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[Greenfields]

Since I've started HRT, I have found that if I don't eat a lot of protein I seem to get really hungry - has anyone else noticed a connection like this?

Before HRT, I ate tinned oily fish twice weekly and the rest of my meals were mainly vegetarian (I would have a piece of chicken about every 4 weeks). I ate healthily and my only vice was drinking a lot of tea (which I've since given up and now only drink herbal).

When I started HRT, I was eating more meat - in part because friends who are naturopaths told me it would ground me more - as I was so unbalanced by my mental health states.  So I ate mince, chicken and fish. To put this in perspective, I hadn't eaten beef mince in years.

Recently I made a vegetarian meal of dahl (red lentils) which I love with brown rice and veggies. After eating it, I was hungry some hours later and had to get up out of bed at 11.30pm and eat a large piece of cheese.

I've also found since taking HRT that I can get hungry late at night - so at the moment I get up and eat even if it's very late. I figure that if I don't, then my low blood sugar levels will affect my anxiety levels in the morning (the one time I didn't get up when I was hungry, I was very anxious the next morning and a friend pointed out this possible link).

In the HRT booklet it does say changes in appetite are a side effect of the treatment.

Today I had a good breakfast, a good lunch and yet I'm hungry and eating lots of cashew nuts at the moment (going to make my tea in the next half hour).

Has anyone else noticed these kinds of patterns of behaviour with HRT?

[GypsyRoseLee]

Only on Day 12 of HRT, but I have noticed that I have felt 'better' when I've eaten protein. More stable inside, if that makes sense?

Like you, I'm not much of meat eater. But previous to HRT I definitely noticed that my mood improved if I ate more protein, and my anxiety was less.

[Hurdity]

Hi Greenfields

What type of HRT are you on and are you on a cycle?

Oestrogen and progesterone have different effects on blood sugar and presumably therefore cravings/hunger. If you are on cyclical HRT then the different parts of the cycle will affect blood sugar and appetite - just as in a normal fertile cycle. Protein rich foods promote satiety for longer. Not necessary to eat lots of meat though if not to your taste - fish is fine and eggs are a great source of protein and less likely to put on weight than mince which is usually quite high in fat.

Some of the synthetic progestogens may have a more powerful effect on blood sugar?

Hurdity x

[honeybun]

My appetite just generally increased when I started HRT. I think it was because I generally felt better. I have had to be very strict with myself otherwise I would end up as broad as I am tall.

It's so easy to become overweight at this time of our lives. I think I eat probably half of what I did when I was in my early 40s. I find it difficult to excercise as much as I should so hungry or not I have had to cut down.


Honeybun
X

[CLKD]

My anxiety is due sometimes to my body being hungry.  As a recovering anorexic I don't recognise when my body is hungry as I can avoid eating for hours.  But if I graze and generally don't allow hunger to intervene, I feel generally 'better'.

Do you keep a mood/food diary?  I know that at certain times of the month I wanted different foods: sugars, salty, got really really thirsty.  I think we need to keep listening to our bodies 

[honeybun]

I have got used to ignoring my body when it comes to hunger. I just don't graze at all, if I did I would be very overweight.
I just don't feel hungry between meals any more.



Honeybun
X

[Cristina]

Yes I am the same. We do veggie dinners 3 - 4 times a week, now when we do I have to have cheese, eggs or something because I don't feel full for long. Also it makes me feel better to eat more protein.  I find chicken or fresh / frozen tuna steak fills me up well. To make sure I don't eat too much overall, I'm using an app on my phone (myfitnesspal) which is a pain to fill in each day but it means I track (and sometimes weigh) what I'm eating and am able to stay at 1800 a day which (it tells me) will maintain my current weight which is a good weight for me. If I ate 2000 calories a day I would put on a lot of weight.  It's working well so far.

[CLKD]

I find if we eat too much red meat a week my bowel is 'different'  - kind of sluggish then whoosh  …….

DH tends to cook a lot of chicken - curry, grilled, chopped with mixed veg., freshly caught trout; grilled and/or smoked; pizza type cheese,tomatoes, celery thinly chopped on a Naan-bread under the grill.  We have ham/cheese with salad for lunch and I've been mixing fresh fruit with mine.  He has olives   

I don't eat a lot of bread, preferring crackers with my cheese.  I've also been having granola for breakfast and find I'm not as hungry mid-morning 

I still don't recognise hunger between meal times though, still think I'm going to be ill 

[Greenfields]

Oh thanks for these responses because I thought it was just me!

I'm on Nuvelle Continuous and take it every day. I noticed the appetite changes quite early on. I've not been big on meat eating so it's been quite a change for me to have to eat more meat or protein - nuts, cheese, eggs etc. I do eat fish twice a week as well.

I have almost finished the first pack of Nuvelle - I have 6 more days to take. And I'm seeing my GP on Monday so this is one of the things I am going to highlight to her. I have always eaten very healthily - very little processed food (and none in the last month) so it's weird noticing how my eating habits have changed.