# Does your stomach shrink when dieting? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 5, 2012, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-stomach-shrink-when-dieting/627257 "2012-07-05T00:24:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-stomach-shrink-when-dieting/627257/1 "2012-07-05T00:24:08Z")
I’ve often heard people mention their shrinking stomachs as in they won’t hold as much after having dieted for a while. Is there any truth to it or is it merely a figure of speech? I’ve cut back on my eating the past 2 weeks and today I went back to my old habits for the 4th of July. I’m miserable. It certainly feels like my stomach is smaller. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-stomach-shrink-when-dieting/627257/2 "2012-07-05T05:32:10Z")
I have no scientific data, but my gut feeling (couldn’t resist) is that it’s true, based upon my fasting experiences. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-stomach-shrink-when-dieting/627257/3 "2012-07-05T05:47:49Z")
I don’t know if physical shrinkage occurs, but I know from my own experience losing weight that after only a couple weeks, my body began to acclimate to much smaller volumes of food, and I felt full with much less food than before. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-stomach-shrink-when-dieting/627257/4 "2012-07-05T05:53:36Z")
It appears to be a [myth](http://women.webmd.com/pharmacist-11/stomach-problems). ---
**Author:** ![benbo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@benbo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/benbo1)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-stomach-shrink-when-dieting/627257/5 "2012-07-06T13:44:46Z")
Just yesterday, I saw a show on NatGeo about 4th of July traditions, including hotdog-eating contests. The competitive eaters will overeat in the weex before, to stretch their stomachs out (get them used to accomodating more). After the contest, they go back to their normal diets. The stomachs grow during contest season, so they must shrink in the off-season. The 2 champs I can think of, Kobayashi & a woman, are both skinny too. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-stomach-shrink-when-dieting/627257/6 "2012-07-07T03:24:11Z")
I have eaten a lot less lately and I have found that I can barely consume a meal that I could easily have done before. In college I could almost eat an entire medium Dominio’s pizza. Now I am lucky if I can eat 2 slices. There’s some anecdotal evidence for you. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-stomach-shrink-when-dieting/627257/7 "2012-07-07T04:08:28Z")
Myth or Fact: If you cut down on your food intake, you’ll eventually shrink your stomach so you won’t be as hungry. Answer: Myth. Once you are an adult, your stomach pretty much remains the same size – unless you have surgery to intentionally make it smaller. Eating less won’t shrink your stomach, says Moyad, but it can help to reset your “appetite thermostat” so you won’t feel as hungry, and it may be easier to stick with your eating plan. (Copied and pasted from the link in my previous post).