Hungry all the time??

worldofalice

So after a period of relative restriction (in quasi-recovery after 5 years of anorexia, and having already gained 12kg) I began upping my calories in September to around 1700 a day (as a weekly avergae - sometimes less, sometimes more but it evens out). I also began heavy weight lifting 4x a week in November and have seen some moderate improvement; on my non-lifting days, I do about 40 - 60 minutes moderate cardio (can't run atm as I have a running injury) and other bits and pieces. Some days I do lots of walking, other days I can't do much. Since September I've gained around 3kg, bringing me to just over 48kg at 5"3.5. I'd like to build muscle but really can't afford to gain any more fat, for mental and physical reasons.

Recently, however, I've been hungry ALL THE TIME. Not always stomach-growlingly starving, but at least uncomfortably peckish. I've been getting closer to 2000 most days this week, and I find myself havin eaten between 1200-1500 calories before I've even had dinner - I'm going out for dinner tonight yet have already eaten 3x100 calorie snacks since returning from a gentle gym session and I've still got lunch to go! I'll leave my diary open so you can have a look (add about 100 cals onto my days as I forget to log things like milk in my tea etc)I often eat every hour or two, which scares me and also just generally gets in the way of my day! Even when I had a big lunch yesterday, I still ended up feeling the need to snack. This is really scaring me as I can't gain any more fat, and I'm not losing weight so the problem can't be that I'm not eating enough! Does anybody have any thoughts?

jerilynconn

I can't see your diary. But, have you checked out any tdee calculators? Chances are, 1700 is way too low, especially with the cardio. Find your estimated tdee, then add 100 calories weekly until you get there. Then pay attention to how your body reacts to see if that is your number.

Second, from where you are right now calorie wise: get close to your body weight in grams of protein. Once you get that down, get 25-35 g of fiber daily. Then focus on getting 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat.

Do you weigh your food? Because your estimates could be off. Weigh/measure everything (including that milk for tea!) and log everything in your food diary (including the milk for tea), unless this triggers past behaviors.

Anyways, listen to your body. You may gain some fat but it sounds miserable to be starving all of the time.

beastmode_kitty

Sometimes we mistake hunger for being thirsty. I have a bottle of water that holds up to 24oz of water, and I drink about 3 of them a day. I find i am not as hungry or peckish when i consume that amount of water. So if you are feeling kinda hungry, have a glass of water then re-evaulate how you feel.

worldofalice

saranharm wrote: »

I can't see your diary. But, have you checked out any tdee calculators? Chances are, 1700 is way too low, especially with the cardio. Find your estimated tdee, then add 100 calories weekly until you get there. Then pay attention to how your body reacts to see if that is your number.

Second, from where you are right now calorie wise: get close to your body weight in grams of protein. Once you get that down, get 25-35 g of fiber daily. Then focus on getting 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat.

Do you weigh your food? Because your estimates could be off. Weigh/measure everything (including that milk for tea!) and log everything in your food diary (including the milk for tea), unless this triggers past behaviors.

Anyways, listen to your body. You may gain some fat but it sounds miserable to be starving all of the time.

Thanks for your advice - I'm pretty much following those macros, however hadn't given fibre much thought! I've checked out my tdee however they completely vary - some of them give me 1900-2200, however I'm just scared to eat that much regularly as I'm worried im over-estimating my activity. Perhaps I should try gradually moving closer to those numbers as you've suggested, it's a scary step though. In terms of tracking - I weigh everything, down to my broccoli and raspberries, however this is something I am being encouraged to move away from eventually as it doesn't make for a full recovery! I'm therefore apprehensive to measure out the milk in my tea too (it might earn me some odd looks at uni

worldofalice

beastmode_kitty wrote: »

Sometimes we mistake hunger for being thirsty. I have a bottle of water that holds up to 24oz of water, and I drink about 3 of them a day. I find i am not as hungry or peckish when i consume that amount of water. So if you are feeling kinda hungry, have a glass of water then re-evaulate how you feel.

You're very right! I do try to be mindful of that - I think I drink lots but there's always room for improvement! Although i hate that "sloshy" feeling, do you get that? In terms of my constant hunger, it usually goes - drink, wait, snack, drink, wait, give in and snack again

KickboxDiva

I'm thinking the most important thing you mentioned is the recovery after 5 years of anorexia. I really don't know anything about that. Did you have a recovery program you used? Seems like it is important that you trust your hunger cues and possibly pay close attention to the quality of food and focus on making sure what you eat is not low calorie as much as high nutrient. If your metabolism is not fully healed from the damage done to it during that time then you can expect some scale gain but that doesn't mean it's all fat or even most. Perhaps put the scale away if you can, eat foods that make you feel healthy and energetic, lift weights to build muscle. When you lift weights you are doing that to break down your muscle, micro tears. The BUILDING part comes with rest and FOOD. Try to think of food that way- as fuel and muscle building material. I had to convert your weight and at about 106 lbs on 5'3+ I highly doubt you have a lot of excess fat. If you are soft that is likely lack of muscle which could have been eaten up during your struggle. When I started lifting my body shape started to change dramaticly. Such better results for me than the years of cardio I had done before. Also, I was very hungry since my body was working hard to repair and grow muscle. I tried to eat mostly clean with some treats, 25 g fiber daily and to eat vegetables several times a day. If you are struggling with heavy thoughts about your weight/fat/ ect I hope you will seek preventative help. If you have won the battle there is no need to visit that dark place again. best of luck to you!

heybales

Are you meals a large part carbs?

Or a decent balance - but you eat the carbs first?

Both can result in spikes of insulin that leave you with lower than needed blood sugar - which of course means body will think you are hungry.

Have your workouts gotten stronger - either by weight, or pace faster, more intensity, ect?

Could be you need more repair from them - and body wants more food to do that.

Is sleep good?
Sometimes lack of sleep impacting recovery means body wants more food to help recovery too - though if you slept better it could get by with less.

beastmode_kitty

worldofalice wrote: »

beastmode_kitty wrote: »

Sometimes we mistake hunger for being thirsty. I have a bottle of water that holds up to 24oz of water, and I drink about 3 of them a day. I find i am not as hungry or peckish when i consume that amount of water. So if you are feeling kinda hungry, have a glass of water then re-evaulate how you feel.

You're very right! I do try to be mindful of that - I think I drink lots but there's always room for improvement! Although i hate that "sloshy" feeling, do you get that? In terms of my constant hunger, it usually goes - drink, wait, snack, drink, wait, give in and snack again

Not so much. But I find the more I drink water, and it has to be cold water, the more i crave drinking more water.