I'm Not Hungry!

[hyphenate]

Yes, I know I should eat, and on top of that I'm diabetic, so I get the "gotta eat!" from the doctors and a lot of other people.

I am definitely NOT anorexic, because I DO eat when I'm hungry, and I will eat pretty much anything and everything, with hot fudge sundaes being one of my favorite foods, but there are just times when I am NOT HUNGRY!

I usually eat a good breakfast, whether it's oatmeal, cereal, a bagel or eggs and toast, and I will eat fruits, veggies and a wide variety of other things.

Eating is not the problem--the problem is that most of the time I'm just either not hungry, or I'm too tired or disinclined to prepare something for myself that requires massive prep work.

I tried the old standby of frozen dinners, but the amount of sodium in them was just ghastly. I really wish more of the companies that make them would consider using less sodium.

But most of the time, I don't eat regularly because I'm not interested in food at that moment in time. I get like that in times of stress, for example, and right now, there is some of that in my life, and I am worried about some things. In fact, I would say I'll be like this at the least until Election Day, and depending on the outcome, it might last even longer! But personal worry is there, and it makes me nauseous to think about eating some of the time.

Anyhow, just wanted to say this out loud because I get tired of thinking about it and nodding politely to my doctors and wishing that I could superglue their lips together. :)

[mopinko]

1. superglue their lips. yeah.

lately all i have really wanted to eat is chocolate. i know this is lyrica speaking to me. trying to resist.
i have gained a couple of pounds. my pants don't fit. but somehow even a nice dinner just doesn't hit the same spot.
argh. you gotta pay for everything, it seems.

[The empressof all]

2. Ok..Here's the lecture

With diabetis you know that you need to eat to control your blood sugar. Even if you aren't hungry it really isn't that much to eat a half of a diabetic friendly bar or eat some soy chips. You don't have to eat a meal. In fact it's far better to graze throughout the day on quality foods. Set an alarm and eat a little something. Take care of yourself.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. You said it....

as a diabetic I eat on schedule...

[ginnyinWI]

5. me too. but--

I am a not-drug dependent diabetic (in other words, mild case controlled by diet and exercise), and the diabetes educator told me to eat every three hours, keep my blood glucose even, etc.

Then today I saw my internal medicine guy and we were talking about how my weight loss is stuck and he said that I do not have to eat on a schedule, and should try to lower my carbs to lose weight! I said my carbs are already low, but anyway he said that since I'm not taking meds I'm not going to become hypoglycemic and shouldn't worry about it.

So I'm a bit flabbergasted today, after following this plan for over two years. I suspect that my hunger is going to get the best of me if I try skipping meals or snacks, after all of this time, but I'll try eating even fewer carbs.

I'm wondering if maybe focusing on getting more fiber into my diet would help with the hunger? I know that a half cup of beans and a cookie have way different abilities to fill me up, even though the carbs are about equal.

[The empressof all]

7. Eating as low on the glycemic scale is what I shoot for

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you but I haven't flipped into the "official" diabetic category yet and hope to never do so. Sometimes you need to switch the diet up to get off a stall. I had a 6 week stall on my plan with no change in my food input. I flipped around my food a little and actually increased my calories by 100-200 more per day to about 1600 per day for a week and I began to lose again. (I know it's a paradox). Normally I try to float between 1200-1400 calories a day for the most part.

I'm not a medical professional but you don't want to go into starvation mode-Everything I've read has me believing that will screw with your weight loss even more. Try limiting you fruits to berries and melon, eat butternut squash or yams if you feel you must have something starchy. Eat larger salads. I eat 6 to 8 meals a day and have lost 50lbs since April. It's slow but I'm going in the right direction and don't feel overwhelmingly hungry.

You also might want to look into Shiritaki noodles which are very low glycemic and only have 20 calories a serving. Having a bowl of "noodle" soup every day really cuts any afternoon hunger and I do it for only 40 calories. Eating three eggwhites cooked up with some spinach is very low calorie, very substantial and is great quality protein and iron. Make smoothies with 3/4 cup of non fat milk, a Tablespoon of fat free cottage cheese, a half a frozen banana and a teaspoon of peanut butter. I add a little vanilla and artificial sweetener but YMMV depending on your sweet tooth. It's thick and feels rich and satisfying.

Eating good quality proteins really help. 2 ounces of chicken or tuna in a salad will help keep you feeling full longer. Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal in the morning holds me till lunch most days (It has 7 grams of Protein in it as opposed to regular Oatmeal) Eat High Fiber, High Protein Grains. Also when you eat fruit eat it with a protein. Fruit can trigger hunger on it's own for some people. If you add a yogurt or non fat cottage cheese you'll feel fuller longer. Look for a brand of Yogurt called Fayge 0 which is a non fat Greek Yogurt that has about 20 g. of Protein in it a serving. It's thick and rich with no fat. I get it at Trader Joes. If you go with supermarket yogurt get the ones with at least 7 grams of Protein a serving.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. I eat on schedule more or less, but I also eat until I'm full

and if I am hungry in between meals (really if those can be called that way) I eat as well

Hell, at times after exercise I get hungry, so I eat

Still I also try to keep to five to six smaller meals a day... so your doc may say, I'm grazing (and he'd be right)

I just need to make sure to have a little more food with meds, that's all

[hedgehog]

3. If your grocer has an organics section, Kashi and Amy's kitchen make

some decent frozen foods.

[CountAllVotes]

6. many of Amy's frozen meals are specifically low sodium

I especially like the rice bowls. Her meals tend to be mostly organic too. :D