Is hunger just a part of remaining thin?

[Anonymous]

Thin people do not necessarily experience hunger to stay thin. It's just how their bodies work. Plenty of people can eat whatever they want whenever they want and stay thin. One of my kids is like this. I was like that until about 5 years post menopause. Now I have to pay attention, but I certainly don't have to feel hungry all the time.

On the flip side, some people can look at a cookie and gain five pounds just thinking about eating it. One of my kids is like this and so are some relatives, so he got those genes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Now mind you, some people are naturally thin eating what they want. It’s that if they wanted to be even a little bit thinner than that though, they’d have to be hungry to get there. I can eat whatever I want and weigh 105. I could also restrict and be hungry and be 102. It’s not worth it to me to be that hungry to be a little thinner- but to some people it would be.

Agreed. I'm 5'4" 120 lbs and a size 2 eating how I want. I used to be a size 0 eating how I want and I could probably go back to that but I like dessert and don't like calorie restricting.

The test will come if I gain another 10 lbs and go up to a size 6. I'm really athletic so it's hard to know what this would look like. But I am afraid it would look really disproportionate because I have a small frame generally. That might be enough to get me to food restrict.

However I have found my appetite overall has declined with age. Now in my 50s I just can't and don't want to eat large portion sizes. It's easy for me to have a small piece of cake or half a burger and feel full. So that will help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I kind of like that hungry feeling. Once I power past it, it's weirdly energizing.

I often wonder if people just process the feeling if hunger differently. Like if I am focused on work I can power through hunger no problem and actually kind of feel like the hunger helps me focus. But my DH can't do this. The second he feels hungry he can't work until he eats because he's too distracted. But once he eats he can focus. Whereas when I am full I have to do something else -- take a walk, read a book, workout, talk to a colleague -- until the full feeling subsides.

I think people who process hunger like DH are much more likely to be snackers and struggle with overeating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I kind of like that hungry feeling. Once I power past it, it's weirdly energizing.

I often wonder if people just process the feeling if hunger differently. Like if I am focused on work I can power through hunger no problem and actually kind of feel like the hunger helps me focus. But my DH can't do this. The second he feels hungry he can't work until he eats because he's too distracted. But once he eats he can focus. Whereas when I am full I have to do something else -- take a walk, read a book, workout, talk to a colleague -- until the full feeling subsides.

I think people who process hunger like DH are much more likely to be snackers and struggle with overeating.

I don’t think it’s so so much about how people “process” Hunger it’s how they experience hunger.

For example, you experience energy.

Some people experience it as being lightheaded and passing out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm 50 yo, 5'7" and 125 lbs. I am usually not hungry but I know the food to eat that fills me up for lower calories and I lift heavy weights. I eat "healthy" most of the time and still have calories left to have treats.

Your 7lbs from underweight … lol

exactly! my 16 year old DD who is a very serious athlete and very thin is 5'8" and 129 lbs. the women responding to this are insanely thin

People is eating disorders love this forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I kind of like that hungry feeling. Once I power past it, it's weirdly energizing.

I often wonder if people just process the feeling if hunger differently. Like if I am focused on work I can power through hunger no problem and actually kind of feel like the hunger helps me focus. But my DH can't do this. The second he feels hungry he can't work until he eats because he's too distracted. But once he eats he can focus. Whereas when I am full I have to do something else -- take a walk, read a book, workout, talk to a colleague -- until the full feeling subsides.

I think people who process hunger like DH are much more likely to be snackers and struggle with overeating.

I don’t think it’s so so much about how people “process” Hunger it’s how they experience hunger.

For example, you experience energy.

Some people experience it as being lightheaded and passing out.

I actually do think it's about how your brain functions when the "hungry" message lights up. Like assume we're talking about normal hunger pangs and not starvation -- say the feeling of hunger that activates around 5 pm after eating a normal sized lunch at 12:30pm and no snacks. I think some brains are conditioned to view that as "must eat now or die!" and others are conditioned to ignore it or kind of shelve it until they can eat a full meal.

I think it might be partly innate (in genetic coding) and partly nurtured by how you were raised (to wait for meals or to snack whenever you want).

[Anonymous]

You can be thin while never being hungry by eating nutrient dense, satiating foods.

I do find - in moderation - it’s helpful to develop the discipline to be able to deal with small amounts of hunger without freaking out. Just like skipping a carby snack and roughing it out an hour or two until dinner. That’s weak sauce compared to people who practice strict fasting but it helps exercise the “resist temptation” mental muscle which is useful in life generally, and for more than just food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can be thin while never being hungry by eating nutrient dense, satiating foods.

I do find - in moderation - it’s helpful to develop the discipline to be able to deal with small amounts of hunger without freaking out. Just like skipping a carby snack and roughing it out an hour or two until dinner. That’s weak sauce compared to people who practice strict fasting but it helps exercise the “resist temptation” mental muscle which is useful in life generally, and for more than just food.

+1

I think this is a huge part of it. I vaccinate my kids and believe in science, but modern medicine really screwed the pooch when it comes to nutrition. We’ve got generations of people afraid of the most satiating and nourishing foods available. So they follow the old-school food pyramid, diligently eating their “heart healthy whole grains” and wonder why they’re constantly tired and sluggish. But if you suggest they eat more meat/fish/dairy, they act like you’ve asked them to ingest poison.

[Anonymous]

I think some people don't care about food. My mil is like that. She's like 5'5 and 110lbs and has been that way forever. She will have half a banana, forget to eat lunch, pick at some fish for dinner. She doesn't care about food at all and has never cooked a meal in her life. It's not a struggle for her, it's just not a priority or on her mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can be thin while never being hungry by eating nutrient dense, satiating foods.

I do find - in moderation - it’s helpful to develop the discipline to be able to deal with small amounts of hunger without freaking out. Just like skipping a carby snack and roughing it out an hour or two until dinner. That’s weak sauce compared to people who practice strict fasting but it helps exercise the “resist temptation” mental muscle which is useful in life generally, and for more than just food.

I agree with this though with a caveat. We've talked in the thread a little about how people experience hunger but I think one thing that happens with calorie restriction is that people *never* feel full. Experiencing hunger all the time is different than experiencing hunger for a few hours and then eating to satiation. And that I think is the trick to eating truly filling and nutritious foods -- they make hunger easier to tolerate because you know it's not forever. You can push through that 4pm snack craving knowing that your body will be eating a truly filling meal at dinner.

Also while eating foods rich in nutrients is really important (not just protein which gets talked about a lot but stuff like iron and potassium which don't get discussed enough) I also think people need a certain amount of fat in their diets. Fat makes you feel full. Like one of the big problems with the carby snacks people eat when dieting is that they are often fat free. I think often you'd be better off eating a "fattening" carb like a croissant because it will actually make you feel less hungry and then eating a green salad for lunch won't feel like this huge imposition.

But that caveat. Really at the end of the day a huge part of the problem here is that people are focusing on being thin in a universal sense instead of thinking about what it looks like for them to have a healthy body. If thin for you means being a size 0 with no body fat and you are probably at your healthiest as a size 4 or 6 then the suggestion that you need to eat nutrient rich foods and incorporate fat into your diet is never going to work because you essentially have to starve yourself to hit size 0. And that's what drives all the stupidity around nutrition advice regarding weight loss is that we created this thin ideal at some point that it genuinely unattainable in a healthy way for some people (not everyone -- there really are people who are just naturally a size 0 and that's their healthy weight). If you can't let go of that ideal that all women are "supposed" to weigh 110 lbs or less then you can never have a sane conversation about what amount of hunger is normal and what it means to eat in a healthy way.

[Anonymous]

5'4" and 120 lbs is in fact thin. I highly doubt you have a larger frame.

I have linebacker shoulders, broad hips and a broad ribs/back (need a 36 bra despite being flat-chested).

I meant Im not thin compared to someone who's 5'7 and 125 which seems to be the ideal here.

I never experience small amounts of hunger. My stomach is full on loudly growling every 3 hours no matter what i eat and I'm not putting up with that lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm 50 yo, 5'7" and 125 lbs. I am usually not hungry but I know the food to eat that fills me up for lower calories and I lift heavy weights. I eat "healthy" most of the time and still have calories left to have treats.

Your 7lbs from underweight … lol

exactly! my 16 year old DD who is a very serious athlete and very thin is 5'8" and 129 lbs. the women responding to this are insanely thin

People is eating disorders love this forum.

That’s pretty unfair. I’m 5’8” with a small build and 128 healthy and slim. Mid fifties. I love to eat and I eat well. I hate being hungry. I do yoga, lift weights, and walk. I eat as much as my 6’2” husband who is also slim but he drinks alcohol and I don’t.

[Anonymous]

I’m 5’6” and 133-135 lbs. I lost 150 lbs many years ago and I’m never hungry. I eat 3 really big healthy meals a day. OP, you’re a very healthy weight - really on the thin side. You’re hungry when you try to lose weight because you don’t need to lose it.

The only time I’m hungry is when I lose a few pounds - even 3-4 pounds can make a difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m 5’6” and 133-135 lbs. I lost 150 lbs many years ago and I’m never hungry. I eat 3 really big healthy meals a day. OP, you’re a very healthy weight - really on the thin side. You’re hungry when you try to lose weight because you don’t need to lose it.

The only time I’m hungry is when I lose a few pounds - even 3-4 pounds can make a difference.

I forgot to add, I’m 53.

[Anonymous]

For my entire life, I have had to be hungry for a good portion of the day to be thin. Heck, not even thin, just not fat. At some point I just got tired of being hungry. And now I am overweight.

I think there are a lot of women who learn to enjoy being hungry. Or at least embrace it. Or maybe reset their brains to rethink how hungry they have to be to be uncomfortable. I also think there is something to the type of hunger. If I eat more protein and fiber I can feel hungry without feeling sick/weak/awful.