Why Ain't I Starving?

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Erinelda
Erinelda Posts: 96
in Food and Nutrition
Hi, I have a question. I am clearly physically starving. I have lost nearly 40lbs in just over 5 months. I do not eat enough most days. I know this but I refuse to force feed myself if I feel fine. And that's the thing, I feel fine. I have hungry days but as a whole I have enough energy (way more than I was fatter) and I feel good. I have a large meal when I am hungry and a snack when I obsess over food. I am thriving.

How can my body thrive when I am under eating? Is it because I am still fat? Or will I always be ok and have to force myself to eat at maintenance after my goal? Shouldn't I be hungry ALL the time, real nagging hunger? You'd think after 5 months of starving my body would be famished and beg for food.. but the opposite is happening. I drank a sparkling fruit juice before breakfast (70cals) and it triggered my metabolism into making me have to poop lol.

I honestly want to know how this works. I KNOW I don't eat enough, if there is any problem at all (losing weight too fast, loose skin, nagging hunger, loss of energy etc) I WILL eat more. I did not come here for that kind of advice :p

Replies

  • segovm
    segovm Posts: 512 Member
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    You are not starving.

    You will not starve until you lose most of your excess body fat and your body has to start eating organs to survive.

    Most likely, before that happens, you'll find your appetite increases.

    When in doubt google images for "Ethiopian Famine" and check the mirror to establish if you are starving or not.

    For now you are just eating all the Big Mac's your body hung onto over the years. This is normal. This is why we humans store fat. We are designed to burn fat. You will likely live through the process.

    If you get hungry eat more. If scared see a doctor.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    I can't answer that.. BUT I can tell you that I did the same thing for about as many months, then I woke up one day dizzy, slurred speech and unable to walk. I spent a day in the ER and it took 4 days for me to recover enough to go back to work. There was nothing wrong with me medically. The only thing was that I wasn't eating enough.. not by half. It's been a year and a half it hasn't happened again.

    Be careful
  • Erinelda
    Erinelda Posts: 96
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    Thanks for the replies. I will be careful.

    I figured I was thriving because I am my own eating fat, but thanks for confirming that :D.

    Also thank you for not making me wish I asked Yahoo Answers instead lol. As well all know this place can be punishing on open diaries.

    Edit: Missed a word.
  • monolith66
    monolith66 Posts: 168 Member
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    If you choose to keep your diary open and it looks bad and inconsistent then what do you expect?... adulation?
  • amblight
    amblight Posts: 350 Member
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    If you choose to keep your diary open and it looks bad and inconsistent then what do you expect?... adulation?

    Are you responding to something else?
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    Humans are very resilient and adaptable. Your body will get used to the lower intake and stop sending you hunger signals. It's just how it is. Eating too low catches up to everyone eventually, in the form of weight loss plateaus, weight regain, lean body mass loss and/or health problems. It's pretty much just a matter of time. Honestly 38lbs in 5 months isn't super extreme (a bit less than 2lbs/week) especially given your size. I'd definitely try to slow down that rate to 1-1.5lbs/week soon though.
  • shmulyeng
    shmulyeng Posts: 472 Member
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    I did the same for about 7 months. People would constantly tell me to eat more. When I tried eating more (early on), I didn't lose weight. By now, after losing over 100 pounds, I do eat more. I also have to eat back some exercise calories.

    Bottom line, trust your body's signals. If you're hungry, eat. Otherwise, don't.

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