(no subject)

[eirias]

I've noticed a strange but consistent pattern: When I go to bed full, I wake up hungry; when I go to bed not full, I wake up not hungry. This holds for pretty much any amount of sleep that is both overnight and might count as a full night (let's say min. 6 hours), and does not vary above that; it does not hold for naps during the daytime (indeed, if I take a nap while full, on waking I am usually queasy, groggy, and uninterested in food for the remainder of the day). Hypotheses, anyone?

Comments

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

The whole "eating meat or other low-carb/low-glycemic-index foods makes you less hungry later than if you eat pasta" phenomenon is the entire basis of the Atkins and South Beach diets; it's not just you. (Atkins was the only time my body and my food and my weight all cooperated, though it wasn't feasible long-term.) (Although fruits are carbs too! Fruits are very carby, if some more so than others. But some are lowER carb and have lots of fiber which slows down the digestion.)

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Anyway, "if you don't eat you'll eventually die. I guess that's true for everyone. :)"? So whaddaya say to this (http://www.breatharian.com/breatharianism2.htm)? Huh? Huh?!? ;)

[vfoxy.livejournal.com]

Breatharianism. Yeah, when I got into raw food that was all over it. God the stuff is such a CROCK.

Can I vent here? FUCK RAW FOOD!!!!!! Okay I feel better.

[eirias.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I am always interested in food, so I am of no help. The only weird thing that I find is that if I eat fruits and vegetables and meat, I tend to be less hungry later than if I eat carbs, although there are fewer calories. But I think everyone's metabolism and digestion is completely different. In fact, after experimenting with food for so long, I've decided there's absolutely no way to generalize, except maybe if you don't eat you'll eventually die. I guess that's true for everyone. :)

Heh :). Yeah, probably true.

(Filtered because I don't want my real name in here -- please don't address me that way. Thanks :) )

[corydoras.livejournal.com]

i don't really have a theory about why this happens, but the same darn thing happens to me, regarding the going to bed full and waking up starving and vice versa. interesting to see someone else notice this pattern.

one thing i notice is sometimes if i had a very strenuous day i'll get full faster when i eat, making me feel real full even if i haven't eaten that much. then of course what i've eaten is all burned up when i sleep because my metabolism is revved from the many activities. so when i wake up i'm hungry, even though i went to bed feeling real full.

don't have a clear explanation for the going to bed hungry and waking up not hungry thing. that one is pure mystery.

[harleybitch.livejournal.com]

Doh i dont know if my last one posted. Sorry if this is a repeat. For me there is a huge link between stomach acid and hunger. When I have acid I dont feel it in the form of heartburn, I get hungry, REAL HUNGRY. Like eat everything in the house, wake up at 3am hungry. Acid pills (like zantac or nexium) make me able to eat like a normal person.

[harleybitch.livejournal.com]

Also I have heard with starving that people will not be hungry after reaching a certain point of hunger.

[leora.livejournal.com]

My guess is that your body has given up. Food has been a difficult to acquire thing for most of my life, so I've learned a lot of ways to deal with not having it.

When food isn't available and me doing things won't make it more available, the best thing to do is to lie down and rest. It uses up less energy. My body gives up on acquiring food, I feel less hungry, and I sleep. This is often a very good tactic if food will become available later on (say someone plans to cook food, but not for several hours). To a certain extent you can trade food and sleep. Sleep if there is no food. Eat extra if you're pulling an all-nighter. So, my guess is that you're accidentally triggering the mechanisms I deliberately sought out. Eat a small amount of something simple to help wake up your appetite without upsetting your stomache, and if it comes back in force, then you likely need the food.

[darlox.livejournal.com]

Insulin crash. This happens during the day too, but when your body is active, there's all sorts of other exotic chemicals and things rushing around that mitigate the effect unless you've eaten something very very sugary.

Your body digests all night long, and being on your back slows the digestive process because you don't have gravity pulling on things. Same reason people with acid reflux (like me) are advised to incline their bed, so that gravity still works to some degree, and food is pulled lower in the digestive tract.

But I digress... food processes slower, your body releases insulin to break down the sugars. Inevitably your body releases slightly more insulin than it needs, your blood sugar drops, and you feel hungry. You probably don't need the nutrition, but your blood sugar is low, so your body tells you to eat. If you make sure to not eat anything significant within 2-3 hours of bedtime, you'll notice this doesn't happen anymore.

Interesting condition called "insulin resistance" where some people ALWAYS release too much insulin, and so they feel hungry shortly after eating. Big cause of obesity, actually...