Is it normal to be STARVING!??

[DragonflyDreams]

I don't mean really starving, but that growling belly all the time. I cut meat out almost entirely ( ate free range organic 2 times these past few weeks) But I feel like I have to eat every hour to avoid that feeling in my gut. What is going on? Is it normal?:confused:

[Beckla]

No. It's not as it should be. In time, your body's physiology will change.

In the meantime, eat when you need to for now... but wisely. The way I think of it is this: look at horses. No - really. And other GRAZING animals. Three huge meals a day -- that's not what works for most. I say look at animals like horses because they are grazers - and they eat 5-6 times a day... in smaller amounts than what we see the average human eat these days. (I said average) Look at their muscle/fat ratio.

I don't know what your starting point is, but I do know that the stomach adjusts (literally - in size) to need/intake. So start with focusing on your needs. You're hungry? Ok. Then eat something - but focus, instead on a) what it is (and is NOT) and b) how much of said IT it is.

One day at a time. One meal at a time.

You're doing great!!!!!

[bodaflower]

I don't think it's normal to be starving...I'm never starving. If I am hungry, I'll usually go for an apple or a salad or maybe some nuts. I eat at least one apple a day...I do have a bit of a love affair with them.

As the other person said it's important to be focusing on what you both are and aren't eating...I think going from a cooked diet you begin on the raw diet thinking an apple or some vegetables won't really satisfy your stomach, that you need an actual meal...you've really just got to find out what fills you up and what feels good for your body to eat. I never eat until usually early afternoon..I have my vegetable juice in the morning and maybe a smoothie later on , and then maybe a snack (an apple or a raw meal i've made) and then a salad around 3-4 PM

But that's just how it usually works for me, sometimes I'll need a lot more food and sometimes I hardly eat . It varies from day to day :)

I hope that was some sort of help....



Also! When you get that feeling in your stomach, you are most likely not actually hungry (my brother taught me this while we were discussing fasting)

It takes a long time for your body to actually be hungry...a lot longer than a few hours. It's probably just your large intenstine, it's right under your stomach (I am pretty sure I am right on this info..correct me if I'm wrong :D) and so you can confuse that with being hungry, I used to..you should be able to satisfy that hungry feeling with a glass of water, or juice.

Sometimes in the morning I get really intense hunger pains...like minutes after waking up while I'm still in bed :-p I know I'm not actually hungry so I drink some water and it nearly always fixes it right up

[the_lab_rat]

I don't know what's "normal" or not, but when I'm feeling that starving feeling, it helps me to eat either soups or watery/juicy fruits and veggies, like melons, cucumbers, celery, strawberries, grapefruit, etc, rather than dry things. Or green smoothies...you'll hear a lot about green smoothies on this site :D

[beppa66]

Some days I am uber-hungry and others not at all. If I've already eaten a meal and I get that feeling, a few nuts usually do the trick. Like 5 or 6 and a few rasins. In the morning my stomach growls like crazy until it gets it's smoothie!

[Rawkinlocs]

Yes, it's normal to feel more hungry than usual and to need to eat more when you first start out with raw or first give up meat (this happened to me too when we first gave up meat and went veg). Your body is used to eating heavier, cooked meat and now it is adjusting and adapting to not having that.

We all have gone through this point when first going raw where we feel ravenous all the time or don't feel as "full" as we did when eating meat, potatoes, etc.

Your body will clean out and you will adjust to the lighter feeling of raw foods and not having meat. But you still may find that you end up a grazer...some do and some don't. I don't eat set meals or big meals in one sitting...I graze throughout the day but I don't feel famished and rumbly all the time. It will pass...just try and hang in there and when you feel hungry, EAT! :)

[barose]

I feel like that too, though I'm only 4 months in to eating raw AND vegan. When I'm starving (which is often), I eat :). Superfoods such as cacao, spirluna, maca and a few others does help me a great deal. I also started taking virgin coconut in the evenings and that does help a lot too. Sometimes I need more water, sometimes I need more fruit, greens, fat or protein. I'm learning to listen to my body more and more each day.

[trinity082482]

I'm always hungry lol...

Like every 4 hours I tend to eat...

But its not just an apple..


its like 3 fruits, handful of nuts... raw dessert and maybe a tea... oye!

[145ish]

I find that each time I tweak my diet I go through the same thing. :o A week or so of that hungry feeling. It was strongest when I first went raw because along with the major changes came the sense of not being full no matter how much I ate. That was all over with in about 2 weeks. I'm always adjusting to become more an more in tune but each time like I said...I have to go through a week or two of being a bit uncomfortable. The good news is..it does end :p ..it goes away and sometimes you don't even notice that it's gone until it's been gone for a while and you happen to reflect on it. :D Hang in there and take it slow.