If you are slim, please tell me how the conversation in your head goes

[whatisheupto]

If you are over the age of 38 and reasonably slim / not overweight, please tell me this:

An hour or two after dinner when you really fancy a bit of toast, do you tell yourself "no" and force yourself to resist the urge? When your brain nags you again, do you give it a firm "no" until and tell it to go away?
When you really want a small bowl of cornflakes before bed, do you just stop yourself and ignore the hunger pangs? Do you tell yourself "come on, you can do this. Think how good you'll feel tomorrow"

Do you tell yourself these things every day? For years? And rarely give in to temptation?

Or do you just never usually fancy a piece of toast or a late bowl of cornflakes? So it's just not a problem for you?

Are slim people better at self control, or are they just experiencing fewer urges?

But also I didn't mean to focus on after dinner... I would like to know about any time during the day... whether it's unnecessary snacks or eating slightly too big portions etc... how much are you thinking about your choices all the time?

Very interesting replies so far, thank you!

I hardly ever would eat after dinner but if I was really hungry I’d have a cup a soup or piece of fruit. Monday to Thursday I’m quite strict then less at a weekend probably because that includes wine!!

Op just don’t snack - say no to yourself ! Nobody needs to snack if they eat 3 healthy meals a day - or 2 even , often miss breakfast to do a long fast (16-18 hours which is great for health )

I also don't have the urge to snack in the evenings, but I think I may have done in the past (when I was fatter) - so maybe it is just habit. And like any habit it can be broken in 21 days.

That said, I think the difference between thinner me of today and fatter me of past times is that I am not that interested in food really

@whatisheupto, not often at all. I hover around a normal 5lbs weight range (10st4-10st9) - so if I’m at the top end, I have fewer treats but I always have at least a couple a day. I am tall though so can probably eat more calories than a shorter person.

I had proper What I thought were hunger pangs in the evening after eating main meal. Would start about an hour after. Turned out to be a stomach ulcer.
Someone said they have a cup of tea if they’re hungry after eating. I think that’s a great idea actually.

Perhaps if you're needing toast or cereal so close to dinner you aren't having enough with your meal? I ate 3 hours ago and can't imagine having anything to eat now as I'm still quite full

I try to keep busy in the evenings to distract myself. Exercise, walking the dog, tidying up, etc. I don't deny myself the odd treat - a glass of wine sometimes, a small piece of chocolate - but I'm v. aware that I'm "treating" myself tonight, so I can't do it again tomorrow.

I put on some belly weight over the winter (dreaded middle-aged spread) and have been gradually losing it through exercise. Lost 4 lbs, 3 more to go. I'm a size 10 but aware that I can't get away with as much as I could in my 20's...those little treats stick to me nowadays!

My snacks are boiled eggs. I hard boil a dozen every Sunday and they last me the week. I also have carrots and yogurt, otherwise I simply don't have anything that I can just eat between meals. I drink a lot of tea though.

Op - I really prioritise good food choices as want to be healthy and look nice

I think about it all the time obv as have to plan and prep food like everyone does. I find low carb gives me a really good framework

I struggle when have pmt tho

I do get those urges. Most evenings I crave toast or cereal at about 10pm. Maybe once or twice a week I give in.

However I don’t eat snacks eg crisps in the evenings. I also don’t like fast food or takeaways or snack foods. I don’t like big meals and never have. If I go for a meal out I am always the last to finish.

I find it much harder to resist if I’m tired. Knowing a snack is there makes it difficult too.

Snacking during the day: I don’t as I have a very busy job and have to take breaks to eat 2x a day. Then it’s busy after picking dc up so no time to snack. I eat dinner as soon as I’m home and then nothing.

Thanks all. I was always slim and never really snacked etc... I think I got into the habit of snacking and comfort eating (I had a very stressful and emotionally tough few years) and it just became normal. So I need to reset normal. I don't drink much and can quite easily take it or leave it so that's a good start. I agree it's good to get used to the feeling of hunger and not feel "frightened" of it. I definitely used to.
Also agree 16:8 is great....

I’m not mega slim, always a little overweight, but usually not that bothered. In lockdown gained a fair bit from snacking pretty much every afternoon and evening, was my way of dealing with small kid stress. But now been 6weeks of exercising and no snacks, and I’m amazed at how little I have craved. I think there’s something about a mental decision, a mental boundary having been made, at the right time for you. Then it’s not a feeling of deprivation so much, as it’s really what you want to do.

I agree with PP that feeling the need to eat with a between meal or late night hunger pang, stemmed for me from pregnancy when I felt sick unless I ate at those times, and it was a difficult habit to break. Currently if I feel hungry, I feel clean and wholesome, like I know I’m giving my body a bit of space to recover from digestion! Says she, 6 weeks in - hopefully the lack of urges will last...

Are you busy?

I eat more when I'm just hanging around the house.

If you get a craving, can you do something else and say "I'll just wait and see if I really want it in an hour"?

I guess I'm pretty strict about not eating outside mealtimes so I don't get the craving that often.

I'd say the worst is in the morning if I've had a small breakfast. Then I might (if not busy and at home) have to stop myself a couple of times from getting a biscuit.

If i start it's fatal so the easiest thing is to say "you've just had breakfast, lunch is in an hour, you can wait"

I think habit is such a big part of it.

My weakness would be having crisps while preparing dinner. It's a habit and my willpower is at its lowest at that point in the day.

I definitely have to resist pretty much every night and make "rules" for myself about only having a drink and crisps/peanuts on a friday and Saturday nights.

I don't eat outside of set mealtimes. So no snacks at all. Never have growing up and dont do it as an adult.

Genuinely don’t feel the urge

Honestly?

I am in my head a lot making sure I am eating right.

I’ve had a terrible food day today as I was in hospital today with Dd. So tomorrow I am going to exercise and eat better for balance.

It depends. I don't normally fancy eating snacks late. But if I suddenly fancy that, I have it.

Up to about age 30 I ate anything I wanted and didn't get fat. It was a hard habit to break when my metabolism changed. Now I know that if I have several 'hungry' days where I just stuff myself, I need to have a day of eating a lot less, which shrinks my stomach back down the next day and so I'm not as hungry. It's a domino effect for me.
On those hungry days though, I think, fuck it, I want it, I'm having it. Life's too short. I am currently fatter than I've ever been and pregnant anyway! After the baby...we'll see...

I'm like etinox - accidental late eater

I don't tend to get hungry after dinner though I do think your body adjusts so if you eat one day after dinner next day it will want toast and so on. I never eat breakfast and do snack in the day but try to keep to 2000 calories a day roughly unless I was doing masses of swimming etc which not been for a while. I would only rough count.

I don't actually think that much about eating though, if I didn't have DH I would forget to eat sometimes. I do like sweets / chocolate / cake and eat those but as long as overall doesn't go over 2,000 calories and you ensure vitamins etc / balance its fine in moderation or occassionally not in moderation.

To clarify - I still don't look particularly 'fat'. I'm 6ft and not heavily built to start with, which hides it well. Also, since having children, I'm way more conscious of 'food groups' and making sure I get a balance of them.

I'm usually very good. If I fancy that bag of crisps, or biscuit or bowl of cereal, I just put it off, tell myself that maybe later I'll have it instead, having said that, I always eat late, after 7pm so I'm not really hungry in the evening. If I ate at 5pm I'm sure I'd be picking by 9.
I did myfitnesspal about 5 years a go and it gave me a good realisation of what those extra picky bits where adding in to my daily calorie intake.
I also exercised a lot (ran marathons) so I didn't actually have to deny myself too much.
However, in lockdown it's all gone to pot and I am steadily gaining weight, about a stone so far. Wine is my weakness and this then affects my motivation for exercise and my urge for junk. I seriously need a kick up the backside and I suspect I need a good few months on myfitnesspal again to retrain my brain!