Extreme Hunger

Healing hunger.

Healing Hunger

One phenomenon that many people experience during their recovery is called Extreme Hunger. Personally, I prefer the term Healing Hunger because it describes it perfectly: Hunger to heal. My favorite analogies are breathing and thirst: if someone doesn't drink for a long time and is constantly suppressing their thirst, they will drink a lot of water as soon as they have the chance and won't be satisfied with just a few sips. The same goes for divers who hold their breath for minutes at a time and gasp for air when they come up for air. We are evolutionarily designed to eat a lot after a period of hunger. The time of onset is as variable as the duration of extreme hunger. Some people experience it suddenly, after having struggled with the eating disorder for several weeks or months; others experience it right away. For some, it lasts only a few weeks; for others, it can last a year or even two. Every body is different and it is important to remember that your body knows exactly what it is doing. It is sending us these signals because it needs more food. It doesn't matter how much you weigh, how much weight you've gained, or how uncomfortable you feel: Your body needs more energy. For many people, it is hard to imagine that hunger is justified when they are already back to a "normal" weight.

Secondly, the body has a lot more to repair than just weight. Again, there is an analogy that explains the process well: Imagine you have a lot of debt. Maybe you have a car to pay off, a student loan, and you have borrowed money from friends. Then you get a high-paying job and start paying down your debt. Even though you have the opportunity to cut back, you don't do it right away just because your bank account is down to zero. You save more money before you cut back. Your body feels the same way. An eating disorder can do a lot of damage, and just because your body has gained weight doesn't mean it's been repaired. Bones, organs, muscles, metabolic processes and much more that is not visible from the outside require a lot of energy.

Another reason for extreme hunger is an imbalance in the hunger hormones ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is an appetite-stimulating hormone that signals the brain that it is time to eat. When the stomach is empty, ghrelin is released and absorbed into the bloodstream. It then travels to the hypothalamus region of the brain, where it stimulates nerve cells to signal hunger.If you don't eat enough for too long, ghrelin levels rise significantly. Of course, just having something in your stomach is not enough. If your stomach is full of salad, ghrelin will still be released because the body is not stupid and knows what it needs much better than any diet or eating disorder. Leptin, the antagonist of ghrelin, can be described as the satiety hormone. Leptin is produced by fat cells and is therefore significantly underrepresented in people with low fat reserves. The hormone is important for regulating metabolism and also signals satiety to the body. Although leptin levels are proportional to body fat mass, it is not enough to simply gain weight when recovering from a restrictive eating disorder. First of all, the healthy amount of body fat varies from person to person, despite what the diet culture would have us believe. Some people are naturally thinner, while others carry a little more fat on their bodies. However, both body types are equally healthy and proper.

So it may be that one person's body fat mass is enough to raise his or her leptin levels, while another person may need to gain more weight in order for the body to produce enough of the hormone. Leptin is not only important for signaling satiety to the body, it also plays a critical role in the immune and reproductive systems. All of the above factors play an equally important role, which is why extreme hunger usually persists even after an increase in "normal weight" as measured by BMI. Evolutionary survival mechanisms also play a role in extreme hunger: When we go through a period of hunger, the body has no way of knowing whether it is self-inflicted or simply due to a lack of food. When food is available again, it makes sense to prepare for another period of hunger and send out more hunger signals. This is why it is so important to follow these signals, whether they are physical or mental. Otherwise, the body will think it is starving again, release stress hormones, and not continue the repair processes. After all, we want to learn that no countermeasures are necessary, that we can continue to eat what we want and as much as we want, and that we don't need to restrict ourselves again against our body's signals.