How do I know if I'm hungry or full?

[JaroSally]

I know this should be obvious but I'm not actually sure of I know the right feelings.

I had my 2.5 monjaro last week for the 1st time and i have been able to avoid snacking without even thinking about it and the meals i have had are smaller than normal but when inhave finished my tummy is making feeling is used to when I eat but want more.

Is the eaten but want more signal actually my full signal? It is almost a rumble like the food wakes my tummy up and it's ready to party. Why don't I know these things? I'm 42 and my BMI is currently 49.1 and I desperately need to get this down.

Is anyone in the same boat or have you found a solution or way to retrain your signals?

I think if you are unsure of your signals, you need to use some other mechanism until you can determine them. What is your calorie allocation per meal?

I'm not sure I really know what you mean? I've been on Mounjaro for 20 weeks now. When I've eaten and I'm full I feel slightly uncomfortable and can't even contemplate putting another thing in my mouth. I definitely don't get any stomach rumblings or an urge to eat any more.

For me it depends on the day. For example today was my injection day and I do not feel it working just yet. I definitely feel that I could eat more than I should but decided to munch on some slow cooked chicken breast that I fished out of a chicken soup. I ended up eating bigger dinner then planned but vast amount of it was lean protein so I dont feel too guilty.

I'm not on weight loss injections but I do intermittent fasting. When I have my meal at around 5pm I'm so hungry that when I start eating, I tend to eat too much before my brain tells me it's had enough. I guess that means I should just eat slower. Have you tried eating slower?

I'm on 7.5 and have been on for about 18 months now. I imagine my stomach is the size of my fist and eat enough food to fill that space. Remember the food moves slowly through your system now, for example I poo less than weekly. I only replace the food that has left my stomach. I eat once a day and it's easy to tell when I am full. It's harder to tell when I am genuinely hungry and not just eating for nutritions sake. I haven't felt hungry since February time. I see food as nutrition pellets now, to get the macros in.

Are you actually experiencing genuine hunger?

I’ve been on 7.5 for about 10 weeks and often my stomach makes rumbling sounds like hunger but it’s actually not hunger just the food being digested I guess. My hunger signals
are turned down so low now that I sometimes forget to eat enough in a day and then can’t eat late at night to make up
I wonder if the noise I can hear is my empty stomach groaning as it’s not had enough.
i try to get at least one protein drink/ yogurt in each morning and I always have fruit I also generally have one meal but can also eat a couple of biscuits a day.
I’m trying to get to the same
place as pp wher food is fuel

I don't actually think I have ever known when im full. Its not great to admit but before starting these i could eat a lot and sometimes i could literally eat until i was sick.

I'm not sure there has ever been something that has turned on in me when I'm full and sometimes I wake at night because my brain is wanting me to eat.

When I'm hungry I'm not sure if im actualy hungry, thirsty or something else because I could amd have eaten a full pub roast dinner, crumble and custard and still had a big mac from the drive through on the way home.

Now i have the jab I am sitting after having a large grilled pork loin, carrots, peas, mashed potato and some cabbage and my tummy is gurgling which makes me think im hungry and telling me to keep eating. Now I have had a good portion of food and I don't think most people would be hungry. I have had plenty to drink so don't thunknkm thirsty so what is it? Why am I like this I just never feel full I don't understand that feeling..

You might have stretched your stomach. Or you probably have from what your saying.

I would use another mechanism like a pp says to determine portion size and hopefully your stomach will shrink back to a normal size and start behaving with normal signals.

Hunger and fullness are completely different feelings.

Hunger to me is like my body caving inwards, like if I’m incredibly hungry I might get a sharp shooting pain in my tummy. It can be distracting from other activities.

fullness is the opposite, completely stuffed is like my body is bulging outwards. I feel uncomfortable but it’s bearable, it wouldn’t stop my normal activities. A normal level of fullness just feels normal, no cravings to eat and no thoughts of food.

Also OP the answer to your problems is weighing your food and logging what you eat.

logically if you haven’t eaten all day you’re likely hungry. Logically if you have just had a meal, you’re likely not hungry and feeling full.

I'm not sure I ever remember havung ether of these feelings.

I dont eat in the morning ever because know once I start eating I can't really stop. Forbthe last 10 years I eat lunch some time between 12-2 but my tummy doesn't feel as you describe. Once I start though I pretty much have a snack every 30-60 minutes because my tummy grumbles. I have always wondered why eating makes me hungry and others full.

What I have realised has been food noise has stopped since having my injection but when I do eat I'm struggling stop I'm not feeling full but perhaps I am and just don't understand the signal.

To be fair my stomach only feels like that with incredible hunger eg if I haven’t eaten in a while and I’m borderline starving.

It’s difficult to describe the sensation of a normal level of hunger - it’s more that I start naturally having thoughts about food. It’s hard to explain as I’ve been on MJ for a few months and have already lost the weight. If I skipped a meal, I wouldn’t instantly get crippling hunger for example.

Eating doesn’t make you more hungry especially at your weight/BMI unfortunately, you might be prone to overeating or confusing signals. You don’t need to eat until you have zero room in your stomach, you don’t need to consume snacks every 30-60 minutes to keep yourself topped up either. It sounds more like binge eating or another form of disordered eating, in the kindest way possible. Your tummy grumbling could just be your body processing the food and feeling full as opposed to a signal for more food. Or it could be thirst.

It's really early days for you if you have only had one injection. Your stomach won't yet have shrunk to the size of a fist that someone mentioned if you have previously been eating much larger meals. But you are able to avoid snacking and making healthier choices which is really good.

Keep listening to your body and the sounds and feelings your stomach gives you. Maybe even keep a diary to help you remember them. Eventually I think you will see a pattern and start to recognize recurring feelings and learn what fullness and hunger feel like for you. Good luck

You poo less than weekly?? That cannot be right. You need to be eating more fibre, mounjaro may slow digestion but not to that extent.

I don't have the answers but sometimes after a meal I still have a sensation of emptiness. Actually, I simultaneously have a full sensation and an empty sensation! I think that fullness signals come from more than one place. I think the stomach has stretch receptors which trigger fullness. So I agree that if we are used to eating large portions it would take more to feel full. As we control our calories and eat regular meals our stomachs need less food to feel full. Also, I read that once nutrients reach the end of our small intestine, we get a full signal. If you wanted to look into this it's called the 'ileal brake'. To complicate matters, from what I've read it takes many hours for food to empty from our stomachs and to move through the small intestine. I thought to use a mental image of my meals topping my gut up to fullness by the end of the day, rather than each meal by itself.
I have heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day!! And that even completely non diabetic people have more insulin resistance after meals eaten late in the day. Since starting Mj I eat three meals a day, plus snacks like fruit/nuts, and I try to finish eating by 4pm, but my personal circumstances also make this possible and convenient for me.
Lots of people have found that they need a higher dose to feel the magic that Mj works on our bodies. Good luck with your journey!

OP you might need to have quite a while of MJ under your belt to start acting/ feeling differently.

I'm afraid you need to weigh and log your food. Work out what you need in terms of calories and protein. Prep food where possible. Eat proper food where possible. Keep healthy fats in your diet to protect your gallbladder.
Go low carb, use this opportunity to remove sugar from your diet.

What exercise are you taking? What's your current BMI?

People are affected at different rates by the MJ doses. I'm on my 3rd pen at 5ml. I'm losing slowly but not losing muscle because I'm swimming and doing weights 3X week.

If you eat shit you'll likely get some issues.

Hi Op. I get you.
So, are you now having three meals a day of protein and fibre?
I recommend getting an app like My Fitness Pal, or any other like that and working out what your daily calorie should be. And then plan nutritionally dense meals within those calories. That will help you have an idea of how much to eat. Eat slowly and feel when you’ve had enough, but could eat a little more and try to stop there. I am suppressed and don’t snack but can definitely eat at mealtimes so measure everything out. You’re just starting your journey and have loads of time to figure this out.
Join the November starting thread and get some support there.

I'd add don't worry about stomach noises. Sometimes after a meal my tummy will be really loud, rumbling and gurgling away, but I've just eaten. It doesn't mean I'm hungry, it's just noise.

Thank you for this I'm going to spend some time today investigating this. I think the signals I get are mixed like that and I need to somehow work that out. Thank-you again

My BMI is currently 49 so I do have half my body weight to loose to get to healthy. I am.not currently exercising outside if walking because there is just too much of me and I just can't.

I'm trying to focus on keeping my protein and fiber high and have been cooking from scratch everyday.

One of the things it's been nice to lose with MJ is the sense of urgency and panic around food and hunger, and the yrge to respond to almost any feeling by eating. It sounds to me as if the grumbling you're hearing is digestive - and since MJ makes your digestion slower you might be hearing it more. I don't think you need to do anything in response to a particular signal - just note that it's happening and check in with what you've eaten- clearly in this case you've had an adequate meal so there will be no harm if you don't eat any more. Then see what happens in the future. What you did in the past on response to body signals is what you're trying to change.

I haven't got any urge to snack and previous I woukd have a couple of snicrs of bread and butter before going to bed but I have avoided that too with no urge.

It's just when I have my meals I have no signal to stop just what I have previously thought of as hunger or an 'eat more' signal.

I have started having a protein yogurt and fruit ( apples and blueberries) for breakfast with a big mug of mint tea. And have been using the weight watchers app and points system.

I have woken this morning and my tummy is going nuts! It's making wiggly noises I think this is definitely hunger but it's so close to my after meals feeling! I haven't eaten since 7pm last night I think hunger is to be expected. I never normally wake up like this and I go through until lunchtime!