Color Me Fit: weight loss, fitness, exercise

I was mulling over some thoughts, and reminding the book by Gina Kolata I had read a few months ago, among other things. And I came to wonder, are we overweight (or former overweight) people condemn to some kind of ‘constant hunger’ that will plague us until the end of our lives–unless we give in to it, and therefore regain the lost pounds?

It seems to me that this is a thought that can be found, I wouldn’t say ‘very often’, but regularly enough for me to have noticed it. This, of course, is regardless of my personal issues with food that I mentioned now and then on this blog, because those are more linked to the state of my mind than that of my stomach (if I end up bingeing, it’s certainly not out of real hunger, it’s truly more ‘in my head’, so to say). And if I look at it closely, I am, in fact, never horribly hungry. So I’m wondering. Does this depend on the people? On the foods we choose? Does the fact that I eat whole grains and vegetables help me fend off genuine hunger more than if I were to eat junk food? Is it something else?

When I say I’m not horribly hungry, it’s exactly that. I don’t mean having a slightly grumbling stomach because it’s 7 pm and I haven’t snacked between lunch and dinner. This is nothing terrible in my book, and more than often I end up not having a snack (for instance, at the office) even though I’ve actually brought one with me. It’s just not that urgent a hunger. So when someone tells me that I’m depriving myself, that I will be hungry all the time… well, no, it’s not true. Not for me. The issues I have with food are of another kind altogether.

But I’ve also realized that, indeed, the foods I choose are important in my case. Let’s take the example of one of my favourite meals: a soy steak (about 130 calories) with brown rice (about 150 calories), green beans (what’s that, 30 to 60 depending on the portion?), lettuce (I’m not even counting) and a light yogurt (about 60 calories). Such a meal puts me barely over 400 calories, which isn’t that much in my opinion for a solid lunch (I don’t go with the 6 mini-meals a day thingy–there’s no way this would be compatible with school and work–and I don’t snack morning and afternoon every day). And it keeps me filled. So filled, in fact, that this is the exact kind of meal I eat when I know I’ll be faced with an afternoon of snacks and grazing at friends’ or a free buffet at the university or whatever. As a sidenote, I indeed don’t end up grazing, because hunger doesn’t come back before 4 or 5 solid hours to nag me, therefore it helps me to hold strong and steady. If this isn’t efficient, I don’t know what is.

And that’s only one example among many others I could give.

Am I a lucky one, who has less problems than others with that? Or is it that I pick sensible foods, foods that I know will ‘work’ for me? They can be different for another person, I think; for instance (yeah, i know, it’s junk food, sue me) MacDonald’s food fills me very quickly, while I have plenty of friends who can’t be satisfied with just a cheeseburger and small fries like I am. I eat at 7 pm in the evening and go to bed at11, and yet I’m not plagued either by a real, devouring hunger before bed. Maybe I’m lucky with the latter: hunger doesn’t wake me up in the middle of the night. I can’t be bothered to open the fridge that is one meter from my bed to grab something at 2am. Anyway. Am I lucky? Am I an exception? Some kind of UFO of the weight loss sphere? Because this is hard to believe. It just–well, can’t be, can it?

So, are we condemned to perpetual hunger that sooner or later will cause us all to crack up and give in? Or is this some kind of nasty side-effect that can be warded off, in whatever way, thanks to means such as food, a specific hour to exercise, etc.?

I hope this post didn’t seem too weird. I’m just being curious.

Tags: hunger, weight loss, foods, eating