Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Whenever I feel really, really sad or extremely stressed out, I completely stop eating. Nothing that I try to make myself eat is tolerable; everything tastes like garbage, and I just start gagging whenever I try to force caloric intake that isn't in the form of juice or coffee. I'm not even remotely hungry. Food is just not on my mental radar screen at all.
For the past two days and the next 3-6 months, I'll be going through the saddest, most stressful situation of my adult life, and I already haven't eaten anything in almost 36 hours. I've tried the full-on meal replacement shake thing, bread with various nut butters, pasta, pizza, fresh fruit and veg, junk food, Clif bars, pretty much everything I can think of, but I can't seem to make myself eat ANYTHING, and I'm starting to feel pretty physically weak.

What can I eat when I don't want to/can't eat? A lot of advice I've found online has been stuff like "Drink a milkshake, then eat some cheese and yogurt or chicken noodle soup! For protein!!!!" Are fruit smoothies with protein powder my best bet? Is there a reliable source of easy-to-choke-down vegan calories that I can turn to for the indefinite future? Supplements, maybe? I'm at a loss, so any information you might have would be awesome.

PS, Drugs and/or alcohol are a no-go.
PPS, I tried searching "appetite" on the boards and got 129 pages of seemingly all AFR-related posts, so if there's another thread on this, I apologize!

ugh. i'm sorry you're going through something like this. i feel like situations like this are really dependent on your taste. It sounds like you really don't like anything when you feel this way. Foods I can always eat are saltines and applesauce and plain or vanilla yogurt. Soups would be really good. Have you ever had congee? It's a Chinese rice porridge soup thing that is really plain, but really comforting. It just really depends on what you like. I would just recommend trying to take a multi vitamin and calcium or maybe getting some of that vega supplement while you're feeling like this, so at least you'll get some of the vitamins that you need.

If you can handle fruit smoothies with protein powder you should definitely do this. I don't think there's any magical food besides those meal replacement shakes that will be able to replace actually eating for you.

I'm sorry you're having a tough time. I have a hard time eating enough protein and greens, so I've been having a green smoothie every morning. It has about 30g of protein (rice protein 2tb, almond butter, flaxseed) and has kale, banana and almond milk in. I can swallow it down and I know I've had some of the basic good stuff to set me up for the day.

Have you tried potatoes? I can always eat those - especially mashed.
Hope you feel better soon!

Steph!

1) I'm sorry you're going through this.
2) I hope you are seeing a healthcare professional.
3) Even if it is tough, eat something, anything to make sure your stomach doesn't shrink and disappear! Seriously, going without eating makes it harder and harder to eat.
4) PM if you need to talk more. Recovering ED in remission for 8+ years.
5) Avocados. Has lots of good fats, vitamin, and fiber.
6) The PPK loves you.

I also need assistance with this (sorry, I don't mean to hijack your thread in any way). I don't have a kitchen, either. Or a lot of money.
(((Stephanie)))

i am in the same boat, but not from stress- some weird stomach thing happening. I know mine will go away soon so i'm not stressed, but your situation is different.
i think the fact that you know it's coming, and are planning for it, is a good sign.
My comfort food is also congee (AKA okayu, rice gruel, etc), as Ijdi recommended, and i might try that, although calorically it's not a superstar it's still food. Smoothies kept me alive ten years ago when i had my jaw healing and couldn't chew for a few months (banana, yogurt, and whatever else my friends could manage to stick in them). Keep looking for anything you can hold down and don't give up, you'll find something.

Yep. My advice is to just keep nibbling on whatever foods you have on hand that seem like they might be tolerable. If you start to get nauseous, just stop and try again later. Try not to stress about it too much.

If you can drink things, calorie dense smoothies are a fantastic idea.

I find those packets of instant miso soup are quite easy to tolerate when I am feeling off food because they are sort of light and hearty at the same time. Not sure they will be much good nutrition wise of course but it would be something. Also I second avocados and maybe walnuts to graze on. Hope you feel better soon and find some things to eat.

Hugs to you, Stephanie! I've been thinking about you a lot (I hope that's not creepy!), and I just want to send many wishes for strength.

I agree with Tofulish about green smoothies (at least you're getting some fruits, veggies, and protein). I like to use baby spinach, almond milk, frozen bananas, frozen berries, rice protein powder and nut butter. White Chocolate Wonderful is especially good. I haven't tried Biscoff spread yet, but I imagine that would be great as well. You can also eat this in a bowl with some granola (or more Biscoff cookies) on top. (I make my smoothies really thick.) I've wanted to try throwing some beets in their, too, as I they're filled with good stuff, kind of sweet, and Trader Joe's has those ready-to-eat ones.

What food did you eat when you were sick? Or something special that a relative made you? My grandma would make grilled cheese and tomato soup, so sometimes when I'm feeling bad, I'll have that. (If you can find them, the Tofutti singles really come close to that processed goodness).

Know that we're all here rooting for you!

I'm sorry for whatever you are going through, stephanie. I can sympathize because I am exactly the same way. When I get stressed, food literally tastes like garbage and I can go a day or two without eating. Whenever the stress ebbs, I usually try to eat something deep fried, preferably takeout/delivery if I don't feel like cooking. That, or a daiya pizza, hashbrowns with sriracha vegenaise or amy's mac n cheeze. I know this is the opposite of healthy, but its the only thing I can stomach and enjoy eating during times of stress.

Hugs and strength to you during this time.

Thanks so much, everyone. It really, really means a lot. I'd type more but I'm already pretty weepy.

I think blandness is going to be key because any kind of strong flavor is triggering my gag reflex, so saltines, applesauce, and miso sound like a great place to start. I've never tried congee, but that sounds like a good idea as well. Cream of Wheat with soy or almond milk, maybe? I'll try to swing by the store and pick up some fruit, protein powder, and greens for eventual smoothies. My regular daily vitamins (multi with iron, B12, D2) are all good for the time being, but I'll add some calcium as well. I bought some nuts & fruit trail mix, but I can't even look at it yet.

Right now I'm just trying to stay focused on staying hydrated. Even Gatorade is seriously daunting right now, but I don't feel very well consuming absolutely nothing but water.

Thanks again. Love.

If you can drink soy milk by the glass, that'll give you some protein/calories without having to really eat anything.

Be sure you're taking a multivitamin.

Big hugs for you.

I just eat whatever sounds good at that moment. I find it's a lot of toast with EB or avocado, grilled cheeze, kind of salty comforty food things.

Do you think you could eat some plainish oatmeal or grits? Then you could add some of your supplement powder or stuff like that to those things to make them more hearty and nutritious, but the plainness may help you be able to get them in you. I wish you the best, and try to take care of yourself emotionally and physically while you're going through all this.

Big big hugs. This happens to me when my anxiety gets really bad, and I've found that I could usually stomach a smoothie or a glass of chocolate soymilk even if I couldn't handle solid foods.

Hot cereal is the one thing I can eat when nothing else sounds good. Your Cream of wheat idea is awesome. You can always add protein powder/nut butter and fruit to it to bulk it up a bit.

Or you can add candy to your hot cereal like my dad does. He likes cinnamon red hots, but I'm thinking they're probably not vegan.

I don't have much to add here, but I hope you feel better soon, stephanie.

Good luck in getting through it, Stephanie! I occasionally have this problem when I'm feeling really stressed out and/or down. I usually go for really bland and/or carby stuff (preferably stuff that includes a "good carb" and a "good fat") like:

-noodles tossed with olive oil or EB
-rice pudding
-oatmeal with whatever you like on it; I usually go for PB, cinnamon, and/or agave syrup
-baked or mashed potatoes (or sweet potatoes), with salt, pepper, and/or EB
-big bowl of cereal or granola, with your milk of choice
-vanilla ice cream (okay, this isn't the healthiest, but it's relatively easy to eat and has some protein)

And definitely keep drinking juice to help replace the vitamins/calories that you aren't getting from food. Also, tea is good (for me). . . even though it doesn't have any nutrients, drinking a cup of tea is really calming when you're upset/stressed.

I get like this sometimes too. All I can usually manage is something small and high-calorie, like a piece of cake or some cookies. Sorry I've no good advice. Hope you're taking care of yourself xxx

I'm sorry to hear you are going through such an awful time right now. It sounds like there is lots of good advice in this thread and taking plenty of vitamins to cover whatever you may be missing seems like a very good idea. Hugs stephanie.

I get the same way when I'm stressed out, I recently went around 3 days without eating and then it took me weeks to get back to a semi-normal eating schedule, and I still don't think I'm eating as much as I used to. I think the first thing I ate was rice pudding, and it probably helped that I was out with a friend because I felt silly not eating when we went out to eat.

Things I've eaten with not too much problem when I haven't had much appetite have been vanilla soy custard with a spoonful of raspberry preserves mixed in, dry rye crackers, smoothie thinned with soy milk or juice mixed with soy milk, and frozen coconut ice-lollies. I also like making up vegetarian fruit jello and then eating it with a spoon while it's still warm and semi set, that seems very comforting.

I hope your situation improves soon.