No appetite
Walrozz
Posts: 40 Member
I have a problem where I forget to eat because I'm not hungry, and this has been going on for a couple of years now. I usually have 1 meal a day and sometimes an odd snack. Today I haven't eaten anything because I've not been hungry at all - it's 22:34, and I've not had breakfast, lunch, dinner, or any snacks. I looked at what I had in the cupboard at midday, but I wasn't hungry and the thought of eating repulsed me.
What's wrong with me? Has anyone else experienced this? And do you know of anything that can stimulate appetite?
What's wrong with me? Has anyone else experienced this? And do you know of anything that can stimulate appetite?
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With you saying 'but I wasn't hungry and the thought of eating repulsed me' it sounds like you may have an eating disorder. Speak to your doctor about how you think about eating and see what they say.
That being said, I can sympathise with the forgetting to eat. I ate very little for years, eventually your body stops giving you hunger cues. I can easily go 24 hours without eating anything and it doesn't bother me at all. I don't really enjoy food or eating for that matter but I know it has to be done. For me, food is strictly for nutrition. At the end of the day, we have to eat, you know where you'll end up if you don't eat so it has to be done. Try setting alarms on your phone to remind you to eat something and always remember, you must eat or you WILL end up in a bad state.
As long as you are willing to eat you don't need something to stimulate your appetite, you just have to do it, whether you like it or not. It's not a case of what you want to do, it's something you have to do.0 -
Eat something first thing in the day to stimulate the appetite. In your case, make it carby with a lot of calories. Cereal probably. Fasting isn't hard to do if you get used to eating nothing till dinner.0
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I don't think I meet the criteria for any kind of eating disorder because I'm not purposefully restricting my calorific intake to lose weight. It's just that my appetite is gone, and the thought of eating repulsed me in a similar way that you would be repulsed by the idea of food if you were full.0
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Repulsed by food is a major red flag!!0
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It's the same kind of repulsion you feel if you're so hungry that you feel a bit sick. But I just don't feel hungry. (or maybe I do but my brain just doesn't recognise it)0
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For about 2 years. I haven't lost any weight, which is surprising. I'm not here to gain weight - I'm happy with my weight - I just thought this would be the best part of the forum to find people who have experienced similar.
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I probably will go see a doctor if I can't sort it out myself, but I'm just looking to see if I can find out what it is and what can help me fix it first. I always like to go to the doctor with some idea of what is wrong.0
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I was just wondering if anyone knew what could be the cause, or any foods or lifestyle habits that might stimulate appetite. Thanks for your time!0
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When my daughter was pregnant she experienced nausea nearly every day. People eat to live. You want to live, I am sure. Try what my daughter did and have a few dry crackers for breakfast to start. She carried a package of soda crackers with her everywhere.
And talk to someone about a possible eating disorder.0 -
It's the same kind of repulsion you feel if you're so hungry that you feel a bit sick. But I just don't feel hungry. (or maybe I do but my brain just doesn't recognise it)
It's not, though. You have to realize when you're too full and the thought of food disgusts you, this is a chemical reaction happening in your body. Your stomach, brain, neurons and chemicals are telling your body "I'm full do not eat food - feel bloated, sick, etc". If you're not getting enough calories and food disgusts you there is probably a more underlying cause.0 -
Once you lose your hunger cues getting them back is really just eating at the right times. I know it's not easy when you don't feel like eating, the feeling of force feeding yourself isn't pleasant. That's why I use alarms on my phone, it's just for the reminder that the stomach is supposed to be giving. Once you are eating regularly again for a while the hunger feeling will come back.I was just wondering if anyone knew what could be the cause, or any foods or lifestyle habits that might stimulate appetite. Thanks for your time!
ThisIt sounds exactly like an eating disorder. Keep in mind an eating disorder does not equal anorexia.
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Once you lose your hunger cues getting them back is really just eating at the right times. I know it's not easy when you don't feel like eating, the feeling of force feeding yourself isn't pleasant. That's why I use alarms on my phone, it's just for the reminder that the stomach is supposed to be giving. Once you are eating regularly again for a while the hunger feeling will come back.I was just wondering if anyone knew what could be the cause, or any foods or lifestyle habits that might stimulate appetite. Thanks for your time!
I agree with this. It's all mental. Don't waste money on a doctor until you try the discipline of eating on a schedule; hungry or not. Remember why you're doing this.0 -
I understand the whole forgetting to eat thing. Maybe your too busy in the day to even think about food let alone eat it.0
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The body will adapt to your lifestyle one way or another. The more you eat, the easier it is for you to be hungry. If you eat less, the body can adapt to your low calorie intake. This is called adaptive thermogenesis. It's also the reason why you can eat so few calories and not drop weight like crazy.
Try to find the strength (discipline) to eat sometime. Make it your main priority in life if you need to.0 -
It is interesting that the one person not seeing an issue with the OP's pattern is the one with a profile saying they are 109 years old ... so with something obviously amiss.
Repulsion caused by food is not normal, even when full. No appetite for two years is not normal. See a doctor.0 -
I was just wondering if anyone knew what could be the cause, or any foods or lifestyle habits that might stimulate appetite. Thanks for your time!
It could be multiple things from an underlying medical condition to stress and anxiety.
A good idea is to set specific eating windows (say 7-8 am for breakfast, 1-2 pm for lunch, 6-7pm for dinner) and set an alarm to off at those times on your phone / watch. Then when you get notified consciously try and eat a specified meal (so not to appetite.) Try this for a while and see if it stimulates your hunger.
If not see your GP. A sustained loss of appetite can need medical attention
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I agree that a trip to the doctor is a good idea. But I will also give my advice:
I have a chronic illness and have found that when I am not hungry, I am thirsty so why not drink some of your calories. Look for dietary supplements that are high calorie or get supplemental powder and mix with juice or milk for extra calories. Drinking calories appeals to me especially when I cannot eat food.0 -
I am not a health expert and you should always consult with a doctor first to rule out real medical conditions like Gastritis (stomach) or Tonsillitis (E/N/T).
I was stressed with symptoms like the OP described on and off for a while, and I hope to help people with similar situation. My most recent bout started when I was drinking protein shakes as my main daily calories (before MFP of course). Trying to eat big meals or many types of foods at this time may be an agitator to the stomach, or seem repulsive. However, I could still feel my body craving solid foods so at a recommendation I started eating some yogurts. My stomach felt instant relief like the acids were neutralized on contact! I laid off the protein drinks for a couple days-weeks and was able to steadily eat more solid foods (microwave if you don't cook).
I was still not hungry waking up early in the morning for work/school and I realized it was the same problem/solution. I had not had a solid meal for the 8 hours of sleep and my stomach was agitated. Yogurt or small meal ~300 cal (careful with heartburn) before bed and I felt much better in the morning where I could eat something.
Basically the cause is not eating enough and the goal is transitioning back to maintenance calorie intake with soft non-acidic foods. With calorie burning activities you should start to feel hungry all the time and maybe more willing to try new foods. Hope this helps!
http://www.webmd.com/diet/food-fitness-planner/0 -
This.
Eating disorders are not focused on weight for everybody. Go see a doctor.0 -
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I'm in the same boat as you. I have other things going on and just forget to eat. I learned in my nutrition class that when you don't eat like you should, your body, over time, stops sending those hunger cues. Which may explain the forgetting to eat. Using this app, I'm amazed at how low my intake is. I never realized how much I'm NOT eating. So your not alone. I read in these forums to try drinking more liquids like shakes and such then move on to eating more. Send yourself a reminder every 2-3 hrs to eat/drink something. Eventually your body will respond and get "hungry" again. I dont know. Not there yet either. Baby steps. Try it. Gotta start somewhere. Good luck!1
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I've struggled with an eating disorder for many years and recently started recovery in the beginning of this year. I also had no hunger cues due to restricting so much which wasn't uncommon for my case. My recovery team told me once I start eating at regular times, they should come back. Currently, I have a timer set to remind me to eat every 2-3 hours. I'm not saying you have an eating disorder, (if you were doing it intentionally, that would be different) but maybe that will help you too.
There's a huge difference between eating disorders and disordered eating.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmaLOAsRML0 0 -
Gainjourney123 wrote: »Same boat here as well. Literally my body doesn't get hungry. When u try to stuff yourself when your not hungry that doesn't help. Psychologically your body denotes the food as something negative. It's easy to say eat small meals or eat specific foods but for girls like you and I that didn't work. Please try apetamine this works!!! There's hundreds of YouTube videos. It's an appetite stimulant. All natural
Recommending treatments to other posters is very dangerous.0
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