Conference rocks::weight_control

    I'd like to know the answer to this one too.  Sometimes I get a
    craving for something like peanut butter or meat or something
    else with protein and fat.  I can eat all the dry popcorn I want,
    all the carrots, all the rice, all the apples, and I am still hungry
    for protein and fat.  Carbs just won't do it.  Other times, it's
    starches I want - bread or rice or potatoes.
    
    I've been generally doing well, but when the fat cravings come
    on, it's very hard to ignore them.  I have wondered if it's the
    fact that my diet is so low fat, and my body is NEEDING the fat?
    Or if that's just justification?  I know that I didn't get any 
    fat/protein cravings after I went to a chinese restaurant 2 weeks
    ago!
    
    --Louise

.0>    say that I am never hungry, which brings me to my question.  What
.0>    really satisfies hunger?  Is it nutrients?  Is it calories?  Is
.0>    it fullness?

    	You have to identify the hunger first.  There are at least 3 basic
    kinds that I know of :
    
    	1. Hunger for flavor - usually caused by a bland diet, usually
	    	satisfied with seasonings.
    
    	2. Hunger for substance - usually caused by an empty stomach,
	    	usually satisfied with food of any kind.
    
    	3. Hunger for nutrient - usually caused by an ubalanaced diet,
	    	usually satisfied by eating the particular nutrient you
    		are craving (BTW: fat is the most common craving).
    
    	If your hunger is the type in 3, you have 2 choices.  Eat the
    food you are craving, or try to ease the cravings by substituting
    another food or exercise and waiting for the craving to pass.
    
    	Fat is the most common cause of "satiety" problems.  And everyone's
    threshold is different.  Some people can go forever on 10% fat content,
    some need 20% or more.  Personally, when I go below 15-20% I have
    problems with short, intense cravings for fatty foods.
    
    -mike z

	Rather than identify what type of hunger you are talking about,
	I think it might be helpful to take one more step back and 
	identify exactly what is making you _want to eat_. Is it really 
	hunger? If so, then think about what Mike said in .2. Or is it 
	something else? I want to eat when I am bored, depressed, or 
	stressed. I want to eat to celebrate. I want to eat just because
	it is "lunchtime" or "suppertime". There are numerous other
	reasons why I _want to eat_ and not many of them involve actually
	being hungry.

	Most diet plans that I am familiar with tell you that you 
	should not be hungry. So, if "hunger" is really what you are 
	feeling, they say, then eat something. The trick here is to eat
	the "right something".

	If, however, you really stop and think before eating and discover
	that you are really not hungry, you just want to eat...well, 
	sometimes it helps to deal with whatever emotion is causing that
	feeling. Sometimes, too, doing something else will make that 
	urge to eat go away. 

	I hope this all makes sense. Take it for what it's worth...just
	one more person's opinion.

 	-Amy.

    What I mean by 'hunger' is that disturbing feeling in your stomach
    (usually accompanied by growling) when I haven't eaten for a while.
    I guess I'm asking can I 'fool' my body by filling it up with low
    calorie veggies and water?  Will it tell me it's still hungry if
    I don't have enough calories?  Will I be hungry again sooner if
    I don't have enough calories (eating an apple as opposed to a raisin
    bagel)?  I read once that calories don't count all that much, but
    nutrients do.  That is supposedly why a person can eat a whole bag
    of chips (large bag) with dip and still feel hungry.  Can I really
    live off of powdered nutrition drinks?
    
    Are these impossible questions to answer?

.4>    I guess I'm asking can I 'fool' my body by filling it up with low
.4>    calorie veggies and water?
    
    	For a time, you can fool it.  Once the bloodstream is depleted
    of protein and fat, carbohydrates and water are not going to change
    that.  You can use this technique to postpone a meal, but never
    to avoid one.
    
.4>                                  Will it tell me it's still hungry if
.4>    I don't have enough calories?
    
    	Possibly.  Or you may just get a lazy feeling which is your
    body trying to save calories.
    
.4>                                   Will I be hungry again sooner if
.4>    I don't have enough calories (eating an apple as opposed to a raisin
.4>    bagel)?
    
    	Probably.  It depends on whether or not the food you ate (bagel
    vs apple) was what your body was in need of.
    
.4>             I read once that calories don't count all that much, but
.4>    nutrients do.  That is supposedly why a person can eat a whole bag
.4>    of chips (large bag) with dip and still feel hungry.

    	It depends on what you mean by "calories don't count all that
    much".  For weight loss/gain they are the dominant factor.  For
    satisfying an appetite, they might not be.
    
.4>                                                       Can I really
.4>    live off of powdered nutrition drinks?

    	For a while, yes.  But you'd be crazy to try.  For example, one
    of the beneficial side-effects of eating lots of vegetables is that
    some of them cleanse the teeth while chewing.  Plus, the digestion
    process influences the amount of acid in the stomach.  Without the
    need for digestion, I'm not sure what would happen.
    
    	Couple that with the fact that science has not yet established
    RDAs for almost all the trace minerals that are found naturally
    in foods.  So the pill that you can live off indefinitely is decades
    away.
    
    -mike z

    I am allergic to milk and milk products, so I take calcium supplements.
    I've noticed that I crave ice cream and/or frozen yogurt when I
    cut back on calcium.  When I get 400 mg. of calcium a day, the cravings
    go away.
    
    I'm not offering scientific evidence...just personal experience.
    
    Lynn

    
    There seems to be a good debate going on in the medical establishment
    about exactly what makes us hungry. One interesting theory says
    that it's not what's in your tum (or not) that does it - it's what's
    in your bloodstream. That is, when your blood sugar drops below
    a certain point it trigger release of "hungry feeling" hormone(?).
    Apparently this is why you can pig-out and have a full tum but still
    "crave" more - the stuff you pigged out on was not the sort that
    gives a steady stream of sugar but a spurt which quickly subsides
    and leave you hungrier than ever.
    
    Following on then.......the stuff which provides satiety value in
    the long-term is fat and protein - carbohydrate and straight sugars
    are "quick lifters". And around this is built the low-carbohydrate
    theory of dieting, which is an eye-opener if you're used to counting
    calories. There are quite a few of these diets - Dr. Atkins is a
    famous one....
    
    Good luck,
    
    Abigail
    

    If you have a craving for something creamy and satisfying, there
    is a suggestion in the Stillman diet book, that may help.
    
    He has a section about satisfying cravings, and the presence of
    a solution for the above craving stuck in my mind, as it is where
    I often fall down on diets!
    
    I haven't had cause to try it out yet, but the concoction Dr. Stillman
    describes sounds as though it would fulfil the craving.  It also
    sounds so awful that I think it would soon satisfy the craving too!
    
    Ali

    don't tell me - it's nonfat dry milk whipped up with mashed
    soybeans!  
    
    By the way, not  all carbohydrates are quick releasers.  There
    is a index called the glycemic index.  Various foods appear
    at different points on the index.  Glucose is rated at 100.
    Sucrose and all the other -oses are slightly less.  Carrots
    are right up there, surprise surprise, but apples are quite
    low, and whole grains are generally lower than white grains.
    The higher the rating, the quicker the food is used and gone.
    The lower rated foods tend to make you feel full for a long
    time, and supply a steady slow energy to the body.  So, eat
    an apple rather than carrots, to feel full.
    
    --Louise