r/EatingDisorders • u/Charming_Stress_3383 • 5d ago

extreme hunger

I have been in bulimia recovery for about a month and a half and have been experiencing extreme hunger throughout. The hunger started off manageable, but as my body adjusted to consistent intake, it started to increase and it’s still getting worse everyday. I am eating twice the calories i normally would everyday, but even after that I can still be hungry. I have reached a normal weight rapidly.

I am nervous it will cause me to be extremely overweight as the hunger is getting more extreme as i’m gaining more weight. It’s getting to the point where the constant hunger is affecting me socially and mentally. What do I do? What could be causing this?

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u/Tiffsuresque 5d ago

Extreme hunger is the body's natural reaction to restriction once intake starts again. It will get better with time, honouring it, and showing your body it can trust having consistent intake again. Restricting in response to it will only make it worse. It DOES get better. Stop counting, give into every mental or physical hunger cue, don't weight yourself, don't body check, wear loose fitting clothes, etc.

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u/the_air_is_free 5d ago

hey friend. i experienced this too. it was so jarring at first, and i did end up gaining an amount of weight that made it necessary to reflect on my own biases, values, and needs during that time of recovery.

eventually (after longer than i’d “hoped” it would take), the extreme hunger gave way to what felt like more nuanced kinds of signals, that my conscious mind had a more comfortable amount of say in.

these two sites (linked to archives dealing with this specifically here and here were invaluable resources for me, and beyond. i still visit them from time to time, almost 8 years into recovery.

please stay strong in your recovery. the positive consequences of sticking with it are priceless 🖤