What To Do About Extreme Hunger
I can’t believe it has taken me so long to write up a blog post about one of my most asked questions. It seems to be a scary thing for people recovering from an eating disorder to feel hunger cues again after ignoring them for so long.
Have you ever experienced a time when you have felt ravenous just after eating a large meal? No matter how much you each, you find that you are still starving? Have you ever been so physically full that it hurts, yet you still want more food? Food is always on your mind.
Extreme hunger is very common in those in eating disorder recovery or with a past of restrictive eating. When your body has been restricted for so long, it goes into "survival mode". It slows basic biological functions and takes energy from your tissues, brain, bones, muscles, and organs just to survive. Over time, this large energy deficit signals to your brain that food is scarce and sets out to find enough food to bring itself back in balance. Caloric restriction may work for the time being, but it’s a ticking time bomb until your body tells you, “We need food RIGHT NOW and we need it FAST!” The reason why people with extreme hunger still want more food even after being physically full, is because the body is simply telling us it needs more and has a lot of making up to do.
It is quite common for those recovering from restrictive eating to eat up to 3000-5000 calories a day. A study conducted in 1944 known as the Minnesota Starvation Experiment took in a sample 36 healthy men for a year long experiment on the psychological and physiological effects of starvation. These men were required to lose 25% of their ideal body weight, followed by 6 months of eating 1560 kcal per day. By the time the experiment was over, the men experienced extreme preoccupation with food.
When it came to eating, the men reported eating to the point of sickness, even eight months later. At least one man was hospitalized for several days after having his stomach pumped. One of the men ate up to 5000-6000 kcal in one sitting and continued to snack an hour later.
In short: caloric restriction is not optimal for the human body
Many people are afraid of giving into their hunger from the fear of gaining too much weight, never stopping, developing binge eating disorder, and feelings of guilt and shame. However, your body is giving you these signs for a very good reason- survival! In some cases, extreme hunger may eventually subside once you reach your body’s set point weight range. But ANYONE can experience extreme hunger even at a healthy weight.
In addition, honoring your extreme hunger is NOT A BINGE. There is a huge difference between eating because your body needs it and with eating a days worth of food to the point of no return. It's all part of the tough mental and physical parts of recovering, but this is what needs to happen in order to fully heal.
Saying “just eat more” is not easy for some people and does not help the individual overcome the mental side of extreme hunger. Trust me when I say that I have been through this too and now have a really healthy relationship with food again. I thought I was never going to stop eating and keep gaining and gaining. It's a totally irrational mindset that took me years to overcome. I want to help you deal with those emotions and provide you with the tools to assist in listening to your body.
If you are experiencing extreme hunger, thinking about food all day, never feeling satisfied or full after eating, working with a Registered Dietitian such as myself can help you through this process. Developing a healthy relationship with food takes a lot of time and dedication, and can be a lot easier with the support and guidance from a qualified professional.
Keys, A. (1944) Will You Starve That They Be Better Fed? Brochure dated May 27, 1944
Keys, A., Brozek, J., Henschel, A., Mickelsen, O. & Taylor, H. L. (1950) The Biology of Human StarvationI–II University of Minnesota Press Minneapolis, MN.
