I’m curious about other’s experiences with Polyphagia/Hyperphagia. What was/is your journey like for you?
I had this at one point due to a shitty medication, and I kept asking for a higher dose because I thought I was just eating due to stress and a higher dose would reduce it. It wasn’t until my internalized fatphobia at the time took over, and I asked for a different medication that would make me gain less weight, that my hyperphagia went away.
This sort of hunger can be hell for some. Not just due to fatphobia, but it can be scary to never be satisfied with eating. Remember it can have many causes. For me it wasn’t me on my own, it was a bad med match I needed to opt out of.
I’ve had it due to medication, too, and had to change medicines. The weight I gained never went away, but at least I’m no longer gaining.
I hope it’s not too tough on you to maintain your food intake now. I’m actually fatter than ever due to newer meds, but I can be satisfied and stop eating. The fact that my body can have a cutoff point of food is so important. All I have to do is eat as much protein as I must to not be hungry, which, again, has an actual endpoint/quota. BTW, I find protein minimizes how much food I must eat to be satisfied. (Useful info if you find how much you eat to be kind of a slog to get through.)
Edit: Idk if you relate- I’m far happier with my body than I ever was when I was skinny. After everything, I look back at my older skinny self’s goals of staying skinny, and I feel sad for my past self. I was always panicking about becoming a pound fatter. Now I’m fat and accepting my body more than ever. It might be nice if I was skinny again and not needing to buy and eat so many groceries, but being fat and satisfied is kind of ideal for me now. I’m mostly pleased about it.
Letting go of the skinny panic is definitely helpful. I had it for a while, especially after I started the aforementioned medicine, but I feel like I’m getting healthier mentally now. I’m probably also healthier physically. I actually work out regularly now, and generally just eat vegetables. I assume the weight hasn’t left because I’m getting older and my metabolism is slowing down. I used to be able to lose weight in my sleep. But again, it’s really unhealthy to focus on weight as the only indicator of health. Actually, research has shown that weight is more strongly genetically determined than height is.
Yeah, it’s definitely genetic. In terms of weight and body shape, I basically look exactly like my mother. Except that I’m a bit shorter than her, and my weight is proportionate to that. Which is weird, because my dad is taller than my mom, so you’d think I’d be at least as tall as her or somewhere in between, but nope.