Low-calorie intake but not hungry?

mundaetraversa

Hi all, just wondering if anyone else has experienced something rather weird that has me a little freaked out. I have been with MFP for about three weeks now and have lost four pounds already, which I'm very happy with. At first, of course I was pretty hungry as the next meal or snack approached, and don't even get me started about bedtime. It sucked but I got some support and powered through. Now that I've made a little progress, I have noticed that I'm not feeling quite so hungry anymore, even though I am consuming the same number of calories and doing around the same output at the gym. Although it's nice not to be so hungry, I worry that my body cues won't spur me to eat when I should, or that I'll feel like I'm "forcing" food even though I am on a calorie restriction. Is this normal - just my body adjusting to the new normal? Or should I drop in to the doctor and discuss it with her?

FYI, I am 5'2", 33 years old, female. Starting weight was 160. I'm working toward 130 lbs. for now, and consuming 1370/day.

Thanks for any input!

donjessop

There is something called the satiety index. This is how "full" you feel after eating certain foods. Proteins make you feel more full than carbs or fats. Drinking water before a meal will make whatever you eat appear to make you more full as well. I know that when I went from my high carb high calorie diet to a high protein low calorie diet that I felt full more often than I felt hungry. Now that I have switched to eating 5 meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 snacks), each meal with protein, I rarely feel hungry during the day. That and the 10+ cups of water a day help.

As long as you don't try to accelerate the weight loss by dropping even more calories I think you should be able to continue this until you hit your goal weight.

gigglesinthesun

I had that last weekend. I was beyond busy with the school fete, so I had fruit and yoghurt throughout the day and it kept me full. The issue was that I then only had around a 1000 calories a day and I was too tired and too full in the evening to eat more (I am allergic to nuts, so a handful of those wasn't an option). I was on my feet all day, but I didn't log that as exercise, because who knows what that burnt, so my net was even lower.

I did notice that by Sunday I was moving a lot slower then I normally do and it was all a bit more difficult. I thought I just eat more on Monday and Tuesday as a little re-feed so to speak, but that didn't quite materialise. I felt down and tired all week, I did some water aerobics, I went a little over every day, but the lethargy did not leave. Last night I just made pizza (and extra 700 calories over my daily goal) and I feel a little more energetic, so I am debating whether to make sushi tonight.

So for me ultimately eating not enough was probably counter productive to weight loss, because had I eaten more (somehow), I probably would have burnt more calories in all the activities I was doing last weekend. Also, because of the weekend, I probably logged more calories this week then I would have normally done and I probably burnt less calories during the exercise I did do this week due to the persistent lethargy.

geekyjock76

Research the hormone leptin, which regulates energy balance, and how chronic calorie restriction with weight loss causes a decline in serum leptin affecting satiety. You'll have your answer.

There are many studies on it here:

http://jcem.endojournals.org/

heybales

And as you do you above research to learn more, always keep in mind important fact.

You feeling full has nothing to do with your body being fed fully.

Most are here because their body was fully fed, but they kept eating anyway, many times not feeling full.
Now it's the reverse case, and still not healthy.

Example, how long does it take for symptoms of vitamin or mineral deficiency to show up serious enough that you check it out? In some cases, the damage has already been done, and the fix is long and involved if there is one.
But no one after a few days starts feeling like, huh, my manganese is feeling low lately.

mundaetraversa

Thanks for your thoughts! Leptin - I vaguely remember reading about this hormone. It's the balancing hormone to ghrelin, right? Satiety and hunger. I'll educate myself further on how those might be rebalancing inside my body.

In the meantime, not to worry. I'll still eat, even when I feel weird like I described. I love vegetables and grow them for myself and the fam, which is helpful. I'm also on prenatal vitamins, which I'm sure supplements my diet to some degree, although I certainly don't rely on them. It's healthy food for me!!

Again, thanks. You guys are really kind to offer thoughts and experiences so I don't feel alone in my journey.