What to do if you don't hunger all day, but don't eat?

Wetterdew
Wetterdew Posts: 142 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I feel like my brain/stomach aren't working properly as of a few months ago. I rarely get hungry even if I don't eat food. I still enjoy food, but because of flavor rather than nourishment. My stomach rarely ever grumbles for food, and I've found some people who say I should only eat when hungry. But it's past 7 PM where I live, and all I've eaten today is half a papaya and an apple. I still have to get at least 140 grams of protein or so.

Did I break or something?

I'm also wondering if it's depression since lately I haven't felt so good. But since you and I don't know each other I guess there isn't much we can confirm/deny on that front. I'm just wondering if there's anybody here who has had similar issues and what they did to deal with it/restore their hunger.

Replies

  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    When you chronically under-eat you stop getting hungry. It's very common in anorexics. That doesn't mean your body doesn't need food.

    There's no reason not to eat after 7.

    If you feel like you may be clinically depressed go see your doctor, or maybe a counselor. In the meantime figure out what you need to do to eat more. I went through a period (due to medication) of not wanting to eat at all, so I drank a lot of smoothies. You can use greek yogurt to help with your protein.


    ETA: actually there is one reason not to eat late at night-- if you find that eating late disturbs your sleep due to heartburn etc. Otherwise eat up. :flowerforyou:
  • FoxyLifter
    FoxyLifter Posts: 965 Member
    My quick advice: don't eat less than your BMR and schedule a meal/snack like an appointment. Treat your body like a machine. I rarely wait for the low fuel light to come on before I do something about it.
  • SaraBrown12
    SaraBrown12 Posts: 277 Member
    I don't know you. But i do know your not eating enough!! Long term eating so little will for sure make you ill. I do know if your being treated for your depression by way of meds some of them have side effects that stop hunger.

    Do you drink a lot of coffee, water or fizzy pop during the day that could hamper your appetite maybe?

    I know its hard but i have days like this, When this happens i FORCE myself to eat because i know if i don't i will feel rubbish and not be able to work out properly and i will lose the muscle i need to keep to burn calories.

    My lack of appetite is not due to depression or fluids.. its just a case of i am too busy out and about or distracted by other things going on, so what i did was set an alarm on my phone on or around meal times every day to remind myself to grab something.

    Good luck and please remember to look after yourself xxx
  • saleh1988
    saleh1988 Posts: 44 Member
    drink water all time and eat small meals , like fine meals
  • ozgirl911
    ozgirl911 Posts: 10 Member
    Not eating enough can make you feel slightly sick or unwell.
    I am overweight and don't eat all that much and I've been told you need to eat more to lose weight. I'm finding it hard to eat the 1500 cals I need to eat per day.
    Using the calorie tracker is helping me to know how much I am eating or not eating.
    Try it...I'm starting to lose some weight now.
  • professorRAT
    professorRAT Posts: 690 Member
    Lot's of sound advice above. I think this illustrates why "only eat when you are hungry" is terrible advice. Hormones can easily be out of whack and make you feel hungry when you don't need more food or not feel hungry when you do. Hormone issues can also contribute to depression. Figure out how much food you NEED each day and make sure you are eating enough. This can help: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets.

    Good luck and I hope you feel better soon. Definitely talk to someone about your depression if it continues.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Lot's of sound advice above. I think this illustrates why "only eat when you are hungry" is terrible advice. Hormones can easily be out of whack and make you feel hungry when you don't need more food or not feel hungry when you do. Hormone issues can also contribute to depression. Figure out how much food you NEED each day and make sure you are eating enough. This can help: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets.

    Good luck and I hope you feel better soon. Definitely talk to someone about your depression if it continues.

    Yeah. Hunger for a lot of people has rather little to do with what the body actually needs. I see you're not logging. I think you need to set appropriate goals and start logging to make sure you're meeting them. This is just as important for people who struggle to eat enough as it is for people who struggle to limit their eating.

    If you aren't, you may want to speak to a physician as well.
  • mavajo
    mavajo Posts: 10 Member
    Your lack of eating and feelings of depression are probably related. You said this has been going on for months, so at this point, you've got to be malnourished to some extent. Malnourishment can certainly lead to feelings of malaise and sadness.

    You need to eat. "Only eat when you're hungry" assumes that you're actually eating -- it's to avoid overeating. But the intent of that phrase was never for you to undernourish yourself. If you're not hungry, but you know your body needs food, then eat. Listen to your body, but also use your head.
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
    See a Dr. Long term chronically low/zero food intake will damage you. This isn't a subject for MFP, this is a real world problem. Get help.
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    "Eat when you are hungry" works for NORMAL weight people.

    If you are here logging calories it is because you are NOT normal weight. Once you become over / underweight your body signals can no longer be trusted. That's why we log. You become over weight because your body tells you that you are hungry ALL THE TIME - even when you really aren't. When you are underweight your metabolism has been DAMAGED because you have not been feeding it enough.

    People who are trying to lose weight by eating way less than they need say it all the time.. "I have trouble eating my calories..I'm not hungry" Ok.. So if you can't eat your calories how in the world did you end up fat in the first place?? Your metabolism is broken, the only way to fix it is to either A) slowly up your calories by forcing yourself to eat more dense foods (use oil, full fat sour cream, butter etc when cooking, have peanuts for snacks, use REAL peanut butter) - this is how underweight people need to do it. Or B) Do a full metabolic reset by eating at maintenance for about 6 weeks before you start cutting again. Depending on how much damage you have done to yourself B may be the only option.

    OR... Continue to delude yourself thinking that you are eating enough, defend your methods of losing weight, trying to convince people that you don't have a problem when you eat less than my 5 year old child does. Yes you WILL lose weight, absolutely.. but you will not enjoy it, you will feel like cr*p, and probably look like it as well. Oh.. and as soon as you try to go back to eating 'normally' again after you reach your goal you will gain it all back - and probably more. Why do you think most people who lose weight can't keep it off for more than a couple years?

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