Eating enough with anxiety?

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VeganRaptor
VeganRaptor Posts: 164 Member
edited April 2016 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

I've been incredibly stressed out lately due to anxiety, a sick cat, family, uni, and other reasons. It 's made eating enough really hard because the anxiety is upsetting my tummy- I feel like throwing up the whole time. It also makes me never feel hungry and I'm always tensing my stomach muscles which doesn't help either. It's been going on for about 5 days now- I tried logging my calories today and they were under 600. I'm not trying to lose, I'm trying to maintain, so this is a problem, especially because not eating much gives me a headache- bleh.

Does anyone have any tips on eating enough when you have really bad stress and anxiety? (I'm vegan btw)

Thanks all <3

Replies

  • amyk0202
    amyk0202 Posts: 667 Member
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    It's sad that I'm envious of this. Stress & anxiety makes me binge eat. For you, I would start carrying around nuts & eat them throughout the day. They are small & easy to eat but loaded with calories & fat. Also, take your vitamins so that you meet your basic nutritional needs. You could also try making some higher calorie smoothies. Something you can sip on every once in a while without trying to get a whole meal in at once.
  • skbrodie
    skbrodie Posts: 81 Member
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    Try to pick calorie dense foods, that way even if you're eating small amounts you will get more calories. Maybe even drink your calories if a smoothie or something sounds more doable. I know that when this happens to me I feel like throwing up every time I eat but sometimes I can have a smoothie without feeling so bad.
  • VeganRaptor
    VeganRaptor Posts: 164 Member
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    Thanks all x
    I might try some walnuts, they are nice and soft and edible with rigid anxiety jaw, haha.
    Smoothies could be a good idea, I was able to eat banana ice cream with peanut butter today, although I could only get a little bit down.
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
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    is there someone you can talk to to vent a bit? or maybe you could try ten or twenty minutes per day listening to something to help you relax.
  • VeganRaptor
    VeganRaptor Posts: 164 Member
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    itsbasschick wrote: »
    is there someone you can talk to to vent a bit? or maybe you could try ten or twenty minutes per day listening to something to help you relax.

    Unfortunately my anxiety isn't really responsive to that :( I'm trying to reduce it by getting things that need to be done, done, but a lot of the anxiety triggers aren't going away any time soon x
    Thank you!
  • melissafawnw
    melissafawnw Posts: 67 Member
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    Oh I know the feeling. Try food that's easy on the stomach. Oatmeal, bananas, toast, etc. Seek relaxation techniques to calm your symptoms of anxiety. Breathing exercises, meditation, yoga, counting, anything. If relaxation techniques don't work for you, organize a to-do list and put all the individual items into perspective so you feel able to take them on. I've learned that you can fight anxiety but you can challenge it! I "dare" my anxiety to kill me and it never does ;) you will get through it all! One step at a time..
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
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    Vigorous cardio works great for my anxiety. I can't do regular yoga unless my mind is already calm, so I've done cardio first then yoga, or I've done yoga while watching TV, which I call stretching rather than yoga.
  • VeganRaptor
    VeganRaptor Posts: 164 Member
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    melissafawnw wrote: »
    Oh I know the feeling. Try food that's easy on the stomach. Oatmeal, bananas, toast, etc. Seek relaxation techniques to calm your symptoms of anxiety. Breathing exercises, meditation, yoga, counting, anything. If relaxation techniques don't work for you, organize a to-do list and put all the individual items into perspective so you feel able to take them on. I've learned that you can fight anxiety but you can challenge it! I "dare" my anxiety to kill me and it never does ;) you will get through it all! One step at a time..

    Thanks! I'll try to remember what I did in CBT xD
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Vigorous cardio works great for my anxiety. I can't do regular yoga unless my mind is already calm, so I've done cardio first then yoga, or I've done yoga while watching TV, which I call stretching rather than yoga.

    Thanks :)
  • Toronto6fan
    Toronto6fan Posts: 415 Member
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    Can you drink your calories? Smoothies with protein? Apple with pb? One of my kids has anxiety and his anxiety is much much worse if he does not eat enough protein.
  • ghudson92
    ghudson92 Posts: 2,061 Member
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    Meditation and a good night's sleep are key, something I learnt when doing my second degree. Homemade smoothies with nutritional boosters like flaxseed were also a lifesaver. Anxiety is a real pain in the butt, but it only rules your life as long as you let it. This coming from someone who used to be too scared to go outside!
  • rabblescum
    rabblescum Posts: 78 Member
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    Turmeric and ginger supplements or the dried herb brewed with tea. Turmeric helps take the edgey felling away and ginger will calm that clenched churning stomach feeling.
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,668 Member
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    Try your best to get your calories in by any means possible. Being in good physical health is immensely helpful in maintaining control over mental health, in my experience.

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