The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[cranegirl]

Hoping to get some advice - this is my 2nd week on the program, doing fairly well on the 5&1. However, I've started waking up at night just FAMISHED. It's really difficult in that haze of sleepyness to not grab something forbidden from the kitchen cause I'm so darn hungry (so far I've stayed strong). Any advice on how to manage this? Even during the day I have strong hunger pains about 1.5 to 2 hours after every meal, and have to distract myself with Crystal Light or broth to make it through to the next meal. I'd appreciate any advice.

[Hyperion]

Hi Cranegirl,

The night hungers never happened to me. However, I had bad cravings on my first week.

To stay focused, I drank a lot of water (more than 12 glasses per day). I found out I was much less hungry those days when I drank a lot of water.

Also, when you eat, be sure to have at least 1 glass of water WHILE eating (not for shakes though). It helps a lot feeling "fulfilled". I found out thought that after a couple weeks, that wonderful feeling of being "fulfilled" is less important. An important step in stopping dependency to food.

Because let's face it, we're not fat because of our genetics or our bones. We're fat because of our lifestyle, and that horrible need of feeling overly "fulfilled". I found myself comparing a lot obesity with heroin dependance. Or cigarrette. When you take some time to think about it, we obeses people have a really bad dependency to food. Some are even agressive when they do diets. Some think diets are temporary, while as for drugs or cigarette, it's a complete change of mind.

As for your cravings, learn to understand your body. You are the pilot. Your body is adapting to your actions. Feed it a lot, he will be adapted to it and always ask for that amount of food. Feed it less, he won't understand why... But give it time to adapt, work with your body, and he will do what you want it to do; eventually dropping pounds of fat! But there HAS to be a transition, and it's no pleasure.

Sorry... I don't have any solutions for you, just those words of reflexion I can share

[Nancy]

Dear cranegirl ~

Sometimes in the early stages of losin' we feel hunger pangs and they may actually be related to excess stomach acid. Try taking a Pepcid AC or Tagamet to reduce the acid and see if that helps you. Increase your water a little to reduce the acidity also. If you are truly hungry, try having your packets every two hours.

I was ravenous at night when I first started the weight loss program so I do know how that feels - my stomach growls awakened me. If you use bars, you could keep a few small pieces of your bar in a zip lock baggy next to your bed and a glass of water. Sip some water and a piece of your bar and see if that helps you.

I suspect it is excess stomach acid that's causing the empty gnawing feeling you have. Let us know how it goes after you've tried the Pepcid for a few days. There are other posts about it throughout the Forum, too.

[Guest]

Hey Hyperion,

Look, I respect that you're being open about your food issues, and I wish you well in handling them. But just because I am choosing Medifast does not mean I have a Scarlet A for Addict on my chest. If I say I am hungry, I want that to be respected, not have someone say 'It's not really hunger, you're just jonesing for a fix'.

Not every heavy person is an addict. If you scare your body bad enough and it thinks you're starving, it can basically put you on 'brownout' mode, giving you no energy and leaving you tired and exhausted rather than burn the calories needed to let you feel refreshed and energetic. And fixing your metabolism so your body stops panicking and starts burning fuel again is a tricky process.

I'm not fat and addicted. I'm just fat.

[Hyperion]

Dear Guest,

I'm sorry, I think you misinterpreted my post, or maybe it was me who is too... hmmm expressive.

I didn't want to accuse you of anything. If I did, I'm really sorry. My intent is not to upset or to scold anyone, just to help.

However, one indeniable truth is the reason why we are fat. Say what you want, we are fat because of our habits. And habits is often synonym of addiction when it comes to food.

As for hungers, it IS normal on MediFast. You can't really expect your body to be adapting that easily. If you follow the MediFast plan, you WILL have all the calories you need, unless you do some things that you shouldn't; intensive exercise, overload of stress, etc...

I respect that you're hungry, if I wouldn't then my post would not be here. However, as for myself and all the others who do the plan and expect it to work now and years after, you have to understand that hunger is a relative word, and it can be controlled.

Yes, it is a tricky process; but let's never forget that you must be in control of the situation. As for better advice (concrete proposition), I can suggest at days to have another shake. Try to regulate your meals as much as possible (every 2-3 hours). For the nights, follow Nancy's points.

And to close this post, I will just add that I feel truly sorry if I hurted your feelings. This was not my intention. Check my other posts and you'll see respect is my number 1 priority. However, I will not retract all I said about addiction and the change of mind we all must do, because as hurtful as it may be, it is an inevitable truth that we must all learn to deal with.

[Serendipity]

Hype, I wouldn't put too much stock in a message from someone who isn't willing to identify themselves.

[Hyperion]

I think it's CraneGirl. She may just have forgot to log in before posting

[Cranegirl]

'Twas I. I apreciate the extra feedback!

[Unca_Tim]

Before we get too out of hand here, I'd just like to say that it's really easy to read things into a post in this form of medium.

Many comments on here are meant to be for the benefit of all who read this, and it's easy to take things as a direct personal observation or attack. I've been guilty of this myself when trying to get my point across.

I'm sure Hype was stating his point about hunger and addictions (which is very valid and important to get across to a wide range of people) for the good of the majority and cranegirl was perfectly right is stating her position as that statement pertained to her.

Geesh...now I'm wondering if my own post here even makes sense....lol

[Hyperion]

Yes Unca it does

I'm happy you posted your point of view! Anyway, at base, we are not there to "bitch" each other, and god knows I am so not the person who will do this the first on this forum!!

I am just not (and this may be bad for me) the type of person who will try to run in circle around a problem instead of going straight to it. I truly, deeply believe in what I said earlier, and in no way it was intended to cranegirl in particular. Obese state is often taken emotionnaly, and that is ok. However, to get control of the situation, one must learn to understand the reason he/she has this problem, in order to correct it. If we only follow MediFast till we get at target weight, then say "phew it's over", I am sure 100% that the success won't last long. Correct me if I'm wrong.

If my point of view is not compatible with your opinion, cranegirl, I am sorry. Maybe there is someone more suited to help you than me. However, that doens't mean I hate you, despise you or anything. If you ever need help from me, be sure I'll help you. I may seem direct at times, but I don't bite and I sure am not there to compete with anyone.

[Unca_Tim]

You're right there Hype....

Losing the weight is the easy part, if you follow the program. The hard part is figuring out how/why you got there in the first place and make the changes needed to live a healthy life.

It's a pretty dismal success rate on any "diet", so there's definitely much more to the story than just losing weight. There's probably nearly as many reasons, as there is people.

[Cranegirl]

Hype, you have nothing to apologize for... I stated what I was worried about, you clarified and gave me more to think about as well. I didn't mean to offend you either... we're all on the same team, really!

[Jan]

Boy of Boy
The above discussion just reminds me what a sensitive issue extra weight or the lack there of can be. I know some very thin people who are very very sensitive also. Others always think they are ill or have a horrible disease. They try just as hard to gain as we do to lose.
But, it seems to me that this is one of the very few places that we actually admit to our true weight. In life in general some of us go to great lengths to not have to admit our actual weight. I remember when I was in the ER with a broken foot and was asked for my weight. It's hard to believe I acutally had to think about if I wanted to be honest and everyone would know or if I wanted to wake up half way thruough surgery.
Here we can be honest and not fear judgment. Look at all the members who have tickers. We cheer for each others as the pounds flee and emphasize when we "blow it". We also read the posts and try to respond in an honest helpful way.
As for me I am just thankful we have this place to come, ask questions, look for support and help others too. No one means to hurt anyones feelings -- we are all in this together.
jan

[jentuke]

I don't want to stir the pot here, but I do want to chime in. As overweight people, we need to understand AND be sympathetic to the many causes of obesity.

Just because a person is overweight, does not mean that they have an eating problem. Some do though. Some are food addicts. Some eat for emotional reasons. Some are overweight for other health reasons (despite the majority, chemo can cause weight gain in some people). AND (!) as more studies are done, the findings are proving that there is a greater link between genetics and obesity. For research, do a search on "Fat Storage Gene in Overdrive in Obese People".

So, someone feels like they are starving when they wake up? Let's try to come up with some solutions for the problem and ways to help curb unhealthy eating instead of jumping to an "old habits die hard" mentality.

My suggestion is to make sure you get your last meal in right before bed and for a while pre-mix a shake and have it waiting in the fridge so you can hop out of bed and immediately grab some good fuel. We all have different times during the day that we experience hunger (whether real or in our head), especially during the first weeks and months of this program. Slowly, we adjust. Now, I know when I am eating consistently, that when my stomach grumbles it means that it has been almost 3 hours since my last meal. Time to eat!

[Cranegirl]

That's a good suggestion, having a shake already in the fridge if needed. And if I don't need it in the middle of the night, I can have it for breakfast.

Managing hunger is a major challenge for me. For me there's a distinct difference between 'hmmm snack sounds good' and 'fuel gauge is at zero'. When I get too hungry, I get the shakes, I see spots, and become extremely lightheaded. And when that happens my fat loss stops cold. I don't know why my body, with its *ample* stores of fat, acts like it's stranded on a desert island when in fact there's a 24-hour-buffet right at hand, but it does. So strategies to keep myself properly fueled are key to my success.

When you think about it, going from eating every 2.5 hours to taking in nothing for 6-8 hours is a bit of a jump. It makes sense that my body wakes me up sometimes 3 hours in and says 'where's my food?' Sometimes I have diet jello or crystal light to fake it out, sometimes I have a couple bites of a snack bar. It would be just as easy to mix up a shake and have a few sips of that, it would be less carb-y than the bar.

Thanks for the suggestion!