I don't know if you have a metabolic disorder or not, but Dr. Bernstein (Diabetes Solution) commented in his book that when the abdomen is distended, there is a blood sugar and insulin response (which triggers hunger and cravings).

I found that the more I ate, the hungrier I got *and* the stronger my carb cravings. So now I physically limit how much I eat at a meal...no more than 5 oz of protein and no more than 1 cup of green vegies. Then I don't eat for 5 hours. It was hard the first couple of days, but now it's pretty easy.

Since the CDC believes that 75% of obese people are insulin resistant (although they may not be diabetic...yet), there's a good chance that this is pertinent for many of us.

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