Why hunger is truly NOT an emergency

You can read my initial thoughts about that realization, here. I first read it in an article that was posted on this forum that outlined the differences between the thinking of slim people and obese people. One of them that caught my eye in particular was “slim people do not regard hunger as an emergency…"

 

I didn’t think I did either. Until I started to look at things a bit more closely. After this surgery we can be wooed by the fact that we have little appetite and we get full very quickly. This does not mean we don’t regard hunger as an emergency. It just means that our “emergency plan" is a bit different than a non-op.

 

If you are more than three months out, raise your hand if you ever:

 

• Noshed with cooking (“I’ll just have a little taste…")
• Had an extra snack to “tide you over until lunch/dinner/breakfast" (raises hand)
• Found that at mealtime you were too full to eat because you nibbled too much beforehand
• Grabbed something less than nutritionally beneficial because “you needed to eat something."

 

Yep. All signs that you may be regarding hunger as an emergency.

 

The reality is this: although your body is taking in significantly less calories than it did before, guess what? It has a back-up plan. And the foundation of that back-up plan is not food. It’s fat. Your body has stored it. To burn. When you need calories. Which…from my perspective, is the point of this whole crazy process in the first place.

 

I point this out not because I see any of you exhibiting this behavior, but because I have been working on this part of myself. And it really has helped me a lot. We deceive ourselves a lot in this process to think that smaller stomach=inability to overeat.

 

We have the inability to eat larger quantities of food at a sitting. We do NOT, as a result of this surgery, necessarily lose the ability to eat larger quantities of food within a day. And to our bodies it’s all the same. If you consume more calories in a day than your body needs, you will gain weight. If you consume as much as your body needs, your weight will stay static. If you consume less you will lose—and the amount of loss USUALLY correlates to the size of your caloric deficit.

 

I am getting to a point here…be patient. So although it does not feel like you can eat more, as time wears on you can without truly realizing it. And regarding hunger as an emergency does not help. It causes impulsive food decisions that can have physical (nausea, food stuck, vomiting), emotional (guilt, self-mental abuse) and social (not being able to eat a meal with your family) implications.

So how have I dealt so far?

 

You know this may sound overly-simplistic, but simply saying the following when I am about to “go there" has helped:

 

“Hunger is NOT an emergency, Nik. Think first. Eat second."

 

Usually if I take pause I can talk myself out of nearly any bad eating choice. That’s why when I am truly gung-ho to make a bad eating choice I go about it quickly J

 

So anyway, just a few thoughts from over here on the ledge. Hope they prove helpful to some of you as you continue on your path.

Sometime hunger IS an emergency - hypoglycemia.  (hmmm, maybe that's not hunger, but it is a FOOD emergency)

Point is, this is why PLANNING is a huge part of post-op life.  So when you are hungry, you have appropriate snacks around, or you know exactly what you will eat and when.

I totally agree with your post.  Just wanted to throw in this extra.

No, but you make a good point. I was referring to normal cir****tances. But even in that case I think the "think first, eat second" still applies. Even if it is a split second thought to acknowledge that your sugar is low. I am not saying "don't eat" (nor would I ever...that's blasphemy!) but that we can justify a lot with our lower intake.

But THANK YOU for pointing that out. If your blood sugar is low or there is any other physical reason you need to react to the need to eat, do so.

I was speaking of those of us who just like to stuff our faces ;)

amen.  I eat out of laziness. Like "i'm hungry, but too lazy to cook right now, so I'll eat this crap and cook later".  Not the change I was aiming for when I had surgery!!

Thanks for bringing up this topic.  I justify a lot of things.  even if you eat a little crap, it's still crap, and it just means we are depriving our bodies of the GOOD stuff we NEED.

Fantastic post as usual Nik!!!!
It is sooooooooooooooooooo true.
I nosh. I did it as a matter of fact last night...
I thought I would just have a couple bits before dinner cause I thought I was famished but when dinner was ready, I could hardly eat a bite.
I really disappointed my husband because he went to a lot of trouble making dinner. (which is not an everyday thing anyway.
I brought it for lunch today, but it's just not the same.
You are SO right.
Right about skinny people don't think it's an emergency.
My skinny friends never wanted to do lunch all of the time, every time we got together.
But I did. That was what I lived for ......when's lunch?  Whens dinner? What are we having?
WTF????????????????????????

Thanks for the eye opener,
Emily

Thanks for this. I have never been "hungry" a day in my life, yet I act like I'm starving.  I have been trying to be mindful of this exact thing.  Eat like a skinny person and try to see if its true hunger or thirst.  I battle it every day.

Nik,
Awesome post .. So True, I am trying to do that thses days -
"Think 1st - Eat 2nd." 
It does help 

Yeppers, you are so right.

I needed to read this post . . . I have printed three copies - one for my fridge, one for my purse, and one to keep at work - as a reminder that (the majority of the time, hunger is NOT an emergency. Thanks, Nik!!!!

I think this is a great post.  I know this is something that I struggle with alot.  When I feel hungry I feel like I have to make that feeling go away immediately and look for something to eat.  This tends to lead to bad food choices or too much of the good stuff.  I'm going to try your mantra.