Extreme hunger during eating disorder recovery - is it normal?
By Tanja, Psychologist for Eating Disorders & Body Image
“I’m completely out of control. I just can’t stop eating. I’m so disgusted about my lack of self-control. What is wrong with me?”
These and similar thoughts crossed my mind non-stop during the early days of my anorexia recovery. Even though I allowed myself again to eat the same amount of food as people around me, I never felt full after a meal. My body and mind were still crying out for more and more food.
Hi there!
I’m Tanja. I’m a qualified psychologist specialising in eating disorders, negative body image and body hate. I’m also a survivor of anorexia.
My mission is to help you to end your lifelong struggles with food and your body and inspire you to uncover and embrace you true worth. Read more…
In the shortest time, I consumed large amounts of food, especially those foods that were forbidden during my eating disorder, such as Nutella, cake and chocolate. I often found myself eating a whole bar of chocolate as if I were eating a slice of bread.
Only the pain of my overly full stomach could end these binge eating episodes. During this time it felt like my body had taken control of me and I was just a powerless puppet who depended on the mercy of its owner.
After these binge episodes, I felt very fat and as if I were the biggest loser in the world. I did not understand what was happening to me.
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Categories
Anorexia
Binge Eating Disorder
Bulimia
Intuitive Eating
Mindfulness
Orthorexia
Strategies for Recovery
Only much later did I find out that this extreme hunger is normal during eating disorder recovery. Indeed, almost everyone experiences extreme hunger while recovering from an eating disorder or even just after a period of dieting.
What causes extreme hunger?
Extreme hunger is your body’s response to a previous period of restriction. During your eating disorder, you have given your body much less food than it needs, which has caused a traumatic assault on your body and mind. Because for your body to work properly and have enough energy, it needs a certain amount of food every day.
When you finally allow yourself to eat more again, this extreme hunger occurs as your body tries to catch up on the food it needs as quickly as possible. Due to this major energy deficit during the period of restriction, for some time your body demands a lot more food than someone without a history of dieting.
Experiencing extreme hunger during your eating disorder recovery does not mean that your body is working against you or that you suffer from binge eating disorder.
Quite the opposite. Your body is doing everything it can to protect you from further nutritional damage. This extreme hunger has a reason: It is there to restore your health.
How to deal with extreme hunger in the quickest way
You might not like this answer, but the quickest and only way to deal with extreme hunger is to follow these hunger signals and allow yourself to eat. Because eating tells your body that there is food around, whereas continuing to restrict yourself only lengthens the recovery process and sends you backwards.
If you want to know how to reconnect with hunger cues again, read my blog article How can you honour your hunger.
Note: Responding to this extreme hunger doesn’t mean that you are weak or failing in any way (even though your eating disorder might tell you this). It means the opposite: By responding to your extreme hunger, you take care of your body and replenish your energy levels. You also optimise your brain functions, which is important to your metabolism.
Your body can deal with the increased intake of food. It is ok if your extreme hunger leads you to eat over 5000 calories on some days. Afterwards, just wait until you are hungry before eating again, but don’t wait too long.
I know it is scary and uncomfortable, but the more you are able to follow these extreme hunger signals and allow yourself to eat all the food your body needs, the more trust you will develop in yourself and your body. Just as importantly, your body will learn to trust you again.
How long does extreme hunger last?
Your eating disorder might tell you that you will always have to live with this extreme hunger, but this is not true. Your eating disorder is lying to you.
It is difficult to say how long it will last, as each body is unique, but it usually takes around several months for the extreme hunger to subside.
For instance, I experienced extreme hunger for around half a year during my eating disorder recovery.
You might also experience times when extreme hunger is more present and times without any extreme hunger. The important thing for you to keep in mind is that the extreme hunger won’t last forever, as long as you keep eating enough food every day.
Trust the process and trust your body. It can handle large amounts of food. This phase is only temporary and it won’t last forever. The only thing that can make extreme hunger worse and longer-lasting is going back to dieting or compensatory eating disorder behaviours.
Some day, there will come a time when your extreme hunger will be gone for good. That will be the time when your body has finished healing and has learned that no further restrictions are coming.
You don’t need to struggle alone on your recovery journey.
Simply get in touch to discuss how I can help you.
It is entirely possible to overcome an eating disorder or body hate –
I have done it, others have done it and so can you!
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Receive a weekly dose of inspirations to help you make peace with your body and food.
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Hi there!
I’m Tanja. I’m a qualified psychologist specialising in eating disorders, negative body image and body hate. I’m also a survivor of anorexia.
My mission is to help you to end your lifelong struggles with food and your body and inspire you to uncover and embrace you true worth. Read more…