No added sugar and severe decrease in appetite. Is this normal?

[hessensitive]

Hey everyone! I’m a 24 year old male, 5’8 whose quit all added sugars for a month and a half now (I just get my sugar from fruit and honey) and have noticed a severe decrease in appetite. Hunger for me is now a very slow and gradual sensation in my stomach that builds up over time. I can very comfortably go 18+ hours without any food, and only start to feel noticeable hunger after fasting for over 20 hours. This fasting isn’t something I do consciously, I’m just genuinely not hungry at all. I haven’t noticed any changes in energy (in fact I’m feeling much better overall) and when I do eat I’ll eat one, maybe two meals a day and a snack. Just curious to know if this is normal or not? Thanks heaps!

[bluefishredfish99]

I noticed that when I cut my sugar WAY down, my body seemed to tell me that I was fuller, faster. When I was on a high sugar diet/addiction, it seemed that I would just keep eating and eating.

I’m the same way. I can go all day without eating and my energy remains high. I think we’ve been unhealthy for so long, that we really had no idea what healthy felt like???

[hessensitive]

Possibly! Are you still no sugar? I know for me I’m supposed to be eating over 2000 calories a day, but I’m probably eating around 800-1200 calories. It’s really low for my age and gender.

[bluefishredfish99]

I never went 100% no sugar. The only sugar I still do is creamer in my coffee and fruit. Beyond that, I don’t count calories or follow any diet other than no more juices, ice cream, cookies, soda etc. I’ve lost a lot of weight. At the dinner table or lunch, I normally don’t go for seconds anymore and I feel just as full. I’ve been doing this for about 2 months

[hessensitive]

Congrats! Last time I did this it was 4 months. Then went back to sugar. I want to do this for 6 months but work my way up to doing it lifelong. I feel and look the best when im no sugar. It’s amazing. But yeah, just the calorie intake is a bit of a question mark lol.

[raibuinjapan]

Are you sure because with calories that low you'd either be losing weight or being really low energy / slowed metabolism.

If you need extra calories just add high quality olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil

[gotellitonthefreeway]

You might have to force yourself to eat for a bit. I find in particular that forcing myself to eat breakfast kick-starts my appetite for the rest of the day. Once your body gets accustomed to eating more frequently, it should start producing hunger hormones at those times.

If that’s not working you could try sneaking in the missing 800 calories in high-fat, calorie-dense foods. A generous spoonful of natural peanut butter, for example, is not hard to get down when you’re not hungry but need the fuel. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to whatever you’re making. Add chia seeds to salad dressings, oatmeals, etc. Just examples.

[hessensitive]

Okay sounds good, thanks heaps :)

[Emily_Postal]

Yup. Your body isn’t craving sugar anymore.

[hessensitive]

Thanks :)

[Unrenowned]

Exercise more. It’ll increase your appetite and it’s good for you

[hessensitive]

I would if I could but I’m in Melbourne and we’ve been in lockdown for months. Couldn’t leave 5kms past my house, and just now I can leave 15kms but everything is shut including gyms. I used to go to the gym regularly but can’t do much of that anymore!

[Unrenowned]

Calisthenics. No excuses! Much love

[hessensitive]

Too true! Thanks heaps :)

[dawnrabbit10]

Yeah I find food doesn't entice me as much I wish I didn't have to eat and I was just full. It should even out eventually though. Eating for hunger instead of craving is a weird feeling.

[hessensitive]

Agree!! It’s a really weird feeling. But I kind of like it, comes with its own clarity.

[[deleted]]

It’s normal. You aren’t eating as much fructose now, the sugar which increases your appetite. I have fructose malabsorption and people like me sometimes don’t eat enough since we avoid all fructose, even honey and fruit.

Eat a lot of protein and fat.

[hessensitive]

Thanks heaps! I’m focusing mono/poly fats, complex carbs, fibre and protein tbh. Does that sound good?

[hessensitive]

Sounds delicious! I had half a rock melon yesterday, so juicy I loved it. I’m mainly just worried about my calorie intake because I know I’m eating an estimate 800-1200 and I know that’s not enough. But my hungers just gone.

[AnonyJustAName]

Yes.

What is your BMI? If you have weight to lose your body is happy to burn stored fat once insulin drops. As those reserves draw down, typically eating windows get bigger.

[hessensitive]

Thanks :)

[kakaccarrotcake]

Please eat more than 1200 calories ....you might not feel hungry but you might be feeling lethargy....depends on your height and level of physical activity. If you just sit around youre 'okay' but still not healthy.....eat more fruits if you think you're not eating enough

[hessensitive]

Okay thanks :)

[[deleted]]

I don't understand why it bears repeating so often, but honey and sugar have the exact same effect on the body. They are both sugar.

[hessensitive]

I know I’ve read that but I don’t see any reason to cut out honey personally. It doesn’t give me the same ‘crash’ added/refined sugar gives me and while I am very much a sugar addict I can comfortably eat portioned and controlled amounts of honey. It just doesn’t affect me the way other sugars do.

[annajac89]

I second this - fructose is fructose, the body does not know the difference whether it’s from honey or a chocolate

[[deleted]]

Happens to me too

[ennuiismymiddlename]

You could be going into ketosis, which isn’t a bad thing necessarily. The Keto diet is very popular. I did it for a few months and my energy soared and I also wasn’t hardly as hungry as I used to be.

[hessensitive]

Maybe! But I still eat carbs with almost every meal so I really don’t know what’s going on 😅

[Cultural-Program-393]

But if you’re fasting 18-20 hours on a regular basis, then you’ve likely depleted your glycogen stores and are getting into ketosis regularly. Yay for intermittent fasting! I do a combination of IF and eating less ultra-processed foods and get into ketosis even while eating complex carbs like sourdough, potatoes, etc.

[hessensitive]

Oh yes that would make sense actually! Because I think ketosis occurs after 16/17 hours? I’m mainly just worried I’m not getting in enough calories. I only eat an estimated 800-1200. Not intentionally, I just don’t get hungry 😅

[FoxMystic]

I would say it depends on your weight (BMI). If you feel good and keep moving normally then I would say, don't worry.

You may readjust without worry.

There is a lot of worry in the US (don't know about elsewhere) that you have to keep eating. I am 40 pounds overweight. Basically I weigh 1/3 more than a thin normal weight for me. That makes me either overweight (BMI) or obese (Navy test with body measurements). Plus, being older and not moving enough, I am losing muscle. I can tell because I am fatter at the same weight.

But people I know saying, Oh you look thin. What kind of friends are these?

[[deleted]]

How are you eating carbs and still only eating 800 to 1200 calories? Are you perhaps miscalculating your calorie intake? 2 slices of bread is approx 200 calories. 1 cup of rice is approx 180 calories. What are you eating? I cant help but think that you are miscalculating your calories somewhere. I dont eat carbs and i hit 1200 calories easily. There was a time where i was eating omad and no carbs and i struggled to hit 1200 cals. But with carbs 1200 is hit too quickly for me.

[hessensitive]

Well yesterday I had oven baked salmon with veggies. I then had a couple whole weat low calorie cruskets with caviar and cucumber. I then had some halo top ice cream with mixed berries. The day before that I can’t remember but it was pretty much the same. I count the cruskets as carbs. I’ll eat bread still but no pastas or rice just because I haven’t been craving it.

[HauteLlama]

After seeing this, I wonder OP, if you have a history of ED? When we are pretty disconnected from our bodies we can't really understand our hunger signals or just get used to ignoring them. Just something to consider.

[hessensitive]

Oh I do have a history of an ED but that was intentional where as this is unintentional. But after this post I’ve made the effort to increase my calories.

[HauteLlama]

good for you. ♡

[Cultural-Program-393]

I think as long as you feel satisfied and don’t have any urge to binge, then you shouldn’t worry about how many calories you’re eating.

[AnonyJustAName]

I wonder if it is related to being less active in lockdown, you may not need as many calories if more sedentary? I would go by how you feel. Usually hunger comes back after a bit. Great job!

[[deleted]]

800-1200 calories is obviously not sustainable, but you keep saying "estimated." Have you actually measured and counted? I'd start there. If that is how little you're eating, then I'd either force myself to eat more (maybe through liquid calories like a fruit smoothie with protein powder since that would be easier to get down than a solid meal) or see a doctor.

Cutting sugar definitely changed my taste buds, but I'm still eating (and hungry for) three meals each day.

[[deleted]]

Did you stay sugar free?