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Login Here Signup Here Signup using FacebookDoes anyone else have this happen to them too? I am almost always hungry. This is true whether I’m eating cooked food or raw food. Last night I went out to dinner and ate a huge vegan meal. I woke up at about 2 a.m. feeling soooo hungry. I almost always wake up in the middle of the night hungry. I am 5’7’’ and I weigh around 100 lbs.(sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less)
A little history: when I was pregnant I had to see a nutritionist at 6 mo.s because I still hadn’t gained any weight. She had me write down everything I ate for 1 week and then she calculated how many calories I was consuming. She said I was consuming 5,000 calories per day! She also said that I have the highest metabolism of anyone she had seen or read about.
So, I’m curious… does anyone know how to slow down a fast metabolism? Anyone know the causes of why someone’s metabolism might be so fast? Anyone have a similar thing going on??
thx! jelli
Comments
Whatever anyone responds with I’ll do the opposite. I want a fast metabolism! I eat around 600 calories a day and have even when I ate SAD. I still want to lose another ten or so pounds(I’m 5’5” at 130)
I know, I know, I feel guilty complaining about this. Whenever I ask anyone about it they say that I should be glad that things are this way. But sometimes I worry about constantly feeling hungry. I wonder if my body is getting all of the nutrients that it needs. I’m anemic too, so I’m wondering if there could be an absorption issue going on?
Don’t know if it is your case or not but once a naturopath told me that a person that is often hungry even soon after a meal is an indication of a person who is intoxicated, maybe you are not absorbing the nutrients from the food you are eating (as you indicated)...aside from being anemic is there any other condition, medication u are taking? If you feel healthy though I wouldn’t worry about the weight too much…skinny is a synonymous for health in my view (to a certain extent).
My ex-son-in-law had a fast metabolism. He ate fast, work hard, and ate a lot but he was very skinny. When he got into his 50’s, things turned around. He ate just as fast, worked just as hard and ate just as much, but he started gaining weight. So you may one day be like the rest of us. Enjoy the trip right now, and have a prebreakfast.
One thing I would like to add. He was a very like able person, but he was a nervous person and he had a short fuse. I felt he needed medical attention.
I’m sorry to add to the long line of people being jealous over your metabolism, jellibi, but WHOA! You’re only two inches shorter than me and thirty five pounds less! I am totally jealous. =] My fiance is the same way, though. He eats constantly and seems to only lose weight, if he doesn’t actively turn it into muscle. Are you very active?
Oh, thanks for the ideas, everyone!
melavarde, I did find out that I am gluten intolerant and allergic to casein (as well as some other nuts/fruits) in the spring (May). I have had zero gluten and casein since then, but maybe my intestines are still healing from the damage of years and years of eating those foods that my body couldn’t digest. If so, I wonder how long it will take to heal. Anyone else have celiac or gluten intolerance? How long did it take to heal once you stopped eating gluten?
beany, It’s interesting that you mention “he was a nervous person and he had a short fuse” about your ex-son-in-law. I tend to be anxiety prone and I’ve heard before that the constant need to eat is associated with fear. It makes sense to me…
GearShifter, I would say I’m mildly to moderately active. I walk and bike everywhere (mostly walk) but I’m not a sports/workout person at all.
Hi Troublesjustabubble,
did you say 600 calories a day? Wow! That is extreme Caloric Restriction (CR)! I dont know if you know about CR, but it has been a hot topic among Gerontologists for years. (I just got out of grad school w/ an emphasis in Gerontology). Caloric Restriction has shown to dramatically increase life expectancy and overall health in almost unbelievable ways. But, I’ve also heard that it lowers your core temperature to less than 98.6 and causes functions to work slower… in other words it slows down metabolism.
So, if you wanna live super long and healthy, then you may be on the right track… but if you are trying to lose weight eating that few calories, you might find it VERY difficult.
I know! It is difficult! I’m not trying to restrict my calories I just tend to enjoy fruit and veggies and not the fatty stuff. I probably eat around three pieces of a fruit a day and a smoothie or two. Maybe a salad. But I do want to lose weight so maybe I’ll try to add some.
I think I should mention that some days I do eat more. Yesterday my neighbor brought over a chocolate, peanut butter dessert and I had a few bites of it. I got a headache(from the sugar) but this morning I weighed less and (sorry if this is TMI) I pooed twice in the time I generally only go once. Is that because that’s more fat than I usually eat?
If your body isn’t use to the items you ate in the cake, your system will try and get rid of it in a hurry.
hmm, makes sense. It seems I do that whenever I eat extra fat. I lose weight and poo alot more. I know the headache is from sugar. I get them immediately
Hmmm.. well, you could make sure that you eat something every two hours, even something very little. Also, eating unrefined coconut oil will rev up your metabolism big time, and the body wont store it as fat because its a medium chain trigliceride. What could be happening is that since your body gets so few calories it stores everything as fat. Your body may think its going though a famine and that you could get pregnant so it keeps all it can. If you begin to increase your calories slowly and give your body food every two hours at least, your body may think that the famine is over…
Do you have low-energy issues?
I always did when I was on SAD but I have much more energy now. I still get tired sometimes though.
I have coconut oil at home that I use for my skin so I’ll start putting it in stuff. Could I add it to a smoothie? Or do I have to put it in a dessert or something.
jellibi: My 6 year old daughter is gluten and casein intolerant. She has been on a restricted diet for 2 1/2 years due to leaky gut. She was at the 5th percentile when we discovered the problem. She ate a lot and should have weighed more. She gained a few pounds when she stopped eating gluten and casein even though she ate a lot less. She gained weight steady for about a year and got to the 10th percentile. After that she hit a plateau. She is at the 5th percentile again but eats when she is hungry and has enough energy. I have given her enzymes to assist with digestion of trace amounts of gluten/ casein for 1 1/2 years. My husband said he was skinny as a kid so maybe this is the weight she should be (almost 7 and 40 lbs). My husband is not skinny anymore but still has fast metabolism and eats about 4000 calories a day.
hey trouble,
I actually just eat it with a spoon…its good! you can put it in smoothies, but if the smoothie is cold it will stay in chunks.
hmm, well my smoothies are definitely colder than 72° so I may just do some dessert type thing if I can handle it. I’ll try the spoon thing but I’m scared! ha
Although I adore the smell and feel of coconut oil. I use it all over my body for moisturizer and cleanser
Annabelle, you may have answered part of my question for me too… I didn’t know that coconut oil speeds up metabolism. I have it everyday in my green smoothies (sometimes 3x per day!) I thought I was doing a good thing by adding in the fat. Oy!!!
Rawcure: thanks for sharing! At times it is so hard to be gluten/casein-free, no? I’m glad it helped your daughter gain some weight though. When I first went gf I gained 8 lbs in 3 weeks, but then lost it again. It’s interesting that that’s what happened with your daughter too (gaining the weight and then going back down again. hmmm
Jeeze, I can’t decide now if I want to drink the green smoothie I was drinking (with 1 1/2 TB of coconut oil in it) or throw it out! :)
trouble: if you are looking for a tasty way to get the coconut oil in, try blending 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds into flour, add another 1/4 cup of whole sunflower seeds, mix in a heaping tablespoon of coconut oil, and sweeten with your choice of sweeteners (I use about a half a tablespoon of raw honey (my one non-vegan food these days)). THis is what I do on the days I can’t seem to get in enough calories. It is not much food by volume, but it is over 600 calories, and I definitely lose weight on the days I eat this.
Jellibi,
Coconut oil is still good for you… I wouldn’t eat as much though… for the rest of us who want to lose weight… it’s counterintuitive to EAT OIL… but it’s a unique oil and goes straight to the mitochondria for cellular energy… or so I’ve read.
troublesjustabubble (& jellibi!) may I suggest, if you choose to use coconut oil in a dessert, that you try the carrot cake recipe contributed by hannah.hunnicut
http://goneraw.com/recipes/4611-carrot-cake
It is reeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllly good. :)
The coconut oil is used in the frosting – which is great because you could use it in/on other desserts as well.
Bon appetit to you and many thanks to hannah.hunnicut for sharing that fabulous treat!
Has anyone mentioned that you might have parasites? you did say you were also anemic. Why not try a parasite cleanse. Or eat tons of pineapple and pumpkin seeds as they kill some parasites. Worth a shot though! Maybe a tapeworm is eating all your food and leaving you starving to death.
oooh, i loooooooooove pumpkin seeds. i’m so glad it’s that time of year again!
parasites. ew. Yeah, I had considered that before. But everyone in my family is like this and we always have been. I think it’s more of a metabolism thing, but maybe I’ll try some parasite cleansing just in case,,thanks!
Jellibi – have you ever checked your thyroid. Are you always kinda moving, like bouncing your foot when you sit? Also, if you had a tape worm, you’d poo out segments of it; you’d see it, so don’t worry too much!
thyroid. Hmmm. I think I had it checked a few years ago and all was normal, I can double check though. Movement… yes, I always seem to be moving. I am capable of being still, but not for long :) How come?
Yeah, sid, how come? I’m sitting here with my leg going like a jackhammer as I type this.
“yes” my husband is like that , and then he found out that he has celiac disease .The nutrients were just going thru him , he is now on a glutten free diet and doing much better.
Jellibi – If you have a fast metabolism, that’s probably because you have an overactive thyroid. I hear things with goitrogens (brocolli, kale, other cruciferous veggies) can help slow down thyroid function, which will slow down your metabolism.
Never mind, you said your thyroid was deemed A-OK. In that case, I’m stumped, because I thought that metabolism was completely dependent on your thyroid, which is dependent on your genes and DNA to a high extent.
Honestly... I started eating lots of fats, and I lost 20 pounds in a month. I am 5"8 and i weigh 142 now... I am not skinny by any means.. But i would say this is an improvement compared to 160.... ick.(by lots of fats i mean, coconut oil on sprouted bread, i eat brazil nuts by the handful, and I also take Udo's oil, omega 3-6-9 +DHA for vegans supplement.) I eat ALOT, I dont have a super high metabolism, but then again... I NEVER pay attention to numbers and percentages and portions.... I just do what my body is telling me. Makes the most sense to me!!! ^_^ If i feel tired, I sleep, if im hungry, I eat! I think our own bodies know whats best. But knowing your ingredients and nutritional info is key as well.)
I noticed that when I don't stress out about what I eat raw, I actually feel better - I don't gain weight, sleep better and enjoy life more!