I really like this. Somebody with a drug problem can simply avoid drugs, but there is no avoiding eating. I've struggled with weight management off & on throughout my adult life, and it is no joke.
Thanks a lot for retweeting this. For me, you captured the essence of struggling to lose weight perfectly. I lost my appetite for a while due to Covid and It felt like living in a different body. It might sound silly but it was an eye opening experience. We do have agency, by definition. But if it is so hard to exercise it, what’s the point of saying that we have agency?
And the best of luck to you whatever you decide to do, or not do. Happiness is not necessarily tied to a slimmer body for sure, but like you say, it works very much in your favor in so many ways. So do traditionally good looks. No gods and no fairness anywhere.... 🤷♀️
Thank you, Amber! Good luck to you too! Indeed, it is unfair. However, we probably have other advantages, even though we don't have natural thinness on our side.
Phentermine in the morning and phendimetrazine in the afternoon. I know. But it works. It's not the fen-phen of the 1990s; the problematic fenfluramine has been replaced. I stay on it for 6 months and then take a break (you build up tolerance). Yes, a bit of a yo-yo situation. Yes, you may experience side-effects, like dry mouth and constipation. You may need blood pressure meds while on it, too. It's definitely worth it. It's obviously not perfect but it really takes away your physical and even emotional hunger. A heavenly sensation of having lots of extra time on your hands, to devote to much better things than the food obsession. High time we start regarding overweight the chronic condition it is, much like diabetes, and keep developing medications to manage it.
I'm glad you've found a solution that suits you and will look into this. To avoid misinterpretation: I'm not overweight, though. At 63 kg and 160cm, I'm within a normal weight range (just). My struggle is not weight but hunger. But the two are related, of course!
While it may seem odd or unhealthy at first glance, many find the Carnivore way of eating (WOE) will address the issues of hunger. Dr. Ken Berry MD and Dr. Cywes on YouTube both have many videos. Many do this WOE to address diabetes and autoimmune issues. As usual, men seem to have the advantage; they lose weight readily as us women (especially older women) struggle to lose the weight. However, even with less weight loss, most of us experience positive impacts with body composition changes (less fat even if weight stays the same), IBS going away and improvement in insulin numbers. I was also a (very) skinny child and was slender until my 40's when all things went awry. This is the only thing I've tried that significantly reduces hunger. Worth a look.
I'm familiar with Ken Berry and a number of the other carnivore proponents and I did carnivore for 6 months a few years back (easing into it from keto). It did reduce my hunger a bit—though the effect wasn't significant—and I was able to lose some weight on it. The (subtle) appetite suppressant effects only lasted 3–4 weeks, though. For me, it works well as an occasional crash diet to get weight down, but there are no benefits, hunger-wise, over a traditional low-calorie diet and it is far more restrictive and antisocial (especially when you're travelling or staying with and cooking for friends, as I often do). Since my blood sugar has always been within a normal range, that in itself is not a concern for me. As with all these diets, though, if it works for you, that's great. But my own experience differed. I'm happy you're doing well on it!
I also have that hunger drive especially at night. One coping thought I use is that I'm learning my new, post menopausal body. It feels like not enough sometimes! I do rely on an app for cbt advice and caloric density advice. Best best luck Iona! 💓 from another skinny assed belly lady 😉
The one thing I found that seems to beat being hungry all the time is fasting. After the excruciating first couple of days, hunger goes dorment and, as long as you don't break the spell, it stays there. Eventually it gets back, though.
Thanks, Rodrigo. I'm glad it works for you but I found fasting made no difference at all. The longest I've done is 10 days and over that period it definitely did not get easier. The fifth and sixth days were the worst: extreme nausea—I did a lot of dry retching over the toilet—and absolutely debilitating migraines. But when the tenth day ended, I was still waiting for hunger to subside and clearheadedness to set in. It never did. I never want to go through that again! One to two day fasts I can manage: as long as I don't have to work. But they are not fun. The nausea is the worst part. It feels a lot like having the flu.
I was hungry as a child growing up in England after the war. Not helped by my mother who played no role in our lives. My sister and I are both shorter than our parents and were like skeletons as children. I wonder if you were too as a girl? My sense if that there might be a pattern set up in these formative times. Today, I still eat as if this meal was my last much to the annoyance of my wife. I have found that eating mainly meat and animal fat helps satiate me for longer periods and I can lose my tummy fat that way too. But the idea of bread.........
I wasn't especially skinny as a child and didn't suffer any form of hardship, though I have heard that there may be connections between childhood hunger and adult overeating. When I did the carnivore diet, it had a temporary appetite suppressant effect—but it wore off after a few weeks and the diet is very restrictive and probably not that healthy, so I ditched it. The same goes for keto, though the effects weren't as pronounced. I felt somewhat less hungry on a strict keto diet, for a short period. Then my hunger returned as strong as ever.
Absolutely. Regulating hunger is key—it's the hard problem here and doesn't get enough attention. "Just go hungry all the time," is really poor advice. 10lb is not a lot of extra weight, though, so you're ahead of the game. Wishing you luck in the ongoing struggle or peace if you decide to abandon it.
I really like this. Somebody with a drug problem can simply avoid drugs, but there is no avoiding eating. I've struggled with weight management off & on throughout my adult life, and it is no joke.
Best of luck in your personal journey.
Thank you, Michael. Same to you!
Thanks a lot for retweeting this. For me, you captured the essence of struggling to lose weight perfectly. I lost my appetite for a while due to Covid and It felt like living in a different body. It might sound silly but it was an eye opening experience. We do have agency, by definition. But if it is so hard to exercise it, what’s the point of saying that we have agency?
Yes, indeed. It's as if we all have the ability to set off for our destination, but some of us are in sports cars and others on bicycles.
And the best of luck to you whatever you decide to do, or not do. Happiness is not necessarily tied to a slimmer body for sure, but like you say, it works very much in your favor in so many ways. So do traditionally good looks. No gods and no fairness anywhere.... 🤷♀️
Thank you, Amber! Good luck to you too! Indeed, it is unfair. However, we probably have other advantages, even though we don't have natural thinness on our side.
Phentermine in the morning and phendimetrazine in the afternoon. I know. But it works. It's not the fen-phen of the 1990s; the problematic fenfluramine has been replaced. I stay on it for 6 months and then take a break (you build up tolerance). Yes, a bit of a yo-yo situation. Yes, you may experience side-effects, like dry mouth and constipation. You may need blood pressure meds while on it, too. It's definitely worth it. It's obviously not perfect but it really takes away your physical and even emotional hunger. A heavenly sensation of having lots of extra time on your hands, to devote to much better things than the food obsession. High time we start regarding overweight the chronic condition it is, much like diabetes, and keep developing medications to manage it.
I'm glad you've found a solution that suits you and will look into this. To avoid misinterpretation: I'm not overweight, though. At 63 kg and 160cm, I'm within a normal weight range (just). My struggle is not weight but hunger. But the two are related, of course!
While it may seem odd or unhealthy at first glance, many find the Carnivore way of eating (WOE) will address the issues of hunger. Dr. Ken Berry MD and Dr. Cywes on YouTube both have many videos. Many do this WOE to address diabetes and autoimmune issues. As usual, men seem to have the advantage; they lose weight readily as us women (especially older women) struggle to lose the weight. However, even with less weight loss, most of us experience positive impacts with body composition changes (less fat even if weight stays the same), IBS going away and improvement in insulin numbers. I was also a (very) skinny child and was slender until my 40's when all things went awry. This is the only thing I've tried that significantly reduces hunger. Worth a look.
Hi Lori,
I'm familiar with Ken Berry and a number of the other carnivore proponents and I did carnivore for 6 months a few years back (easing into it from keto). It did reduce my hunger a bit—though the effect wasn't significant—and I was able to lose some weight on it. The (subtle) appetite suppressant effects only lasted 3–4 weeks, though. For me, it works well as an occasional crash diet to get weight down, but there are no benefits, hunger-wise, over a traditional low-calorie diet and it is far more restrictive and antisocial (especially when you're travelling or staying with and cooking for friends, as I often do). Since my blood sugar has always been within a normal range, that in itself is not a concern for me. As with all these diets, though, if it works for you, that's great. But my own experience differed. I'm happy you're doing well on it!
Me too - I am trying intermittent fasting but no results other than missing breakfast :)
Solidarity.
I also have that hunger drive especially at night. One coping thought I use is that I'm learning my new, post menopausal body. It feels like not enough sometimes! I do rely on an app for cbt advice and caloric density advice. Best best luck Iona! 💓 from another skinny assed belly lady 😉
Best of luck to you, too, Jessemy! xxx
The one thing I found that seems to beat being hungry all the time is fasting. After the excruciating first couple of days, hunger goes dorment and, as long as you don't break the spell, it stays there. Eventually it gets back, though.
Lovely read, Iona.
Thanks, Rodrigo. I'm glad it works for you but I found fasting made no difference at all. The longest I've done is 10 days and over that period it definitely did not get easier. The fifth and sixth days were the worst: extreme nausea—I did a lot of dry retching over the toilet—and absolutely debilitating migraines. But when the tenth day ended, I was still waiting for hunger to subside and clearheadedness to set in. It never did. I never want to go through that again! One to two day fasts I can manage: as long as I don't have to work. But they are not fun. The nausea is the worst part. It feels a lot like having the flu.
Sigh
I wish there were a magic solution.
I was hungry as a child growing up in England after the war. Not helped by my mother who played no role in our lives. My sister and I are both shorter than our parents and were like skeletons as children. I wonder if you were too as a girl? My sense if that there might be a pattern set up in these formative times. Today, I still eat as if this meal was my last much to the annoyance of my wife. I have found that eating mainly meat and animal fat helps satiate me for longer periods and I can lose my tummy fat that way too. But the idea of bread.........
I wasn't especially skinny as a child and didn't suffer any form of hardship, though I have heard that there may be connections between childhood hunger and adult overeating. When I did the carnivore diet, it had a temporary appetite suppressant effect—but it wore off after a few weeks and the diet is very restrictive and probably not that healthy, so I ditched it. The same goes for keto, though the effects weren't as pronounced. I felt somewhat less hungry on a strict keto diet, for a short period. Then my hunger returned as strong as ever.
Absolutely. Regulating hunger is key—it's the hard problem here and doesn't get enough attention. "Just go hungry all the time," is really poor advice. 10lb is not a lot of extra weight, though, so you're ahead of the game. Wishing you luck in the ongoing struggle or peace if you decide to abandon it.