There is a first time for everything
deksgrl
Posts: 7,237 Member
I kept hearing about this "not hungry at all and have to almost force yourself to eat" thing. And I just could never really understand that. Certainly I had been *less* hungry with this woe, but unless I was ill or something I never experienced the can't eat thing. Well yesterday it happened. I had my usual coffee and then protein shake mid morning, but then I wasn't hungry at lunch. I needed to make up time at work so I worked through lunch. I still wasn't really hungry after lunch time but got a Muscle Milk out of the vending machine and 2 ounce pack of peanuts, only because I thought I should. Drank the Muscle Milk and felt full but then ate the peanuts anyway and I felt stuffed. Dinner time came and went, still not hungry, couldn't think of a thing I really wanted to eat. Finally about 8 p.m. made some scrambled eggs, and ate a piece of fruit, again, not because I was hungry just because I felt like I should eat more and that was the only thing that appealed to me. Total calories: 1,124. I thought surely there must be something wrong with me because literally that has never happened to me before unless I was sick or really stressed out and upset or something like that.
This morning, again didn't feel really hungry, but did have one bout of feeling a little weak and woozy and finally the hunger kicked in. Not sure why this not hungry phenom decided to start now, I am not particularly low carb, have been eating a range between 40-80 grams most days since the middle of May, and have been eating approximately the same percentage macro wise during this time.
If anyone told me before May that this could ever happen to me, I would have called them all kinds of names indicating they are stupid. I used to have terrible crashes if I didn't eat regularly.
This morning, again didn't feel really hungry, but did have one bout of feeling a little weak and woozy and finally the hunger kicked in. Not sure why this not hungry phenom decided to start now, I am not particularly low carb, have been eating a range between 40-80 grams most days since the middle of May, and have been eating approximately the same percentage macro wise during this time.
If anyone told me before May that this could ever happen to me, I would have called them all kinds of names indicating they are stupid. I used to have terrible crashes if I didn't eat regularly.
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I have been wondering about this too. I've only ever experienced "not hungry" when sick, drinking like a fish, smoking like a chimney, or incredibly upset (in which case I was usually drinking like a fish whilst smoking like a chimney). This WOE has totally changed my perspective on eating. Hunger comes in waves now. I get somewhat hungry, feel a little grumble in my tummy, then drink some water or black coffee and forget all about it for several hours. I, too, find myself in my kitchen at 8 or 9 at night wondering if I "should" eat something before I go to bed. It's weird but lovely.0
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Not sure why this not hungry phenom decided to start now, I am not particularly low carb, have been eating a range between 40-80 grams most days since the middle of May, and have been eating approximately the same percentage macro wise during this time.
It's probably multiple factors. Carb restriction may just get the ball rolling. Then there's an increased awareness of hunger and craving signals, which for me made it easier to ignore those signals. And over time, your stomach adapts to not being stuffed all the time:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/does-dieting-actually-make-your-stomach-shrink-180955521/?no-ist
The latest science suggests that chronic food restriction can actually affect how much you need to eat to feel full—with caveats. An upcoming study of fasting mice, conducted by Farrugia and Tamas Ordog at the Mayo Clinic, shows that reducing food intake by 20 percent over four weeks results in a reduction of several important cellular stomach wall factors, reducing the amount of food the stomach can accommodate.
“When you analyze the stomach, you find that the number of nerves, the number of pacemaker cells [which produce coordinated muscle contraction during digestion] and smooth muscle are found in significantly lesser number,” says Farrugia. “So the stomach capacity to relax does actually shrink when there is dietary restriction.” These mice also show delayed gastric emptying, which measures the time it takes for food to move through the stomach and into the small intestine.0 -
Wow!!! That's fantastic. Hope this happens to me one day.0
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Welcome to the other side.
Between keto and IF, I'm very rarely hungry. "Rare" as in "maybe every couple of weeks." The rest of the time, I eat because I have macros to fill or maybe because I want the taste of something. But there's no hunger associated with it. I get super-absorbed in work, so I have to set alarms to remind me to eat during my eating window (12-7p). I just don't care about eating. It's fuel. Tasty fuel, but that's all it is.0 -
Same here! I didn't know this wol even existed! I figured everybody walked around hungry and some were able to resist and others not (like willpower). Am sooooo glad I was wrong! I am the same as @2Poufs, and may get hungry a couple of times a month. Food is now the fuel my body needs to repair itself. Yes @mami1976D, I have to decided if I need to eat once I realize I haven't had enough for a day too! Is an unusual, but very welcomed, place to be! @totaloblivia, I hope you are able to achieve this too!0
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Not sure why this not hungry phenom decided to start now, I am not particularly low carb, have been eating a range between 40-80 grams most days since the middle of May, and have been eating approximately the same percentage macro wise during this time.
It's probably multiple factors. Carb restriction may just get the ball rolling. Then there's an increased awareness of hunger and craving signals, which for me made it easier to ignore those signals. And over time, your stomach adapts to not being stuffed all the time:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/does-dieting-actually-make-your-stomach-shrink-180955521/?no-ist
The latest science suggests that chronic food restriction can actually affect how much you need to eat to feel full—with caveats. An upcoming study of fasting mice, conducted by Farrugia and Tamas Ordog at the Mayo Clinic, shows that reducing food intake by 20 percent over four weeks results in a reduction of several important cellular stomach wall factors, reducing the amount of food the stomach can accommodate.
“When you analyze the stomach, you find that the number of nerves, the number of pacemaker cells [which produce coordinated muscle contraction during digestion] and smooth muscle are found in significantly lesser number,” says Farrugia. “So the stomach capacity to relax does actually shrink when there is dietary restriction.” These mice also show delayed gastric emptying, which measures the time it takes for food to move through the stomach and into the small intestine.
Interesting. But I have a pretty small calorie deficit so I don't really think I'm dieting to the point that would be considered dietary restriction or chronic food restriction like in the study. My averaged weight loss over 19 weeks is about half a pound a week. Unless we are talking just volume of the food. That would make sense I guess.
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Unless we are talking just volume of the food. That would make sense I guess.
Yeah, I think the volume/quantity/quality matters more than the caloric content. The study mentioned delayed gastric emptying, which I think is key for low-carb. Higher fat and protein content means it takes longer to digest, and we stay full longer. Everybody here seems to discuss delayed bowel movements.
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I get kind of hunger numb for a bit after a hard ride
But I know I have to eat or lose muscle so I eat0 -
Don't really get hungry. Don't get me wrong, I like food. Or rather, I like interesting food. I generally weigh things to keep me honest but one serving is always enough. Sometimes I forget lunch but realize that I have to keep my macros in line. It feels wrong to eat when you aren't hungry since I always ate so much that hunger was never a factor. But I do eat. I am never stuffed which is a big improvement over my past life.0
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I get hunger days. Some days I'm way under my calorie count and then I have some that are over. It balances out in the end so I just go with it.KittensMaster wrote: »I get kind of hunger numb for a bit after a hard ride
But I know I have to eat or lose muscle so I eat
A workout make me lose my appetite too! My workout pals used to not believe me when I would tell them exercise cut my appetite. lol0 -
Same thing happens to me. I have days when I get hungry regularly and other days when I have very little to no interest in food or eating whatsoever so I completely relate to what you've said and what you're experiencing. I never knew it was possible to be so divorced from one's food before I found this WOE / WOL - that is, you forget about food or forget to eat and aren't actually thinking about food the entire day. It's much easier to see it as merely "fuel" now albeit still very enjoyable food. lol0
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I have been wondering about this too. I've only ever experienced "not hungry" when sick, drinking like a fish, smoking like a chimney, or incredibly upset (in which case I was usually drinking like a fish whilst smoking like a chimney). This WOE has totally changed my perspective on eating. Hunger comes in waves now. I get somewhat hungry, feel a little grumble in my tummy, then drink some water or black coffee and forget all about it for several hours. I, too, find myself in my kitchen at 8 or 9 at night wondering if I "should" eat something before I go to bed. It's weird but lovely.
Agree. I remember those not hungry but I should eat feelings! Can't wait to get back in ketosis! My body has been lying to me every night that I'm ravenous and I need a megadose of carbs!
FTR, I do eat every 4-6 hrs on purpose for a variety of reasons including to prevent overwhelming hunger and to keep the metabolic fires burning. But when I'm not in ketosis something weird happens to me around eight at night (imagine a werewolf).
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Ha! I'm a werewolf too! Thanks for giving me a name for my monster. 0
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I have never had the "don't feel like eating" thing, but I come from a long background of disordered eating so I expect that a lot of it is psychological for me. I ALWAYS feel hungry and can eat till bursting.0
