About a month ago, I got my roommate to start training and eating correctly. Now, she is eating 5 or so small meals a day and they are healthy, balanced, etc.
The problem is that since she’s started, she never feels hungry, and in fact, the idea of eating always feels quite unpleasant to her. she wakes up in the morning and dreads the fact that she has to eat breakfast… etc.
anyways, at the beginning, i told her that it was just her body adjusting to the higher quantity of food that she was eating. but it sure has taken a long time…
does anyone else have any ideas? i don’t know much about carb (in)tolerance, but i thought that it could be that, maybe? she has postulated that her diet is TOO high in fiber… but i would be VERY surprised by that (in fact, i’d say that she is probably getting around 20g of fiber per day).
any pointers you can give would be very much appreciated…
thanks!
dan
Can you give an example of a fairly average day’s diet for her? Besides what she eats, what is a daily calorie total like? Do you know what her calorie expenditure in a day is roughly, and what are her goals?
Also, can you expound on what you mean when you say eating is making her uncomfortable? Is she just not hungry, or does she have gas, cramps, nausea, indigestion, etc?
Carb intolerance does not fit this situation as I understand it now though. My carb intolerance usually presents itself with lethargy and bloating but does not really affect my hunger.
If she has any problems with her adrenals that can dull energy and metabolism. It could be her thyroid too. She might have a food allergy to one of the new healthy foods you have introduced to her. She might not be getting enough water.
Has she had any other unusual symptoms or health concerns before or after changing diets that might suggest an underlying condition?
I’ll give an approximate of her diet… which is not perfect yet… but much better than before.
I’d say she eats about 2000 calories in a day, approximately.
Breakfast: 2% milk and cheerios with some fruit (and coffee, which i am trying to get her off of… but that’s another story)
Lunch: Turkey breast on whole wheat bread. Also either a yogurt or apple sauce or mixed nuts.
Pre-WO: protein bar
Post-WO: whey shake
dinner: lean meat, chicken, or fish with veggies.
last meal is usually yogurt or apple sauce and a shake… something like that.
her goals are primarily to just be a bit healthier and to put on a little muscle (she is extremely ectomorphic…) and just fill out a bit.
she is not terribly active (a 10 minute walk to and from work each day, but that’s about it…) except for the gym 3 times a week (she does a simple TBT routine).
she does not have gas, cramps, nausea, indigestion, except for sometimes after a tough workout (nausea, but i think that is normal).
the only other big health concern is that she is a severe severe severe insomniac, which is a real pain in the ass for just about every reason… and it sure as hell doesn’t help her nutritional goals and whatnot.
thanks!
dan
She is naturally very lean and thin and has been eating an appropriate amount of food to maintain that body composition for most of her life. What you are suggesting now is a huge change for her and, frankly, it’s unnatural for her to eat that way. Of course she is going to have issues with eating 6 meals a day. It will take her a while to adjust to eating more food and having more frequent feedings. She needs to stick with it or you need to suggest changes that are more fitting for her nature.
I’m not suggesting that what you outline is unhealthy way to eat but it’s a change from what she’s been doing for a very long time so it will require some period of adjustment.
2000 calories sounds high to me, given the lack of physical exercise she’s getting. Have you considered reducing the quantity of food she is eating? The approach I would take is to keep the overall amount of calories the same as before but select better quality food and portion it into 5 or 6 meals. Then slowly increase the calories over a period of weeks or months. Give her body a chance to adjust to the change in eating behaviors before changing the food quantity.
Regarding the insomnia - ZMA helps me as does eating a huge carb meal before bed. Glycine may be in order too as there is some evidence that it promotes GH secretion and someone who isn’t sleeping well tends to suffer from decreased GH.
The insomnia, or whatever is causing the insomnia, could be seriously affecting her hormonal make up which would affect her metabolism and energy. Unless she has an idea what might be causing it and has a plan for at least trying to treat it she should see a doctor. Z-12, sold here, sounds like a good idea though I’ve never tried it. ZMA, GABA, and DHEA all might be helpful too.
Perhaps you could get her to try a calming bedtime tea of some kind too. Women seem to like tea.
Other then that, it sounds like you have her on a reasonable diet. I think you are right that her fiber is, if anything, low. I personally would try to get some more veggies in there somewhere, maybe at lunch. A salad can be a nice starter.
Fat looks kind of low, given the snapshot you offered. I would try to find some way to include some healthy fats in there other than the occasional serving of nuts. That can have an affect on mood, hormones, and metabolism too.
Again, I don’t think this sounds like carb intolerance.
Best of luck.
(more info on all this later… but the insomnia is, for now at least, an incurable issue. she is congenitally blind and insomnia is common for the blind. many people believe that our circadian rhythms are actually more than 24 hours long, but since we see the sunrise and sunset on a 24-hour cycle, our internal clocks take their cues from those visual sources. unfortunately, she doesn’t have that as an advantage, so she has nothing telling her body when it is time for bed.
she has, obviously, spoken to her doctor about it. ZMA won’t get at the problem for her. it’s a fact of life for her… but still, none of this should preclude her from being otherwise healthy… eating right, exercising, etc.)
thanks all for your advice so far. i spoke to her about this and she provided me with some more information that might help to better pin this down. i’ll write more on it tomorrow when i get a second!
dan
Post pics of her. She’ll never know…