Feeling Full, Fat, and Fatigued

[didyousaysomething]

Edit: no solution but so far having some green tea in the morning and a mini charcuterie (cheese, fruit, protein) has helped feel hungry, not overly stuffed, and enough energy to keep up with my walks! hope this helps someone else

History of undereating, now slowly trying to increase caloric baseline from 900 to 1700 before attempting to cut again. Currently gaining fat at 1400-1500.

Despite hitting new macros for the last month and going on mini 10-30min walks throughout the day, I still feel exhausted all the time (even during my morning walk no matter how well I slept), fat (physically puffy and doughy, not just mentally in the mirror), and not hungry.

I used to do IF and it was so easy for me because I hardly ever felt “hungry” and ate mostly because I love cooking, wanted a dopamine hit, or logically knew I needed to sustain my body. Even now I have to scold/encourage myself to eat breakfast when I’m not hungry because I could easily go until 2 before that feeling hits, which only adds to feeling fat and full (overnight oats, yogurt bowl, or avocado toast and egg).

All these cues indicate nutrition adjustments could help but I’m not sure what. Without going full elimination diet, are there other suggestions for dialing into the macros/nutrients my body seems to need more or less of?

current macro targets: 36% P 28% C 36% F // 131g P 102g C 58g F (~1450-1500 cal)

 

[marysmith89]

@didyousaysomething It might be worth it for you to get some bloodwork done to see if your deficient in anything. Iron deficiencies, for example, can be a cause of fatigue.

 

[baptistbiblebeliever]

@marysmith89 This! There’s no way you got enough nutrients eating that amount of calories. You’re most likely deficient in something.

And I would just try my best to keep calories the same everyday. Eventually your body will adjust and weight will stabilise. Keep being consistent with workouts, as this will also increase appetite. Building some muscle will also help with TDEE and appetite.

Your macros look good. Try add low volume / high calorie nutrient dense foods like nuts, full fat dairy, seeds, mango, banana, avocado, olive oil drizzled over salads/veg, nut butters, etc.

 

[rodneys]

@didyousaysomething Have you talked to your doctor? Unfortunately, it can take a very long time to undo the damage that eating at an extremely low calorie intake like 900 cal does to your body. It’s very possible that the fat you were gaining is necessary for your health if you restricted for a very long time. I don’t think this is something that anyone here can safely give you advice on due to the health concerns. Check with your doctor and an eating disorder specialist. Even if you weren’t eating at such a low intake due to a typical restrictive type eating disorder, it’s still important to work with a dietitian or somebody who specializes in severe under eating because they can help you get on the right track and prevent that kind of malnutrition in the future

And please do not even think about a calorie deficit until you are completely 100% recovered from this. Be aware that that might take a long time. For me it was a couple of years. Your primary focus now needs to be on your health.

 

[didyousaysomething]

@rodneys i’ve tried a few RD’s but they all give the same general well-balanced nutrition advice. it’s a good reminder though to keep at the higher cals for longer! post-student athlete life I put on weight so i was never under, but adjusted to 900-1100 maintenance from HIIT, schedule, and effort to stay at/below 1200. then i’d go home for a month and eat at 1300-1500, add pounds, repeat.

I think my post might’ve spun off a bit — at the core just curious what could address low energy AND already feeling full. or what to eat to tell my body it should actually be hungry. more carbs give energy but since i’m not hungry it feels icky.

 

[rodneys]

@didyousaysomething Unfortunately the medical impacts from under eating are likely what is causing your issues. So I don’t think anyone here can really help you. This is a doctor question

 

[loveyhwh]

@didyousaysomething It’s so worth it. If you have to go lower than 1500 calories to cut, I’d definitely recommend taking a year or so to enjoy food and raise your metabolism back up. It’s just so unsustainable to dip below 1500 in this age of calorie abundance in our world.

I definitely wouldn’t be in a rush to get back to cutting if you’ve been eating 900 calories. Could you deal with gaining 5-10 lbs if it meant that in a year or two you’d be able to cut on 1500 or 1600 calories?? And your cuts would feel so much easier and less stressful. No rebounding after. Just kept getting leaner without the torture of starvation diets.

Something to seriously consider…..

 

[didyousaysomething]

@loveyhwh this is what keeps me going i would LOVE to get my maintenance at/above 1700! that thought is what gets me to eat breakfast when i’m
not feeling hungry, even though it’s putting on pounds.

my hope with this post was to figure out how to keep it up, since i’ve been hitting 1500 but still low energy and not feeling hungry. are there any meals or macros i can adjust? carbs make sense for energy but since i already am not hungry it’s way too filling and feels stuffed after.

 

[loveyhwh]

@didyousaysomething Yeah if you want to get your maintenance up, continue eating more calories, eat 1g of protein per pound of body weight, and strength train.

I would also focus more on fats for you. Because they have the highest calories of any macronutrient. So a smaller quantity of them has more calories. Peanut butter is great because a tiny bit of it has a lot of calories. Same with olive oil. And nuts. Chia seeds are good. You can make chia pudding with coconut yogurt and add some granola. Granola is great because it’s calorically dense.

I would have a smoothie for breakfast. Put protein powder and peanut butter in it. Or you could eat something with fats and carbs and pair it with a protein shake. A doughnut, muffin, or croissant with a protein shake. Pancakes or french toast with maple syrup and butter. Pair it with a protein shake or Greek yogurt so you still get your protein in. Any food that has a lot of calories but isn’t very filling. Theres a ton out there. Lots of packaged foods. Take your pick. Lots of protein bars are good for this too.

I do think your appetite will increase after you’ve been eating more for a while. Low appetite can be a symptom of metabolic adaptation from eating too few calories for too long. So when your appetite does increase, take that as a good, healthy sign that your metabolism is increasing. Continue bumping your calories up until you reach a healthy level of maintenance calories!

 

[annies]

@didyousaysomething I’m in the same boat and would love to hear advice too!

 

[eclipsewolfe]

@didyousaysomething How much water do you drink?

Do you feel any constipation in addition to bloating? Do you track fiber? How much dark leafy greens do you eat a day?

 

[didyousaysomething]

@eclipsewolfe hydration is improving but definitely should be doing more. GI is all over the place but wonkier after adding in more greens — salad is usually lunch or dinner. So 20+ g of fiber.

 

[cph]

@didyousaysomething Are you doing this for a competitive reason?

 

[didyousaysomething]

@cph LOL not at all. i’m trying every angle over the past few years to fix a decade of poor nutrition habits and shed off the fat accumulated from the months I ate “normally” (over 1300)

 

[cph]

@didyousaysomething Feeling good is a priority over everything else. Throw out any preconceived notions about how you should eat, focus on things that aren’t processed for a majority of your food, and put your attention to how you feel.

I have found that I personally prefer a high carb diet and it helps with my energy levels. I looked into Macros once and my standard diet is something like 70% carbs, 25% protein, and 5% fat (don’t come at me, this was 10 years ago and I’m estimating). Things like oatmeal, fruit, and veggies, then I eat meat for dinner (I have a vegetarian day once a week). I’m 5’2 and eating this way gives me some freedom to eat out on occasion and have some extras on the weekends and keeps my weight where I like it. It also gives me the energy to strength train or cycle even if I am cutting.

 

[didyousaysomething]

@cph i could play around with higher carbs! it’s just hard when i’m already feeling icky and not hungry to eat something intentionally filling. id love to feel good again unfortunately i only notice that after a 24-36hr fast.

 

[cph]

@didyousaysomething Sometimes forcing yourself to eat regularly can jumpstart things. There’s a British show called “supersize vs Superskinny” that has a great perspective about people who eat on the edges of the bell curve. It’s a little tongue in cheek, but I love that it shines a light on people who are too thin and often glossed over.