Question on appetite reduction

[Ice In July]

I'm on Day 19 of my first round and my appetite and hunger aren't in sync - despite hunger, I won't have an appetite. I have experienced something similar when switching to a Paleo-style diet but can't remember if it was this severe.

 

Yesterday, as an example. At 9AM I had a banana because I needed something in my stomach to take a medication and it was the only thing in the office snack room I could eat. At 1PM, I ate lunch, which was a chicken, fruit/veg and nut salad with olive oil. I went to physical therapy in the afternoon, which was a bit of a workout, and intended to eat when I got home. Cue several sidetracks throughout the night ("I'll eat something as soon as I [insert task here]"), and it was 8:30/9PM before I realized I still hadn't eaten. 

 

My question is: is this a normalizing of my hunger cues or should I be concerned? I'm not becoming hungry to the point of dizziness/light-headedness/fatigue. I am also significantly overweight (75lbs), if that makes a difference.

[ShannonM816]

No, this doesn't seem like a normalizing of your hunger cues. This seems like you chronically undereating and your body dealing with it, because the human body can manage to deal with a whole lot of less than optimal stuff before it finally breaks down.

Did you have breakfast before that banana at 9 am? If not, make a real effort to eat breakfast within an hour of waking up. Make it a template meal -- 1-2 palm-sized portions of protein, 1-2 thumb-sized portions of fat, and 1-3 cups of veggies. This should keep you satisfied for 4-5 hours, and then you eat another such meal. Eat at least three of these meals ever day, whether you think you're hungry or not.

If you work out, eat pre- and post-workout meals as well.

[Ice In July]

No, I hadn't eaten breakfast. I was behind the 8 ball all day yesterday. It isn't the frequency of it happening that got me concerned, but that it happens it all. I definitely haven't been making it a habit to go all day eating next to nothing. Most days I'll go 5 to 6 hours then realize I haven't eaten anything, don't really "want" to eat anything, but nosh on something anyway as you suggested.

 

An example of a normal day would be

- 2-3 eggs + 2 cups of veggies + some kind of fat for cooking

- Homemade lamb stew with starchy veggies

- 4 ounces of beef, 1.5 cups stir-fried veggies, half a sweet potato with cinnamon and CO

- Nuts, fruit, shredded chicken as a snack(s)

[Carlaccini]

Okay I know where Shannon was coming from - eating just a banana for breakfast shouldn't be the norm.  

 

However your meals from the looks of things are still a bit light.   The fact that you need to snack - is a pretty sure symptom of not eating enough.  Make it 3-4 eggs.  Add fat onto your plate in the form of olives, homemade mayo, avocado, or ghee.  Keep in mind that most cooking fat gets left behind in the pan - unless of course you make it a point of scraping it on to your plate.

 

As for meat - forget about the weight measurements - instead is the portion of meat the length, width and depth of your palm?  If it isn't - eat more.

 

As for being hungry but having no appetite, or just being bored of eating, or even just the thought of eating is making you ill - these types of things are a bit normal.  These types of feelings are generally related to hormones adjusting.  We encourage you to power through these feelings and eat a template size meal anyways.  If you are not able to eat a full template sized meal - make one, eat what you can, then pack away the rest to eat later.  These types of feeling do and will pass - however making and eating a full template sized meal will help the adjustment and it should pass quicker than if you decide to skip meals or eat very light.