But I don't FEEL hungry!

In which I realise I may have been under-fuelling

Image credit: Camille MacMillan

Content warning: diets, eating disorders, weight loss

Estimated reading time: 13 minutes

I’ve spent more time outside than ever, since I moved to Kendal at the start of this year. Never before have I lived somewhere with so many hills to run up, mountains to climb, bodies of water to swim in, and quiet roads and track and trails to ride my bike on – to the extent that, even though I’m constantly out doing things, I look at my mental list of what I’m planning and hoping to do, and tell myself that I need to stop hanging around, because I’ve barely even started.

Everything is taking a bit longer than I expected though, and this is partly because I’m still not back to full energy or fitness, after being laid low for six months with something I’m calling long COVID (the symptoms are identical), but which could have been any other post-viral fatigue. It’s also because settling into a new place inevitably takes a bit of time, no matter what a good fit it seems. I swear I am spending far more time getting ready to go out than I used to, running round the house looking for things, asking myself “what do people take with them on bike rides” and worrying that I’ve forgotten something essential.

And another part of the inevitable friction, as I acclimatise to a new place and lifestyle – I am constantly tired, and constantly hungry, and I’m beginning to suspect that these two things might be connected. I realised the other day that I might even be getting to the stage of under-fuelling myself. This has not been a problem I thought I would ever face.