Hello everyone . Many, many times I find myself eating just to find out that oh well, I guess I really wasn't "that hungry" . This has caused some weight gain and cycles of meaningless eating. If it wasn't or my band I would be so much heavier t this moment.

In your opinion, how do you differentiate head hunger vs. real hunger ? Any tips on how to not be a head hunger victim ?

well, for me, if i (think) i am hungry, i drink something...and if doesnt (help) i must then decide to eat or not and if i do, it is protein and filling....i realized this on my pre op and that if someone is eating around me or its (lunch time) at work, i wanna eat...so now i am in control..i eat when i am hungry.

It's taken me over a year to figure that one out. I still find myself in the kitchen with a handful of nuts or an apple chewing away and realize I'm not really hungry, I just like food. Some people are emotional eaters, some have disorders or addictions to sugar. I just love the taste of food. And my waistline shows it.

The last couple of months I've been able to think before I eat much more than before. I stop, I listen(is it empty) to my stomach. If it's just me wanting to chew on something I drink some Water or some water with MIO in it and return to work. I'm not always successful but I'm seeing progress. It doesn't come overnight for many of us.

"When a craving doesn't come from hunger,

eating will never satisfy it." Michelle May

Hardest part for me is not eating just because it's "time" to eat (lunch time, dinner time). I try to only eat when my stomach is screaming at me.

I wait until I'm truly, undeniably physically hungry. Stomach growling (though it can make noise that has nothing to do with hunger) and that "ok I'm starving" feeling. If I don't feel that way for 6 hours and miss a meal, no biggie. It's more important to listen to your body's natural hunger signals than to listen to a clock.

One more thing. I have no children at home so I've been able to stock my shelves with nutritious food(in lieu of fruit loops, ho hos, PB&J) if I do make a mistake and snack. Do not have chips, crackers, sugary treats, white bread, ice cream just sitting around where you can be tempted. I try not to have any of these items just sitting around where they are easily accessible.

Instead, I have fresh fruit, jerkey, walnuts, low fat cheese sticks and pickles because sometimes the last meal does not last till the next full meal.

tmf

One more thing. I have no children at home so I've been able to stock my shelves with nutritious food(in lieu of fruit loops, ho hos, PB&J) if I do make a mistake and snack. Do not have chips, crackers, sugary treats, white bread, ice cream just sitting around where you can be tempted. I try not to have any of these items just sitting around where they are easily accessible.

Instead, I have fresh fruit, jerkey, walnuts, low fat cheese sticks and pickles because sometimes the last meal does not last till the next full meal.

tmf

LOL I DO have kids at home and I still don't buy that stuff or keep it in the house! Let's face it, garbage food isn't any better for them than it is for me. My logic is, why would I feed my kids crap and not myself? That wouldn't make a very good mother.

My kids love string cheese, almonds, and yogurt. They even love the SF pudding that I snack on occasionally. The only thing they snack on that I don't is granola bars because they're too much sugar for me.

EDIT: Oh and fresh fruit. My kids go through TONS of fresh fruit a week!

If only we could band our heads. I've said that many times. I eat when I'm bored so I try to stay busy. If I think I'm hungry, I ask myself "Are you bored?" and if the answer is yes I find something to do. Go for a walk, do some sewing, get online, etc. 9 times out of 10 if I do that then the "hunger" goes away.

If I do snack, like tmf I eat health snack foods.

If I am hungry and it is not meal time I drink water. If I am still hungry after that I eat a smart (high protein) snack. I do not believe in feeling hungry or deprived.

dang, I want to eat now just reading through these posts........time to get the water!

It's taken me over a year to figure that one out. I still find myself in the kitchen with a handful of nuts or an apple chewing away and realize I'm not really hungry' date=' I just like food. Some people are emotional eaters, some have disorders or addictions to sugar. I just love the taste of food. And my waistline shows it.

The last couple of months I've been able to think before I eat much more than before. I stop, I listen(is it empty) to my stomach. If it's just me wanting to chew on something I drink some Water or some water with MIO in it and return to work. I'm not always successful but I'm seeing progress. It doesn't come overnight for many of us.

"When a craving doesn't come from hunger,

eating will never satisfy it." Michelle May[/quote']

Thank you for your response !

I wait until I'm truly' date=' undeniably physically hungry. Stomach growling (though it can make noise that has nothing to do with hunger) and that "ok I'm starving" feeling. If I don't feel that way for 6 hours and miss a meal, no biggie. It's more important to listen to your body's natural hunger signals than to listen to a clock.[/quote']

Thank you for your response. Your answer makes a lot of sense

I drink a lot of hot drinks like hot tea or decaf coffee (although I try to limit coffee) when I'm feeling the hungry/not hungry battle. Typically it's soothing, something sweet to speak to my sweet tooth or it takes the edge off of an empty belly. It makes me slow down since its hot. I can take time to gauge hunger vs. boredom munchies. If that doesn't satisfy my hunger then I'll grab a small snack like a cheese stick or something. More often than not it does the trick!