily hunger is key to being even normal weight for many people. Carbs have messed up our natural satiety signals.

[Anonymous]

Yes you have to be hungry all the time to be thin. Anyone who says otherwise is lying or has never had a weight problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m 40, 5’4 and 145. I started lifting heavy weights with a trainer about a year ago and surprisingly my weight has gone up 10 lbs! However, my clothes fit better than before and my butt and arms/shoulders look amazing!

I’ve learned to not be so concerned with numbers on a scale and instead to focus on how clothes fit and how I feel. I feel energetic, happy, and strong and I love this feeling!

My clothes doesn’t fit better with a trainer, my waist fits better but thighs and shoulders are getting tight in clothes. It’s harder to buy clothes now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes you have to be hungry all the time to be thin. Anyone who says otherwise is lying or has never had a weight problem.

This is wrong. Humans are not meant to be full all the time. If you’ve been conditioned to eat til you are full and believe that any sensation less than complete fullness is equivalent to Being Hungry All The Time - that is simply part of your conditioning. It’s a lot of the reason that most overweight people remain overweight, or lose the weight and gain it all back through yo yo dieting. Once you change your mindset everything is possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes you have to be hungry all the time to be thin. Anyone who says otherwise is lying or has never had a weight problem.

This is wrong. Humans are not meant to be full all the time. If you’ve been conditioned to eat til you are full and believe that any sensation less than complete fullness is equivalent to Being Hungry All The Time - that is simply part of your conditioning. It’s a lot of the reason that most overweight people remain overweight, or lose the weight and gain it all back through yo yo dieting. Once you change your mindset everything is possible.

Its this in combination with:
1) Snacking just because or because of boredom - middle aged people referring to snacking as if this is kindergarten
2) A complete unwillingness to plan meals, particularly if that means being "hungry" for more than 10 minutes

Of course, we will hear 1) and 2) are excusable because people are busy and stressed. Except that 90% of US office jobs are complete BS. And, most of the time the stress is self imposed by selection of lifestyle elements - usually in the form of painting themselves into a corner.

So the result is something like "Is hunger just a part of remaining thin?" or "It's the US food system to blame and not any of my own choices"

[Anonymous]

Yes, being a little hungry and accepting that feeling is very helpful to being skinny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes you have to be hungry all the time to be thin. Anyone who says otherwise is lying or has never had a weight problem.

This is wrong. Humans are not meant to be full all the time. If you’ve been conditioned to eat til you are full and believe that any sensation less than complete fullness is equivalent to Being Hungry All The Time - that is simply part of your conditioning. It’s a lot of the reason that most overweight people remain overweight, or lose the weight and gain it all back through yo yo dieting. Once you change your mindset everything is possible.

Its this in combination with:
1) Snacking just because or because of boredom - middle aged people referring to snacking as if this is kindergarten
2) A complete unwillingness to plan meals, particularly if that means being "hungry" for more than 10 minutes

Of course, we will hear 1) and 2) are excusable because people are busy and stressed. Except that 90% of US office jobs are complete BS. And, most of the time the stress is self imposed by selection of lifestyle elements - usually in the form of painting themselves into a corner.

So the result is something like "Is hunger just a part of remaining thin?" or "It's the US food system to blame and not any of my own choices"

Just because a job is bullshit doesn’t mean it’s not stressful and doesn’t dominate most of your waking hours.