The past week I have just not been hungry. I have forced myself to eat my calories most days, but I don't know what's wrong with me. Is it the heat? Is my stomach shrinking?
I was trying to plan my calories for the day, and even to get to 1300 calories it seems like a LOT of food. I know I have changed the things I eat...but damn. How do I go from consuming close to 3000 calories a day, to being unable to plan for 1300?
Do any of you ever deal with these phases, and if so, how do you get over them?

X

I've gone through phases like that before.

Back in January I totally lost my appetite for about 2 weeks, I could not eat a morsel, only drink. Even though I was not eating anything, I was going out drinking 4-5 nights a week (I'm at Uni, that's my excuse lol) so I got pretty ill!
Pics of me from those week look awful, I look as pale as a ghost and I was absolutely exhausted!

I got my appetite back by forcing myself to eat even though I didn't feel like it. That seems like it would be counter-productive but it worked for me.

I still have no idea why I lost my appetite those weeks though...it's odd!

As long as you try to get 1300 cals a day you'll be fine, and I'm sure, in time, your appetite will return! As you say, it might be your stomach shrinking or something.

Me, lose my appetite? NEVER. I can have a stomach bug and still want to eat. How I wish I would lose my appetite.

That aside, my stomach has most definitely "shrunk". I feel stuffed and almost uncomfortable after eating waaaay less food then I used to. Which is truly a blessing. And to be expected. The stomach is like a balloon. Keep stuffing it and it expands, decrease what you are putting in there and in time it will shrink.

Also the food that I am eating is very filling stuff - veggies and protein. But even with my stomach shrinking and me eating "high quality filling foods", I never, EVER have to worry about eating too little.

I personally wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Quite frankly, I would be thrilled if I lost my appetite. Take it while you can get it. Eater smaller meals if need be. You DO need to eat afterall at least every few hours or so. And1300 calories is plenty of nutrition and energy to live on. Next week you just may be ravenous. Enjoy it while it lasts.

My two cents on it?

Well, once folks get over chronic overeating, we find we are sometimes just not very hungry.

If it's your snack time and you're not hungry, don't force yourself to eat. Perhaps just have a part of your snack. But don't skip a meal, even if you can't eat all of it. The reason is just to make sure you keep your body on a fairly even keel and don't suddenly "bottom out" on your blood sugar.

Also, often once one has been on a weight loss program for awhile, the effect of "trigger foods" has worn off--so, one does feel less like eating. In my case, Doritos are a trigger, and so is ice cream. If I have those foods, I want to keep on eating. When I don't have them for a long time, I don't want them and therefore don't feel like I need to "find something to eat." Does this make sense?

It's OK to eat only 1200 calories if you're not hungry. I wouldn't go lower though.

Jay

Wow, lose my appetite? What, you mean ME not be HUNGRY anymore? Nope, that never happens. The only time I even come close is during "that time of the month" when I feel bloated and blah to the point of where the cramps take over the hunger pangs.

Hmm, I wonder when you finally stop craving "trigger" foods. I'm not there yet, though I no longer crave starches and carbs the way I used to. My problem is that I will still eat them if they are in my house. I've been craving "trigger" foods A LOT lately, because I'm going through a tough time and under a lot of stress (mostly I'm just broke - financially, otherwise I would say brokeN - and don't know how to fix it). When stressed, I used to just dive into a big bag of Cheetos, then eat ice cream, cupcakes, slim jims, candy, and everything else under the sun because it temporarily made me feel better. Every day, I pass several fast food restaurants on my way to work, and I exert all my willpower not to step inside. It's not that I'm even a fast food fiend, but once I deprive myself of all that, I start to want it so much. I think it's part of human nature? Maybe? Wanting what you can't have?

i am going through that stage a little now even though i havent been that long dieting only a couple of weeks. as i never ate all my breakfast this morning and i put out less than i normlly do aswell because i didnt feel that hungry this morning. but youll get over it ive had them before wen i was dieting about 3years ago, but i made the mistake of taking advantage of this loss and i never ate at all and i went very ill.... then i just got fat again lol

tip: just try and eat the meal in little bites at a time and have plently of water with the meal.


hope it works xxx

Me? Loose my appetite? I would be worried if I did - It would mean I was gravely ill.

I expect that you will get yours back and everything will be fine. Be sure to keep your fluid intake up.

I kinda fall into that catagory of not being hungry. I don't get hungry very often because i make sure i eat every 3 to 4 hours. But i don't eat much at each meal. I do have days where i just can't figure out how to even eat 1200 calories without eating something that is high in calories. I'm not a big fan of eating. I don't really like healthy foods all that much. I much prefer a big mac and fries over chicken breast and green beans. But since I am losing weight and plan to keep it off, i know healthy eating is the only way to do it, so i just stay away from those foods as much as possible.

I know what my REAL trigger food is though. BREAD!!!! I bought these jalopeno and cheese rolls last weekend. Although i didn't go over board on eating them, i did eat one or two a day. So, after day two, i took them to my boyfriends house and told him to either eat them or throw them away. I love bread but don't really find any real place in my life for it anymore.

Hey! The only way to get over trigger foods is by not eating them for an extended period. By that I mean weeks, not days. Otherwise it's like a smoker who "only" has one cigarette a day--they are still hooked!

Jay

What do I do when I lose my appetite?

CELEBRATE!

Seriously, as others have mentioned, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, and you'll bounce back soon enough, Your body may just be going through a bit of an adjustment phase.

If you feel you need to get as many calories in with as little food possible, try eating some healthy calorically-dense foods like nuts, avocado, whole-grain pasta, potatoes, etc. With little appetite, these are things that will add up quickly even in smaler amounts, so you don't have to worry about starving yourself (which I'm sensing is your concern).

But from someone who's been on a bingeing bender for months now, I'd about get on my knees and kiss the ground to experience some loss of appetite

I wouldn't say I've ever lost my appetite (also, even when sick), but I've experienced loss of hunger. Actually for the first time in my life without appetite suppressents, only recently.

Reducing carbs reduces my hunger considerably, and even my appetite indirectly. Getting most of the food that can be prepared quickly out of the house, has reduced my appetite. I'll feel like I want to eat something, realize there's nothing in the house that I want that is easy to prepare, and out of laziness decide I'm not all that hungry. There have been a few times, where I've gotten hungry and irritable, just because I didn't feel like cooking, and nothing "easy" sounded good to me.

Now I do try to have some food in the house that is both healthy and quick, but not too much. Even with fruit, if I have too much fresh fruit in the house, I will eat too much of it. If however, the fruit in the house is mostly in the freezer, I have to eat it slowly (frozen grapes), defrost it, or get out the blender to make my favorite virgin berry daquiris...

I don't think having a day here and there or even a week or so that is really low in calories, is unhealthy or hurts weight loss, especially if you're doing so because you're following your hunger. If you're consistently under 1200 calories though it's going to be difficult to get in a balanced diet.

You hit the nail on the head..I just don't want to starve myself. Got up this morning...Wasn't hungry...Waited and hour, still wasn't hungry..So instead of the half peanut butter sandwich I would usually make myself for breakfast, I made a whole one and forced it down with some soy milk. 450 calories out of the way in one swoop LOL. Now I just have to plan to offset the fat from the peanut butter the whole day

Colleen-you are too right!!! I have a nasty summer cold right now-and I just don't feel like eating anything-or could it be that I am too unenergized ( ie..lazy) to eat?
And it's awful when you can't taste anything.
Hang in there Mary!!! Just another part of the journey...
-Jan

I know what you're going thru - my appetite is on strike right now. What I do: take it in fluids. This is the only time when I drink juice. A quart of LF buttermilk is 440 calories. Have things in the house that are calorically dense but require little preparation, like trail mix (and PBJ).