We are food insecure and balancing between not letting dd panic but not eating for comfort is hard. I try to do this by reminding dd when she'll get to eat next, that hunger pangs do not mean that her stomach hurts, and point her towards eating real food, rather than empty calories.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This "gotta pack snacks!!" business has got to stop, for every single teeny outing. I blame the helicoptering of making sure Larla feels no slight discomfort, ever. In my opinion it's GOOD to be hungry sometimes. A kid can surely deal with hunger for 30 minutes or an hour.

I agree that a kid should be hungry fortheblast half hour or ao before a meal, but OP seems to be describing that she would like her kid to be hungry a the end of a meal. What? That makes no sense. "Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full."

While this makes sense for most people, there are some who never feel full. I have a relative who is extremely overweight, and I remember as a kid she was eating adult portions. I was amazed at how much good that little body could put away. She could eat more than me, and I was an adult. She said that she never felt full. That she could keep eating and eating...and unfortunately no one stopped her.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This "gotta pack snacks!!" business has got to stop, for every single teeny outing. I blame the helicoptering of making sure Larla feels no slight discomfort, ever. In my opinion it's GOOD to be hungry sometimes. A kid can surely deal with hunger for 30 minutes or an hour.

I agree that a kid should be hungry fortheblast half hour or ao before a meal, but OP seems to be describing that she would like her kid to be hungry a the end of a meal. What? That makes no sense. "Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full."

+1. It comes from the snacking all day long culture. I feel like even adults don't just do 2-3 meals anymore -- they eat breakfast, snack at 10, lunch, snack at 2, snack at 4, dinner, snack before bed. Give me a break. No one needs a steady stream of almonds, hummus and eggs all day long. Doesn't matter how much protein they have -- you aren't going to burn those calories off and then people wonder why they aren't losing weight despite eating so healthy. It's the sheer quantity of food that's a problem.

Funny. My dietitian recommended the small meal/ health snack schedule when I had gestational diabetes. Said it's better to keep blood sugar even throughout the day. My husband was diagnosed with type II diabetes, and his dietitian told him the same thing. He used to eat nothing all day and pig out at dinner. The more balanced eating schedule is better for him. He's very skinny, FWIW. Just eating wrong when he did eat.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This "gotta pack snacks!!" business has got to stop, for every single teeny outing. I blame the helicoptering of making sure Larla feels no slight discomfort, ever. In my opinion it's GOOD to be hungry sometimes. A kid can surely deal with hunger for 30 minutes or an hour.

I agree that a kid should be hungry fortheblast half hour or ao before a meal, but OP seems to be describing that she would like her kid to be hungry a the end of a meal. What? That makes no sense. "Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full."

+1. It comes from the snacking all day long culture. I feel like even adults don't just do 2-3 meals anymore -- they eat breakfast, snack at 10, lunch, snack at 2, snack at 4, dinner, snack before bed. Give me a break. No one needs a steady stream of almonds, hummus and eggs all day long. Doesn't matter how much protein they have -- you aren't going to burn those calories off and then people wonder why they aren't losing weight despite eating so healthy. It's the sheer quantity of food that's a problem.

The tough part is the line between hunger and feeling full. Your stomach shouldn't be growling with hunger and you shouldn't feel that bloated feeling full. In our house, we serve a normal amount of food with no discussion about how much is being eaten. If DC say they are hungry after eating a lot, I'll stall them for about 5 min before I ask them again if they are hungry. 9 times out of 10 they usually say they are actually not hungry anymore.

It is important to learn to read your body as overrating occurs when your brain still thinks you're hungry because your stomach hadn't sent the signal yet that it's full. Of course over eating can lead to obesity. However, intentionally making sure your kid is hungry can cause other eating issues.

It's easier when kids are a little bit older and can understand it better. I swear my toddler would eat certain foods until he'd puke from eating too much. So in those cases, I kind if had to make the cut off decision for him.

When people let themselves get hungry, they overeat.

It's better to eat regular healthy snacks, like apples, carrot sticks, etc.. between meals so you are not starving when you sit down.

Also, I make my child take a break from dinner if she wants seconds. "If you are still hungry in ten minutes, you can have seconds". She just has to give her body a chance to realize the food is in there and her hunger is sated.

Anonymous wrote:The year when I was at my thinnest, it was because I was running 6 miles a day, did not consume sugar, and ate small portions. I was hungry all the time and tired. But damn was I thin. Later on in life, I ran marathons. But ate what I wanted, drank soda, etc. I still had a small gut come marathon day.

I know that being OK with feeling a slight pang of hunger at all times is the key for me to staying thin. I just cannot get myself to go back to that.

Maybe. But I assume you were full grown when doing this? Kids are still growing, developing. They shouldn't be deprived healthy food.

You shouldn't mess with a child's need to feel sated.

Give your kid only healthy foods. Let him figure out how much or how little to eat.

The year when I was at my thinnest, it was because I was running 6 miles a day, did not consume sugar, and ate small portions. I was hungry all the time and tired. But damn was I thin. Later on in life, I ran marathons. But ate what I wanted, drank soda, etc. I still had a small gut come marathon day.

I know that being OK with feeling a slight pang of hunger at all times is the key for me to staying thin. I just cannot get myself to go back to that.

Anonymous wrote:This "gotta pack snacks!!" business has got to stop, for every single teeny outing. I blame the helicoptering of making sure Larla feels no slight discomfort, ever. In my opinion it's GOOD to be hungry sometimes. A kid can surely deal with hunger for 30 minutes or an hour.

I agree that a kid should be hungry fortheblast half hour or ao before a meal, but OP seems to be describing that she would like her kid to be hungry a the end of a meal. What? That makes no sense. "Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full."

This "gotta pack snacks!!" business has got to stop, for every single teeny outing. I blame the helicoptering of making sure Larla feels no slight discomfort, ever. In my opinion it's GOOD to be hungry sometimes. A kid can surely deal with hunger for 30 minutes or an hour.

What? This is the first I've heard of this. Are there studies? Links?

I also think it's OK to be a little hungry (not like famished and headachey). As a kid, we also had to wait for dinner and I remember that feeling of hunger and anticipation! We were slim kids and are slim adults now.

I am hungry plenty these days (post 40, gotta be careful) but not ever famished. I am careful to figure out if I'm really truly hungry or just a little hungry or just bored.

I also dislike that full feeling.

Being hungry is not good. For your metabolism or psyche. You need to educate yourself OP before you guild your son into an eating disorder.

Where do these posts come from? Learn something new everyday.

As someone told me the other day.
I was correcting my son, who eats a ton of food. He just kept eating, and I told him enough. He said that he likes to feel full. I then told hime that if he could not get used to a little hunger or even real hunger, he would be in trouble later. That full feeling all the time is a recipe for obesity.
My friend told me, "don't you know? You never want to be hungry! A hungry body is an obese body"????
What is this all about.
I grew up having to wait until my mother fed us and that often meant being hungry. I have a job that does not allow food on site and no access to food until your shift is up. So I am often hungry. I am not obese.
BTW, my son is not obese yet.