Everyday Systems

Well friends, I began my NoS lifestyle again yesterday after repeated failures. My morning hunger was at least an 8 out of 10 on my comfort scale. Hunger during the afternoon and evening are less troublesome.

My problem is hunger between meals. I have posted this problem previously and have both received and tried your very helpful ideas. I have added protein/fat to breakfast , I have varied my meal times, I have tried H2Orange etc, etc. Hypoglycemia has been ruled out. I do have IBS. It seems as though I am hungry at the same times no matter what I change.

I guess I shall just try to tough it out a bit longer this time and see if the gnawing hunger abates with time. I believe I stuck to the Diet for over a month on my first attempt and my problem never diminished.[/i][/b][/quote]

Food allergies or some other medical consideration might be at play here.

Until you figure that, try plating your meals differently. Plate breakfast then eat half of it, eating the other half when that hunger hits. Do the same for lunch and dinner.

Your mod could be No Sweets and No Seconds, eating only what you have plated at the meals. Or something like that.

Hey John,

I posted this on another thread, but since it applies to your situation (hunger pangs between meals), I'll re-post it here:

"Hot chocolate! It works like a charm. I get really hungry between meals, and a small mug of hot chocolate keeps my tummy calm until the next meal. For me it's been the key to success with No S."

Thank you both! I will try both ideas!

john wrote:It seems as though I am hungry at the same times no matter what I change.

I think that a certain amount of hunger is inevitable. I don't lose weight unless I get hungry at times.

That said, have you got a great deal of weight to lose? For my first couple of years or so of No S, I allowed myself a mini-meal late afternoon of fresh fruit and/or cottage cheese, and lost weight successfully. Over time, I was able to dispense with the mini-meal, but it really helped at first.

I'm with you John, mornings are my hungriest time too.

I've given myself a mod of fruit at any time, realistically I only ever have one portion between one meal and the next but I'm prepared to allow myself more if I need it but generally I don't.

It has been a lifesaver though, and I reckon that the nutritional benefits of the fruit outweigh the negatives of it technically being snacking. I am very strict that it has to be plain old fruit as it comes, in the form it grew in, I would consider even the tiniest mouthful of anything else to be a fail for me.

The early hunger pangs did go away for me, but early on, I would have a glass of white milk if I could not stand it. Since you can drink what you want, this stays within the rules as far as I am concerned. I also rationalized milk as the best choice because:
It was more filling for me than a fruit juice.
It was not sweet.
It is not a favorite thing for me so it was not a treat.
Choosing to eat a small snack instead would have been a failure for me since I am very literal and I am pretty strict with the minimal rules of No S. (I realize that mods work well for some people, but not so much for me.)

Well I tried the hot chocolate between Breakfast and Lunch AND IT WORKED! I just hope this is not "the placebo effect".

I have not tried the "different plating" idea yet but that also has promise. I really feel lousy if I increase my breakfast by adding protein (my IBS?).

Unfortunately the fruit idea won't work for me because for some unknown reason I abhor the taste of fruit except bananas and raisens.

Thanks again.

Hi John,

If you don't like fruit, how about celery?

Not sure if this is an urban myth or not, but supposedly celery actually costs more calories to digest than your body extracts from it, so it thins you while it fills you.

Some quick googling shows it listed as a "negative calorie food" but I don't see anything especially authoritative looking. In fact, having googled another minute, it does look like this is a myth (though the net positive calories are still very small). Certainly not a bad choice for a between-meal "non-food" if you're looking for one.

Reinhard

Stick with the hot chocolate, if it worked. I could have sworn I recommended mocha, which I make with half milk, half coffee, cocoa powder and stevia. Or you might just have hot milk with vanilla. or hot milk! or cold milk!

keeping it simple.

In Volumetrics, it said that milk is the one liquid that seems to sate the appetite like solid foods do. Others tend to not even register.

I'll bet you'll surprise yourself and not need it at some point. Stay with us! This is truly the easiest way to eat and live! You can adjust as you go, while staying in the guidelines.

Now to catch up with your very helpful suggestions. In answer to the question about my weight loss, I only need to lose 15-20 pounds. I am not obese but being male, all the extra baggage collects around my middle and this exacerbates my low back pain. This is my motivation for the NoS Diet.

Unfortunately, the hot chocolate(Instant Swiss Miss) did not work after day 1 even after I added protein powder. I like the taste of Orange2O but it seems to make me feel slightly spacey, like a sugar rush. I do not have clinical hypoglycemia so I don't know what that is about.

The celery idea sounds promising. I love eating celery!! I have tried this before but stopped because most of the celery I select at the Supermarket is so stringy that I have to remove it from my mouth and discard it. Can somebody tell me how to select celery that is not so stringy??? Also, how do I store it in the refrigerator so it does not turn brown and limp? Do I moisten it or ???????????

hi john, i am going to suggest that you don't lean on the hot chocolate.
as for celery, just clean it well, cut it up and get some container and put it in the fridge along with a cup or so of water. that will keep it crisp and then it's ready to eat whenever you open the fridge
if you can buy celery hearts, that will be less stringy, and also try to find it organic. i like having cream cheese or peanut butter on it. that's a really nice thing to have as a little meal

I think, to some extent, you just need to think about hunger differently. Think of it as anticipation of your next meal rather than pain/a sign that something is Wrong. Other than that..

To avoid getting too hungry, for me the key things are: to eat enough fat (oil, butter, cheese, nuts); and to eat enough fibre - I eat a lot of vegetables, particularly raw vegetables like carrots/celery with lunch.

To deal with hunger when I get it, the key things are: to keep busy (I tend to get more hungry when I'm bored); to drink a lot of water, and black tea and coffee; and, if I'm really REALLy hungry, a glass of milk or a hot chocolate.

OK, I will try Reinhardt's idea using celery to satisfy my hunger between meals. I already know that I like adding fat-free cream cheese to it . I am assuming the cup of water for moisture is poured over the celery and not next to it in another small container. I am a stereotypical dumb Dutchman when it comes to the kitchen.

john wrote: I am assuming the cup of water for moisture is poured over the celery and not next to it in another small container.

That would NOT be my assumption... but I don't eat celery on purpose, so do what you will.

Clean and cut up your celery. Put it in a leftover dish. Fill the dish with water. Cover. Refrigerate.

The strings of celery can also be mostly removed when you clean and cut it up. It won't keep as well after you do that, but it might last a day.

If you break the Celery in half, pull one half sideways, the strings will pull out.
Now, Grab the stings that are hanging on the other half and pull them out.

Alternatively, if you cut the celery in shorter pieces, the strings might be so short as not to bother you.

I don't really like celery except cooked, so I don't bother.

Is anyone else hearing Whitesnake singing the title of this thread?

Nicest of the Damned wrote:Is anyone else hearing Whitesnake singing the title of this thread?

Now I am!

I tried the celery and was able to remove some of the strings but the trouble does not seem to be worth it. It hardly dented my hunger and might have upset my stomach a tad. My next "experiment" is a violation of NOS rules I guess. I was considering 1/2 a raw veggie sandwich (whole wheat bread with raw celery and/or carrot filling on fat-free cream cheese) between meals.

Ugh, but if this reduces the gnawing intermeal hunger I shall adopt the habit.

is a vegetable, beef or chicken broth. It is hot and satisfying and very low calorie. Even if it was filled with vegetables it would not be a lot of calories.

One thing I noticed was that when I stopped using reduced-fat, reduced-calorie, reduced-carb, reduced anything aka "diet food", I was more satisfied at meals and less likely to have the desire to eat between meals.

After a while, I also noticed I ate less at meals because they were more satisfying.

I think that the altered foods aren't as satisfying and lead to a desire to eat more. Just my 2¢ worth.

I will try your beef or chicken broth idea for my gnawing hunger between meals. I assume I can make a satisfactory broth by adding a beef or chicken Bouillion cube to hot water?

Yes, broth can be made that way or you can buy canned or packaged (I use Swanson's in a carton) and of course to make it heartier you can add precut fresh or frozen vegetables. Hope it works.

Why are you using fat free cream cheese?

John, I would suggest keeping track of what does fill you up.

Oatmeal cooked with a banana and crushed walnuts keeps me until about an hour before lunch, toast with peanut butter doesn't.
Brown rice and bean dishes are very filling, as are homemade soups with lots of veggies, a baloney sandwich with chips or campbells soup doesn't last until dinner.
Google some recipes,you will find lots. I like to make a filling, healthy dish and heat it up for lunch each day so I know I have something on hand.

Every one is different and what keeps me full may not work for you.

I know I'm about 6 years late to this thread, but John if you EVER read this, I had the same issue a few months ago and turns out I have an ulcer.

If what you are descibing is an actual GNAWING pain a few hours after every meal, you should see a doctor.

My solution was to go on Probiotics and Mastic Gum 2x a day. It literally cured me in about 2 weeks without having to take extremely potent prescription antibiotics, but to each his own. Good luck and hopefully your issue has already been resolved.

Much Love,
Little Binger

I think I would try embracing the hunger as a sign your body is using up the stored food, fat, whatever.

As long as you have food in the house, you are not going to technically starve to death. Unless you are dealing with a medical condition, a lot of your hunger - if you are eating three blaanced meals - might be habit.