Stress UNDEReating

cecsav1
cecsav1 Posts: 714 Member
edited June 2016 in Motivation and Support
This may be a stupid question... I thought I had it all figured out by this point :(

The past couple of days have been ridiculously terrible. I'm talking two broken down cars, probably going to lose my job because I haven't been able to get to work in three days (because I have no transportation), overestimated my paycheck, so I literally have $15 until next payday, kids having melt downs, kids' dad causing problems...

Anyway, I've never had this issue before, as I've always been a stress eater, but for several days, I find myself with no desire to eat. I'm way under calories for today. (I already put dinner in, but I haven't eaten and just don't feel like it.)

So my question is: how do you all deal? What kind of methods do you implement when everything is falling apart and you can't reach your calorie goal? Should I just suck it up and force myself to eat?

Replies

  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
    I listen to my body. When I stress, I'm not hungry either. I will try to make myself eat something calorie dense if it's going on for several days to at least get to 1000 -1200 cals. per day - we do need the fuel to keep going. But, I don't really worry much because when at least one thing out of many problems gets solved, I get my hunger back and I eat again, so in the end it balances out.

    Hope things get better for you, but don't forget to take care of yourself in the process. :flowerforyou:
  • nursecasg
    nursecasg Posts: 123 Member
    I know exactly what you mean. When I am stressed out I get this sick feeling in my stomach and want nothing to eat. When I was going through a very stressful time of having to sell my house and get out really quick, I lost about 30 pounds in 2 and a half months. I couldn't eat or sleep.
  • Msamples0211
    Msamples0211 Posts: 7 Member
    I don't have any good advice other than just take care yourself and eat when you start feeling hungry. I hope things get better for you!! <3
  • BoomstickChik
    BoomstickChik Posts: 149 Member
    I understand. I get that way. I'm dealing with incredible amounts of stress as well. I force myself to eat when I get shaky. I actually forget to eat until that happens.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,616 Member
    I'm a stress under-eater. Always have been ... the higher the stress level, the less I eat. I've dropped 20 lbs in a month on a few occasions that way.

    However, I know that when the stress eases, my appetite will return and I'll want to eat everything in sight, so I don't worry about it too much. It's just a short-term thing.

    I do try to eat things I like ... pretty much anything I'm craving. One time, I lived for about a month on mandarin oranges (canned and fresh), cheese, and crackers. That's all I wanted to eat and all that sat comfortably and didn't make me feel instantly sick. I figured I was at least getting a little bit of variety that way ... some protein, fat and carbs + some vitamins and minerals ... so I didn't worry about it.

    I also try to take a good multivitamin every day just to make sure I'm OK there. Plus vitamins like some of the Bs and D are supposed to help boost the spirits and reduce stress, so they're probably good ones to focus on, within reason of course.
  • ObsidianMist
    ObsidianMist Posts: 519 Member
    I can't eat when I'm stressed either. but I can usually manage to eat some snacky foods that I normally would have trouble fitting into my daily calories - a big serving of ice cream, or a bag of chips, lol. it's better than no calories at all.

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