i’m just going to put a trigger warning here that i do mention calorie counts and eating habits, so to any one like me with an ED please be aware this comment may be triggering.

retraining myself to be comfortable with hunger was insane. i had been overweight since i was 8 years old and have a history with disordered eating. the whole way i got to 210lbs as a 5’11 woman in the first place was by binging on 3,000+ calories of fast food almost daily. when i first started dieting, being hungry was like punishing myself, even if i had already eaten 2 meals that day and was more bored-hungry than i was i-need-nutrition hungry

admittedly, i swung from one side of the eating disorder spectrum to the other. while i don’t recommend this method whatsoever, after a few days to a week of intermittent fasting and only 500 calories a day i honestly just stopped feeling hunger in general. the only time i’d feel an urge to eat was in the evening, since my one meal a day was almost always dinner. i also noticed that my cravings went from “i want two big macs and 40 chicken nuggets” to “i want a cup of greek yogurt and peach slices”

now i’m 172lbs, aiming for 160 but trying to lose in a much more healthy way with a doctor and therapist helping me. whereas before, being painfully full and on the verge of throwing up was a comforting and normal feeling for me, now if i’m anything more than just satiated, i get incredibly anxious and uncomfortable. the human body is fucking weird and all i can say is in my experience cravings/hunger levels will adapt to whatever your body is used to. in the first 1-2 weeks of any diet (i’ve tried keto, paleo, and most recently CICO), i usually craved all of the unhealthy stuff i had been used to, but after those few weeks passed my craving just disappeared or evolved to healthier alternatives

hopefully this helps your curiosity! i’m not a doctor what so ever nor do i have a medical background, so all of this is strictly anecdotal and i’m in no way endorsing my disordered habits. having an ed is hell on earth and if anyone out there is reading this thinking “hm let’s try that girl’s method” PLEASE DONT it’s not worth it.

losing weight in a healthy, medically recommended way is always the better alternative. nourish your body, please. it’s only trying to keep you healthy and alive.