I'm a bit concerned...I haven't been hungry at all!!!

I know that eating protein eventually does have this effect on you, but I'm a bit worried about the extremity of my case.

I'm actually forgetting to eat...around 11:00am or so I'll realize that I haven't eaten, so I'll eat some chicken or steak (or something along that line)...and then come 10:00pm, I'll remember that I didn't eat anything after that. The confusing thing is that I still won't be hungry. By 10:00pm, I'm ready for bed too...so I'm really not wanting to put food in my stomach to sit there. (I would if it were a matter of being hungry (I try to pay close attention to what my body is saying), but I don't see that I should fill my tummy that late at night if I'm not.)

I'm just worried...does anyone know if there will be a problem from my only eating once or twice a day?

Has anyone else had this happen to them? Does it eventually subside?

Please be assured that I'm not doing this as a desperate measure to lose the weight faster...it's just an honest lack of hunger. That and the fact that I'm incredibly busy at work all day long...I just forget about eating.

I'm thinking about buying one of those alarm clocks and setting it, so that I at least eat something at a regular time...maybe a few strips of bacon, or a small salad or something. A problem with eating so little lately too...my stomach has shrunken immensely!!!! I can't eat anywhere near what I used to...a small chicken breast will send my laying on the couch agonizing for 1/2 hour.

The interesting thing is...is that I have no lack of energy from this either. I've been exercising...walking, dancing, etc. I can wake up with plenty of pep, stay up all day...no problem. It's just really weird to me...

Do you think I should make sure to set a regular eating pattern (with an alarm clock)...or is this something I shouldn't worry about...something that will pass? I'm very open to suggestions, and would love to know if this could be dangerous to my health in any way (aside from metabolism slowing down due to lack of food).

Thank you all for your help and suggestions!!!

Soon2BSlim

Yeah. I'm a bit like you, partly b/c I'm rushed in the a.m. to get to work and I'm never hungry in the morning anyway. I sometimes force myself to eat three heaping table teaspoons (as opposed to measuring spoons size) of ricotta thinned with cereal cream. But sometimes I don't eat until mid morning (an omelette with veggies and couple sausages) from school caf. and then I'm not hungry at lunch so usually wait until dinner. I was thinking about the diff. kind of feeling I get these days. Hunger and appetite used to go together (and somethings appetite without hunger). Now I know hen I am hungry (the hollow feeling), but have no strong appetite. I eat at those points mainly b/c I know I need to and if I get emptier I might grab a quick carby thing. Never occurred to me before that there's a diff. between hunger and appetite. It's a good thing generally, as it means that I can smell cinnamon buns baking in the foods room and think it smells delicious, but have no urge actually eat one.

Hello there Soon2bSlim -

What you're experiencing is a very helpful side effect of ketosis - appetite suppression. Most of us, myself included, find themselves not hungry most of the time. I have also had days where I forget to eat because I'm not hungry...looking at the clock and it's 9pm and oops! I forgot to eat dinner.

Now the problem comes in when you don't eat enough calories to satisfy your body's basic requirements. You will go into what they call "starvation mode", and your body will work very hard to hold onto your fat, thinking that you're starving...even if you're never hungry. They say you should try to eat at least 10 to 12 times you body weight in calories, and there's some more complicated formulas out there for figuring out your basal metabolic rate that would give a more accurate idea of how many calories to eat.

A lot of people stall when they don't eat enough calories, so I'd be very careful of not eating enough. Definitely make yourself eat, preferably at different times of the day instead of one big meal. Lots of people have better weight loss results with eating 5 smaller meals than 3 regular sized ones.

Moral of the story: Make yourself eat. You can easily bump up your calories by adding more fat to things....butter to veggies, use oil to fry your meats in, add olive oil to salads, etc. Things like that don't add much to the bulk of what goes into your stomach, but it will up the calories a good bit.

Good luck to you and here's to many happy low-carbing days ahead!!

Sometimes I have no appetite but know my stomach is expecting something so I drink a few cups of homo milk just to give it something to work with.... and since its natural fat my body will know what to do with it.

And yes I think everyone gets the " I dont feel hungry - or nothing seems appealing " syndrome on this WOE

It's a added bonus if you ask me!

Hugs
Shannon

Yes, you must eat regularly. It's even better if you have 6 smaller meals instead of 3 larger ones. Going too long between meals will cause a drop in blood sugar and drastic changes in blood sugar are exactly what we are trying to avoid. If you plan out your meals the day before and stick to them you'll find it much easier.

And yes, by eating you can actually help fix this. Eating boosts your metabolism and a more active metabolism requires more energy.

Nat