[xYourBelleMortex]

Okay, I realize that many of you have followed my posts about basically losing my mind and not thinking that I could do this. So here is my current dilemma.

The first week of dieting is easy. You are so engulfed in figuring out new things you can eat, the excitement and hope of losing that first few pounds, that you can just cruise through it.
The second week is brutal. Just brutal. You begin to notice the changes in your body and that is cool but you begin to notice how much food is shoved in your face, how much you miss the bag of doritos at night while watching TV.
You might cheat in the coming weeks, but it gets easier. Meaning that you are finally accepting this as a life style change.

Now - two months into this and twenty-five pounds gone -Well, I have hit something kind of weird. Since I threw my back out - about 2.5 weeks ago - working out has been excruciating. I have stuck with tai chi - which i love. It was easier when I was doing these massive work outs.

But I am so far away from hungry I am beginning to kind of spazz. I used to go over, and over and over on my calories but now I am lucky if I even hit my already low goal. I'm not dizzy, not famished, just not hungry. Everything is totally unappetizing. The chick who used to love food loathes it.

How do you force yourself to eat, when you aren't hungry, without losing your mentality that you are just eating to survive?

Has anyone else hit this and how do they overcome this? How the crap do I get hungry?

[NishKitten]

I totally understand, and for that I just don't eat. My body will let me know when i'm hungry and usually forcing myself to eat only makes me sick and sluggish. I just stay hydrated, and if i'm that concerned about my calories I drink a glass of sweet tea (REAL sugar or honey, none of that nasty fake crap) or a glass of chocolate/strawberry milk.

I find that the more 'regular' I am (like #2 twice or 3 times a day) the less I have this problem. You might want to add some raisin bran, cream of wheat, or oatmeal to your diet and see if that helps.

[shrinkingchica]

Our hunger is affected by many, many factors. Some physical and some emotional and some social, etc.
Also, sometimes our hunger just goes in cycles. "Normal" eating is sometimes being hungry and sometimes not being hungry. The theory is that your body will eventually sort itself out. If your body really really needed food (and you weren't suffering some sort of illness that would prohibit feelings of true hunger and/or medicines that make one lose your appetite or something) it would tell you. It would make you hungry. On its own.

That being said, there are many many ways of easily getting in nutritious high calorie foods if you don't feel like eating much. Sooo many foods are calorie dense. Just eat a bowl of granola breakfast ceral instead of low calorie cereal. Eat a few ounces of nuts for a snack. Drink a smoothie with full fat or low fat (not nonfat) milk/yogurt and higher calorie fruits like cherries or bananas and maybe add in a couple tablespoons of regular peanut butter. Eat a bagel. And the list goes on.

That also being said, if you are still concerned please do go see your doctor! S/he will be able to assess your situation in a much more informed way.