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E is for Emergency

E is for Emergency

Lisa Eirene

About Lisa Eirene Lisa lost 110 pounds through calorie counting and exercise. She swims, bikes, runs, hikes and is enjoying life in Portland, Oregon. Her weight loss story has been featured in First Magazine, Yahoo Health, Woman's Day and Glamour.com.

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14 Comments

  1. Lily Fluffbottom

    My hunger often feels like a primadonna. I had it under control for a while, but got comfortable in my ways. I would identify if I was hungry, how hungry I was, the last time I ate, and why I was hungry. Sometimes it was legitimate, other times it was clear my blood sugar was crashing. There was at least one occasion when I was indelibly angry and I ended up locking myself in my room for two hours until I could tell I wasn’t hungry because I was mad, but because I was legitimately hungry.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Yes, it’s a very different thing for me too–boredom “hunger”, “real hunger” and “I’m crashing give me something anything!” Once we recognize the differences it’s easier to make better choices.

  2. Ingunn

    Heh, I was just thinking about my fear of hunger last night and planning to write a blog post about it. Your posts are always so timely for me!

    I really, really struggle with this and it’s one of the main reasons why I have a hard time with my weight. I can go from normal to HANGRY in a matter of minutes, and I often end up with a migraine if I don’t eat soon enough (blood sugar issues?)…so now I’m just terrified of feeling any kind of hunger because I think there’s a migraine coming on, and I end up eating too often and snacking too much.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Yes! When you have negative “side effects” from crashing it makes you never want to experience that again…so you eat more, or more often and give in to any hunger pain that happens. It’s a hard cycle to break. When I crash I get the shakes, feel nauseated, I can’t make decisions, I’m irritable. It’s not a fun experience!

      Lately I’ve had some dried apricots on hand after the gym and eating one or two of those has helped A LOT!

  3. Samantha

    Oh my gosh this is so true. I am often panicked about my hunger too and feel like it’s emergency. I also carry snacks just in case. I often live on the edge of hunger all the time so if I suddenly get really really hunger I freak out.

    Thanks so much for this reminder Lisa Eirene. I need to follow all of your points and especially, drink more water, snack before workouts and eat more whole foods.

    XO
    Sam

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I like that– “on the edge of hunger at all times” that is often how I feel. I hate that feeling!

  4. Deb

    I’ve found the time when hungry starts screaming at me the loudest is right after a workout. But if I eat something (usually a half a peanut butter sandwich) say an hour before I head to the gym, it’s nowhere near as bad when I get done. Not to say it isn’t bad, because it is, but I can solve that too. I keep a bottle of water in my car, so as soon as I walk out of the gym, I start on the bottle of water. By the time I drive the three miles to my house, the bottle is empty. I start another bottle, and by halfway through, the raging maniac of appetite has settled down and I can calmly and rationally start planning my dinner.

    If I skip out on either of those things though- I’m pretty much out of control.

    1. Lisa Eirene

      For me it’s right after the workout too. I’ve been forever trying to find the PERFECT food combination to eat right before working out and it’s hard. Sometimes things work, sometimes they don’t. It’s a mystery.

  5. Miz

    I love what lillyfluffbottom said about hunger feeling like a primadonna.
    those wise words made this misfit lose her comment….

    1. Lisa Eirene

      Rendered speechless…… 😀

  6. Diane Fit to the Finish

    Hunger is not a physical emergency for me any longer, although if I get too hungry I can find myself foraging like a black bear in someone’s kitchen. I find that if I get that hungry I need to remind myself that those types of behaviors are what got me in trouble all those years ago. Great post!

    1. Lisa Eirene

      I like that imagery–a black bear foraging. That’s like me but it’s more like Godzilla. 😀

  7. Kris @Krazy_Kris

    OMG – Yes! I go from zero to starved in 5 minutes too! That is always VERY dangerous for me. I’m better…. I try “not” to approach the ‘starve’ zone… but my hunger signals have decades of being so messed up. I was a non-clinical-undereater – I would go LONG periods of time not eating and never be hungry. But little by little, by trying to fuel regularly, my signals are better.
    Healthy snacks are key. Prepped meals are key. For me anyway.
    Thanks Lisa!

    1. Lisa Eirene

      It’s hard to learn what those signals are and what’s healthy.

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