Not hungry and it may be a problem?

[rhiannonwins]

Hi all! Lately, I've been losing and while I'm VERY happy about it...I'm a bit concerned because I've having a bit problem because I've been having trouble being hungry enough to get my daily MINIMUM carbs in and I'm in OWL. I am NEVER hungry. I just had to MAKE myself eat my eggs for breakfast and on my fitday...for the past several days, I"ve been considerably under 1000 calories which I know isn't good. I hate to eat when I'm not hungry and I've always thought..."no stuffing myself".

I am eating larger portions of veggies right now since I'm in Rung 1 but veggies don't have large calorie counts. Even with a bit more dairy since I can afford it right now, the calories aren't higher.

Plus, I am swimming and burning calories so...I don't know what to do. I am drinking loads of water which I know fills me up but I know it's a fundamental of Atkins so I won't forego that.

I am looking for advice. I've been at Rung 1 for a couple of weeks so maybe moving on to Rung 2 with higher calorie/carb counts is the answer to this dilemma but if the hunger isn't there, I don't know what is.

Did anyone else have this issue? Maybe it will pass. I know that lowered appetite is one of the bonuses of the WOE and I am happier about it but I am a bit concerned. I AM taking a great vitamin and supplements so that's good.



I lost 4 lbs last week and an additional 5 lbs for September or a total of 22 inches since my start date of 8/1 just as an FYI. thank you!

[sadie147]

Re: Not hungry and it may be a problem?

Maybe try posting a menu and we can make some suggestions?

Moving up the rungs will definately help though...

[rhiannonwins]

Re: Not hungry and it may be a problem?

OK, here's what I had yesterday....and I warn you, I KNOW it's bad...but it's all I could make myself eat...I wasn't hungry at ALL.

16 oz coffee with 2 tbsp cream and 1 Stevia
2 scrambled eggs with 1 oz. Cheddar and 1 tbsp. Sour cream

1 1/2 cup steamed broccoli with 2 oz American cheese
a 2 oz roasted boneless turkey breast

120 ounces of water approximately

that's it. *sigh*

I know I didn't get my veggies in...I know. But that's typical of my appetite lately.

I AM munching on jicama right now though even though I'm not hungry...so that's a plus!


EDIT: This was a particularly low day...some days it's much better because I add 5 carbs worth of pumpkin with cream cheese and cinnamon...I just didn't yesterday. But still, not a lot of calories there either.

[Asclepius]

Re: Not hungry and it may be a problem?

UGH! Sounds exactly like what I'm experiencing.

[rhiannonwins]

Re: Not hungry and it may be a problem?

well, it helps to know I'm not ALONE.
I'm trying to look closely at what I'm eating today and tonight we're making sirloin steaks and the cauliflower fauxtatoes so that will help.

I looked at my fitday averages and it scared me...it showed that my averages cals consumed are only 899 and the ones burned are 2322 so that leaves nothing for me to function on...which explains the being tired lately. So I've got to move on to Rung 2 I think and some higher caloric foods.

Yeah, I think that has to be the answer. Alot of people are viewing this but not answering...I hope no one thinks I'm being dumb and starving myself because that is SO SO not the truth. I'm trying to do this WOL the best I can, but when you're not hungry, it's really hard!!!

[Asclepius]

Re: Not hungry and it may be a problem?

I am right there with ya! Fitday 2 days ago had my caloric intake at 508 and yesterday was 483 and this was with a concerted effort to get it up when I saw the numbers hovering below 400! My calories burned are 2667! I don't feel tired at all or deprived of energy though. My percentage of fats/protein/carbs are all right on the money and it's certainly not for lack of TRYING -- I'm just not hungry and actually find myself gagging as I try to eat. The frustrating thing is, like you mentioned, I'm not intentionally avoiding food. I follow the rules and eat at least every 6 hours hungry or not. I think I'm just not used to eating suck a large volume of "heavy" foods. It's easy to get way over my daily caloric need when I eat "normally" - spahetti, fajita/rice burritos, soup & sandwich. I see people encouraging others just to get down on some more fat but the thought makes me ill, plus I truly do not believe that is a healthy option.

I understand ketosis and the associated biochemistry inside and out and I do know it is playing a significant role in my lack of appetite. However, my gut feeling on this one is that my lifestyle has had me operating in "starvation mode" most days with bursts of caloric overdose for years now and my body is giving the one fingered salute to the notion of taking in this many calories in the form of anything other than carbohydrates.

I think for now I'm going to stop fretting over it and just roll with it. I've never liked the idea of eating just to eat. I've always felt one should eat when they're hungry and stop when you're not. If it gets up, it gets up. If not, better luck next time. **insert inappropriate snicker**

So we may be the only ones but what a dynamic duo we make!

[rhiannonwins]

Re: Not hungry and it may be a problem?

Well, you make sense, however, I AM feeling tired and lacking energy at this point and since I've been in ketosis now for two months, I don't want it to be actually operating in starvation mode. So I am going to make a real effort to up my calories by moving up to the Dairy Rung since some of those foods are higher in calories and carbs. That way, I don't have to gorge, but I can help to correct this.

I was so weak today that I had to nap and I was light-headed and headachy. Not good.

you said, "I see people encouraging others just to get down on some more fat but the thought makes me ill, plus I truly do not believe that is a healthy option." - I do believe that increasing fat is a good option though...especially if it's the good kinds of fat that Atkins recommends in the book. Trans fats are bad, but the good kinds are good calorie increasers and it's what we're burning in ketosis anyway...and stuff like mayo and butter has never grossed me out.

I think there must be others that have experienced this, maybe not to this extent?

[Asclepius]

Re: Not hungry and it may be a problem?

Oh yeah. YIKES! If you are running that ragged CLEARLY you need to up your intake. That's no good at all! Do you have a way to check your blood sugar? Is it possible you're hypoglycemic?

As far as the fats go for me, being at 61% already feels like a good stopping point. More than that - good fats or not - just feels excessive. It may also be that I've noticed I feel more queasy after my higher fat meals so I associate the thought with instant "blegh." Although the dressing I had with my salad today had a relatively high fat content and that felt just peachy. Maybe I can sneak it in that way. Maybe I'll have crab for dinner tomorrow and drown in in garlic butter. That's bound to do the trick.

I had planned to do an extra induction week but I think you may be right about the benefit of moving up the rungs. A few more days to go and then a bit of reflection, I suppose.

[MommaRuthie]

Re: Not hungry and it may be a problem?

I am a nurse. You need to go to the doctor and get your electrlytes checked immediately. You could have a severe imbalance what with all the water and exercise and so little food being taken in. You need certain levels of electroyltes in your body to help your cells and muscles function. This is a serious issue! Are you taking any supplements? I have seen people on atkins come into my ER with severe lethargy- the usual diagnosis after labs is that they are electrolye imbalanced. I'm not trying to scare you but just want to impress upon you the importance of getting a check up. It is possible on this diet to become anemic as well- even though you may be eating loads of food with iron. anemic=low iron levels. with this diet, your vitc intake could be really decreased from what you took in in the past. Iron is more readily absorbed with a higher Vit c intake. Some people are more prone to anemia than others even if they eat the exact same foods. Please go in for a checkup. I hope you are feeling better!

[gman]

Re: Not hungry and it may be a problem?

#1. Listen to what mamaruthie says, not because my mom's name was Ruth which it was, but because you should get checked.
#2. Having said that, I do recall - very vividly - this summer going through the same symptoms. I was only eating 1000-1500-2000 calories some days and I am a lot bigger. I was eating eggs and cheese and broccoli and salads and chicken wings etc. for the right ratios but found it hard at times to eat enough. I was working out a lot, still am. I had weak days and dizzy spells, those days are long over. I was taking vitamins, still am. Sleeping well, still am. Off caffeine a lot, oh crap now I am human. I realized I was drinking way under the 1/2 your weight in oz., so I upped the water with the water challenge, still am. Looking back I think my body was going through a lot of transformation because there is a big difference in only a few months, still am. Just my story, maybe not you or you guys I should say.

Bottom line you look and sound healthy. Let us know what the doctor says. Oh, were you doing all this swimming, etc. before Atkins/Aug. 1?

N.B. lump crab with butter can't be beat. Ok followed by salad with blue cheese, and a Porterhouse steak with mushrooms and veggies...

[Asclepius]

Re: Not hungry and it may be a problem?

Gman you may very well be my gustatory twin. YUMMY!

[Asclepius]

Re: Not hungry and it may be a problem?

MommaRuthie brings up a good point. Might you be taking any meds which may be contributing to the mix?

[rhiannonwins]

Re: Not hungry and it may be a problem?

Gman...no, I was doing ZERO exercise other than occasionally walking my dog prior to Atkins. Well, lots of other "cough" unmentionable exercise, but let's not go there. hahaha!

So yeah, I just jumped RIGHT into that pool, LITERALLY!!

Mommaruthie, I have a screamin' meemie of a migraine this morning so I was thinking of going for my migraine shots today so maybe I do go get my electolytes checked afterall. I had a really good caloric day YESTERDAY though after making the post because we had NY strip streaks and a good batch of fauxtatoes and I had my pumpkin/creamcheese and cinnamon blend. I kept just making myself eat.

I have been hypoglycemic in my DISTANT post...like 20 years ago but that went away after I had my daughter 10 years ago.

Oh and Asclepius, the only meds that I take daily are:
.5 mg of Klonopin and 300 mg of Topamax.
I am diagnosed Bipolar but have been "stable" for about a year...due to the meds. Could those be affecting any of this? I know Topamax decreases appetite but it really only did so for about the first year I went on it. Hmmm

thanks so much for all input!!

[not2late]

Re: Not hungry and it may be a problem?

OK, here's what I had yesterday....and I warn you, I KNOW it's bad...but it's all I could make myself eat...I wasn't hungry at ALL.

16 oz coffee with 2 tbsp cream and 1 Stevia
2 scrambled eggs with 1 oz. Cheddar and 1 tbsp. Sour cream

1 1/2 cup steamed broccoli with 2 oz American cheese
a 2 oz roasted boneless turkey breast

120 ounces of water approximately

that's it. *sigh*

I know I didn't get my veggies in...I know. But that's typical of my appetite lately.

I AM munching on jicama right now though even though I'm not hungry...so that's a plus!


EDIT: This was a particularly low day...some days it's much better because I add 5 carbs worth of pumpkin with cream cheese and cinnamon...I just didn't yesterday. But still, not a lot of calories there either.

Just eyeballing your menu, it looks like you are getting about 8 net carbs from non-vegetable sources and about 5 net carbs from vegetables---that’s not OWL Rung 1. That’s not even Induction, according to the book, because during Induction (and the rest of the diet for that matter) the majority of your daily carbs is from veggies.

I also see you are drinking 16 ounces (1 pint) of coffee with your breakfast daily. That’s quite a bit of liquid. In fact, that amount of liquid might be filling up your stomach so well, you don’t have the room to eat real food. Remember the old weight loss trick: drink water or some other liquid before your meals so you won’t eat as much? How are you spacing the 120 fluid ounces of water you drink daily?

Not counting the cheese and heavy cream, how much added fat are you eating? Fat has more calories than protein and carbs combined.

[rhiannonwins]

Re: Not hungry and it may be a problem?

Megs - I know...and I haven't been....this was just the menu from two days ago and like I said, it's not a typical one since MOST days, I do eat pumpkin and cucumber to beef it up but they aren't high in calories. But when I do, it adds about 9 carbs to my total.

I drink about 64 ounces of water before 1 pm and the rest throughout the day until around 9 pm.

According to fitday, my fat percentages are right where they need to be...maybe even a little higher, but yeah, that may be due to cheese and cream...although I do add butter to my eggs when I cook them daily and use olive oil alot when cooking chicken, etc. So that's good too, yeah?