Who feels BETTER for eating.

[justy]

Hi, I notice threads over the years saying how much better people feel when they DON'T eat or if they restrict food intake etc, but I always feel better AFTER eating - especially a large meal that includes protein, veggies and carbs.

I am in the (now) overweight and cant stop gaining category, asopposed to the don't want to eat and thin category. I find I get very hungry and cant go long without food - definitely have a bit of hypoglycaemia going on, but what I notice the most is that if I need to push myself - say to pick my daughter up from school because hse is not well, then I have to eat something - preferably carbs, before I can consider getting in the car and driving.

If I go out for a day or half day trip (seldom) then I find that if I am really flagging badly, eating a meal with give me enough energy to get home safely.

I do not notice this effect if I just eat a light snack so much as a full meal. In the past this has probably led to me over eating a bit to keep my energy up, and also I have tended to snack on sugary things to keep my energy going enough to be pottering about at home in the day - I know this is not good though.

I have tried juicing and replacing meals, but all that happened was that I had NO energy for the morning at all, and it also caused severe gut pain after 3 days of juice for breakfast.

I also tried the 5/2 diet - eating normally 5 days, 500 calories the other 2, but this made me crash badly - I couldn't cope on the fast days and NEEDED to eat way more calories.

Does anyone else have this? any ideas why my body does this?

I feel its because it needs the energy from food as its not making enough of its own energy, or somehow not getting it out of food properly. I aso continue to gain weight at an alarming weight - I never used to be overweight 3 years ago I was losing weight so fast I couldn't keep it on even with extra eating - now im 3 stone overweight - in 3 years!

The last time I tired hard to lose weight I did a calorie controlled diet - 1300 a day for someone as sedentary as me - it made me miserable - I didn't lose any weight and when I stopped I gained another 6lbs within a week that now refuse to budge.

What is going on with my metabolism? can anyone else relate?

Thanks for reading,
Justy x

 

[ukxmrv]

I'm better for eating as well. I need particular types of foods though and I know from trial and error what gives me the most energy, happiness, thinking ability, functioning etc for specific times of the day.

My attempts at diets have all been a waste of time. The only one that taught me something useful was the Atkins.Juicing and similar raw food diets led to severe weakness, vomiting and fainting for me.

The difference that we have is that I don't gain weight now at all. Mine has been stable for years now. It's too high but stable.It may be that some of us have a maximum weight and I reached mine?

Even a trip to a hotel for Xmas and being able to eat a lot of rich food, with very little to do, doesn't led to a weight gain for me. I don't tend to snack though on a daily basis though and this was just an observation I made one year when everyone else who was at that hotel put on weight and mine stayed exactly the same. I'm better on large meals and don't feel the need to snack if I have them. I don't put on weight if I have them and I don't lose any weight if I don't. I just stop being able to function.

My suspicion in my own case is that the weight I carry is caused by something else. I had a bad bout of food poisoning leading to years of ill health and this didn't lead to a weight loss. Even though my diet was severely restricted in both calories and type of food and I was sick to the point of multiple vitamin deficiency (under the care of a NHS Gastroenterologist) my weight did not budge.

Really sorry that I don't have an answer to share. I'm also better after large regular meals.

 

[daisybell]

Hi @justy
I too am gaining weight unfortunately. Like you I feel worse if I restrict my intake too much, but I am definitely taking in more energy than I am expending. My rationalising of this to myself is (correctly or not I don't know) that my body is not able to turn the energy I eat into available energy for my cells due to energy production/mitochondrial issues. So my body says it needs fuel, I eat, but I can't actually make use of the fuel... and my body just stores the fuel as fat...

I am now trying to just eat smaller portions at every meal, and keep my carb intake low, with a focus on low GI foods. But I think I will be lucky if I can lose any of the weight I have gained. My goal is to try not to gain more!

 

[justy]

My suspicion in my own case is that the weight I carry is caused by something else. I had a bad bout of food poisoning leading to years of ill health and this didn't lead to a weight loss. Even though my diet was severely restricted in both calories and type of food and I was sick to the point of multiple vitamin deficiency (under the care of a NHS Gastroenterologist) my weight did not budge.

Really sorry that I don't have an answer to share. I'm also better after large regular meals.

Yes - I suspect that mine is similar - I had 18 months of Gastritis hell and still gained weight, despite being able to eat only very small amounts of restricted food. My mito tests with Dr M show severe nutritional deficiencies, despite eating really good diet for years.

I have also gained weight on: paleo diet, detox diets, and just eating healthy wholefood diet as well as candida gluten free diet, which I followed for over a year.

At the moment I would just like to STOP gaining, as I don't seem to be able to lose.

Anyway - the main point of the thread was to discuss why we might feel better for eating more, as opposed to the group who prefers to eat, and feels better if they eat less. I wish I could give a paleo style diet another go, but unfortunately I do terribly with no or very low carbs, plus it really makes my stomach hurt and the feeling sick also comes on terribly without carbs at each meal.

In terms of why this is happening I have gone along with a similar thinking to @daisybell :

My rationalising of this to myself is (correctly or not I don't know) that my body is not able to turn the energy I eat into available energy for my cells due to energy production/mitochondrial issues. So my body says it needs fuel, I eat, but I can't actually make use of the fuel... and my body just stores the fuel as fat

I also believe I am taking in way more than I am expending. For all of my adult life if I eat over 1500 calories a day I gain weight -and that was when I was active - I could never eat the 2,000 recommended to women, I would be as fat as... well perhaps as fat as I am now!

 

[justy]

sorry - smilies seem to have gone mad on my post above - meant to put just One in at the end of my post - not a whole load at the beginning - UXKMRV - I am not directing those at you!!

 

[xchocoholic]

I have to eat meals regularly too. When I first became a celiac, I had to eat every hour.

I would take a meal with me to the celiac support group meetings. Several people told me that was normal at first but should go away after my gut had healed.

It did get much better but I still need meals every 3-4? hours. Snacks are helping now too.

I don't think anyone here was suggesting that we should juice instead of eating meals. I thought the whole purpose of juicing is to increase your intake of nutrients found in veggies and fruits. So why would anyone stop eating meals?

fwiw, I've lost weight using caffeine pills (1/4 of a pill) to boost my metabolism. I don't feel jittery from these like I do from coffee. These may not work for others tho. I'm using these for energy but losing some weight was great too.

tc ... x

 

[Hell...Hath...No...Fury..]

Hi Justy,
Could it be an age thing at all? I've always been able to eat whatever i want without gaining and have been the same weight since age 15, now 36.

I love my food, BUT eating when the ME is bad only serves to makes me worse. There just isn't enough energy to digest it. The process of digesting it absorbs my energy from everywhere else and probably increases POTS symptoms too even if it was just soup.

My diet hasn't changed at all and i've never counted a calorie in my life but with the onset of early menopause my size started to balloon. I dont know if my weight has increased to match as i dont own any scales but it was an instant change, almost overnight as soon as the hot flashes started and i literally looked pregnant for a month. The hot flashes stopped after a month but i don't seem to be going back to my usual skinny shape. I even have a growing chest after being flat chested for most of my life lol.

 

[Battery Muncher]

I also feel better after eating. Also, I also fare better with carb heavy/ fatty meals.

Personally, I put it down to blood sugar levels. I developed problems with gut motility after getting ME/CFS. I have a mild case of gastroparesis.

This matters because it leads to unpredictable blood sugar levels. I can't remember where I read this, but it has something to with food taking a long time to get processed, then getting dumped into the lower intestine all at once (I think).

Maybe this is your hypoglycemia? Did you notice changes in your gut after getting me/cfs? sometimes mild gastroparesis gets confused with IBS.

 

[Raindrop]

Greetings, Justy,
Thank you for this posting. I have been struggling with this issue ever since I had to stop working
and I do sound very much like you. I have the same response to *full meals* that you do.(A few
people have even noticed and commented on how much better I seem to be after a full meal)
I notice that I have much more energy and feel more balanced. These are not big meals, but
decent sized portions from all food groups. All I can think is that we are very depleted in
our nutritional needs. It is really hard for me (as can't cook myself and have no help) to get
such a full meal regularly but wish I could!!! It seems so essential! In particular, I
have to eat **PROTEIN*** throughout the day - like 4 x's a day- or I get very faint and
have a full on "attack" of hypoglycemic type symptoms. It is quite scary and I worry what would
happen if I am without it. I carry 2 protein bars in purse with water at all times
and more in a cooler if gone beyond an hour!!

I also struggle with weight and cannot diet, as I get too weak.
Cutting down portion size in tiny bits is all that is possible.
But in general, that is the **opposite** of what my body seems to NEED!!!
Sorry I can't help with understanding what is going on. I have asked many drs
and they don't get "us", of course. There HAS to be something seriously wrong
with our metabolism!!! Very frustrating, as have gained weight and cannot take it off,
as opposed to before I was this ill, I could eat like others - skip a meal, no problem.
Now I wouldn't DARE. In fact I am extremely worried about how I am going to get
through the Colonoscopy Preparation procedure, fasting 1.5 days!!!!

Sure would like to have some answers. For now, I feel totally dependent upon
FOOD and PROTEIN and live in fear if there is a natural disaster or other
worsening where I could not get this for myself!!!

 

[Wildcat]

/
Have to say that I too really need *full meals*, and, very noticeably need Protein regularly.

I have tried all sorts of diets and exclusions to no avail.whatsoever in ME improvement terms..... So I now stick with the varied foods that work for me (balanced) ... fortunately I do not have a weight issue.... in fact was always skinny and still am (wouldn't mind putting on a few pounds TBH) ... I go with what my body seems to need, through long experience

Yep... Big dinners, regular food, Protein, Veggies, Carbs, Fat (love Olive Oil) xxx

 

[alwayshopeful]

I also need to eat frequently, every 2-3 hours. Absolutely have to have protein with every meal. Well, not just any protein, I have to have meat!! Nuts, dairy, protein bars won't do it.

I have noticed that since I started eating all this meat, my adrenals settled down and most of the foods I had issues with no longer bother me. I still avoid gluten though.

If I stretch the time between meals out to 4-5 hours, I definitely have hypoglycemic issues. Get very weak and shaky. I start gaining weight if I eat too many carbs in the form of grains or sugar

 

[Esther12]

I noticed improvements from eating protein sometimes too, so have now built that into my diet. I'm eating twice as much meat as is suggested, and eggs, nuts, etc, too. It's not a dramatic change, but is something that I think is helpful (does increase my food bill though!)

 

[vamah]

I go through phases when I feel better eating a lot and others where food makes me feel worse. I will also go through phases where I don't want anything but a particular type of food. Salty food or cheese or whatever. It is almost like being pregnant again. (No, I am absolutely not!)

 

[Hell...Hath...No...Fury..]

I go through phases when I feel better eating a lot and others where food makes me feel worse. I will also go through phases where I don't want anything but a particular type of food. Salty food or cheese or whatever. It is almost like being pregnant again. (No, I am absolutely not!)

Thats the way i am too

 

[GhostGum]

I generally feel better for eating, but depends on what it is. Seems to have become more and more obvious over the years what my body prefers and needs over what is not ideal, even now I still pretend I can handle a rich sugar simple carb heavy desert and end up regretting it, to the point I feel a need for sleep afterwards sometimes to let it process.

Agree more and more as well that no one diet plan fits all, use to even push keto/paleo style myself which ended up making me sicker, realised I need carbs. The important thing above all is your food sources, especially your carb sources, you can reduce calories to some extent without losing anything, simply based on the quality of source, sweet potatoe, brown/red rice, whole wheat products, in that order. Okinawan diet is an interesting one to look at, they have reduced calorie intake because of their high consumption and reliance of sweet potatoe for energy, ending up with greater longevity.

I go paleo style these days with carbs and emphasis on greens/micros, most carbs from whole wheat bread and brown rice, I want to drop some of the bread for sweet potatoe or more rice though. 30%greens/veg 30%ideal carbs 30%proteins/essential fats 10% junk/simple carbs is probably where I am at. Need to drop the junk of course but it seems to serve some emotional cravings which is hard to remove, have found it simply takes years to comfortably eat clean and find your sweet spots. Suspect from all the years of our youth, loading on simple carbs and enjoying sugars it is more difficult than people realise to change all this, literally biologically; the real elephant in the room drug problem of developed countries.

I remember when I was doing keto, felt terrible this one day, went to my corner shop, got the richest fanciest ice cream I could find in the joint and it was like MDMA or something after depriving myself for about a week lol

 

[justy]

Its interesting how many of us DO feel better after a main meal - I am surprised to find so many of us here. I am off to see KDM next weekend and will need to do two evenings/mornings of fasting (from 8pm evening until 12.30 next day) for this reason we are going a whole day early so that we can settle in and have a good meal in the evening before I have to fast. I will have a banana or two in my bag to eat the minute I am able.

Last year I had a couple of fainting spells and felt much better after getting some real food into me - my husband quickly made me a wholemeal cheese, salad sandwich, like a doorstop - as soon as I started to eat I felt better and the dizziness and pounding head stopped. By the time I had finished I was absolutely fine (for me- lol)

I hate fasting so much, but at least I will be in a doctors office to do it!
I am hoping that treatments will, down the line start to fix my metabolism - keeping fingers crossed.

All the best
Justy x

 

[jann1033]

Pretty much sounds like me. My weight has gone up and up since I got sick, not even depending on my intake. I have bouts if nausea and vomiting. During one if those I gained 10 lbs in that month while literally vomiting every time I ate. I can lose a little weight IF I am feeling good but the same amount of calories/exercise when I feel rotten= weight gain.
Recently was tested for microsomal antibiotes , first time since I got sick in1988, and have autoimmune thyroid even thought TSH levels have always been normal. Personally think maybe this has been my problem all along. Now if I can find someone to treat it.

I feel best on a healthy diet, mostly fruits and veggies, reasonable serving protein, reasonable serving starch, 15-1600 calories but don't usually lose weight on it. I lost 60 lbs then stopped dead, nutritionist said its a plateau but so far has lasted 2+ years.

Since 2007 I have had type 2 diabetes that is pretty well controlled but meds for that cause weight gain as well. I do eat something light before bed because if you get too hungry liver releases glycogen (I think) to raise blood sugar. That could have something to do with not feeling well if you don't eat enough. Too high or too low blood sugar makes you feel rotten.

 

[alex3619]

I noticed improvements from eating protein sometimes too, so have now built that into my diet. I'm eating twice as much meat as is suggested, and eggs, nuts, etc, too. It's not a dramatic change, but is something that I think is helpful (does increase my food bill though!)

Empirically a bunch of docs here in Aus, in the 90s I think, looked at protein in diet. The patients who ate about double the recommended intake did better, or about 1.5g per kg of body weight. Over 2.0 is dangerous though, at least in some people.

I can feel better or worse after a big meal. Once upon a time it was always better, but I think if it drives my blood to my gut I get my brain shutting down now. I think the large meal causes an insulin spike, which drives carbs into the cells, raising energy production. However I also find a substantive amount of healthy fats helps, but not junk fats. So olives, avocados, olive oil etc is helpful, and may people claim the same for coconut oil. I am still not sure about any of this, and currently suspect wheat is causing neuro issues in me, but do not know if its gluten or not.

 

[Raindrop]

Alwayshopeful....
Wow, that's interesting that it always HAS to be MEAT!! I mean I just could NOT
keep up with that demand in terms of cooking!! But I know....you do what you HAVE to!!
I will try to notice if I feel better after meat vs chicken or fish!
This problem is so hard with weight. I really really struggle and it is ALWAYS about
how often and much I need to keep eating just not to faint/have emerg attack.

 

[Raindrop]

Its interesting how many of us DO feel better after a main meal - I am surprised to find so many of us here. I am off to see KDM next weekend and will need to do two evenings/mornings of fasting (from 8pm evening until 12.30 next day) for this reason we are going a whole day early so that we can settle in and have a good meal in the evening before I have to fast. I will have a banana or two in my bag to eat the minute I am able.

Last year I had a couple of fainting spells and felt much better after getting some real food into me - my husband quickly made me a wholemeal cheese, salad sandwich, like a doorstop - as soon as I started to eat I felt better and the dizziness and pounding head stopped. By the time I had finished I was absolutely fine (for me- lol)

I hate fasting so much, but at least I will be in a doctors office to do it!
I am hoping that treatments will, down the line start to fix my metabolism - keeping fingers crossed.

All the best
Justy x

Justy....
What kind of treatments are you having? Is this anything that would help with the fainting and kind
of issues that I have? **does anyone KNOW why some of us just have to keep our food intake
HUGELY HIGH (espec protein, which lasts longer in body) like we do**??
Have I missed anyone's post about any medical knowledge they have?