[Mad Hatter]

What a cutie! 😍

 

Interesting observations about hunger. Totally unrelatable, which is what makes them interesting!

[Everstorm]

3 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Totally unrelatable, which is what makes them interesting!

You mean the no hunger thing?  Yeah, that's probably just me.  I was diagnosed with gastroparesis (delayed emptying of the stomach) a few years ago.  We sort of glossed over that issue and didn't discuss implications or treatment at the time because of a bigger issue (possibly pre-cancerous cells in my stomach).  I probably should ask now that cancer has been ruled out, but I am asymptomatic, other than the hunger problem, so I forget to bring it up.

[Harriet]

 

On 5/3/2024 at 6:46 PM, Everstorm said:

I can tell that there is a lot to unpack about hunger.  I am doing pretty well with handling the panic when I feel hunger (so far), but dealing with anxiety when waiting for hunger is much harder.   I can see that I need to choose my mid-day meal carefully, otherwise I am not hungry at dinner, which adds the social anxiety of not eating when everyone else does (and possibly offending the cook when it isn't me) to all the other anxieties.  Had a swing and a miss yesterday when I ate a very large lunch and never felt hunger the rest of the day.  I held out until 7:30 before eating, so at least I exercised the "wait" muscle, but I need to practice dealing with the mental discomfort of not needing a third meal if I am not hungry.

 

Very interesting work you're doing, and difficult, too. I'm also trying to wait for hunger, but I noticed there are three stages. First I start wanting or being interested in food before I have any hunger sensations. Then I have light hunger. Then later, more hunger with nasty urgency, which causes me to eat fast and feel horrible. I'm trying to hit stage 2. I also sat through some discomfort today, but it was around eating without distraction. I guess I just didn't want to be in my mind or body because both were so uncomfortable from fatigue. 

[Everstorm]

5 hours ago, Harriet said:

First I start wanting or being interested in food before I have any hunger sensations. Then I have light hunger. Then later, more hunger with nasty urgency, which causes me to eat fast and feel horrible.

Accurate.  The tough part is on the cusp of stage 1 and 2, when I'm like, is that light hunger, or wishful thinking because I want to eat right now?

 

5 hours ago, Harriet said:

I also sat through some discomfort today, but it was around eating without distraction. I guess I just didn't want to be in my mind or body because both were so uncomfortable from fatigue. 

That's a real challenge isn’t it?  Even if I put down my phone or book, I find it hard to be present when eating.  I'm realizing more and more how very disconnected I am with my body. 😬

[Mad Hatter]

On 5/3/2024 at 11:05 PM, Everstorm said:

You mean the no hunger thing?  Yeah, that's probably just me.  

No I meant in general. My relationship with hunger is mostly to ignore the inconvenience and then wonder why I'm sad and have no energy. 😛 

 

12 hours ago, Harriet said:

I also sat through some discomfort today, but it was around eating without distraction. I guess I just didn't want to be in my mind or body because both were so uncomfortable from fatigue. 

Or maybe it's uncomfortable because it's boring?

[Qnobi]

13 hours ago, Everstorm said:

Even if I put down my phone or book, I find it hard to be present when eating.

 

I challenged myself to take a drink of water between bites to try to be more present...and forget to do it from one bite to the next. Two different brains at work there, I guess.

[Everstorm]

7 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

My relationship with hunger is mostly to ignore the inconvenience and then wonder why I'm sad and have no energy. 😛 

Omg my son is exactly like that.  His whole personality changes and it took me forever to figure out it was because he had forgotten to eat.

 

8 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Or maybe it's uncomfortable because it's boring?

Both, I think.

 

1 hour ago, Qnobi said:

 

I challenged myself to take a drink of water between bites to try to be more present...and forget to do it from one bite to the next. Two different brains at work there, I guess.

In The Happiness Trap, the author mentions that it is very normal to have your mind skip out while practicing mindfulness.   In fact, he says you're doing great if you can be 100% present for 10 seconds at a time.  The practice is to identify when you've checked out and bring yourself back the the moment as many times as it takes.

[Harriet]

16 hours ago, Everstorm said:

Accurate.  The tough part is on the cusp of stage 1 and 2, when I'm like, is that light hunger, or wishful thinking because I want to eat right now?

 

If you're not sure, you can wait a bit. I find stage 2 a bit more obvious because there's a light growly feeling. 

 

16 hours ago, Everstorm said:

That's a real challenge isn’t it?  Even if I put down my phone or book, I find it hard to be present when eating.  I'm realizing more and more how very disconnected I am with my body. 😬

 

Yeah me too. The body is always speaking and I'm always SHUSHing it because I don't want to hear it.

 

9 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Or maybe it's uncomfortable because it's boring?

 

I mean, it's both. I'm physically uncomfortable often. And I have a distraction habit that leaves me mentally uncomfortable when I have to just be. 

[athousandwords]

Late to the party (which seems to be in full swing here) but following!

[Kishi]

3 hours ago, Everstorm said:

 

Totally unrelated note, but I find myself relating more to the shirtless gentleman than the others.

[Everstorm]

2 hours ago, Harriet said:

If you're not sure, you can wait a bit. I find stage 2 a bit more obvious because there's a light growly feeling. 

Very true

 

2 hours ago, Harriet said:

Yeah me too. The body is always speaking and I'm always SHUSHing it because I don't want to hear it.

Same

 

1 hour ago, athousandwords said:

Late to the party (which seems to be in full swing here) but following!

Nope.  You're exactly on time.  The rest of us were early 😁

[Everstorm]

Just now, Kishi said:

 

Totally unrelated note, but I find myself relating more to the shirtless gentleman than the others.

Are you hungry? 🤔😂

[Kishi]

17 minutes ago, Everstorm said:

Are you hungry? 🤔😂

 

Hungry in a way that food cannot fill.

[Everstorm]

So, week zero was an interesting test of my challenge.  I think I learned a few things about how to make hunger work for me, not against me.  I missed a swim and a GMB workout due to illness, but it is maybe possibly possible that I can make them up.  We shall see.

 

Kicked off day 1 week 1 strong with 100% waiting for hunger and GMB Elements 2/12.

 

I tried eating a bit lighter at lunch so I would be hungry at dinner.  Went a little too light and was hungry again in 3 hours. I just ate a yogurt and was hungry for dinner, so win!

[MaeradCase]

Yay!!! Good job so far!!! 😺 

[Harriet]

Nice job on day one. I didn't know it was possible to be not hungry for more than 3 hours. Hmmm. 

[Everstorm]

20 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

Yay!!! Good job so far!!! 😺 

So far so good!

 

5 hours ago, Harriet said:

Nice job on day one. I didn't know it was possible to be not hungry for more than 3 hours. Hmmm. 

Yeah, even on a pretty big caloric deficit, hunger tends not to be the problem.  It's the stress of joyless meals that gets me.

 

Day two, week 1 has been another successful day so far.  I waited for hunger at breakfast and lunch and dragged my butt to the pool to swim a kilometer.  The swim went well, I basically did intervals (3 slow laps, 1 sprint lap) and shaved a few minutes off my swim time.  

 

Not sure if I will be hungry for dinner today or not.  I ate a largish lunch, but then swimming usually gives my appetite a bump, so I guess I'll just have to see how the day plays out.

[Kishi]

Nothing wrong with waiting and seeing what your body gives you. You'd be surprised at how full you can be even on a cut.

[Harriet]

19 hours ago, Everstorm said:

Yeah, even on a pretty big caloric deficit, hunger tends not to be the problem.  It's the stress of joyless meals that gets me.

 

That gets to me after a while, too. I find that too much palatability is bad (encourages non-hunger overeating!) but so is too little (eventually causes the same restriction stress as restricting amounts, or timing, or food groups).

 

19 hours ago, Everstorm said:

Day two, week 1 has been another successful day so far.  I waited for hunger at breakfast and lunch and dragged my butt to the pool to swim a kilometer.  The swim went well, I basically did intervals (3 slow laps, 1 sprint lap) and shaved a few minutes off my swim time.  

 

Looking good!

[athousandwords]

I was thinking of you and this challenge today - I think it's such an interesting focus. I scheduled my lunch at 12:30, but definitely was feeling hunger an hour before that (I appeased it with coffee 😬). Then later I had enough spare calories to eat after dinner, but I just wasn't hungry. I feel like it would have been easy to eat a bowl of ice cream to celebrate having a deep deficit, but paying attention to hunger made me reconsider.

 

Anyway, just letting you know I appreciate your challenge goals and your mindful approach!

[Everstorm]

21 hours ago, Harriet said:

 

That gets to me after a while, too. I find that too much palatability is bad (encourages non-hunger overeating!) but so is too little (eventually causes the same restriction stress as restricting amounts, or timing, or food groups).

 

 

Looking good!

 

I find hyperpalatability can be handled IF I am being super mindful, but yeah, otherwise runaway train.

 

12 hours ago, athousandwords said:

I was thinking of you and this challenge today - I think it's such an interesting focus. I scheduled my lunch at 12:30, but definitely was feeling hunger an hour before that (I appeased it with coffee 😬). Then later I had enough spare calories to eat after dinner, but I just wasn't hungry. I feel like it would have been easy to eat a bowl of ice cream to celebrate having a deep deficit, but paying attention to hunger made me reconsider.

 

Anyway, just letting you know I appreciate your challenge goals and your mindful approach!

 

Ah, glad you found it helpful!

 

On 5/7/2024 at 5:39 PM, Kishi said:

Nothing wrong with waiting and seeing what your body gives you. You'd be surprised at how full you can be even on a cut.

 

Sometimes too full, honestly.  When I try to do high protein, I start dreading meals because I don't want to have to make myself eat again.

 

I did end up eating dinner on Tuesday, but kept the meal pretty light.  I ate according to hunger yesterday, as well -- at least I think so.  I had struggled with indigestion that made hunger a little hard to determine at dinner, but I think I was hungry.  I definitely ate past full, though (not a goal at this time).

 

Today's plan is to get in a GMB workout, return Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faerie to the library (and hopefully pick up its sequel), and do an art tutorial (or two).  A trip to the garden center for a trellis is not out of the question.  And maybe the bookstore for a new journal.  Mine is almost done, and while I have enjoyed the black pages, I have been considering getting one with white dotted pages to be more conducive to doodling.  I need to decide soon, because if I want black again, I will have to order it.

 

Have a rose from my garden

[Sea-to-sky]

12 minutes ago, Everstorm said:

Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faerie

Was it good? Its on my tbr list

 

12 minutes ago, Everstorm said:

Have a rose from my garden

Wow, that rose is stunning. 

[Everstorm]

2 minutes ago, Sea-to-sky said:

Was it good? Its on my tbr list

I really enjoyed it!  Looking forward to reading the next one.

 

3 minutes ago, Sea-to-sky said:

Wow, that rose is stunning. 

 

Thanks 😊  That's the one my husband picked out.  He gets me 🥰

[MaeradCase]

41 minutes ago, Everstorm said:

Have a rose from my garden

[Mad Hatter]

Need a smelloscope!