Welcome to General Chat - GAW Community Area
This General Chat area started off as a place for people to talk about things that are off topic, however it has quickly evolved into a community and has become an integral part of the GAW experience for many of us.
Based on its evolving needs and plenty of user feedback, we are trying to bring some order and institute some rules. Please make sure you read these rules and participate in the spirit of this community.
Rules for General Chat
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Be respectful to each other. This is of utmost importance, and comments may be removed if deemed not respectful.
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Personal anecdotes, puzzles, cute pics/clips - everything welcome
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Feel free to give feedback as these rules are expected to keep evoloving
In short, imagine this thread to be a local community hall where we all gather and chat daily. Please be respectful to others in the same way
When you're intermittent-fasting, how do you deal with your stomach growling?
There are times that I get SO hungry that my hands start shaking. I'm serious, it's like my body is begging me to eat something--anything.
I'm tempted to eat something that's very low-calorie like a dill-pickle spear, but a cursory reading of the "nutrition facts" tells me one is about 24 calories and no detectable nutritional value otherwise, so I hold off...but God, this feeling SUCKS.
How on Earth do others tolerate this?
And before anyone asks, yeah, I'm very much hydrated!
As a person who could not even imagine not eating late at night daily, let alone IF, I can tell you one thing from experience. Your craving for food (its not the stomach growling per se, but rather the whole body wanting and expecting carbs) is very much dependent on your insulin resistance.
Its a vicious cycle - the more you eat carbs, the more insulin resistance you develop and more you hunger for carbs.
So whats the solution? Let your body lead you. If you were eating till 9 pm daily, stop at 7pm. If you started eating breakfast at 8 am, delay it to 9am. You will notice that after a few weeks this becomes very easy and your body begs you to start ending early and starting late.
Why? Because its the opposite vicious cycle. You are giving your body a chance to wean off the insulin resistance, and the more you do it, the more the body rejects carb. (And yes, it does. Once you wean it off carbs, it starts hating carbs and you will feel very full with just a bit of carbs, and you will be turned off from eating more carbs).
Finally the actual issue of stomach growling. Once your insulin resistance is down, the hunger growls in the morning becomes gentle and quite enjoyable. I hadn't felt what hunger was, for years. Now I look forward to it every morning because it makes you lighter and reminds you how well you are doing. Its your body softly thanking you.
TL;DR: Start very slowly. Dont push hard. The body will guide your pace and you just listen to the body.
I'm not diabetic--though my family feared I was for the longest time--but I'd never considered that. Insulin resistance. The body is so weird.
By the way, do pickles make a good snack? Personally, I love them, but I was surprised to see all the 0% on the label on my jar. Are the bad guys just trying to discourage me from eating good food?
The problem with pickles is the salt. if a pickle is made with good salt (like black salt or pink salt that contains all minerals not just sodium, then its good salt) and does not have any preservatives or sugar etc, then it would be good. Otherwise, its not the pickle per se, but the salt/sugar in it thats not good for you.
The snacks I have discovered are walnuts. Its a tough taste in the beginning, but once you develop a taste, its fantastic snack (of course buy one with no salt etc)
Cashews are my go-to.