Loss of Appetite

[ktaylor75]

I am fairly new to this exercise business, as i began just a month ago. Maybe someone could tell me if this is normal or not. It seems the more I work out, which is 4-5 times a week between kenpo, cardio kickboxing, and going to the gym, the less of an appetite I have. Some people have told me that I should be eating 6 small meals a day, but I can barely manage to swallow 2 meals. I have lost 18 pounds in the past month of beginning my martial arts journey.I was just wondering if anyone else ever lost their appetite when beginning an exercise program, or if I should contact my doc. Thanks.

 

[Kacey]

Yes, to both. Exercise can have a temporary dulling effect on the appetite, but 18 pounds in a month is an unusual amount of weight loss - call your doctor. It may well be nothing - but then again, it may not. Better to call your doctor and find out it's nothing, than to not call your doctor when you should.

Let us know what the doctor says.

 

[arnisador]

I concur with Kacey. Exercise can have the counterintuitive effect of lowering your appetite, but that's a lot of weight loss for one month and I would be concerned. A visit to your physician is in order, especially if you were of roughly normal weight to begin with.

 

[newGuy12]

I have lost 18 pounds in the past month of beginning my martial arts journey.

Good gosh! 18 pounds in one month? Yes, consider to consult a medical doctor. You must really be laying it down in the school! Good practice!

All the best!




Robert

 

[Ping898]

got to also be careful cause 18 lbs, even though you may be working out, may be muscle weight, not fat your loosing, having a counter effect o your goals because you are not eating and your body thinks it is in starvation mode...

 

[ktaylor75]

I concur with Kacey. Exercise can have the counterintuitive effect of lowering your appetite, but that's a lot of weight loss for one month and I would be concerned. A visit to your physician is in order, especially if you were of roughly normal weight to begin with.

Am not normal weight. Very overweight, shamefully, 100 lbs too many. I have also completely changed my diet...veggies, veggies, veggies, wheat and whole grains, soy, healthy cereals, no chips, no candy, no soda, but can't seem to give up my coffee...lol.

 

[newGuy12]

Am not normal weight. Very overweight, shamefully, 100 lbs too many. I have also completely changed my diet...veggies, veggies, veggies, wheat and whole grains, soy, healthy cereals, no chips, no candy, no soda, but can't seem to give up my coffee...lol.

Whoa! Good for you!

 

[Skip Cooper]

Am not normal weight. Very overweight, shamefully, 100 lbs too many. I have also completely changed my diet...veggies, veggies, veggies, wheat and whole grains, soy, healthy cereals, no chips, no candy, no soda, but can't seem to give up my coffee...lol.

Great job, but I would get a check up anyway. A wise suggestion, I think.

I understand about the coffee...they will have to pry my coffee cup from my cold dead hands!!!!

 

[arnisador]

Am not normal weight. Very overweight, shamefully, 100 lbs too many. I have also completely changed my diet...veggies, veggies, veggies, wheat and whole grains, soy, healthy cereals, no chips, no candy, no soda

That's great! Your weight loss is probably explained then. Still, rapid weight loss is its own risk...I hope you don't accelerate beyond this! If you haven't spoken with your physician about this diet, now is the time to do so.

I don't see anything shameful about your weight but this is surely a good thing for your health. Good luck to you!!! Please keep us informed about how you're doing.

 

[shesulsa]

You know when I was dropping weight like crazy when training for black belt I didn't feel very hungry either. But I did wind up anemic after my test which threw me back into a cycle of re-gain and extreme fatigue which I am still fighting.

I recommend you get yourself to the doctor, have some blood drawn and compared to a recent baseline (hopefully you had some bloodwork done at your last physical?) and ask him to monitor your health through this process.

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

but I can barely manage to swallow 2 meals. I have lost 18 pounds in the past month of beginning my martial arts journey

This seems to be the problem of your weight loss which stems from something a doctor needs to check out. Barely managing to swallow 2 meals does not sound good. So the way I see it is I have lost 18 pounds and I can not managed to eat 2 meals. To me there are to many factors that could come into play resulting in this. See a doctor and also look into how many calories you are consuming a day, The reason you feel you can not eat more than 2 meals a day, and any other symptoms you may have not really paided attention too such as fatigue,dizzy,thristy or anything else. Good luck hope all works out for you.

 

[KempoGuy06]

Yes, to both. Exercise can have a temporary dulling effect on the appetite, but 18 pounds in a month is an unusual amount of weight loss - call your doctor. It may well be nothing - but then again, it may not. Better to call your doctor and find out it's nothing, than to not call your doctor when you should.

Let us know what the doctor says.

Can it really? Im always starved after I work out.

B

 

[newGuy12]

Can it really? Im always starved after I work out.

Me too, for what its worth.

 

[arnisador]

Can it really? Im always starved after I work out.

It varies from person to person and exercise regimen to exercise regimen, but this is a real (though usually short-lived) effect. From the abstract of just one study I came across by searching:
Exercise-induced suppression of appetite: effects on food intake and implications for energy balance.

RESULTS: Subjective feelings of hunger were significantly suppressed during and after intense exercise sessions (P 0.01), but the suppression was short-lived. Exercise sessions had no significant effect on the total amount of food consumed in the test meal but intense exercise delayed the start of eating (P < 0.05). When energy intake was assessed relative to the energy expended during the exercise or control periods, only the long duration, high intensity session created a significant short-term negative energy balance (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These studies indicate that exercise-induced anorexia can be characterized by a brief suppression of hunger, accompanied by a delay to the onset of eating. The temporal aspects of exercise-induced anorexia may best be measured by the resistance to begin eating rather than the amount of food consumed.

So, you may not feel like eating after exercise but over the course of a week it balances out.

Loss of appetite and weight loss are obviously related but not the same thing. Loss of appetite that continues is worth a trip to the internist!

 

[TheOriginalName]

ktaylor75 >> firstly i just wanted to say CONGRATULATION for making the decision to step into the dojo\gym. It take a lot of courage - so good on you!!

Rapid weight loss for the severly overweight is "relatively" normal. The more excess weight you have the quicker you will loose it at the start.
The problem is that your body is not use to doing large amount of exercise so is under a lot of strain - which can lead to bad things.

So if you haven't already go chat with your doctor. He should at the least check your blood pressure and have a listen to your ticker to make sure it's still working.....i mean working properly.

Also, consider seeing a dietician\nutritionist - have them check over what you are eating just to make sure your giving your body the essentials it needs to support your new life style.

At the end of the day the steps your taking are all positive - just make sure you don't over do it.

This all sounds like a big negative from me....but it's not - what you have done is awesome and i hope that you'll keep up the brilliant effort and keep us informed.

 

[Live True]

Am not normal weight. Very overweight, shamefully, 100 lbs too many. I have also completely changed my diet...veggies, veggies, veggies, wheat and whole grains, soy, healthy cereals, no chips, no candy, no soda, but can't seem to give up my coffee...lol.

Ktaylor, no shame necessary, but do be careful! I started out a year and a half ago at 150 pounds overweight. I lost about 25 pounds in the first two months of starting to work out, and then it took a lot longer to get back on track, in part because my body went into a bit of shock at the sudden changes. Those lovely plateaus are there to give your body time to adjust, as sudden weight loss makes your body go into reserve mode (which can mean lowered metabolism, etc.). So, yes, I agree with everyone who has urged you to see your doctor. This could be normal, but it never hurts to make sure.

Also....GREAT JOB! Congrats to making such a commitment to yourself and finding things you love! Stick to it!!! Don't you feel so much better?!?

Some thoughts to consider, and these are based on my personal experience and lots of reading/research (as I go along my own road to health...I am NOT a licensed nutritionist or doc):

• When you are significantly overweight (in my mind that means 70 pounds or more), you may lose a lot of water weight at first
  • in part because you probably moved from lots of processed/packaged foods to more fresh foods and whole grains. (read: a LARGE reduction in salt and additives that make you hold onto liquids)
  • Also, you are moving more, so your body is working harder, sweating more, etc
• Make sure to drink lots of water to keep your body hydrated so it can flush out the bad stuff and transport the good stuff where it needs to go to build strong muscles and maintain health
• most of what I've read says to ease into whole grains, because your body may become constipated and bloated from a sudden increase in fiber
  • it will eventually adjust, but that bloated feeling could also be part of why you feel uncomfortable and not hungry.
• Last thing, and this is only my experience and may not translate to others.
  • because I lost so much in the first two months...it took me several months to get back on track to losing weight, etc.
    • My body's metabolism slowed down and I have to slowly adjust to better eating habits and regularly change up my workouts to make sure I continued to make results
  • BUT! during this time a lot was going on eventhough I wasn't losing weight.
  • To keep motivated, I took my measurements, weighed, and also checked my body fat (using a home scale that gives me an approximate figure)
    • As long as one of these was changing in a good way, then I was on track.
    • I only check this about once very other week...I tend to obsess over the weight if I check it more often

So, I'm now 50 pounds lighter and two dress sizes smaller. I feel I have about 100 lbs more to go, but I've started to make very good process in the last few months.

So, yes, please see a doctor, but keep up the good work as well!!:highfive:

 

[ktaylor75]

I thank everyone for their replies and advice. I saw my doctor, and she said that I am okay. Actually, better than okay! Since my first posting, I lost another 2 lbs..very excited about that. Doc said to come back beginning of January if I still don't have an appetite. But she did blood work and the strange thing is that I am no longer anemic! I had been diagnosed with anemia back in 94 when I was in the Army, and for the first time since then, my iron levels are great! She said it is because of the foods I am now eating. Maybe that is why I actually have the energy to go to the gym nowadays. My appetite is slowly coming back, mornings and afternoons are still tough, but by around 5PM I am able to eat a small meal Thanks again everyone.

 

[arnisador]

Great news! Good for you.

 

[newGuy12]

I thank everyone for their replies and advice. I saw my doctor, and she said that I am okay. Actually, better than okay! Since my first posting, I lost another 2 lbs..very excited about that. Doc said to come back beginning of January if I still don't have an appetite. But she did blood work and the strange thing is that I am no longer anemic! I had been diagnosed with anemia back in 94 when I was in the Army, and for the first time since then, my iron levels are great! She said it is because of the foods I am now eating. Maybe that is why I actually have the energy to go to the gym nowadays. My appetite is slowly coming back, mornings and afternoons are still tough, but by around 5PM I am able to eat a small meal Thanks again everyone.

Well! Good news!

I, for one, am getting quite a kick out of your currently unfolding success story. I hope that it continues to trend well, and that you keep us updated. Quite a story so far!

It goes to show that some people don't think that exercise and change of diet can make a significant change, but you are proof positive that it does.

 

[punisher73]

Congrats on your weight loss and improving your health!

A couple of things that floated through my mind as I read through this that I didn't see addressed are.

1) Overtraining--This is accompanied by a loss of appetite, fatigue. It almost mimicks a depressive state because the body gets to much use and not enough time/building resources to recharge and heal itself.

2) Dietary Changes--You said you cut out alot of the processed foods and such. There are lots of studies that show "fast food" can actually become addictive and your body will crave it even when not hungry. Sugary foods can do the same thing. It triggers a hunger response even when the body doesn't "need" to eat.

It might be that your body hasn't completely re-regulated it's hunger responses but realizes that it doesn't need to have food like it did. I would also suggest (if you're not doing it already) to look up for a calorie intake counter online and figure out your goals for fitness and weight loss and figure out how many calories you should be consuming for your weight and activity level. Here is a link to one if you needed it. http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

The more weight you lose the faster it can come off in the beginning. But, if you restrict your calories too much it will cause your metabolism to slow down to reserve it's energy stores. As you get closer to your "ideal" weight the fat loss will become slower with an average of 1/2 to 2 lbs a week being good.