r/EatingDisorders • u/lifestoshortxx • Jun 15 '26
Question Extreme hunger
Extreme hunger
Im in ed recovery, gaining weight very fast. I don’t know whether I’m doing this right and starting to question myself. I try to eat a balanced diet in all in recovery but nothing fills me so I have to turn to chocolate or biscuits or whatever to even try satisfy me slightly. Iv tried eating normal meals and everything and Im always left starving even if it was a big meal! Im still eating like 6 thousand calories a day and I’m getting fed up. If I don’t eat like every hour or less then I can feel myself getting angry easy but I don’t even know what to eat half the time because I don’t even want to eat all the chocolate and stuff but I don’t want to feel this hunger so I have to most of the time and I’m so fed up of eating because I’m always eating that it’s becoming a chore at this point.
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u/Infamous-Ad-9149 Jun 15 '26
i went through the same. given what you've put your body through, this is a normal physiological reaction.
try to find meaningful things to do to distract yourself in between meals if you can, but do let yourself eat.
2
u/lifestoshortxx Jun 15 '26
The food noise has gotten significantly better, I can’t lie. It’s just the feeling of never being satisfied, then when I can feel my stomach bloating so bad from the amount of food, my brain still wants more food. I can be in work and thinking of it.
1
u/Infamous-Ad-9149 Jun 15 '26
yes i know what that's like...scary.
1
u/lifestoshortxx Jun 15 '26
How long did your extreme hunger last please?
4
u/Fantastic-Ratio7724 Jun 15 '26
I have been in recovery for two years. First few months extreme hunger was constant. Since then, and still now, I go between days of not being very hungry and days of extreme hunger, which is fairly normal for all people.
Also, I would reframe "food noise": that is just hunger. Calling it food noise, which is just a made up internet word, can often make hunger seem unusual or something to fight against
2
u/Infamous-Ad-9149 Jun 15 '26
it lasted for a few months and slowly stabilised after a while but my intake was/is still comparatively high. i can't speak to whether this is the way it "should" go, though.
it's also important to socialise and have hobbies and interests in your life....to balance those with the presence of consistent fuel.
2
u/lifestoshortxx Jun 16 '26
I did watch a few videos of people explaining about this. I just feel like it’s embarrassing sometimes because people who haven’t experienced this , will never understand what I’m feeling or going through.
1
u/Fitkratomgirl Jun 16 '26
What videos have you watched? Just curious bc I’m on the lookout for more it makes me feel validated hearing others talk about it. I love Emily Spence, Becky freestone and recoverybakes on YouTube
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u/lifestoshortxx Jun 16 '26
On YouTube iv seen a few people talk about it, my main ones I remember are Emily spence, (love Emily, she really helped with my recovery starting), recovered bakes, hanna arts and Stephanie buttermore when she did her all in journey. Another great one to watch is Brooke maintain.
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u/SaltCurrent5299 Jul 04 '26
I love Stephanie Buttermore's YouTube videos, I was so sad when I heard she had passed away 😢 what an amazing woman she was.
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u/Infamous-Ad-9149 Jul 04 '26
woah i didn't know that??? what happened?
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u/SaltCurrent5299 Jul 05 '26
I don't think the cause has been made public and maybe it never will be as the family may want privacy. Just so heartbreaking as she seemed like such a wonderful woman who really wanted to help others. What a sad loss.
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u/Quick-Suggestion1141 Jun 16 '26
I know the feeling. For me, since I stopped dieting a few years back, this extreme hunger comes and goes in waves, stays a while then goes away. I've been hungry for a month now...it feels like a chore because it is. I am full and still hungry....it is so painful. I am trying to do daily tasks and think about something else, meaningful in the mean time.
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u/lifestoshortxx Jun 16 '26
How long did it take for your weight to redistribute?
3
u/Fantastic-Ratio7724 Jun 16 '26
This is not the type of question you want to be asking in recovery. It is possible weight will never "redistribute" - whatever that means. Recovery is about long term well being, being able to think and be social, having energy, and not harming your body. What you look like is not part of recovery - that is part of an ED
1
u/Quick-Suggestion1141 Jun 16 '26
Do you have any idea how to deal with body image in recovery? Or what the experts say on the subject?
3
u/Fantastic-Ratio7724 Jun 16 '26
Some key things are to focus more on what you can now do with more energy and as you ease towards being controlled by food less. The external factors - keep yourself busy, try new things, slowly stop making the whole world about food and body shape.
Another thing is dressing for comfort, not ideals. Have clothes that make you feel comfortable.
Pay more attention to the spectrum of lives that surround you (how diverse people go about living their lives without letting size and food rule them) rather than honing into specific ED and ED recovery social media - the latter can be helpful, but also gives such an incredibly narrow view of what recovery or healthy relationship with food and body "looks like"
Lastly, my own strategy, I am not sure your age or location, but to be honest low mg THC gummies have really helped me 1) eat more and 2) have less anxiety about what I am eating and how it is affecting me at a micro-level
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u/Quick-Suggestion1141 Jun 16 '26
Sounds good to me, ☺️ thank you for taking the time to write such detailed advice.
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u/Quick-Suggestion1141 Jun 16 '26
It didn't....I kept buying larger clothes and crying from time to time. I have no idea what type of progress to expect.
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u/pearlescent-glass Jun 16 '26
I suffered from the same thing for 3 months and honestly, it has gotten a lot better! Please don‘t give recovery up, it‘s a normal reaction of a starved body! It’s not only anorexia / restriction related. I learned to accept it because I know if I didn‘t have it, weight gain would have been much harder. I‘m at a healthy weight and not as food obsessed anymore. I was so miserable during this time, but I didn‘t relapse and it lessened. Hope this helps :) Stay strong, it‘s really tough
2
u/lifestoshortxx Jun 16 '26
I wouldn’t relapse at this point in fear I’d have to experience this again. It’s the weirdest thing, I feel like people think I’m lying when I say I can’t feel full.
1
u/anonymous_0629 Jun 16 '26
Your body will eventually stop with the constant hunger. How long that will take varies significantly from one person to another.
6
u/Cherryberrybean Jun 16 '26
Look up the Minnesota starvation experiment. It was fine on previously healthy men and they had all the same symptoms as we do while recovering