Vent for the vets, sorry newbies!

asia1967

Ok all my vets I need your expertise. I have not been hungry for a couple of weeks, I feel fine but can't get my calories in. I meet my macros and water but know that I have to up my cals. So here is my dilemma. I have been forcing myself to eat even when I am not hungry ( this goes against most of our grains) so today I have supper, over ate and for some strange reason has trigger the feeling of wanting to binge. Has this happened to anyone else?
Any comments greatly appreciated.

5BeautifulDays

My guess is the larger amount of food after days of low calories triggered an insulin spike. Now you're craving food to "soak up" all that extra insulin floating around in your blood stream. This poor insulin management (Syndrome X or Metabolic Syndrome--ie pre-diabetes) is what landed a lot of us in our surgeon's office in the first place.

As to how to handle it, I'm not sure. I feel better and like my hunger is more manageable if I walk for 20-30 minutes then have a protein/carb snack (like 1/2 an apple and an oz of cheese, or celery and 1 tbs peanut butter) right after.

asia1967

Thanks 5BeatifulDays. I was thinking of it being a mental issue, never dawned on me it could be physiological. Makes sense.

Thaeda

Yes-- sometimes when I choose to eat if I am not hungry it triggers a binge. If I am not eating from hunger, why not just keep eating, right? My suggestion- trust your body-- if you are not hungry, don't eat. You will survive. Just make sure what you are eating is nutrient-dense. JMNSHO, but I think the whole "starvation" mode thing is a wee bit overblown.

rpyle111

My reaction is to make sure you are not reducing calories on purpose as an emotional reaction to something. If you are really not hungry, I agree with Thaeda to roll with your body's signals.

asia1967

Thanks Thaeda and Rob, but for a change this is not emotional. I truly just don't feel hungry.

PaulaKro

Hi Asia, I've been that way lately too, needing to force myself to eat. I'm just not hungry, even though I should be eating more each day. I wondered if pain meds (for knee surgery) killed my appetite but don't know for sure.

It feels like it takes forever to get enough food. So I've been eating a lot of protein, vegetables, to get the nutritional stuff in first before running out of time/room. As long as I stay away from over-processed starches (high glycemic index stuff), I don't seem to want to binge later.

Is it possible you're eating trigger foods that cause the evening binge desire? If not, then our situations are probably different - wouldn't be surprised.

Best,
Paula

pawoodhull

Hey kiddo, I have been like this a lot lately as you know. Mine is stress related. I'm stressed so I don't want to eat. After one day of not eating for over 24 hours, I have been forcing myself to eat my normal meals. To go too many days under or severley under calories is just as bad for us as going over consistently. So here's what I think, you don't want to eat much then don't. Have a little protein around mid day (if you have to force it do) and a little at the end of the day and call it good. Your appatite will come back, just be patient with yourself.