The 6 hour rule

[Kimberly_P]

Hi everyone, I ate breakfast this morning at 9 and had an ounce of cheese at noon and I am really hungry still. I know I'm supposed to wait until 3 to eat lunch which is an hour and a half away so should I wait or eat now?

[ladyinred]

Re: The 6 hour rule

You aren't supposed to go more than 6 waking hours without eating, but that doesn't mean you can't eat in between. I usually eat breakfast around 8:00, have lunch at noon, a snack around 3:00 (because we don't usually eat dinner until after 7:00 and from noon til 7:00 is more than 6 waking hours) and then dinner. I don't usually need a snack at night, but if I'm hungry I'll have one. So if you are hungry you should go eat! One ounce of cheese wouldn't last me too long either. Go! Go! lol

[BellaCarol]

Re: The 6 hour rule

Eat when you are hungry, just dont let it go more than 6 hours between meals.

[not2late]

Re: The 6 hour rule

Hi everyone, I ate breakfast this morning at 9 and had an ounce of cheese at noon and I am really hungry still. I know I'm supposed to wait until 3 to eat lunch which is an hour and a half away so should I wait or eat now?

The "6 hour rule" is Induction Rule #1
http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...ead.php?t=6782

1. Eat either three regular-size meals a day or four or five smaller meals. Do not skip meals or go more than six waking hours without eating.

Induction Rule #6 goes with it:

6. Adjust the quantity you eat to suit your appetite, especially as it decreases. When you're hungry, eat the amount that makes you feel satisfied, but not stuffed. When you're not hungry, eat a small controlled carbohydrate snack to accompany your nutritional supplements.

So if you are hungry, eat the amount of food you need to satisfy your hunger. If you aren't hungry and you're nearing the 6 hour mark, eat a small snack to keep your blood sugar steady.

I hope that clears it up for you.

[msnicksmom]

Re: The 6 hour rule

You NEVER have to feel hungry on this WOE. Eat when you are hungry...but if you AREN'T hungry, still eat at the 6 hour mark to keep your blood sugar level.

Like Meg said. Sorry for the repeat.

[Scooterjam]

Re: The 6 hour rule

Is it me or does it seem that Kimberly just isn't eating enough all together?

Kimberly are you putting everything you eat on your Fitday journal that you've shared? If so, I think (please know, I'm trying to support and not hurt...) you need to chill on the bacon, and give yourself some fresher things for breakfast, try an omelet with broccoli, or mushrooms, I think I remember you saying you liked cucumbers.

I only want to help. Not hinder. Maybe post your journal, menu for someone to review. I try to see what a lot of people are eating when I look at the journals, maybe try that too. I agree with everybody else, if you're hungry, you eat. That's what Dr. Atkins always said. Just eat what's good for you!

Good Luck!!

Scooter






44 Year Old Male
Start Date: 04/17/06
Start Weight: 295 lbs.
Current Weight: 261 lbs.













I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself.

“Self-Pity” - D. H. Lawrence

[ValidRouge]

Re: The 6 hour rule

Kim,

In a totally loving way here, I agree with Scooter. You should NEVER go hungry on this WOL. EVER. If you are hungry, then you should eat. What the 6 hour rule means is that you don't go WITHOUT eating for more than six hours.

I looked back at your fitday...looks like yours is as hit and miss as mine. But the menu on May 26th looks semi-okay except your aren't getting enough vegetables in. The next okayish one is from May 13th...once again not nearly enough vegetables.

In OWL, I'm eating big salads (3-4 cups) and sometimes 2 cups of cooked vegetables at night...PLUS my other OWL foods (nuts, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.)

If you don't get enough to eat, you are going to FAIL and fail big time. Your body will go into starvation mode and start holding onto your fat stores. It will turn to that muscle you are trying so hard to build by exercising and use that as fuel instead of the fat stores and the calories in your food. Mentally, it will be easy to give into the temptations of the bad foods.

You should always feel satisfied when you eat, not stuffed.

I know you've been trying so hard to do this right, and where you are failing yourself and the plan is in not eating enough food.

[Kimberly_P]

Re: The 6 hour rule

Hey, you guys bring up a really good point I don't eat enough.. Everytime I go to eat something I think "Should I be eating right now, I'm a little hungry but maybe I should hold off." I am going to try and eat more tomorrow but I have been eating more veggies and making large grilled chicken salads with at least 4 cups of Romaine. As far as the bacon goes I could lay off of that and try using more veggies and some butter to cook my eggs in.

[dotsamantha]

Re: The 6 hour rule

Don't forget that it is okay to eat.

You don't want to let too much time pass without eating. I eat every 3 hours or so. A small meal, a snack, a small meal, and so on.

[2big4mysize]

Re: The 6 hour rule

from all the posts you are making it is obvious you didn't comprehend DANDR when you read it, You seem to gleam a bit of whay foplk are telling you in reply to your topics and misunderstand it like the eatting less cause you were not hungry has become eating less cause you can, the 6 hour max limit limit has become a 6 hr wait. so please reread it at least chapter 11-14 so you know what you are supposed to be doing right now.

you have gone from overeating your Atkins cause the food was legal to being hungry and holding out cause you don't think it is time to eat.

If you learn nothing else from reading your DANDR learn that Atkins is a low glycemic index low carb high fat way of eating that allows us to eat whenever we are hungry enough food to satisfy our hunger at that time and stopping. Don't plan to eat 4 cups of salad whith your ceasr slad chicken as you were before since you may or may not be hungry enough to need all that. plan to have some ceasar salad knowing you will stop eatting when your hunger is satisfied even if their is sald left in the serving bowl ore on yourplate you got carbs in your budget and room in your belly!

[Kimberly_P]

Re: The 6 hour rule

Gosh, I didn't know I was being a pest by asking a lot of questions... I apologize for all of my posts, I just thought I could get help and answers to my questions.. Maybe I'll quit altogether because it seems I don't understand anything.

[msnicksmom]

Re: The 6 hour rule

DO NOT apologize for wanting to get it right! You are asking questions and trying to make adjustments and that is great! The stickies at the top of the 14 day induction forum are the clearest for the basic rules. OWL is a bit trickier I admit it took me several weeks and rungs to really figure it out. If I ever did. But this WOE is second nature now because of what I learned in OWL.

Don't get discouraged. Keep your eye on the prize...or the size We're here for you!

[Kimberly_P]

Re: The 6 hour rule

Thankyou, I'm just really frustrated right now... You know come to think of it I must be doing something right because I got on the scale today and I'm down to 245 and I was at 269 when I started, I'm almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight (242). I must admit also that I have not read the entire book, I joined the "Summer Read" and for the past three days I've tried to sit down and read and it's been next to impossible because my three children are always bugging me when I'm trying to get even a page read. I can't go anywhere to get away either because they follow me where ever I go so I am kind of relying on everyone here for help and support. I have been doing good and haven't cheated even once since I've started, crap I even had the stomache flu and managed to stick with it... Maybe I just feel like people are getting annoyed with me and my posts with 1000 questions. As far as the 6 hour rule I thought I had to wait every 6 hours to eat but I learned differently and today I ate more often when I was hungry. I don't have a large variety of veggies here except for a cucumber, spaghetti squash and a bag of romaine because we didn't have a whole lot of money and had to take care of stuff for my kids so next week when my husband gets paid I'll make sure I stock up more..

[dotsamantha]

Re: The 6 hour rule

Kim I think you misunderstanding 2big. SHe wants you to understand it, not make you feel as though you don't. Not that I can speak for her.

[Elizellen]

Re: The 6 hour rule

Yes. Kim, please dont stop asking questions if you are not sure of how to plan your eating.
I am sure many of our other members are glad someone has asked the very questions they wanted to ask but were too shy to post about.

It is hard to move from the strict rules of induction into the less black and white 'your mileage may vary' waters of OWL, but it is the time we all learn how our individual metabolism copes with different foods and quantites, and we all need reminding of the rules from time to time.