Not hungry and not eating enough calories

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VixxyLiss
VixxyLiss Posts: 44 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm looking for some general advice here, I have an open diary so people can see that I do eat plenty.

I'm in a period where I'm in pain a lot and taking painkillers, they suppress my appetite so that not only do I not get hungry, I don't feel like eating either. This will probably last another 2-4 weeks, can't tell as I don't know how quickly the healing process will be this time around.

Back in the "bad old days", I was never hungry as I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it, now I'm trying to eat when I'm hungry to enjoy my meals more.

I want to be able to try and meet my calorie goals because although losing a lot of weight fast seems great I've got a lot to lose and I'm in it for the long haul. I don't want to have 4 weeks or so substantially under eating on days when I have to take my full dose of pain relief. So I'm looking for alternatives of sensible food for the days I have little to no appetite and don't feel hungry.

Replies

  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
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    Just do the best you can during this period. Aim for enough nutrients. If you are on the type of pain killers that bind a person up, also aim for enough fiber and fluids. Don't consume "diet" products during this time - go for real food. You may find that some textures are more appealing than others, that you feel hungry if the aroma is appealing. I was caring for an ailing parent and found that the smell of toast would awaken her appetite - so I used that strategy. She also said that too much food on the plate was over-whelming when she didn't feel like eating, so small portions were psychologically more manageable and actually she ate more with small portions than big ones. When you come off the medication and your appetite wakes up, you can deal with the new feelings of hunger at that time :) Take care and feel better.
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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    Peanut Butter. Or Ice Cream.
  • mrsmiley32
    mrsmiley32 Posts: 68 Member
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    Take it from someone who was on painkillers for 6 years, take a stool softener if you will be on them for more than a week. Second, they supress apetite but you can still eat just set an alarm to remind you and opt for nutritional (high fiber). If you are having trouble stuffing it down just eat the minimum amount of calories you need but seriously don't go below that, I did that for a year while on them and I am still recovering. Oh and most get a major sweet tooth, I couldn't help it, stock up on semi/dark chocolate and oranges (or other fruit, chocolate seems common but I don't know what fruit will satisfy your cravings)

    Never really learned any tips beyond "seriously try to *kitten* once a day but no less than once every 3 days". I had to go to a GI doctor recently and after 4 months off he says I'm still likely carrying 20lbs of *kitten* dried on my intestines and I *kitten* like 3 times a day.

    Everyone poops, except those on opiates.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    Vixxy,

    I am so sorry you have been in pain.

    I have not experienced using pain killers, so the only advice I have is to look at the days when you do eat enough (there are several). You are eating bigger meals with calorie dense foods. There appear to be a few days when you have lower calories. Those days, I add some of those good calorie dense foods. One suggestion I have is to drink full-fat milk (I notice you have skim milk), or at least drink a higher fat milk.
  • VixxyLiss
    VixxyLiss Posts: 44 Member
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    Thank you for your suggestions, I'll look into trying these,
    mrsmiley32 wrote: »
    Never really learned any tips beyond "seriously try to *kitten* once a day but no less than once every 3 days". I had to go to a GI doctor recently and after 4 months off he says I'm still likely carrying 20lbs of *kitten* dried on my intestines and I *kitten* like 3 times a day.

    Everyone poops, except those on opiates.

    Made me laugh out loud with this :D sorry if it wasn't meant to be funny though.

    I was wondering whether to make some smoothies as perhaps a drink would be easier to deal with at times than food, but I'll think about that one as I don't want to buy anything that I won't use after a few weeks
  • mrsmiley32
    mrsmiley32 Posts: 68 Member
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    It's serious advice but nah I was hoping you might get a bit of a kick out of it. Opiates smooth the lining of your stomach which basically stop the motility of your waste, slows down your metabolism, and laxatives won't work as they typically are stimulants and unless it's cocaine it won't get through whatever opiate you have. That's why the stool softener and yeah if you don't move waste fast enough it will get caked on your intestines. Also stool softener so you don't tear your *kitten* when you are finally able to go. Yeah that might have also happened to me ... more than once :(
  • MustLoveCats21
    MustLoveCats21 Posts: 137
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    Try drinking your calories if you don't want to eat them. Fruit juice, or milk?
  • shaleeny88
    shaleeny88 Posts: 29
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    I recommend high fatty foods e.g peanuts and avocado
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    I think they make little cans of stuff for cases like this. Ensure is one of them. This way you're getting your nutrients. What does your doctor say?
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    VixxyLiss wrote: »
    Thank you for your suggestions, I'll look into trying these,
    mrsmiley32 wrote: »
    Never really learned any tips beyond "seriously try to *kitten* once a day but no less than once every 3 days". I had to go to a GI doctor recently and after 4 months off he says I'm still likely carrying 20lbs of *kitten* dried on my intestines and I *kitten* like 3 times a day.

    Everyone poops, except those on opiates.

    Made me laugh out loud with this :D sorry if it wasn't meant to be funny though.

    I was wondering whether to make some smoothies as perhaps a drink would be easier to deal with at times than food, but I'll think about that one as I don't want to buy anything that I won't use after a few weeks

    Yes. If you think smoothies will help, try them. You can add more calories like olive oil or honey.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Are the entries the last week in your diary done while you are experience this? Because I was expecting to see very few things logged, while what I am seeing is more calories on average logged than I usually eat to be at maintenance. 1700-2500 calories is not a problem of undereating, if you find yourself consistently eating half of this, then indeed you need to force yourself to eat high calorie food. I understand your maintenance calories are high if you have a lot of weight to lose, but I doubt your body will suffer if you do eat less, since this still does not put you really much below maintenance for a healthy weight goal. And if you have a few days here and there where you really eat very little, if these are few and in between, they will not affect your health, do not worry.
  • VixxyLiss
    VixxyLiss Posts: 44 Member
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    No, up until Friday morning everything was ok-ish - for those who don't like thinking about injuries then don't read - I have a recurring ulcer on my ankle - quick version of the background is that I broke my ankle 9 years ago, had metalwork on both sides of the ankle and a year later had it all taken out again, they went in on the original scar lines to take the metalwork out, however my ankle swells periodically and isn't as strong as the other and if you imagine that the skin is damaged due to poor healing plus 2 operations in the same place, this causes the skin to pull apart periodically, I also had varicose veins at the time with all the poor circulation issues, so I had slow healing which eventually ulcerated.

    5 weeks ago I sprained the other ankle while walking the dogs in the woods, felt that telltale tearing on the other ankle and it had slightly pulled apart again, tried to self heal but have had to give up, managed to get an appointment at the clinic and its fully dressed - compression bandaging, but its about 2 inches long, 1 wide and 1/2 an inch deep at the deepest part. The bandaging while helping with the healing is also making it hurt a lot because no matter how its done there will always be play in the bandages and so there is wound friction. I am on doctor prescribed painkillers, so around 1.5 times stronger than what I can buy over the counter, it hurts all the time, hurts to sit, to walk, to move it in any way, hurts in bed with either the covers on it, on pressing against the mattress - yes, I walk the dogs and do as much as I can because I need to keep the blood flowing.

    Yesterday it was doable in the pain department, today is just plain horrible, but I'll get through it, I always do. I'm not looking for sympathy by the way, its part of my life and it will heal in a few months; just explaining why my diary looked good up to now. I'm not in maintenance - I weigh nearly 21 stone and am trying to lose 9 of them (294 pounds and losing 126 pounds).

    Again, thank you for the help, I'm trying to make sure I have food that I can eat when I'm not hungry or wanting to eat without feeling that I'm forcing myself and don't want to go back up to that slippery slope of eating rubbish or indeed to eat too little, I've a long way to go and trying to be sensible about it because this is highly likely to happen again so I need to come up with a solution for it.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    I had been in a serious accident a long time ago, with sevral operations needed, similar to what you describe, so I can totally feel your pain :( Since it is not constant, but comes and goes, I really do not think you need to further burden yourself by worrying about eating enough. Just make sure you eat something with the painkillers, and do not worry about this on top of the pain.
  • airborne18th
    airborne18th Posts: 57 Member
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    The stool softener is good advice, but it won't help with the intestinal issues or liver issues for that matter. I have spine damage from the military and spend months laid up and on tons of meds. One thing I have found is that you can't just count calories and lose weight. With the pain killers and other combination of meds I was on I needed watch the fat and carbs. Though the wrinkle is that you need the fiber. So I went healthy proteins ( like chicken and fish ).. You also need the fiber ( stool softener ).

    I spend 3-4 hours per day in water. either bath tub ( i have a larger one ).. pool, or the ocean. Just standing if that is the only exercise I can get.

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