Lack of appetite?

Hi,

I'm almost finishing my first steady state cycle, and I've been trying to get my nutrition right, but I have an extreme lack of appetite after working out for some reason.

I'm "following" the perfect nutrition post here, but I can never eat as much as I should. Basically, since I'm not taking any supplements, I drink a quart of skim milk for my first liquid meal and after that it's an uphill battle... So much that it gets to the point where it's difficult to even eat a hard boiled egg. Never mind the fact that I bloat so much it looks like I have a balloon inside my stomach. I did change the amount of food for my size ("intuitively", tough )

Right now I'm eating more, but I'm also waiting longer until the next meal (around 45m).

Is there any way to get around this? I'm eating whole foods only, so maybe adding supplements? Should I simply eat less, or will I get used to it eventually?

Thanks.

whiteshift said:

Hi,

I'm almost finishing my first steady state cycle, and I've been trying to get my nutrition right, but I have an extreme lack of appetite after working out for some reason.

I'm "following" the perfect nutrition post here, but I can never eat as much as I should. Basically, since I'm not taking any supplements, I drink a quart of skim milk for my first liquid meal and after that it's an uphill battle... So much that it gets to the point where it's difficult to even eat a hard boiled egg. Never mind the fact that I bloat so much it looks like I have a balloon inside my stomach. I did change the amount of food for my size ("intuitively", tough )

Right now I'm eating more, but I'm also waiting longer until the next meal (around 45m).

Is there any way to get around this? I'm eating whole foods only, so maybe adding supplements? Should I simply eat less, or will I get used to it eventually?

Thanks.

I think this is key.

I drink a quart of skim milk for my first liquid meal and after that it's an uphill battle

Drinking a quart of anything will bloat most people. A quart of milk in particular can be bloating,

especially if you are lactose intolerant to a degree.

You may want to consider trying lactose-reduced milk, and see if that helps.

There are also lactaid pills which can help digest lactose and reduce gas.

Also you may want to try more caloric-dense foods such as cottage cheese or greek yogurt

(lactose reduced if neccessary). You will be able to get more protein and calories with less food volume.

How does your body handle whole eggs, egg whites or lower-fat deli meat? I handle the boxed eggs very well.

They are mostly egg whites, and can whip up a tasty omlett with some meat and veggies that has several hundred calories and

is very filling.

The main thing is to get an idea of the total daily intake (calories) and macronutrient breakdown (carbs, protein, fat) you want, figure out what foods in what amount can meet your needs. If one food that meets the criteria doen't agree with you,

try another!

I thought about cottage cheese and Greek yogurt, but since it's the first post-workout meal I thought I should be getting faster proteins. Same reason why I'm not eating an omelet for this meal.

The main thing is to get an idea of the total daily intake (calories) and macronutrient breakdown (carbs, protein, fat) you want, figure out what foods in what amount can meet your needs. If one food that meets the criteria doen't agree with you,

try another!

This is probably where my problem was. Once I found a food that covered my nutritional needs, i thought it was my only option. Also, I was under the impression that supplements were useless if I didn't eat right to begin with, and was too fixated on eating only whole foods, but I guess I'm going to try with whey protein for this liquid/fast absorption meal.

whiteshift said:

I thought about cottage cheese and Greek yogurt, but since it's the first post-workout meal I thought I should be getting faster proteins. Same reason why I'm not eating an omelet for this meal.

The main thing is to get an idea of the total daily intake (calories) and macronutrient breakdown (carbs, protein, fat) you want, figure out what foods in what amount can meet your needs. If one food that meets the criteria doen't agree with you,

try another!

This is probably where my problem was. Once I found a food that covered my nutritional needs, i thought it was my only option. Also, I was under the impression that supplements were useless if I didn't eat right to begin with, and was too fixated on eating only whole foods, but I guess I'm going to try with whey protein for this liquid/fast absorption meal.

Sounds like a plan Keep in mind that a mix of fast and slow proteins has been shown to be superior than fast proteins alone.

In fact, slow proteins such as casein (found in cottage cheese and milk for example) hit the bloodstream as quickly as whey. The level of amino acids does not rise as high as whey but they are released over a longer period of time.

This effect reduces muscle protein catabolism which is viewed to be as important as anabolism. The combination of both determine net muscle gain (or loss). Hence, you have most protein powder manufacturers producing blends that have mixtures of fast, medium and slow proteins to cover all the bases.

Another option is to sip whey, which probably causes it to act like a slow protein. The initial high spike of both the whey's amino acids and insulin would be lost, which has a potential downside for muscle growth. Besides doing things people are not so happy with, insulin causes muscle cells to take up amino acids, which is a good thing. So this may blunt its effectiveness to some degree, or not.

So whey PWO would work. So would chocolate milk, which has the steady milk protein release (20% whey, 80% casein) plus the sugar to spike insulin. Combining this with whey works. Lots of things work. Any protein post workout is better than none, and sometimes you have to make do with what is available.

And if you are performing GB or weights before meals, you should at least get some BCAA or whey in your bloodstream like 1/2 hour prior to working out. Am pretty sure that's in the perfect nutrition thread.

I do agree that the majority of food in a day should be whole, and protein supplements secondary.

So be flexible yes. If you're on target 80% of the time, you're doing well and you'll be smiling in the end.

Well, honestly so long as you are eating other sources of protein, I wouldn't be so concerned about the lack of protein being digested over hours if you are only using whey. It's great before bed but bear in mind most proteins digest around 5g/hr. So keep in mind how it takes to digest 30g of protein. Whey digests around 10g/hr. I think those numbers are pretty general but probably are correct enough for most of the population unless they are 220-350lbs and athletic (meaning a solid non fluffy 220-350).

However, since you're not eating enough apparently; I'm not opposed to a whey/casein approach if it gets some protein in you.

Yeah, the difference is mostly on paper. If a real meal is going down the pipe within an hour or two, it's not going to matter as much.

Thanks guys!

And if you are performing GB or weights before meals, you should at least get some BCAA or whey in your bloodstream like 1/2 hour prior to working out. Am pretty sure that's in the perfect nutrition thread.

Yes, I read about BCAA and creatine, but I was a bit overwhelmed with all the supplements out there. For now, I'm focusing on knowing what to eat (what combinations of fruits and veggies give me all the vitamins, trying to get enough fish, things like that... for a 20 year old who's not used to living by himself that can be quite tricky), and trying to follow that plan.

To be honest, like I said, I'm still on my first SS cycle. Most of the exercises I do are not all that hard, and even then I'm seeing clear improvements, my nutrition being a work in progress and everything. As I progress through the series I'll be more serious about supplements. I'm not really in a hurry, after all

However, since you're not eating enough apparently; I'm not opposed to a whey/casein approach if it gets some protein in you.

So be flexible yes. If you're on target 80% of the time, you're doing well and you'll be smiling in the end.

Yeah, the difference is mostly on paper. If a real meal is going down the pipe within an hour or two, it's not going to matter as much.

This has been very encouraging, thanks. i'm quite prone to paralysis by analysis, so sometimes I worry about petty things... I'll go with a low volume-high nutritional value PWO whey + chocolate milk (or cold milk, honey and vanilla... that's sooo good), and then whole foods.