Is it normal for the appetite to decrease?

Sorry if this topic has been covered already.  I was hoping maybe someone had some insight into this.  I've noticed a drop in my appetite since I started eating less.

I'm 5'3, 150 pounds and 32 y/o (female).   My weight goal is 125.  I'm not what you call sedentary but I'm no athlete either.  I move a lot but I do not workout much (as of yet). Before, when I mindlessly ate, It seemed like my appetite never felt satisfied.   When I first started logging my calories I realized that on average I was eating almost 3000 calories a day.   Somehow I have maintained 150 pounds for years eating like this.  Not sure how.   However, I used the calculators on this site and it suggested i consume 1400 since I'm lightly active.  I also used the phord calculator and it suggested I eat 1380.  But I decided to go with the round number 1400.  So I have been faithfully eating 1400 calories for about two weeks and I have lost 2 pounds. 

What's interesting is that I find that now that I eat less, my appetite has decreased significantly.  I find this puzzling because I have always had a hearty appetite.  Actually my mom  teases me about it.  Now I find myself turning down food that I would normally want to eat because i just do not want it or i have no desire to finish it.  Sometimes I even feel nauseated.  Is this normal?   I would imagine that I would be hungrier eating less food, but I am finding the opposite to be the case.   Some days I'm actually eating little snacks just to fill my calorie quota.   Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining because neither do I want an out of control appetite.  But I am concerned about the change.  Has anyone else had this experience?

You are not alone. I have been going back and forth between eating less and then eating the same as I used to. In the last week I've tried to keep my calorie intake to 1500 to start losing a pound or so a week.

When I wasn't eating as much, I felt less hungry, but because I was used to eating a lot, I would sometimes try to order the same foods I used to, or finish meals I used to put down without thinking. I would make myself sick. It's really hard to get used to wanting a salad over a burger, or not wanting that last half of a sandwich.

Even today, I ordered my regular 6" Turkey on wheat and was wondering if it would be enough food, but as of now, I've only eaten half of it and I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish. It's a completely different state of mind for me. I have to remind myself that it's okay to not be hungry. It's okay to eat the healthy foods. I love food and my boyfriend is a chef and it's so hard to turn down things sometimes, but if I try to eat it, it hurts me.

I think it's all in our heads. Portions are out of control these days. Everywhere you look, places serve pounds of food and you feel like that's the average amount. A serving size is so much smaller than I thought it was, and when I look at fast food ads, it boggles my mind that so many people eat that much food every day and think it's the appropriate size. We are conditioned to want more and when suddenly you start wanting less, you feel weird about it.  :)

I hope this passes. Let me know when you start feeling good about how much you don't want to eat.  :) I hope I'm right there with you.

thanks for the reply.      at least i know i'm not the only one.   This experience teaches me how much i was actually overeating.    Before, whenever I would think about eating healthier and cutting out the fatty foods, I would feel panicky and anxious.   Now that I have more awareness of what I eat and have been consistently been eating better (and less) I find I do not need to eat as much as before.  I think you are right:  I was just stuffing myself out of habit and because it was there.    Thanks for the input.   

I find that how much and what I eat are very habit based behaviors.  If I always have seconds at dinner, I think I "need" seconds.  If I never have seconds at dinner, I don't think I "need" seconds.

Also, logging my foods really changes what and how much I eat.  I find myself not reaching for a handful of something at a party because it will be a pain in the neck to log it!

I don't know if it's habit based behaviour or what, but I no longer feel the need for second helpings or even finishing off an entire restaurant portion.  So you're not alone, no. 

At first, I was struggling to eat 1500 calories.  Then I pushed up to 1800 calories.  Now, I'm at 2000 to 2400.  Each time, I had to make sure I got enough at each "plateau" level, and then it just kind of fell into place.  I have no idea how I ate enough to gain my weight in the first place, although eating healthy often involves less calorie dense foods than I was used to.  And now, I have no idea how I managed to "survive" at 1500 calories.  :)  Our bodies are wonderful things, at times!

Good luck, and keep up the good work!

Clint

if you were constantly eating a large volume of food, then your stomach would've stretched to accomodate that food.  when you start to eat smaller portions, your stomach shrinks, so it doesnt need as much to fill it and you dont feel as hungry as you would've done before.

it's totally normal.

usually, when you start eating less or mainly less calories, your appetite decreases. and when you take in a higher calorie amount, your appetite increases.

I used to eat mindlessly too and I would often eat regardless of whether I was TRULY hungry. Now that I think about what I'm eating I think there's a part of my brain that is actually saying "you really aren't that hungry" that wasn't there before. Even tonight I barely finished my food that before I would have just kept mindlessly chowing down. And last night I went to a great restaurant with friends (where I normally would have licked the plate clean) and finished with plenty of food still on the plate feeling FULL!

I still have "bad" nights tho. Not that often anymore but sometimes the voice is way too quiet and I keep eating. LOL

Thanks to everyone for their input  ...    Success to all with your goals

Lucky you....

The reason I keep counting calories after 2-1/2 years is because it's the only way I can put a limit on eating.  My appetite is not a good judge to use for maintaining my weight.

I can relate to what your saying. I'm 5'2", currently 156lb (lost 3-4), and have been eating around 1300 cal for the past three weeks. But I think personally it's mostly psychological. Part of that is now that I'm looking at how the calories, fat, etc are adding up, I'm less tempted to eat cal dense junk food cuz I know what it's going to do and how not worth it it is! A little part of it is that I'm also eating more nutritious foods like whole grains and high water based foods (soup, fruit, etc) and perhaps it's taking longer for my body to get really hungry again. I try to get the most food for my calories (though daily I usually have an innocent treat while remaining within my limits), so sometimes I do find at the end of the day I have to find something else to eat so I don't undereat. Only time will tell!