Appetite has randomly disappeared?

missiontofitness

As a preface: I always hit my calorie goals for the day, I weigh out my food, and generally am pretty active. My diary is closed to non-friends, but my friends on here can attest that what I am eating and the amounts of which I eat have not been a problem before this.

The past week and a half, my appetite has been nearly non-existent. I felt the onset of becoming sick around that time, so I cropped up my tiredness and loss of appetite to that. Not only that, my second to last semester of grad school is winding down, work has been incredibly busy, I'm facing the prospect of job hunting and graduation in half a year, and even with 8 hours of sleep, I was feeling pretty drained after a few hours at work. So I also thought that stress played a huge factor as well. I haven't been to the gym during this time because I am too tired to do so.

I've felt better the past few days, I'm feeling a little more energetic, but my appetite still doesn't want to come back. The other day I was so busy running errands, that I hadn't realized my intake was only around 700 cals up until 6/7PM, before I finished off my day at my normal goal (1,400 or more). I'm just not getting hunger cues at all. I still make myself eat, but I'm getting full very quickly, so I've been trying to eat very calorie dense items if necessary to be netting a healthy amount per day.

I do have plans to see my college health center this week. I want to see about getting some blood drawn to rule out anything like mono, and to check my blood to make sure everything is in tip top shape. But has anyone else experienced this before? And, does anyone have any recommendations for some calorie dense snacks or meals that don't involve avocados or peanut butter? I always recommend those to people, so I'm looking for other options, haha.


As an aside, thank goodness this week is Thanksgiving and I'm celebrating it twice...at least I know those goals will be hit both days!

concordancia

I think end of the semester in grad school pretty much says it all. Stress can have a huge effect on appetite, in either direction. It can also cause the tiredness you mention.

As far as the calorie dense snacks, I like nuts of all kinds, and they are best with some fruit. Cheese is another good option. Do you use oils in any of your cooking? That is one way to add calories without even feeling like you are eating more.

missiontofitness

concordancia wrote: »

I think end of the semester in grad school pretty much says it all. Stress can have a huge effect on appetite, in either direction. It can also cause the tiredness you mention.

As far as the calorie dense snacks, I like nuts of all kinds, and they are best with some fruit. Cheese is another good option. Do you use oils in any of your cooking? That is one way to add calories without even feeling like you are eating more.

That's what I'm thinking as well; I want to rule out anything just in case, but I feel like the prospect of hitting the real world running in half a year and the stress of finishing up this semester has taken a toll on me.

I cook with oil occasionally, but that's a great idea that I didn't think of. I usually don't use much, but I have a bunch of chicken and hamburger to cook up this weekend, so I'll probably throw a couple heaping tablespoons in the pan for good measure. Thanks!

habit365

Drinking calories is a pretty easy way to get them down. There are some pretty eye-poppingly calorific (but healthy) protein shake and smoothie recipes out there.

missiontofitness

habit365 wrote: »

Drinking calories is a pretty easy way to get them down. There are some pretty eye-poppingly calorific (but healthy) protein shake and smoothie recipes out there.

Smoothie sounds like a good idea. I do have two bananas, some yogurt, and peanut butter/chocolate on hand!

consideritdonemi

I have a friend who drops weight like nobody's business when her life is stressed and chaotic. Good deal on getting your blood work, etc. checked though to rule anything out. I agree with sipping on smoothies and making sure you are at least taking a good multivitamin until things level out for you.

chouflour

I have gastroparesis, and my usual symptoms are lack of appetite and early satiety, so been there - done that! Exercise may help perk up your appetite - mild/moderate cardio seems to help me.

Drinking calories is an excellent method of getting them down. I have a lot of soup and smoothies when the GP flares up. Crackers are a nice way to increase calories with soup while retaining the benefits of a liquid meal. Slippery food is also a good choice - things with dips and sauces boost calories nicely and you get a little halo lubrication effect. My favorite ways to pad out a day's calories are chicken wings, chocolate, fluffy cheeses (Le Roule, boursin) and full fat yogurt.

In terms of stimulating appetite/eating when you're not hungry - good food hygiene (like sleep hygiene, not sanitation) seems to help. I stop and eat at every mealtime - even if I'm not hungry, I have a few bites of something. I start meals with something bitter (stimulates digestion and appetite). I use a very bitter Australian product called Iberogast - but before I got that I used underberg bitters or campari or bitter greens. Meals have multiple components - the variety of tastes/textures means you eat more. Every meal has some carbohydrate to keep the blood sugar wobbling. Put more food than you expect to eat on a serving plate and move it to a smaller plate to eat off of. Don't fill the smaller plate more than half full, but take multiple servings.

missiontofitness

chouflour wrote: »

I have gastroparesis, and my usual symptoms are lack of appetite and early satiety, so been there - done that! Exercise may help perk up your appetite - mild/moderate cardio seems to help me.

Drinking calories is an excellent method of getting them down. I have a lot of soup and smoothies when the GP flares up. Crackers are a nice way to increase calories with soup while retaining the benefits of a liquid meal. Slippery food is also a good choice - things with dips and sauces boost calories nicely and you get a little halo lubrication effect. My favorite ways to pad out a day's calories are chicken wings, chocolate, fluffy cheeses (Le Roule, boursin) and full fat yogurt.

In terms of stimulating appetite/eating when you're not hungry - good food hygiene (like sleep hygiene, not sanitation) seems to help. I stop and eat at every mealtime - even if I'm not hungry, I have a few bites of something. I start meals with something bitter (stimulates digestion and appetite). I use a very bitter Australian product called Iberogast - but before I got that I used underberg bitters or campari or bitter greens. Meals have multiple components - the variety of tastes/textures means you eat more. Every meal has some carbohydrate to keep the blood sugar wobbling. Put more food than you expect to eat on a serving plate and move it to a smaller plate to eat off of. Don't fill the smaller plate more than half full, but take multiple servings.

Thanks so much for your advice! This was extremely helpful.