Are you experiencing extreme hunger in anorexia recovery? Do you feel shame around it and assume you now have Binge Eating Disorder (BED)?
Rest assured, what you're experiencing is normal and part of your body’s healing process.
Recovery Feasting
Polyphagia, also known as hyperphagia, refers to excessive hunger or abnormally increased appetite for food, often leading to overeating. In the context of anorexia recovery, polyphagia can be a common and essential phase as the body is trying to recover from prolonged starvation or food restriction.
During anorexia, the body enters a state of starvation, and when food intake is resumed, it can lead to intense hunger signals as the body works to replenish the lost energy and nutrients and restore normal body function. This can result in periods of overeating, which I refer to as "Recovery Feasting."
This phase is often misunderstood but is a natural response to energy deprivation. The body is attempting to compensate for the deficit and repair itself. Recovery Feasting during anorexia recovery is normal and different from Binge Eating Disorder (BED). They are crucial for restoring health and should not be met with guilt or fear.
The Minnesota Starvation Experiment
A well-known study, the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, reveals the body’s natural response to starvation during the refeeding process.
The refeeding phase of the Minnesota Starvation Experiment is particularly revealing about the body’s response to starvation and recovery. After six months of semi-starvation, participants were gradually reintroduced to normal amounts of food. During this phase, they experienced extreme hunger, often consuming significantly more than pre-experiment levels, sometimes doubling their caloric intake. Despite this, many struggled to feel satisfied, and their bodies gained fat rapidly before eventually returning to a more stable weight distribution. This phase highlighted how the body responds to prolonged caloric restriction by triggering intense hunger and overeating as a survival mechanism, which is similar to what happens during the refeeding process in anorexia recovery. It underscores the importance of allowing the body to eat freely and abundantly during recovery to heal from starvation's physical and psychological effects.
No Such Thing As ‘Too Much’
There is no such thing as eating ‘too much’ in recovery; your body is very smart and knows how to heal and restore itself. Whether you go all-in or take a slower approach, you can’t recover without eating a lot of food.
It’s not possible to starve your body for months or years and then expect to return to ‘normal’ eating without a period of scary and chaotic Recovery Feasting. You must learn to reconnect to your hunger and fullness cues by experiencing them, testing them and (sometimes) misreading them.
You’ve been living with an eating disorder and, during that time, have lost the ability to feed yourself according to what your body needs.
If you’re resisting Recovery Feasting, your body and mind will not have that cemented security that food is now abundantly allowed, and therefore, it won't make peace with it. You’re likely to continue on a road of restrict, binge, restrict, binge unless you surrender to this challenging phase of Recovery Feasting. Allowing yourself to eat freely can heal your eating disorder faster.
How To Get Through This Phase of Recovery
Seek guidance from a registered dietician and ensure you receive medical observations.
Eat with others. Conversation and connection can help meal times feel more bearable
Have distractions planned for after your meal. Keep busy, and don’t isolate yourself
Journal how you feel. You may notice over time that the guilt lessens and do the urges to feast
Keep a hunger and fullness gauge handy to recognise hunger and fullness cues, even if you can't honour them now.
Remind yourself that you will not always eat this way. This is an important part of recovery, but it won’t last forever.
Share your worries with a trusted person, such as a family member, a friend, a coach, or a therapist. If anyone advises you that this phase is ‘wrong, ' they don’t have the correct recovery education.
Trust the Process
Recovery from an eating disorder is challenging, but it's also deeply transformative. Recovery Feasting is not a sign of failure; it's a sign that your body is healing and craving the nourishment it desperately needs. Be patient with yourself, embrace this phase with compassion, and trust that, in time, your body will find balance.
Remember, you are not alone on this journey. Whether through connection with others, journaling, or seeking support from a coach or therapist, you have the strength to push through this difficult phase. Trust your body, and let it guide you toward full recovery. It knows how to heal.
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