No matter how much I eat, I still feel hungry

[Red Squirrel]

A few days ago I finished a set of night shifts, so decided to just stay up and go to bed early, so I can reset my body clock faster. I normally go to bed and try to get up early and it just always fails. So figured I'd try something new, and I'd say it worked nicely. Except I'm wondering if it may have somehow messed my stomac, could that be?

Ever since that day, I'm constantly starving. I'll eat a full blown meal, I feel full in the sense that my appetite has been satisfied, but yet my stomac still feels like I'm starving. One bad habbit I've been trying to get out of is only eating one meal per day, and in the past few days I have been eating 2 full big meals, more food than I normally eat, and yet I still keep feeling like I'm starving. What makes it harder is the lack of appetite though. I'll have enough appetite to eat a regular meal, but not to eat as much as my stomac seems to be wanting.

It's almost like my stomac is processing the food way too fast or something. For example the other day I made bacon and eggs, so had like 10 slices of bacon, a lot of hashbrowns and 2 eggs. I should have felt stuffed after that, yet still felt like I was starving.

If this persists I'll see a doctor, but just wondering if anyone has any clues as to what is going on and what I can try doing.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Pre-diabetes? One of the symptoms is constant hunger. Are you tired all the time, and particularly after you eat?

http://www.ketogenic-diet-resource.com/pre-diabetes-symptoms.html

Try drinking more water and/or a protein shake. Both should help with the hunger.

If food you eat is missing your stomach, you are an anatomical anomaly that every doctor on earth will want to study. It is possible however, that food is being passed from your stomach to your intestines quicker than it should (e.g., dumping syndrome), but you would see other side effects of that (most notably diarrhea).

 

[Red Squirrel]

Hmm now that you mention it I do feel tired often, and sluggish but my shifts change all the time so hard to tell if it's just that. I happen to have a doctor appointment coming up maybe I can check about getting tested. I have been working on cutting sugar though, my biggest source was pop and I'm down to having less than 1 per day. Though carbs are also a source of sugar and it's really hard to get away from that, pretty much all main foods have carbs.

I'm really hoping it's not a serious condition like diabetes though but I will have to get tested to be sure.

 

[Kaido]

I felt like this, turned out to be SIBO. Basically I wasn't digesting food right. It mimics food allergies tho, so I basically felt like crap all the time & had no energy. I always either felt hungry or else nauseous from eating too much, but eating too much is what made the hungry go away because my stomach was physically full (just not absorbing the food properly).

Otherwise, maybe switch from one big meal a day to six smaller meals per day. Keep your stomach pipeline flowing with small meals all day so it pushes the satiation button in your body constantly.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah I want to try to eat more meals, problem is, I have enough trouble thinking of ideas of what to make as it is, adding more meals makes that even harder because now I need to come up with 6+ ideas instead of 2. And that's just for one day. Still need 6 more ideas for the next, and so on.

The weird part about all this is I'm not really having bowel movements any more than before this started, so I really don't know where all this food is going. Was a family member's birthday so just got back from a restaurant, normally I'd feel like I ate too much, but now my stomac feels like it wants to start growling, but I have no appetite because I just ate a big meal.

Tomorrow I'm going to go buy protein shake powder and try that. I've been meaning to buy some anyway for drinking before or after I work out.

I'll give this a few more days and if it does not stop I'll have to see a doctor.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I decided to do my workout anyway figured what's the worse that can happen. I actually had enough energy to do it, so that's a good sign I guess. Ate a hard boiled egg and 2 yogurts after just to get some protein and some probiotics. Figured probiotics might help the stomac. I was also reading about mixing some baking soda with water so tried that too.

The idea of being at risk of diabetes has always kinda been on the back of my mind as it's somewhat in the family. Heart disease is too. It's why I decided enough is enough I need to start eating healthier. I've been doing it on and off but it's hard as it's just so much work to cook meals all the time and trying to figure out what to make. Been trying to find good easy and healthy crockpot stuff that I can make in large batches and then freeze. Made a beef stew yesterday that ended up making about 4 portions. I had to alter/skip some stuff as I did not know what some of the ingredients were and could not find them in grocery store, but it turned out ok anyway. I need to find like 30 different easy to make recipes that cover all the food groups then I can probably just rotate between them. I almost need to code an app or something to organize all the recipes.

 

[Tweak155]

My first thought was the types of food you're eating. Obviously some will be more filling than others. But when I read that you eat once a day and that your daytime changes frequently... I think that could also be the core of your issue. Your body gets used to a cycle (at least mine does) and starts to expect food at certain times.

I notice similar hunger problems when I wake up earlier than normal... even if only by an hour. I'll want to eat more during the day, even though my diet is very steady M-F. On the days I wake up at normal time, I feel fine... the days I wake up an hour early, I always feel like I need an extra meal.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I tend to eat at all sorts of different times and been for years, would it be normal for this to hit me so suddenly? Though interestingly I have been waking up earlier than normal since I reset my body clock. I've had a bad habit in the past few years where I sleep past 12pm and trying to get out of that habit. Been eating 2 meals per day for past few days now instead of just 1. Interestingly that also had the side effect of cutting out lot of junk food, and I'm not even craving it despite being in constant starvation mode due to this weird issue.

I took some Whey protein mix (had been meaning to buy that stuff anyway for when I work out) and now I'm eating as many almonds as I can manage. I'm hoping the protein and fibre slow down my stomach. I also bought some Tums and took a bunch. I'll see what happens and report back.

 

[shortylickens]

Apples.

And apple juice.

Always full.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I'll have to try that. Took the shake, lots of Tums, bananas, nuts, chicken, lots of water etc... just finished eating a can of beans. No matter what I still have that starvation feeling, I've completely lost appetite to eat anything else, it's all I've been doing all day. Think tomorrow I'll go to a walk in clinic. This is getting serious. I'm just hoping it's something that can be treated or will go away like a virus.

Also is eating anything pro-biotic a good or bad idea in this situation, I just ate a yogurt thinking it might help but I wonder if it's just going to make it worse.

 

[RandomWords]

The only other thing I could add is that maybe with cutting out all that junk food - your body may be trying to make up the calories or fat that came from it - depending ... however - I think you should go see that doctor.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah going to try to see a doctor tomorrow, if the clinics arn't open I'll go to ER. I'm hoping they can do some tests and that I get results fast enough, this is actually starting to worry me, it's just not normal.

Upon further research it might also be a thyroid complication. That one seems kinda complicated as it's based on iodine levels, too much or too little cause cause it. Boy is eating healthy quite an advanced science. I'm reading about stuff I did not even realize was a thing, trying to incorporate all these things in the right amount in the diet is turning into an advanced science project.

I just find it so weird that this happened so suddenly, right as I was trying to make changes to my diet.

 

[Red Squirrel]

All the clinics were closed today and my family doctor closed early so when I called they were not taking calls any more. So went to ER to get checked. Doctor mentioned the only thing he can think of is diabetes so he checked my blood sugar and good news is, my blood sugar was at 4.7 and I am in the clear. But he could not offer any other advice other than to get blood work done through my family doctor so I'll be stuck like this for a while. So guess I'll just have to wait this out. Doctor said to just drink lot of water but been doing that and not really helping much.

But now that I know it's not diabetes I don't have to worry as much about sugar/carbs so my next meal is going to be rice and vegetables, I want to test out my new rice cooker.

 

[Pantlegz]

Blood sugar of 4.7 is absurdly low, I'm fairly sure you'd be dead at 4.7. Anything lower than like 40 you risk going into a coma.

 

[momeNt]

Blood sugar of 4.7 is absurdly low, I'm fairly sure you'd be dead at 4.7. Anything lower than like 40 you risk going into a coma.

mmol/L vs mg/dL

 

[momeNt]

Could be something with nerves or how its being received in your brain. Maybe some other sort of signal you are feeling your brain is mistaking for hunger?

 

[vi edit]

I'm assuming that 4.7 was your A1C?

 

[Pantlegz]

What happens to your hunger levels if you eat a cup of steamed broccoli? 2 cups? Have you tried large servings of spinach? I can put down a lot of food until I eat some dense greens then it's game over. You could also be vitamin deficient - I've been told it works similar to being thirsty and feeling like you're hungry. Your body knows it needs "x" and the only way it can signal it is telling your stomach to eat more. Maybe try a good Multivitamin and maybe magnesium lotion(or just Epsom salt baths) to see if that helps.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Funny you asked, I'm actually making steamed broccoli now and rice. I'll see what happens. I'll try to find a multi vitamin failing that. I do normally take vitaman C and D and Omega 3 though.

Also Tums were not doing anything for me but then was reading that they don't really reduce acid they just neutralize it (who knew that was even different), any recommendation for something that can reduce acid? I'm thinking an acid reducer is worth a shot.

Not sure what scale the 4.7 was, just going by what the nurse said, and doctor said it was fine.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Ate rice, brocoli, just before that I ate almost a whole pack of almonds (200g/pack), took a protein shake for shits and giggles too.

Not even 15 minutes later, still starving, but zero appetite to eat more. This is just so messed. I really wish they could have did more tests today, now I have to wait the whole long weekend before I can even book an appointment to get blood work done.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I'm not sure if it's because of all the eating, but one thing I noticed now too is I start to get tired rather suddenly. Second day in a row now where it's not even 5pm yet and I feel like I could go to bed.

Tried taking Gaviscon tablets to see if it helps, it had an immediate effect but lasted about 5 minutes.

I just hope this passes. Will be like 3 days before I can even call to make an appointment to see my doctor, let alone actually see him.

 

[blackdogdeek]

Can you measure everything you eat in a given day and post it here?

 

[Red Squirrel]

I'll try to keep track throughout and post.

So far today:
Banana
Peperette

Lunch:
3 breaded chicken breasts
About a cup worth of fries
About a cup worth of brocoli

Snacks throughout the day:
4-5 Peperettes
2 butter tarts

Supper: (in progress)
2 hard boiled eggs
rice

For supper I don't even have an appetite to eat, so I really should not be starving this much, normally I'd skip supper if I had such a big lunch and lot of snacks like that. Normally when I'm hungry I'm just hungry, not starving.

Water seems to have an immediate soothing effect, but does not last. For a while today I felt like it was subdoing as it was not so bad throughout the morning, but it came back with a vengeance after I ate lunch.

I also noticed my stool has a yellowish colour, thought it might have to do with carrots I ate before. I was trying to eat something that is easy to palate without an appetite and that is still kind of heavy so I ate a bunch of large carrots, and there was also some in the beef stew I made which I had twice.

Oh and also I stopped working out since this happened, there's only one day I decided to work out to see what happens (ex: if I have the energy to do so etc). I was able to do the work out no problem, I ate a lot that day and then had a hard boiled egg after for protein. I took like 2 protein drinks on days I was not even working out just to see if it satisfies my stomac, but nothing. Took antacids as well to see if that does anything, did not do much.

 

[Howard]

Good luck. Hope it's not anything serious, but it sounds like more than just a short-term diet adjustment can fix.

 

[Mai72]

Buy a nutribullet.

You can buy a new one online, Kmart or Walmart for $70. It's the best investment that I've every made when it comes to eating right. With one Nutribullet you're getting enough veggies and fruits for the day. Plus, the fiber will fill you up.

I typically make the same smoothie everyday.

1 banana
2 cups of spinach/kale
3/4 cup of mango, strawberry and blueberry
1 scoop Amazing Grass Green Superfood Goji and Acai
1 tsp grape seed
2 cups of filtered water

I was eating like sh*t just a few months ago. I'm now eating much better and I feel great. I've also been skipping breakfast and eat only lunch and dinner. You don't need to eat breakfast! Also, a late night snack before bed. Maybe a cup of Chobani yogurt (low sugar). I put in a tsp of honey and some almonds shavings. This works well because I like to do intermittent fasting. You don't eat for an extended period of time. Maybe 14-16 hours, and then eat for the remaining 6-8 hours.

I've worked midnights so I know how challenging it can be to eat healthy. I absolutely hated that shift. I would eat donuts and drink 2-3 cups of coffee. Hated it. But, you need to get a handle on what you eat. I've known people with type 2 diabetes and it's a nasty thing to get. Take care of your body.

Finally, I would suggest that you use an app to track your calories. I use MyFitnessPal. When you first use it you'll be startled at just how easy it is to go over 2000 calories. I was eating 2500-3000 calories per day. Now, I've been able to fine tune what I eat and can stay about 2300 calories. I try to keep carbs and sugar down as well. Get into the gym as well. For that I use Jefit. I love it. They have workouts that you can download. All for free! Track everything in the beginning. Technology makes it a lot more easier.

Oh, I almost forgot. Drink lots of water. You need to stay hydrated throughout the day. That means you should always have a container with you at all times. I use my protein bottle. When it's full I get at least 3 cups. When I wake up in the morning the first thing I do is get 1-2 cups of water in me immediately. Then I just drink water constantly and slowly throughout the day. As long as I'm getting 6-8 cups of water I'm fine. It will help flush out any toxins. Green tea is great as well. Especially if you're trying to wean yourself off coffee.

Good luck.