Does the stomach really shrink with weight loss?

BlessedMom70

Is this true that the stomach shrinks when losing weight? If this is so, then I would think that hunger will lessen (?) (I sure hope)!

smantha32

I have found myself wanting to eat less, so I believe it.

PokeyBug

I seriously doubt it. Once you're an adult, your stomach pretty much remains the same size. That's why some people get gastric bypass surgery. I think probably your body comes to expect a certain amount of calories, and when we cut back on calories, your body gets used to the change after awhile, as long as you're nourishing it properly.

TavistockToad

BlessedMom70 wrote: »

Is this true that the stomach shrinks when losing weight? If this is so, then I would think that hunger will lessen (?) (I sure hope)!

Nope. The stomach is stretchy so it expands when you eat more, that's all.

kommodevaran

No. But a smaller body requires less energy, and you can train yourself to eat less, and to accept hunger. I'm not talking about starving yourself, btw. And most of what we think about as hunger, is really appetite. So there's that.

h1udd

my appetite hasnt lessened in the slightest .... when I let myself go I'll easily eat thousands of calories in a single meal .. and enjoy it

What I have found though is all that time spent eating nutritious foods I no longer crave cake, candy, crips etc all the time ... I sit here thinking I want food, I want food I want food .... and i can be easily satisfied by a 100kcal greek yogurt or an apple, rather than 300kcal of packet junk out of the vending machine.

so in many ways it does get easier

mazcor536

The stomach doesn’t shrink at all (unless you have bariatric surgery). What changes are the signals your stomach sends to the brain to signal hunger/fullness. There was a thread on here a while ago that went into great detail about it (I think). Perhaps a quick search will bring it up.

fr33sia12

This is interesting question as I thought it did. I stand corrected. I certainly don't need as much food to fill myself as I used to or it could be that after portion control I've got used to eating a certain amount and stopping. I very rarely eat so much I feel stuffed anymore (due to portion control) just comfortably satisfied.

Fitnessgirl0913

mazcor536 wrote: »

The stomach doesn’t shrink at all (unless you have bariatric surgery). What changes are the signals your stomach sends to the brain to signal hunger/fullness. There was a thread on here a while ago that went into great detail about it (I think). Perhaps a quick search will bring it up.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10659410/do-stomachs-shrink/p1 Was this the thread?

AnnPT77

If you're continuing to be hungry, first try to be sure that's what it is . . . i.e., not habit, boredom, stress, lack of adequate sleep, under-hydration, etc. (Any of those things need to be altered at the source, which isn't truly food.)

Beyond that, use your food diary to look at when you feel more and less hungry. Look for patterns in what you ate (or didn't eat) earlier that day, or even the previous day, or in what else happened to you (exercise or its lack, sleep, stress, etc. again).

Experiment with different eating patterns to see if a different routine is more satiating: More protein or more fat, more carbs or fewer carbs, high volume foods (like lots of low-cal veggies) or not, etc. . . . or, different timing: Eating a big breakfast, skipping breakfast, different number of meals and/or snacks, variation in which meals or snacks are bigger calorically or in particular macronutrients, etc.

Different people are better satiated by different things, so it's tough to give you specific advice, other than "experiment".

kommodevaran

greyhoundwalker wrote: »

It may not actually shrink but your perception of fullness can change, I found after getting used to smaller portions it takes less volume to make me feel uncomfortably full than it used to.

I haven't had this experience. For me, the perception is the same, but the interpretation is different. It's more that I more readily accept not being so full. I can eat the same amounts as before, I just choose not to, usually.

livingleanlivingclean

Nope. I wish. Maintenance is difficult because I could easily eat over maintenance calories, even when picking voluminous, lower calorie options.

VUA21

No. The stomach can expand and shrink to a degree (think mega-eaters at hot dog eating competitions, many are rail thin, but they work on expanding thier stomach). If you ate huge meals for a long time, you probably extended your stomach slightly (it does stretch, but only to a point). As you eat smaller meals it will go back to it's normal size.

Most of the lack of hunger when getting smaller comes simply from having less mass and thus needing less energy to simply exist. With less mass you're not needing as much energy so your body doesn't feel the need to tell you to feed it as much.

cheryldumais

kommodevaran wrote: »

greyhoundwalker wrote: »

It may not actually shrink but your perception of fullness can change, I found after getting used to smaller portions it takes less volume to make me feel uncomfortably full than it used to.

I haven't had this experience. For me, the perception is the same, but the interpretation is different. It's more that I more readily accept not being so full. I can eat the same amounts as before, I just choose not to, usually.

I have experienced this. In fact I feel nauseated if I overeat now.

hesn92

From what I’ve heard your stomach doesn’t change but the hunger signaling hormone does, whatever that is. I have found in the past that as I went on a calorie deficit i was really hungry at first but after a while I got “used” to it and was satisfied eating less

sardelsa

I find my hunger adapts to my intake fairly easily. To a point. If I get really lean my hunger can become very strong. When I am gaining and bodyfat is higher, my hunger starts to drop significantly.

BlessedMom70

Thanks everyone!!