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Should I still eat even if I don't feel hungry? Newbie!

Ellie-70

Well-Known Member
Messages
80
Location
Clare, Ireland.
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello all,
I am a newly diagnosed Type 2 and I am following a LCHF diet plan. My appetite has been 'dulled' since starting to eat lchf and I just don't get that 'hungry' feeling anymore, and I feel full on less food when I do eat. So my question is, should I eat when I don't feel hungry, even if it has been six or seven hours since I last ate and I am due to go to bed in an hour or so? If I don't eat then that would be a very long time to go without eating until morning ( I haven't a meter yet, bought one online the other day and am waiting for delivery). I have read loads of places that it is better to eat little and often, is it? Also I have a lot of weight to lose, around 50lbs, so that is a consideration too.
Any advice will be gratefully received, thank you.
 
Hello there.

Diabetes is a very personal condition, which we all have in individual ways - although there are usually lots of similarities. The good news is, there are always lots of people on here who will help you out. The bad news is what works for me, may not for you. So, it's the beginning of quite a steep learning curve for you.

Your profile suggests you are taking Metformin, and you say you have started to adopt the Low Acrb way of eating. Jolly good. Metformin is known to suppress the apetite in some, and maybe that's what's happening for you? The great news is that could certainly help with the trimming up you say you need to do. In my experience, it is good to eat regularly, although my overnight fast is often 13 or 14 hours, without any harm or I'll-effect. I would suggest though it is great if you can eat breakfast. That kick starts your metabolism and gets everything moving.

I don't know if you have been reading for forum much before posting, but please do have a good read around and ask any questions you need to. It's how we all get going. I don't know what your blood scores were at diagnosis, but usually with a decent modified diet, it is possible to make significant improvements.

Once you receive your meter, you will probably have another raft of queries, but you'll soon get the hang of it.

Welcome aboard.
 
Thanks for your replies Andbreathe and Jack. Yes perhaps it is the Metformin that is reducing my appetite. Having a smaller appetite is very, very unusual for me as I have always been a greedy guts - especially with carbs! At the moment I am making biscuits and crackers from ground nuts, butter and eggs as I miss 'bread-y' things, especially in the morning. Which foods should I concentrate on in order to lose weight? Are nuts and seeds ok? Thanks again.
 
I once watched a documentary about gastro surgery and the Consultant who's name I can't recall said being hungry is a natural state for us mammals with some animals going days without food.
Of course I'm not suggesting that. But the point he made was that we don't have to respond to hunger pangs with immediate effect.
I rarely eat if I'm not hungry.
I believe the human body is an amazing thing and that's why if it's not hungry I don't eat.
 
Thanks Andbreathe,
Breakfast is the hardest meal for me as I just want to drink tea in the morning. Greek Yogurt with berries and some nuts is as much as I can face. Everyone seems to eat eggs for breakfast but even the thought of eggs at 7.30am makes me feel queasy. At diagnosis my fasting blood glucose was 10.4 but it had been over 8 for a couple of years before that so I should have started improving my diet and taking the Metformin sooner than now. My GP is a lovely person but he is a bit too easygoing about medical matters and doesn't even think a Type 2 needs a meter. I saw him again this morning and insisted on a meter and he relented and agreed to give me one. He thinks people become 'obsessive' about their glucose readings. Thank goodness for the Internet and books, people can be a lot more informed about their own health nowadays.
Thanks for you input,
Ellie
 
I eat if I'm hungry and quite often miss meals.My situation is different from yours because I'm on insulin. When you get the meter and start testing you could consider the ' eat to your meter' approach. Don't starve yourself but I found after a few day's not eating much I now generally don't want to eat large meals. Cheese and hard boiled eggs are good for snacks at home or a work.
 

Well done getting a meter from your Doc. Most of us haven't managed that!

I don't do a great big breakfast most days. The only time I have cooked is if we have people staying, we're away, or if we're having a brunch, rather than standard breakfast. Like you, I like plenty of tea in the morning, and I don't necessarily have breakfast as soon as I get up. In fact, its usually some time later, but I do break my fast with something light. I like yoghurt with stewed rhubarb, for example. And I sometimes have my oily fish at breakfast, which I know isn't for everyone.

If you have found that the Metformin has reduced your appetite, then it might be helpful to scale back your meal/portion sizes, so that you feel like eating regularly again? That way you'll probably be fitting in better with family, if that's a concern.

Stick with it, and get testing! How many strips a month is your Doc allowing you?
 
I've recently decided that not wanting to eat is a sign that I should eat properly at the next mealtime. Not wanting to eat is a new thing for me. If I go without I feel lethargic and gloomy. If I eat well, with plenty of fat, I feel better, more cheerful. Sometimes eating regularly will be out of my control, but if I just do my best, all will be well.
 
Hi Breathe,
I am allowed 200 strips per months, if I want more than that then I would need a really good reason to get more. It works out at over six strips per day so that should be plenty. I don't live in the UK, I live in Ireland and the health system is very different here. I will try eating smaller meals to see if it makes me a little more hungry at the next mealtime. Thanks again for your help,
Ellie
 
Hi Deejay,
Eating a lot of fats and oils is something I find hard to do. I like to smother my veg in butter but I find oily salad dressings etc difficult to stomach. I will just add more fats bit by bit. I am the opposite to you in that I feel more lively when I am eating lightly. People are different. Thanks again.
 
When you get your meter, you may find that going without food causes your liver to try to be helpful and dump some glucose into your system to "feed" you, if so you'll see a spike in your BG levels, so it's worth trying to keep to regular meals, particularly if this happens. Though it's generally a first thing in the morning phenomenon, it's still something to be aware of.

If you need to lose weight then regular smaller meals are probably best, but just keep your carbohydrates down - fats and protein are OK. On very low carbohydrate diets your body will switch from using these for energy and use fat instead, both from what you eat and what you have stored in your body. But also be aware that calories can still count, so you may need to watch your intake of high calorie foods if you don't lose or stop losing weight.

Good luck

Robbity
 

I know what you mean about adding fat. Part of my approach was to sometimes use fattier cuts of meat, and of course include the crackling from pork. I've had some astonishingly good, cheap and nourishing casseroles since thinking a bit about fats.

Over time, it gets easier.
 
Ellie-70 said:
Yes perhaps it is the Metformin that is reducing my appetite. Having a smaller appetite is very, very unusual for me as I have always been a greedy guts - especially with carbs! .
Click to expand...
It could be the metformin, but it definitely could be the LCHF that's helping with your appetite as well. I've had much better sustained energy levels on LCHF, even when I occasionally fast for 20 hour or so. Now that my body is using fat effectively, it doesn't seem to bother me.

To understand why your metabolic disorder (as someone who is T2 and insulin resistant) caused you to always be hungry on a high carb (or even the normal "recommended" carb) diet, please watch the following videos.

 
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Of course you eat when hungry, if not hungry I can't see the point in eating?

It's like saying Oh I 'm not tired but shouldn't I sleep for a while? Stupid. We sleep when our body tells us to do so. We don't nap six times a day.

Hunger and satiety are to be trusted in the same way as being tired and needing sleep. The advice, current and of the past few decades, including the advice to have small meals but often is ****. Bad for the teeth. We weren't meant to graze, particularly not on bread, rice and pasta. LCHF normalises a lot of processes.

Trust your body. Eat when hungry and two or three times a day is fine as is fasting for 16 hours or more. Don't worry, find out what works for you.
 
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