Right after a bout of fat loss (weight might not change much, but usually does, however inches are always lost) I notice I get a lot hungrier and lose control with food some. My eyes will be bigger than my stomach, I can eat a lot of calories and still be thinking about food after, etc. It is a scary out of control feeling.

This post-weight loss hunger lasts for a few days.

Then after feeding my new unnaturally high hunger for awhile, everything returns to normal. Sometimes my appetite is even less than normal. You feel like you are eating an incredible amount of calories because you are so full -- and high fat meals positively stuff you (even if they are modest-sized) -- but in reality you aren't eating that much.

I just went through quite a bad bout of the first "ravenous" stage (I posted about it a few days ago), but now I am going through the second stage where I just feel uncomfortably stuffed on even a small 300 calorie meal.

I notice as I reach goal these cycles get worse. With each bit more fat I lose, the follow up "hunger" stage is more intense. Every time the hunger stage abates, the satiety stage feels that much more satiating (I suspect this one isn't changing, but it just feels like I am more stuffed in relation to how I felt before).

Does anyone notice this hunger/satiety cycle when they lose? It wasn't that noticeable when I was heavier, but like I said as I get closer to goal it is very noticeable. With each bit I lose it gets more and more noticeable. I do think it has a lot to do with dwindling leptin levels. As I lose more fat, leptin levels decrease, which brings on the hunger. After feeding myself past what I really need for a few days (per my bodies request), this raises leptin a bit, making the hunger abate, bringing back normal satiety feelings. However, the normal satiety feelings actually feel more intense, because I am just coming off a leptin-related hunger jag (the more intense the jag, the more intensely satisfied I will feel when it goes away).

This is just a theory, but it is the only way I can explain this inexplainable cyclical hunger. I just ate a meal less than 300 calories -- if this were one week ago, it would have taken 3xs as much to make me FEEL as stuffed as I feel right now. Very, very strange.