newbie to this board need help with diet

[Laurielee]

I have posted quite a bit on the other boards, but this is a first for me and quite frankly it makes me nervous - but I dont know what to do and everyone here gives wonderful advice and support.
bear with me this kind of long.

I think I ruined my metabolism and put in the starvation mode. It started when DH worked out of town 4 days/wk for 2 1/2 years. It was only me at home so I kind of stopped eating. or only ate when I was hungry which was rare. I got used to eating maybe 1 or two small meals a day, because I wasnt hungry rarely - why eat if I am not hungry. I very rarely ate dinner. I dont have a problem with eating - if food is there I will eat and like it, but I am just not hungry.

in Dec DH was home permenantly, I started cooking each night, usually CL - I think my calorie intake was normal for a typical person (but since I think I put my body in starvation mode and I have gained 10#

So my main problems
(1) How do I get my body to feel hungry again without starving it.

example - yesterday I forced myself to eat a bowl of Total for breakfast (wasnt hungry) forced myself to eat a sandwich for lunch again wasnt hungry. this was 2 whole wheat slices of bread, 2 slices of chicken breast, slice of cheese with mustard. Then for dinner I had a half a weight watchers pizza ( wasnt hungry).
Here it is 9:00 am the next day have had no breakfast and I am still Not hungry! (I actually feel like I have just a ate a huge meal)

(2) How do I jump start my metabolism since it is used to having so little to begin with.


I would love to be able to feel hungry again and eat 3 meals a day. and lose my 10#
What do I do?

Laurie

[Leisa M]

Try exercise. I don't know how active you are, but if you exercise some maybe your body will feel hungrier.

[wallycat]

Curious if you've had your thyroid checked?
You didn't say how old you are and I didn't check your profile.

As suggested, exercise will help you burn calories which should force your body to want to eat again.

If all your tests turn out OK, you may need to just start eating smaller meals till your body is in the habit of eating again.

I tend not to encourage someone to eat if they aren't hungry, but not eating for days on end is not healthy either. You need to find out why your appetite has disappeared and there could be several medical conditions for it.

Good luck and post back to let us know how you're doing :)

[Laurielee]

wallycat, I had my thyroid checked last month since at first I thought this could be the reason and I am always so cold and very low blood pressure. (it came back negative) but when I sat down and really thought how I eat I knew this had to be the culprit. And I am 42 I never rally had to exercise, but I did recently join the Y and go 2 times a week and long walks on week-end. which is probably not enough. I could blame it on eeks "middle age" and could be a combination I think I will boost up my excercise program to see if that will help.
Laurie

[DocAgocs]

In my experience, thyroid panels often come back negative for hypothyroidism but miss a subtle underlying problem. There is another test that sometimes seems to work better. All you need is a thermometer, mercury works best, or a regular alcohol thermometer. Digital is the least sensitive for this. What you need to do is take your base temperature right when you wake up in the morning, before moving or getting out of bed or anything. A normal range is 97.8-98.2 Fahrenheit. Above that range and you're hyperthyroid, below that you're hypothyroid. Here's what you do:

1) Shake the thermometer down when you go to sleep the night before and set it on your nightstand.

2) When you wake up, with the least amount of movement put the thermometer under your arm in your armpit.

3) Leave it there ten minutes without moving around.

4) Record the temp after ten minutes and repeat for seven days straight. Then, add the numbers up, divide by 7 and you have your average basal temperature. If it's low you can use some glandular products to help your thyroid kick back in or you may find a need for Armour Thyroid (better than Synthroid) that was missed on the blood test.

Or, it could just be that your metabolism is slow from inactivity. Get sweating a half hour a day and see what happens! Good luck!

[ChristineVA]

Laurielee,
A few things come to mind. But first, have you always been "not hungry" or is this something that has developed over the last few years. I ask because being "not hungry" is/was one of the major symptoms of GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) for me. I never got heartburn. I just started feeling very full all the time, never had an appetite, etc. Finally, after losing about 25 lbs and going from doctor to doctor, I was diagnosed with GERD. One Prilosec every day has cured me of that. So, you could have some stomach disorder. I think the "lack of hunger" you are talking about really is not in the normal range.

Second, the thyroid business. I do not have a thyroid gland. And, because I have had thyroid cancer and go to support groups, I regularly talk with people who do not have thyroid glands and are in various stages of being hypothyroid, hyperthyroid, or having normal thyroid levels (euthyroid). We've all discussed the method of checking body temperature to indicate thyroid levels. Except in extreme cases of hypothyroidism, it is fairly inaccurate. I am bordering on being hyperthyroid most of the time and my temperature in the morning is between 97.2 and 97.5 (prior to ovulation). After I ovulate, it goes up to about 97.9 to 98.0. I know several women who are extremely hyperthyroid and a few of them report temps in the 97.2 range (low) also. When I was very hypothyroid after having my gland removed (my TSH was at about 150 which is BAD), my temp was down in the 96.8 level. Very low. But, I WAS STILL HUNGRY!!!!!

So, I would definitely talk to a doctor some more about this and look at issues involving the stomach that would cause this lack of appetite. But, it may just be the way you are!!! Exercise will definitely kick the appetite up, or at least speed up your metabolism, but it probably will require some intensity. Try some weight training--it should at least help jump start the metabolism.
Christine

[Laurielee]

Doc agocs, thanks for the input, I saw that somewhere about the measuring in the morning with a thermometer and someone also told me that there is another thyroid test they can do because the standard test can miss an under active thyroid. (my sister has one if this is any indication) I am going to do the thermometer thing. SInce I had had like 8 out of 10 symptoms for hypo - was surprised when it came back negative.
I know when I take my temp even after I am up and if I think I may have a fever it registers 97 something. Would you know what this other blood test that is being referred to besides the standard test.

I looked at what I ate yesterday - I probably only had about 1000- calories, 1/2 sandwich, a yogurt, and a half a weight watcher dinner even though I wasnt feeling hungy in between. I know it is so small and so unhealthy but I dont know how else jump start my appetite again. I did ride a bide for 25 minutes yesterday. and plan on some sort of excercise every day. I did wake up feeling hungry this morning. yea! I had a 1/2 english muffin w/peanut butter for breakfast.



Laurie

[Laurielee]

christene, I was answering to Docagocs at the same time as your post. The GERD thing really interests me. I guess I have always had low feeling of hungry even though, I like to eat, but it has gotten much worse. I was just reading the other posts on the bloating and I do feel bloated most of the time. like this morning, I did feeel hungry and feel very bloated right now which I just thought since it is close to my period starting. So now I am going to do some research on GERD and find out more about it. It didnt even cross my mind to look at this since I dont get heartburn, and thats all I have heard about it, is its "serious indigestion". I also still think I may have a thyriod problem and am going to do the thermometer test.
Thank you for your input

Laurie

[Luiza]

I have in the passed through periods of time in which I didn't eat (and I didn't feel hungry either). For a year I ate 3 small sandwiches and a liter of cola a day. A year later, in university, I remember being proud of spending only $800 per month in rent and associated expenses (utilities, books, everything), with the rent being almost $400. You can imagine I wasn't eating very much. These times were also not the best times in my life either -- I was stressed, and more importantly, terribly lonely. Probably asthma (undiagnosed at the time) was also a contributor, if only to the stress. Then I started going out with my now-DH, who insisted on being with me when I ate and tried to take me out to try new foods and places fairly often. It was very hard at the beginning; I still remember me staring at the spring rolls in my plate after taking a single bite, feeling that if I ate any more my stomach will turn inside out. Eventually I did get better. I will never be as thin as I was at the time (not anorexic at all, and very shapely) but I am not overweight by any means, and I consider the slight padding on my belly and thighs a small price to pay for happier living.

Whenever I get very stressed, I still am unable to eat. Persistent loss of appetite is also for me a marker of bacterial infection (I do not get fever, for some reason).

I guess what I'm trying to say in this much too long email is that loss of appetite can be also a result of stress. Maybe company and variety at meal time will help. Also, it's best if you don't have to prepare the food yourself. When I cook, I often don't feel like eating the final product. I solved that problem by eating sandwiches or already preapred food in the evening (before cooking) and having the cooked meal at lunch next day. I also discovered that if I wait too long between meals I tend to feel depressed or cranky, but not hungry. I try to prevent this by eating something (even something small, like a fruit) every 4 hours or so. I also discovered that chocolate bars or sugary cookies are best eaten after "real food", otherwise the hungry signals get lost.

Good luck!