As I mentioned earlier – I didn’t set an alarm last night so I woke up at 6:15 and basically pushed Ben out the door and scrambled to figure out what exercise I was going to do for the day. I ended up just going for a walk. Walking is my second favorite form of exercise 
A lovely 3 mile stroll later, I didn’t want eggs for breakfast. I know, I’m as surprised as you are. It was probably just because I bought cereal yesterday and it was calling my name…
Sip
But, I can’t really do all day without eggs so… Mid-morning I got hungry and made myself a nice lil omelet snack with some strawberries.
Lunch was the Best Salad in the World, an apple and a piece of bread with almond butter and chocolate. I’m definitely feeling like a bottomless pit today because I was still hungry after all that!
I ate a lot yesterday, so I don’t know why I want to eat all day but it’s taken all my effort (and an entire pack of gum) to keep me out of the kitchen today. I hit all the bases of protein, carbs, healthy fats and drank more than enough water so I don’t know why I just want to eat.
Oh wait, yes I do.
It’s because I like eating.
So simple, yet so complicated.
Or something like that.
Winner of the Fitness For Geeks Book: 
Ask a Monican #40!
1. Thoughts on Fasting?
2. I don’t want to run long any more. What should I do?
3. Does it get any easier to run in the morning?
Got a question for this Monican? Email me at runeatrepeat at gmail dot com
While I haven’t had ‘issues’ with food during most of my life, I have recently been trying to deal with a multitude of things happening at once. Serious life things like 2 deaths in the family only weeks apart, one being very unexpected and brining buried family issues to the surface. Sometimes I am overwhelmed and when I am in a daze, I get hungry but I don’t feel like eating. I know I need to eat, but all of that anxiety just eats at me (bad pun). I know I will get through this, part of the reason why I have decided to take up running as a ‘sport’ rather than casual exercise. So I can relate to food issues especially when life hits you at full force. I just have to take a deep breath and focus on doing the best I can do today and being ok with whatever that may be.
I really like all of the questions you pose and reading the discussions that follow. Thank you for blogging (even if you do it multiple times a day) because I believe that telling your story is cathartic for you and beneficial to others who can learn something from it.
Cereal is the best worst breakfast ever. It is so tasty and awesome, but an hour later I am STARVING. Ugh.
I have done the 24-hour IF and have been fairly successful at it. The BIG difference is, however, the IF research I have done discusses using IF in conjunction with heavy weight lifting, NOT running or other forms of long steady-state cardio. Training fasted triggers growth hormone for optimal weight lifting. Therefore, I have trained fasted while weightlifting, and NOT running. I personally couldn’t imagine running in a fasted state. Anyway, that’s my two cents.
Thanks for chiming in Lynette!
You asked the question wondering why you just want to eat, despite having had a large quantity of food and your response was that you just like to eat. As someone who reads somewhat regularly I would like to respectfully suggest that the answer is definitely more complex than that. As someone who suffers from binge-eating and compulsive eating disorder I can relate to the behaviors that you post here, including eatn large quanities of things like cereal, wanting to fill up on large volumes of low-cal foods and the need to consume even when I’ve had more than enough. It’s nothing to be ashamed of but its not normal (or healthy) either. I know you’ve briefly mentioned this about yourself before but I think your readers would really appreciate it if you took a closer look at it, rather than flippantly dismissing it or try to make it seem quirky.
Its just my two cents but you seem like you are spinning your wheels and it culd be becaue you aren’t addressing the real issue.
Ever since I was a baby I have LOVED LOVED to eat. My mom told me I would sit in my high chair and hum and happily rock myself when I was eating. I gravitated to food more than my brother. So there’s that.
I have eating days sometimes where I want to just eat – it might be because of stress or fatigue or comfort – yes, I realize that. But I’m very busy and don’t have the time to dissect my urge every time it happens. Yesterday I acknowledged I wanted to eat, but should have been physically full. So, I shared that on RER and tried to curb my munching. That’s all I could do in that moment and that is enough for me to be okay with it.
Fair but you seem to struggle with this. You menton weight loss and wanting to change your habits (less fruit, no eating after dinner etc) but I am telling you from personal experience it will be exceptionally hard if you don’t look at the root cause.
I have loved, or should I say been ADDICTED to, food my whole life too. If you don’t feel that term is applicable to you then might I suggest that you revisit how you document your eating style here. Not to get all WebMD but it(the pattern and habit you portray) very indicitive of a disorder.
And while I recognize that busy is a relative term, I feel I have to point out that if you are blogging multiple times a day you probably have time to be a little more introspective and self-aware when it comes to your eating habits.
Samantha — Seems like you need to chill out and learn to be a little nicer. If you are honestly concerned, why not send an email to Monica expressing your concerns, opinions and background of your life experiences instead of publishing your post on her comments?
Katie I am being perfectly nice. It’s called constructive criticism. Having a public blog opens you up to feedback, both positive and otherwise, from readers. If it’s okay to praise her in a forum like this than I feel its acceptable to also pose certain questions or express an opinion. But that’s just it, an opinion. I am entitled to one, as are you, as is Monica. I stand by my comments and the tone in which I expressed them but I respect your right to suggest an email as well.
I also suffer from the “I like to eat” syndrome, I will never be able to fast… Or go for more than 2 hours without some sort of food.
I’m always hungry on days I run and the day after! I’m like eating every 2 hours!
I am about to start fasting for religious reasons. Oy!
I’m with you on the fasting topic. I know from my own experiences that going without food for extended periods of time only makes me end up binging when I finally do get to food. And I DEFINITELY don’t think going 24-hours without fuel is good in any sense…think of food’s main purpose: fuel! We need to be eating! I will say that I can see that maybe if this fasting is going well for her right now in terms of not binging, it may help show her that she has the power to not binge, which can in turn help her get better (without fasting) soon, so that’s good…but yah, other than that, fasting is a no to me!
I’ll have my days where I feel like I’m eating for a family of three.. isn’t it so weird how that works sometimes? Ha, i love that you almost, if not did go through a whole pack of gum.. Sadly, even without trying to control my hunger, I’ll chew almost a whole pack daily. It’s almost like an addicition, haha! That snack looks so good. I’ve been obsessed with rice cakes with some strawberry jam and frozen bananas on top.. amazing!!
Monica,
You were definitely trying to be very careful and considerate in your advice to the person who wanted to know about fasting and I admire that. My gut reaction was more along the lines of, “Oh Hell No! Girls gotta eat!,” and my guess is, that’s what is happening as soon as 6pm rolls around on the day after fasting. If it isn’t, it might start to, because her body will want food and if she doesn’t have the binge instinct reined in through emotional guidance, all that deprivation stuff is going to kick “EAT!” into overdrive.
The fact that she asked for your advice tells you she is insecure about this choice, which suggests that she isn’t so sure it’s safe or sane herself. I hope she follows your advice to seek a therapist and treat this treatment plan like a disorder instead.
Thanks for tackling that hard question.
I think that fasting for 24 hours two times per week, especially on a regular basis, sounds a bit rough on your body. A dietician that I work closely with (I’m a nurse) whole heartedly agrees. Your body needs fuel as does your brain. I know that I am able to function and think much clearer with a well fueled body.
No way would fasting work for me!! Portion control is key but I have a terrible time when it comes to watermelon. I have been know to cut the watermelon in half and grab a fork:)
I can eat an entire watermelon like it’s no big 😉
I think fasting for 2 days a week would kill me. I love food too much. Haha!
I go through weird phases with hunger. Some days I feel like I eat and eat and eat and can’t get full, and other days I’m just eating because I know I’m supposed to. It’s super weird. I hate it when I can’t get full!
Bread and almond butter is the best snack… add sliced banana and even better!
I am a big fan of your blog and have been for a while… I added you to the ‘Blogs I ❤’ page 🙂
Check it out http://kellyrosie.wordpress.com/blogs-i-❤/
Thanks Kelly!
I’m pretty sure that I’m a bottomless pit too. Sometimes I just don’t feel full or satisfied! I’m off to watch your video…love them!
I am so excited about your Ask a Monican post. I am about to tackle half marathon training and I moved to MD recently and it is hot and humid so I really need to start switching to morning running and the thought makes me crinnnggggeee. I have always run at sunset but I just cant, it is still soooo hot. I hate mornings. In fact, running in the morning makes me feel so miserable the first time I do it, I stop. And then I re-start and it happens again and I stop. I really need to keep it consistent but I hate mornings.
Yep, weather in MD has NOT been awesome! I walk indoors and run around sunset!