Does the psychological "hunger" get better?

[Wisp]

Feeling pretty great today.
On day 5, and this morning scales showed a 9lb loss !!!

Im not feeling hungry anymore-just have the annoying urge of wanting to eat because it's nice etc etc

Does the psychological hunger lessen as you go on?

Im starting to annoy myself thinking all the time about what I would like to be eating!!

I have no intention of eating, but my damn imagination has other ideas !!

 

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[icemoose]

Hiya Wisp

Yes it does as when you really start to feel the losses the motivation gets stronger and stronger.

Also they say it takes 21 days to break a habit and you are still in that "thinking about food" time.

M.

 

[Wisp]

Thanks icemoose
Im so chuffed to hear that!!!
It will feel amazing not to be eating food, but not to think about it too !
I was watching You are what you eat last night-and I was even craving lettuce !!

 

[dizzy-n-mizzy]

So glad it's going so well for you! I know exactly what you mean about the want to eat. It definitely does disappear but I have found it comes back if I stop drinking so much water or get tired or stressed so the key (for me anyway) is look after myself and stick to the water and regular spaced shakes. Keep at it! Dizzy.

 

[Diva]

Hi Guys

Yes the psychological hunger will lessen but it will not disappear completely until you find something to "take its place"! Weird huh???

This kind of "emotional hunger" that you are experiencing provides you with a pay off. In the past that pay off has been to eat and to feel momentary feelings of satisfaction, comfort, etc. Right now, you are doing a VLCD and have your determination, and the protection of ketosis, to see you through.

However, fast forward a few months when you have reached your goals, eating foods again and experiencing psychological hunger....this will be an entirely different situation and it is not uncommon for us to do what we've always done because we don't know any different! When we do what we've always done....we get what we've always got!!!

Therefore, this is a great opportunity to do something different - form a new habit - so that when that time comes some way down the line you already know how to deal with it and it is second nature.

The first step is to know what the "hunger" is all about...is it boredom, loneliness, panic, etc....once you know what it is then you can do something about it...

Good luck, hun. I know we would just like to do this, get it over and done with and get back to "normal". Unfortunately, those that want long term success with a VLCD know that it is not that simple I'm afraid.

There are many people on this site that are successfully maintaining their weight and I'm sure that if you ask them, each of them will tell you that their lives are significantly different now to how they were before VLCD! Whether knowingly or not, they have found ways of dealing with their lives so that food no longer has an unnatural priority in their lives and that is what has to happen to eliminate the psychological hunger.

By the way, hope you don't mind but I'm going to move this thread into the Bring Your Head Inside forum for those following other eating plans to join in...

 

[Wisp]

Thanks Diva what a great post !!
I totally intend never to back to my binge eating!!
After 3 months on CD Then maintanance I will just be pleased to eat vegetables!!
Im going to stick my 15 stone photos all over my kitchen, and my body will be my temple for the first time in years
I will not let myself down
Thanks

 

[chicken on a mission]

There are 2 aspects to this:

1. Yes, it lessens.

2. You learn to deal with it.


In short, it does get easier over time

 

[Diva]

Thanks Diva what a great post !!
I totally intend never to back to my binge eating!!
After 3 months on CD Then maintanance I will just be pleased to eat vegetables!!
Im going to stick my 15 stone photos all over my kitchen, and my body will be my temple for the first time in years
I will not let myself down
Thanks

That's great Wisp and I hear your determination which means that you are focussed on finding a solution now so that when that time comes you are prepared.

Think of it as preparing for a long car journey....even though you know exactly where you are going and how long its going to take you to get there....would you leave home on half a tank of petrol or even on empty? Probably not, because you wouldn't want to get caught out on the way..

Weight maintenance is your car journey and destination.....weight loss is your car! Make sure you take this time to fully prepare. There are too many people on this site that can testify that weight loss is the easy bit and that the work really kicks in when you want to maintain.

 

[Lesleyfx]

Hope you don't mind me butting in with a question? How do you learn to deal with 'it'? I've been doing VLCD - SS for 15 weeks now and very happy with the weight I've lost...... but I am finding it hard to deal with the comfort-eating demons. So far I've broken the diet 3 times... each time I've managed to limit the damage and lost weight anyway, but what I really want is to learn to manage the feelings/emotions/boredom or whatever without cheating. Trouble is I really don't know how? I'm not sure if I'm stupid, or just blind to the answer, but can anyone help point me at what I should be doing instead?
Thanks

 

[chicken on a mission]

There is no one right answer for us all I'm afraid.

One thing I have learnt is that all of our reasons for being over weight are different so what works for me wouldn't necessarily work for you.

All I can suggest (because it seems to be working for me) is that you keep a diary of your thoughts and feelings relating to this diet. Forget the 'I went here, I did that' rubbish and go for some hardcore thinking.

I chart all my difficult times when I am tempted and try to work out what is at the root of it. For me it is usually when I am bored, angry or disappointed.

So what I have needed to do is find a way to actually directly deal with the situation that led me to feel tempted. By facing the situation, this means that I don't need to turn to food which in turn means that I am then not disappointed in myself for breaking the diet which then means that I don't turn to food again to comfort myself because of the guilt.

By dealing with the actual problem I stop the cycle.

I knw this all sounds a bit wishy washy but the upshot is that you need to work out exactly what your food issues are and accept them so that you can then work out the best way of tackling your demons and put in place alternative coping mechanisms that aren't self destructive

 

[Lesleyfx]

Thanks for that coam - for me it's: boredom, frustration, tiredness, sadness, irritation, anger, that I know of.... Also I seem to sometimes have a 'sod it I don't care, I just want it now' attitude that leads to giving in to food. That's pretty destructive, so I need to stop it in it's tracks! I've got a tiny notebook so I'm gonna put it in my pocket and record each time I'm tempted to comfort eat so I have an even clearer picture. I'm also waiting for paul mckenna's books to be delivered so hoping they'll help with working out how to tackle this.

 

[chicken on a mission]

I hope it works for you Lesley.

I think that everytime you make a note of something and think it right through from the cause to the implications and what you can do to combat it, you will be a stronger person not only to continue on the diet but also to remain at your chosen weight.

Go for it