Lost my appetite

Her everyone,

This past week end I seem to have just suddenly lost my appetite and am finding it difficult to eat enough food >_< which is really weird because I love food and am constantly eating. Normally my problem is eating too much but all to a sudden is weekend I just can't eat much at all and am struggling to get my daily calories. The only difference in lifestyle really is I started tabata training. Lifestyle is mostly the same as well except for spending more time with a new friend.

Not sure what's going on. Has this happened to anyone else?

Cheers.

yeah i've lost my appetite before but it was more due to depression and the time's i was overtraining, when joint pain didn't stop me first. 

are you getting enough fiber? or eating too much fat? i'm not familiar with which one's but they tend to slow down digestion and the lack of fiber could be backing food up. 

ausswe said:

Her everyone,

This past week end I seem to have just suddenly lost my appetite and am finding it difficult to eat enough food >_< which is really weird because I love food and am constantly eating. Normally my problem is eating too much but all to a sudden is weekend I just can't eat much at all and am struggling to get my daily calories. The only difference in lifestyle really is I started tabata training. Lifestyle is mostly the same as well except for spending more time with a new friend.

Not sure what's going on. Has this happened to anyone else?

Cheers.

Is this new friend a girl? 

ausswe said:

Her everyone,

Are you working through every letter of the alphabet after 'he' in your posts?

MattProulx said:

Is this new friend a girl? 

it doesnt have to be a girl LOL 

Mhahahah stupid autocorrect always changes hey to her.... Yes this new friend is a girl yes we are interested in each other. I eat a lot of vegetables so auite a bit of fiber there but not that much fat (about 20%ish usually) I have been climbing a bit more than usual as well but I feel strong during foundation.

ausswe how old are you??

Since it's relatively recent, it may just be a bug or something, but i'd be concerned re overtraining.  Is your resting HR up?  Is your grip strength down? Are you sleeping more poorly?  If none of the above it is probably not overtraining.  If it is, time for a deload week and maybe a couple of them.  Sometimes our bodies go through cycles.  If there are any other physical symptoms, like nausea, weight loss, etc, then a doctor visit would be in order.  Get that appetite back soon!  Half the fun of exercising is getting to eat a lot

Hmmm seems I need to do so e experimenting... I'm starting to wonder if the extra climbing has resulted in overtraining? I just came out of a deload week so don't really want to go back into one... I definitely feel like the under eating is messing with me a bit but not sure if the is psychological or physiological... Anyway have been forcing myself to eat more and am going to start focusing on making sure I meet me micronutrient requirements as I haven't paid attention to that before as I eat a lot of veggies but lately I haven't been getting much variety.

I guess I'll try cut down on the climbing as well see if that helps. Also I am 26, not sure if that helps in anyway though?

You have identified two important areas:

1) Overtraining: loss of appetite can be a symptom. It is a good idea to get baseline measurements for heart rate upon first waking up, best done with a heart rate monitor, during a particularly good time where you are 100% for sure not over-trained. This baseline helps you determine whether you are approaching overtraining before you have more symptoms. 

2) Micronutrient deficiency: A lack of variation in diet is a sure sign that you may not be getting everything you need in this department. Veggies may not be all that you need, you may also need more zinc than you're getting. Animal meat and seafood are the only natural sources that will actually give you everything you need if you get at least 3 servings per day, but if you are eating a lot of processed foods then zinc is one of the few areas where you might not have an issue since it is part of standard fortification for this very reason.

And... something you might have missed. THE GIRL!

Seriously, there's all kinds of crazy hormone stuff going on in your brain, and even though it is an awesome kind of stress it is still an extra source of stress. These things (new girl you are interested in) can absolutely have a significant impact. I'd keep her around, don't get me wrong, I'm just saying it's good to recognize that this new relationship-ish stuff is a stressor and can interfere with physical training. Don't worry, if this does happen to be a factor then with time the stress will pass.

Regardless of what's going on, stay calm. An oral zinc assay is cheap to order and can give you a good idea of deficiency status. I took one courtesy of Daniel Burnham and it turns out I am insanely deficient right now, even after a week of supplementation. It takes several weeks to get things back up to par, so we'll see how long it takes. I now have my own liquid zinc assay so I use it once per week to see if there are any changes... It is supposed to taste awful instantly. So far, after a minute I still can't taste *$(# Captain!

I blame not eating enough meat

Thanks for all the advice and ideas guys! Still lacking in appetite although at least now I can force myself to eat a bit more without feeling feeling like my stomachs is going to explode... Most of my protein req come from a mix of meat and whey powder so I get a minimum of 300g meat a day often sourced from kangaroo meat but also have some beef chicken tuna salmon and lamb thrown in occasionally. I do need work more on my micronutrient count I think as like i said my vegetable matter has been quite repetitive lately. I eat very little processed food ( 80-90% chocolate as my treat) I am starting to think it might be this girl that is doing this to me... Ill feel like an idiot if this is the case -_-..... I don't think it is over training as I have broken new ground lately and feel stronger but ill try the heart rate monitor this weekend if nothing is improved.

I'm afraid my calorie intake is just way too low and honestly I don't know how bad it is to have such a low calorie intake for weeks, which worries me more so I am trying hard to eat more... I have been losing weight at a more rapid pace which is worrying as well..

Dam nutrition for being so complicated! It would be nice to not have to worry about it so much but not knowing exactly what happens in a scenario like this when you have goals in gst and climbing make it hard to ignore.

ausswe said:

I am starting to think it might be this girl that is doing this to me... Ill feel like an idiot if this is the case -_-

It seems to me that you kinda knew answer anyway, in the OP you just mentioned this new friend right away even though you didn't really specify. 

Don't feel stupid though, it's normal, though I personally tend to eat more. 

I am not convinced this is the whole reason behind it I guess I was more worried abo the effects such a low cal diet would have on my body and my training. Training seems to be going okay but it has only been 2 weeks so I guess I'll see. So far only noticeable side effect is I've lost considerable amount of fat..... Muscle seems to be in tact mostly though

ausswe said:

I am not convinced this is the whole reason behind it I guess I was more worried abo the effects such a low cal diet would have on my body and my training. Training seems to be going okay but it has only been 2 weeks so I guess I'll see. So far only noticeable side effect is I've lost considerable amount of fat..... Muscle seems to be in tact mostly though

Resistance exercise helps preserve existing muscle mass during calorie deficits. The biggest short-term issue will be making gains as quickly as you should. The biggest long-term issue is the strong possibility of a meaningful nutrient deficiency that could impact your health, so exposing yourself to  a wider variety of plants (and more calories) will be an important step on the road to even greater success.

I wouldn't worry too much about short term changes to appetite and such. It doesn't matter a lot in a bigger timeframe. I think that with the demands that many of us face, and not least pose on our selves, we should allow ourselves to not worry too much, and cut ourselves some slack.

If this thing called life interferes with your plans, well... Let it. Think about the long term, small deviations along the way are just that, small deviations.