Never feeling full.

uglyclub
uglyclub Posts: 83 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm recovering from an eating disorder right now and I'm at a healthy BMI 20 but I still don't have my periods. Female. 20.

Ever since I relapsed, my hunger/fullness cues have been messed up. I don't feel much physical hunger, but I'm mentally hungry all the time. And when I do eat, I never feel full. I'd feel the same if I ate one spoon of rice or a whole bowl of rice. I just don't feel full. I wasn't like this last year.

Has anyone experienced this? Is there any way to solve this?

I eat around 1400-1600 on weekdays and up to 2000 calories on weekends. I've been eating like this for the past three weeks. Before this, I was still restricting. I'm always thinking about food. ALWAYS. IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY.

Replies

  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    Time to see a doc
  • uglyclub
    uglyclub Posts: 83 Member
    Time to see a doc

    I am, but none of the docs here specialize in eating disorders. Lucky me.
  • mfp2014mfp
    mfp2014mfp Posts: 689 Member
    Your user name makes me :sad:
    May be time to go back to your therapist :flowerforyou:
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Your user name makes me :sad:
    May be time to go back to your therapist :flowerforyou:

    This...

    You don't give your stats, but eating 14-1600 cals on a week and 2000 at the weekend is probably still a deficit.
  • karmac0matic
    karmac0matic Posts: 285
    Why should she have to see a therapist? She's clearly already recovering.

    That's just counterproductive.

    A therapist isn't going to know why she is still hungry after eating a normal amount.

    Anyway, best I can say is your body's still attempting to get used to the change in calories. Whenever I go from restricting to "normal" eating, it always turns into me eating all day long because I have no control.

    Maybe just force yourself to be okay with eating that amount, if you're hungry, drink extra water, chew peppermint gum, or eat some low cal foods like veggies to fill you up (of course, that's if it's an appropriate calorie goal for you).
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Why should she have to see a therapist? She's clearly already recovering.

    That's just counterproductive.

    A therapist isn't going to know why she is still hungry after eating a normal amount.

    Anyway, best I can say is your body's still attempting to get used to the change in calories. Whenever I go from restricting to "normal" eating, it always turns into me eating all day long because I have no control.

    Maybe just force yourself to be okay with eating that amount, if you're hungry, drink extra water, chew peppermint gum, or eat some low cal foods like veggies to fill you up (of course, that's if it's an appropriate calorie goal for you).

    OP shouldn't be eating in a deficit if she's recovered and not trying to lose weight.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    Congratulations on your recovery. You could probably still eat more then 1600 on weekdays, but do whatever works best for you.

    I'm not an expert on eating disorder recovery or issues, so I probably shouldn't comment on your question about never feeling full. There's tons of people online that will try to give advice on topics that they know nothing about. So it might be best to speak with your doctor.
  • uglyclub
    uglyclub Posts: 83 Member
    Your user name makes me :sad:
    May be time to go back to your therapist :flowerforyou:

    This...

    You don't give your stats, but eating 14-1600 cals on a week and 2000 at the weekend is probably still a deficit.

    Oh sorry! I'm around 5"3-5"4 (163cm) and the last time I checked, I weigh 53-54 kilos (I think I've been maintaining this weight since I upped my intake to 1600). Around BMI 20-21. I'm a 20 year old female. I do 30 minutes of light cardio five days a week.

    I feel like my mind has lost its ability to recognize fullness. I don't know if this is considered extreme hunger (which seems to be something common among eating disorder sufferers who are recovering).

    My psychologist has been treating me as if I have a binge eating disorder, (even though before this, she was treating me for anorexia). There aren't many professionals the country I live in who are trained in treating eating disorders, unfortunately, which is why I rely a lot on the internet and health forums.
  • time4change2k14
    time4change2k14 Posts: 20
    Have you had your thyroid checked? An overactive thyroid can cause you to feel hungry all the time. Chances are it's a mental block you're experiencing though, it's unfortunate that nobody there specializes in eating disorders.

    To the person that said she doesn't need therapy or help because she's in recovery, that actually has little to do with it as there will be emotional and psychological effects felt for a long time. An alcoholic doesn't stop going to AA (or an alternative) because they've been recovering for a little while.

    I have a psychological condition (coupled with depression and anxiety) called emetophobia, where I'm afraid of being physically ill (vomiting) to the point where I had trouble eating at all for a couple of years. Every time I ate, I felt nauseous and every time I felt nauseous I would panic which would start a chain reaction of not wanting to eat at all. It's all psychological and just because I'm in recovery doesn't mean I don't have to take steps to ensure I stay in recovery.
  • Sobus76
    Sobus76 Posts: 242 Member
    Could be the types of foods you're eating, im not full from a spoonful of rice or a bowl of it either. however when i eat things with a lot of protein or carbs i do.
  • dkbrunell
    dkbrunell Posts: 1 Member
    Drink more water, drink lots of water. Have a glass before you eat and if you feel hungry between meals, have another glass. :)
  • uglyclub
    uglyclub Posts: 83 Member
    Drink more water, drink lots of water. Have a glass before you eat and if you feel hungry between meals, have another glass. :)

    That doesn't work for me, sadly. I drink four litres of water a day and drink most of it while eating to feel full, but it doesn't work. :(
  • Sobus76
    Sobus76 Posts: 242 Member
    Drink more water, drink lots of water. Have a glass before you eat and if you feel hungry between meals, have another glass. :)

    That doesn't work for me, sadly. I drink four litres of water a day and drink most of it while eating to feel full, but it doesn't work. :(

    my wife had gastric sleeve surgery, they actually told her to not drink anything while she's eating because it pushes food through the stomache and makes you hungry more often.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Why should she have to see a therapist? She's clearly already recovering.

    That's just counterproductive.

    A therapist isn't going to know why she is still hungry after eating a normal amount.

    Anyway, best I can say is your body's still attempting to get used to the change in calories. Whenever I go from restricting to "normal" eating, it always turns into me eating all day long because I have no control.

    Maybe just force yourself to be okay with eating that amount, if you're hungry, drink extra water, chew peppermint gum, or eat some low cal foods like veggies to fill you up (of course, that's if it's an appropriate calorie goal for you).
    It's not counterproductive. Telling someone who is recovering from an eating disorder to restrict their calories in ny way is bad advice. Water and gum in this situation won't cut it.

    OP, you need to be proactive and tell your doctor you need a therapist who deals with eating disorders.
  • Tigermum9
    Tigermum9 Posts: 546 Member
    When I was recovering from my eating disorder...I focused on food and calories for a long long time. I think this is maybe whts happening here.
  • chani8
    chani8 Posts: 946 Member
    I found relief with the No S diet (nosdiet.com) because it put a limit to three meals a day, no snacking or sweets or seconds during the week, and then free weekends. Combined with calorie counting and logging, it was really helpful. Check it out.

    I just wanted to comment on this idea of 'feeling full'. I don't ever really 'feel full' myself. That's why I need limits, especially calorie counting, so that I go by facts not feelings. If I see that I've made my calorie goal for the day, then that's it. Hungry or not, I'm done. The facts are clear, that I ate enough. This doesn't have to be about 'feelings', you see.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I found relief with the No S diet (nosdiet.com) because it put a limit to three meals a day, no snacking or sweets or seconds during the week, and then free weekends. Combined with calorie counting and logging, it was really helpful. Check it out.

    I just wanted to comment on this idea of 'feeling full'. I don't ever really 'feel full' myself. That's why I need limits, especially calorie counting, so that I go by facts not feelings. If I see that I've made my calorie goal for the day, then that's it. Hungry or not, I'm done. The facts are clear, that I ate enough. This doesn't have to be about 'feelings', you see.
    No offense intended, but I think you might be missing the point. The OP is recovering from an eating disorder. Limits on when to eat is the last thing she needs.
  • uglyclub
    uglyclub Posts: 83 Member
    Why should she have to see a therapist? She's clearly already recovering.

    That's just counterproductive.

    A therapist isn't going to know why she is still hungry after eating a normal amount.

    Anyway, best I can say is your body's still attempting to get used to the change in calories. Whenever I go from restricting to "normal" eating, it always turns into me eating all day long because I have no control.

    Maybe just force yourself to be okay with eating that amount, if you're hungry, drink extra water, chew peppermint gum, or eat some low cal foods like veggies to fill you up (of course, that's if it's an appropriate calorie goal for you).

    Thanks, but I don't think trying to restrict while recovering from a restrictive eating disorder sounds like a good idea. And my problem isn't that I'm always hungry, it's that I just don't feel fullness or hunger.

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