You see this hungry Pug… Well, that was me.

One thing that always confused me about restriction was the fact that my cravings and hunger seemed to get worse when I allowed myself a “cheat” meal or a short diet break. It’s like my brain knew when I was in restriction mode, and as soon as I gave it freedom it would think, now’s our chance, let’s devour this food while his guard is down.

This can be quite misleading and trick you into believing that restriction is the only answer because simply can’t trust yourself with food. In fact, I am certain that this phenomenon is one of the main factors that both leads to eating disorders and prevents many from recovering.

It often goes something like this: 

You’ve been yo-yo dieting for a while and now have what you can only assume is an eating disorder – You think about food constantly and are always hungry. Hoping to get rid of all the cravings, you decide to stop all the restriction and make an attempt to eat “moderately”. However, even after eating “normal” amounts, your hunger just isn’t going away. In fact, it is arguably stronger now that you have more freedom. Then, one night after dinner you go overboard and eat cookies until you are sick. It is at this moment where you assume that restriction was not your problem after all, but rather lack of restriction; you go back on your diet and are extremely hesitant to ever try again. 

Subtle Restriction

This is unfortunate because you were headed in the right direction, but you just didn’t know what to expect. You probably assumed that eating a maintenance level of calories would be enough for your metabolism to make a comeback, but maintenance calories are not enough if you are “maintaining” a weight 10 pounds below your set-point. It’s rather ironic that recovering from restriction is often impeded by this subtler form of restriction. 

The point is that you should not expect your satiety to make a quick return after a period of dieting, especially if you limit yourself to “normal” portion sizes. As you will see in this article even the participants of Minnesota Starvation Experiment who were given the highest level of calories in the initial recovery period (over 3,000 kcal) saw almost zero decrease in their hunger for quite some time. 

Minnesota Starvation Experiment

This article on Hunger and food cravings during Recovery is part of a series that highlights the various symptoms that many experience from chronic dieting and overtraining. If you haven’t already, you may want to check out Part 1, which looks at hunger during restriction.

In order to examine these common symptoms, we will look at excerpts and quotes regarding the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, which is the most comprehensive study on caloric restriction and semi-starvation ever conducted. If you are not familiar with the study, or just need a refresher, you can read an overview of the study by expanding the two sections below.

Overview of Study
The Minnesota Starvation Experiment, which was conducted from 1944 to 1945 by Ancel Keys and his colleagues, included 36 healthy male participants, all of whom were men who were conscientious objectors of WW2. That is to say, they agreed to participate in the study rather than fight in the war. The purpose of the study was to examine semi-starvation with the goal of determining the most effective method of rehabilitating both starving citizens and prisoners of war come the end of the war. The observations and results of the study were meticulously recorded and later published in an over 1,300 page, two-volume book titled The Biology of Human Starvation.
Methods of Study
•Control Period (12 weeks): Approximately 3,200 calories per day, with the goal or creating a baseline for later comparison.

•Restriction Period (6 months): Approximately 1,560 calories per day and comprised of food similar to those found during times of famine: potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, bread and macaroni, etc. This period also included 22-miles of additional walking each week.

•Restricted Rehabilitation (12 weeks): The men were divided into four groups which consisted of either 400, 800, 1200 or 1600 more calories than during the restriction period. The highest calorie group was basically back to baseline calories, while the lowest calorie group was just under 2,000 calories.

•Unrestricted Rehabilitation (8 weeks): In the period, the men ate ad libitum, meaning that they ate as much as they wanted. For most men this ended up being around 5,000 calories per day, however, a few of the men ate as much as 11,500 calories on some days.

(Keys, 1950, pg. 70)

One factor that can significantly impact the recovery of proper satiety ques after severe restriction is the degree to which one eats to satiety and refrains from restriction, which can be quite difficult for those who have the habit of restriction. You might see an Instagram post or movie character you admire, and the resulting aspirational thoughts could derail your recovery mentality. 

Cultural Factors

These same external influences didn’t seem to be an issue for the men in this study. In, fact judging by their writings and reports, many actually took pride in the weight and fat gained during recovery. Due to this perspective these men really did eat as much as they wanted whenever they wanted, without any hesitation or fear of weight gain. In other words, their rational brains and reptilian brains were after the same goal–weight gain.

What Am I Getting At Here?

I mention this to suggest that refeeding and recovery is slightly more complex for those with a history of disordered eating:

  1. Our human brain and our animal brain will likely not always be on the same page throughout the entirety of recovery; that is, you might feel the urge to restrict.
  2. Because of this discord, your satiety recovery and recovery in general may not always be as linear as it was for these men. 

With that being said, the hunger and food obsessions described by these subjects, felt eerily like my experience during both restriction and recovery. Reading these accounts helped to realize that I wasn’t crazy and that this is simply a survival response. I hope you can get something positive out of these quotes as well.  

Food Cravings & Hunger During Initial Rehabilitation Period (R1-R12)

  • The men continued to want more than they received. Even when those on the highest caloric intake were physically full, they wanted more —their appetites were insatiable. The men continued to be concerned with food and their rations above all else (Keys, 1950, p. 835).
  • Many Minnesota subjects commented that they were still “hungry,” though incapable of ingesting more food, at the end of the very large meals. All the men ate snacks between meals and in the evening (Keys, 1950, p. 843).

Wastefulness Was Unsettling

  • Attempts to avoid wasting even a particle of food continued in the face of unlimited supplies. An irrational fear that food would not be available or that the opportunity to eat would somehow be taken away from them was present in some of the men. This may have motivated their eating all they could hold at one time. (Keys, 1950, p. 843).

The Unusual Eating Habits Developed During Restriction Continued

  • The desire for hot food, the “formalities” of serving and eating, and the creation of mixtures and concoctions continued. About half a dozen of the men deteriorated more in their eating habits and table manners during the first 6 weeks of the rehabilitation period than during semi-starvation (Keys, 1950, p. 835).

Relief from Hunger and Other Symptoms Took Longer Than They Anticipated 

  • After 12 weeks of rehabilitation there was a marked improvement in all symptoms, however the continued desire for more food and the feeling of tiredness were the most prominent semi-starvation residues. (Keys, 1950, p. 846).
  • They had anticipated that rehabilitation would bring about an early alleviation of their symptoms and distress. This belief was a sustaining motivation during the semi-starvation period. But the expected “new lease on life” did not materialize. The weight gains in the first weeks were small or nonexistent (a few men even lost weight owing to the loss of edema fluid). Weakness, tiredness, pains, and a myriad of other discomforts continued. Hunger and appetite were not appeased. As one subject expressed it, “Now I go away from meals hungry three times a day instead of two.” (Keys, 1950, p. 837).

Change of Interest and Outlook: 

  • Cookbooks, menus, and information bulletins on food production became intensely interesting to many of the men who previously had had little or no interest in dietetics or agriculture(Keys, 1950, p. 853).
  • As a result of the increased concern about food some men even went so far as to re-plan their lives. For example, one man became impressed by the importance of efficient methods of food raising and decided to go into agriculture as a vocation. A few planned to become cooks. Halfway through starvation 13 out of 34 men mentioned cooking among their plans following completion of the experiment(Keys, 1950, p. 843).
  • The persistent clamor of hunger distracted the subjects when they attempted to continue their cultural interests, manual activities, and studies (Keys, 1950, p. 835).

Restriction and Possible Ed Tendencies in a Small Minority

  • Subject No. 105 even omitted breakfast so that he could lose weight and No. 5 was limiting his intake to stabilize his weight at 160 Ibs. (pre-starvation weight, 178 Ibs.) (Keys, 1950, p. 847).
  • In a few men there appeared, particularly toward the end of the experiment, a reaction against the “tyranny of food”; they became annoyed by discussions of food and related subjects. One man expressed disgust at this “animal attitude”; another referred to such engrossment as “nutritional masturbation.”(Keys, 1950, p. 847).

Hunger Changes During Unrestricted Refeeding (R13-R33)

As I explained in the experiment “Methods” sectionabove, following 12 weeks of structured refeeding, the men were allowed to eat whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted.

Below is a Table that summarizes the symptoms of the participants at the end of the structured refeeding period. The letter C, S, and R represent the Control, Semi-starvation, and Rehabilitation periods respectively. For instance, R20 being 20 weeks into rehabilitation. The number listed within the table is the percentage of respondents who had that particular undesirable symptom. 

Self-Rated Hunger Symptoms

recovery after restriction

Based on their responses, we can see that 59% of the men felt hungry “almost all of the time” at the end of the starvation period, while this perpetual hunger remained for 25% of the men at R20, and only 5% at R33.

Also noteworthy is that the taste of the food during the starvation period was rated higher despite there being fewer options and much blander than the food served in recovery (Keys, 1950, p. 847).

How Did Their Hunger and Cravings Change Over Time?

During the weeks 13, 15, 20 and 33, the men were asked to document and elaborate on any changes across a range of symptoms. I have sorted these observations below. You can use it more as a reference if you are curious to see how certain aspects were affected over time. 

Food Cravings
•R13: 17 of 24 made reference to food cravings. of 17 men who made a reference to food cravings, 7 had no specific cravings. The remaining 10 men had a predilection, in about equal proportion, for sweets, dairy products, and nuts (Keys, 1950, p. 846).

•R15: 18 men out of 26 reporting had no unsatisfied cravings. Sweets were the favorites of 8 men; No. 122 could not get enough ice cream to satisfy his appetite, and No. 11 ate as much ice cream as he could “lay his hands on” but commented that all food tasted good and that each meal was a real treat (Keys, 1950, p. 846).

•R20: 21 out of 25 men reported “No cravings.” Of the other 4 men, No. 122 craved nuts, Nos. 27 and 11 craved milk and eggs, and No. 26 kept on eating two chocolate bars a day until February (Keys, 1950, p. 846).

•R33: In March (R33) most of the 16 men for whom we have a good record had no complaint except for shortness of breath. The only hunger complaint at R33 was that 5% of the men still felt hungry “all of the time” and 10% were more concerned with quantity than quality. (Keys, 1950, p. 845).
Food Intake
R13:
  • Out of 17 men who did not stay in the Laboratory but who made reports on their food intake for R13, 15 apparently ate from 50 per cent to over 200 per cent more than during the eleventh and twelfth weeks of rehabilitation.
  • The men frequently found it difficult to stop eating. No. 20 “stuffs himself until he is bursting at the seams, to the point of being nearly sick,” and still he felt hungry; No. 120 reported that he had to discipline himself to keep from eating so much as to become ill; No. 1 ate until he was uncomfortably full.
  • Subject No. 30 had so little control over the mechanics of “piling it in” that he simply had to stay away from food, because he could not find a point of satiation even when he was “full to the gills.”
  • No. 102 ate immense meals (a daily estimate of 5000-6000 Cal.) and yet started “snacking” an hour after he finished a meal; No. 122 ate as much as he could hold during the three regular meals and ate snacks in the morning, afternoon, and evening. (Keys, 1950, p. 846).

R15:
  • Appetites remained keen. Many men were still stuffing themselves at meals and eating snacks between meals and at bedtime.
  • Others were gradually getting away from overeating; for example, No. 105 still ate a lot of food, but he was not the “hog” he had been. Of 17 men reporting, 9 were still eating more than during the weeks of R11 and R12, 3 much more, 3 about the same, and only 2 somewhat less (Keys, 1950, p. 846).

R20:
  • A few men continued to consume prodigious quantities of food: No. 108 would eat and eat until he could hardly swallow anymore and then he felt like eating again half an hour later; No. 122’s intake was still estimated at double that of R11 and R12, No. 9’s at about 1.5 times that amount, and No. 22’s at about 1.33.
  • No. 8 was still eating more than normal and still gaining weight. In general, the men who remained at the Laboratory were rapidly approaching normal food intakes and were satisfied with progressively less food. Their interest in outside eating decreased, and the pattern of weekend gorging largely disappeared (Keys, 1950, p. 847).

R33:
  • The majority of men (10 out of 14) interviewed in March (R33) reported eating normal amounts of food at meals, either without (5 men) or with (5 men) snacks between meals.
  • Few ate more than before the starvation experiment. Subject No. 9 ate about 25 per cent more than his pre-starvation amount; once he started to reduce but got so hungry, he could not stand it (Keys, 1950, p. 847).

Importance of food
R13:
  • Food was still a major concern and interest for 15 out of 24 men who mentioned this item in their report. One man (No. 102) was still very much concerned with food; another (No. 108) stated that eating continued to be his most pleasurable activity.
  • Subject No. 29 suffered from an anxiety that “the food might not last,” and he kept on hand a small stock of bread, fruit, and sausage; only gradually was he becoming interested also in the people with whom he ate.
  • For 9 out of 24 men food was de- creasing in importance; it did not weigh on their minds as it used to. Subject No. Ill reported that his appetite was still keen, but that food was losing its prime importance in life.
  • No. 22 thought seldom of food; for No. 123 food was no longer an exclusive concern; according to No. 11 food did not monopolize his conversation to the extent it had before and, surprisingly, seeing food wasted no longer bothered him (Keys, 1950, p. 847).

R15:
  • 14 out of 24 men reporting still considered food and eating a much more important item in life than they had be- fore the experiment; for No. 30 food was still of first importance — occasionally he felt a “slave” to food; No. 22 frequently ate more than necessary, partly for the pleasure of eating and partly to prevent waste.
  • Fear that the leftovers might be thrown away was nearly obsessive in No. 102, who felt that he had to consume any uneaten food whether he was hungry or not; No. 104 still thought a lot about food and would rather eat than go to a concert or study.
  • No. 29 food was no longer the focus of attention, and he did not feel anxiety when a meal was delayed; other interests, particularly those related to work and sex, overshadowed No. 127’s interest in food. for No. 11 food continued to be important and colored his thinking on political and economic matters. For No. 9 meals were no longer a ceremonial ritual (Keys, 1950, p. 847).

R20:
  • Food was still a vital concern and a center of interest for 11 out of 27 men. They continued to be more conscious of food than before the experiment. For the other 16 of the 27 men food decreased in importance to practically a normal level by R20.
  • A few were interested in the ways in which foods were prepared and frequently did cooking and baking themselves. No. 122 was conscious of food ingredients and got a “kick” out of purchasing family groceries. In some men this concern was expressed as intolerance of food waste.
  • Subject No. 108 considered the facility and security of food provision in making his occupational plans and asked, “What and how much food can one get if working in that trade or service?” (Keys, 1950, p. 847).

R33:
  • The attitude toward food had returned in general very close to normal. Food was no longer the significant factor in life. The men were not much interested in food as such. Eating had become routine. Abhorrence of food waste was dropping.
  • The desire of No. 122 to be around the kitchen was decreasing rapidly. The men still thought about food but in more impersonal terms, being aware of the importance for health of wholesome food in sufficient quantity (Keys, 1950, p. 847).

Takeaway

An important lesson that we can learn from the experience of these subject and many others who have recovered from extreme dieting is that you shouldn’t expect your hunger to be satisfied right away. It might take longer than we would like, but with time and calories, it will subside. You can read about how and why this occurs here.

If you think someone could benefit from hearing this message, please share with your friends and family. ✌️

References:

Keys, A. B. (1950). The Biology of Human Starvation (Vol. I & II). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.