Re: What to do when nothing is appealing

[Guest guest]

I always have some kind of leftovers ready to eat, and usually have

plenty of things that are quick fixes. The problem is more that food

in general isn't appealing to me, even things that normally I like.

It's frustrating to be hungry and yet not really want to eat.

Sohni

sue wrote:

Hi Sohni: I dislike thinking about food or eating until I'm

actually (obviously) hungry. However, then I can easily get low blood

sugar or feel desperate enough to eat the house, if I have to cook a

meal from scratch. I actually HATE cooking and/or preparing food when

I'm starved, tired or rushed. So I always plan leftovers from any meal

I cook (about 2x a week). (I start those meals after lunch when I'm not

hungry.) Then I freeze the leftovers as individual 'tv' dinners, which

I can pull out and microwave in 3-5 minutes.

I also freeze wraps (peanut butter and mango, guacomole and refried

beans or deli meat and hummus) for my own lunches. I can just thaw a

wrap and grab an apple or orange and I'm all set for lunch in less than

5 minutes.

If I'm uncertain whether I'm hungry and it's almost 'mealtime', I have

some herbal tea and do some yoga positions to relax. By the time I've

finished 10-15 minutes of yoga I actually feel physically hungry.

However, when I'm too stressed, I can get low blood sugar symptoms

(irritability, panic, light headedness, headache, etc.) before I

actually feel stomach hunger. In order to know what I eat, I need to

relax and visualize what textures, tastes, etc. will feel good in my

stomach, as you mentioned.

SUE

>

> I would like to hear what others do in this situation, because

it's

> happened several times lately. What do you do when you're hungry

(not

> starving, but hungry) and nothing appeals to you enough to go

through

> the effort to prepare and eat it? This seems to happen to me a lot

when

> I'm tired and/or rushed/stressed (like today, ugh). I don't want

to not

> eat if I'm hungry, but at the same time I don't want to eat

something

> that isn't appetizing. I've run through the list of questions--do

I

> want something sweet? crunchy? chewy? etc.--and the answers are

all

> "No." Blah!

>

> Sohni

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Sohni: Sorry. I can't relate to food not appealing to me, when I'm hungry.

Even when I felt constantly nauseas and had almost no hunger cues, while taking

flagyl for c-diff, I could eat to relieve the nausea. No wonder I gained 3

pounds during that treatment! Maybe I'm just obsessed with eating my favorite

foods. LOL Or maybe I'm just so glad to be able to finally be able to eat

without gastrointestinal pain, despite restrictions for 7 food allergies, that I

look forward to enjoying meals when I feel hungry.

SUE

>

> I always have some kind of leftovers ready to eat, and usually have

> plenty of things that are quick fixes. The problem is more that food in

> general isn't appealing to me, even things that normally I like. It's

> frustrating to be hungry and yet not really want to eat.

>

> Sohni

[Guest guest]

I think the real problem is I need to try to get more rest/be more

relaxed on the days that I know are going to be stressful or rushed for

me (Mondays are a real killer for me right now; I'm spending 3.5+ hours

in the car). Hard to think when I'm wiped out!

Sohni

sue wrote:

Hi Sohni: Sorry. I can't relate to food not appealing to me, when

I'm hungry. Even when I felt constantly nauseas and had almost no

hunger cues, while taking flagyl for c-diff, I could eat to relieve the

nausea. No wonder I gained 3 pounds during that treatment! Maybe I'm

just obsessed with eating my favorite foods. LOL Or maybe I'm just so

glad to be able to finally be able to eat without gastrointestinal

pain, despite restrictions for 7 food allergies, that I look forward to

enjoying meals when I feel hungry.

SUE

SUE

> > >

> > > I would like to hear what others do in this situation,

because it's

> > > happened several times lately. What do you do when

you're hungry (not

> > > starving, but hungry) and nothing appeals to you enough

to go through

> > > the effort to prepare and eat it? This seems to happen

to me a lot when

> > > I'm tired and/or rushed/stressed (like today, ugh). I

don't want to not

> > > eat if I'm hungry, but at the same time I don't want to

eat something

> > > that isn't appetizing. I've run through the list of

questions--do I

> > > want something sweet? crunchy? chewy? etc.--and the

answers are all

> > > "No." Blah!

> > >

> > > Sohni

> > >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I agree. I hate to eat when I'm too stressed, rushed or cold. I prefer to 'dine'

or slowly enjoy my meals, rather than medicate my hunger with just anything.

Even when I'm hungry, if I'm upset about something, too cold or too tired, I

don't want to waste my appetite on a meal I can't relax and really enjoy. At

those stressful times, I prefer to delay the meal until I feel better. I still

don't understand how I can eat when I'm nauseas. LOL

SUE

> > > > >

> > > > > I would like to hear what others do in this situation, because it's

> > > > > happened several times lately. What do you do when you're hungry

> > (not

> > > > > starving, but hungry) and nothing appeals to you enough to go

> > through

> > > > > the effort to prepare and eat it? This seems to happen to me a

> > lot when

> > > > > I'm tired and/or rushed/stressed (like today, ugh). I don't want

> > to not

> > > > > eat if I'm hungry, but at the same time I don't want to eat

> > something

> > > > > that isn't appetizing. I've run through the list of questions--do I

> > > > > want something sweet? crunchy? chewy? etc.--and the answers are all

> > > > > " No. " Blah!

> > > > >

> > > > > Sohni

> > > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Sohni,

If this were going on with me, I would wonder if I were really hungry.

You know Geneen Roth's famous quote " Being Hungry is like being in love;

if you don't know, you're probably not. "

For me, " knowing " has to do with images of specific foods coming up

which are " hummers. "

(Today my " hummers " were spaghetti and chocolate brownie cookies--but I

needed to eat the spaghetti first. The order was important to my

satisfaction level. It's a gift when we have hummers, that is get that

clear sense of exactly what our bodies want. That means we have been

doing a lot of listening work. )

It could be that the body is in a kind of weight loss cycle, and this

is a message.

If this were happening to me, I would probably wait a bit longer.

However, if I were having painful hunger pangs--I might just give myself

just enough to " get by " --a bite or two of a banana or something. Why

crowd my body with food that I really don't want?

>

> I would like to hear what others do in this situation, because it's

> happened several times lately. What do you do when you're hungry (not

> starving, but hungry) and nothing appeals to you enough to go through

> the effort to prepare and eat it? This seems to happen to me a lot

when

> I'm tired and/or rushed/stressed (like today, ugh). I don't want to

not

> eat if I'm hungry, but at the same time I don't want to eat something

> that isn't appetizing. I've run through the list of questions--do I

> want something sweet? crunchy? chewy? etc.--and the answers are all

> " No. " Blah!

>

> Sohni

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Sohni,

What a great question. I find myself in this postion a lot. and for me it is related to not sleeping well due to hot flashes.I think I'll try relaxing, visualization suggestion and taking a few bites until I can enjoy a meal and realize maybe this is my body's way of going into weight loss as one of the posts sugggested. I also thought that the comment of perphaps we become less attached to eating when we are not emotional eating very interesting.It dawned on me, I don't have to be excited about every meal and sometimes it is a matter of eating for practicality, the body needs fuel and i have to eat around a busy schedule on some days and that is okay. On non-busy days i find also nothing sounds good so i think I'll try waiting longer to see if something appeals to me, i do get a little concerned I'll wait too long and then be ravenous and then nothing will quiet my hunger. I remind myself it is an evolving experiment.Thanks to you and

everyone on the site.Blessings,

To: IE <IntuitiveEating_Support >Sent: Mon, February 22, 2010 3:01:22 PMSubject: What to do when nothing is appealing

I would like to hear what others do in this situation, because it's happened several times lately. What do you do when you're hungry (not starving, but hungry) and nothing appeals to you enough to go through the effort to prepare and eat it? This seems to happen to me a lot when I'm tired and/or rushed/stressed (like today, ugh). I don't want to not eat if I'm hungry, but at the same time I don't want to eat something that isn't appetizing. I've run through the list of questions--do I want something sweet? crunchy? chewy? etc.--and the answers are all "No." Blah!Sohni

[Guest guest]

It's ironic that someone with a compulsive overeating issue would have

bouts of not wanting to eat, isn't it?  I'd like to find a way to work

through this because since my kids were little it's been very easy for

me to ignore signs of  hunger, and obviously with IE you don't want to

be ignoring hunger!  What I probably should at least do is have some

standby food that I know is passable so I have something to eat for the

time being.  I feel more rested today and not so strapped for time, so

it's easier to think/feel what to eat.

Sohni

Talisman wrote:

 

Hi Sohni,

What a great question. I find myself in this postion a lot. and

for me it is related to not sleeping well due to hot flashes.I think

I'll try relaxing, visualization suggestion and taking a few bites

until I can enjoy a meal and realize maybe this is my body's way of

going into weight loss as one of the posts sugggested. I also thought

that the comment of perphaps we become less attached to eating when we

are not emotional eating very interesting.It dawned on me, I don't

have to be excited about every meal and sometimes it is a matter of

eating for practicality, the body needs fuel and i have to eat around a

busy schedule on some days and that is okay. On non-busy days i find

also nothing sounds good so i think I'll try waiting longer to see if

something appeals to me, i do get a little concerned  I'll wait too

long and then be ravenous and then nothing will quiet my hunger. I

remind myself it is an evolving experiment.Thanks to you and everyone

on the site.Blessings,

From:

jeanniet58 <jeanniet58gmail>

To: IE

<IntuitiveEating_Support >

Sent: Mon, February

22, 2010 3:01:22 PM

Subject:

What to do when nothing is appealing

 

I would like to hear what others do in this situation, because

it's

happened several times lately. What do you do when you're hungry (not

starving, but hungry) and nothing appeals to you enough to go through

the effort to prepare and eat it? This seems to happen to me a lot when

I'm tired and/or rushed/stressed (like today, ugh). I don't want to not

eat if I'm hungry, but at the same time I don't want to eat something

that isn't appetizing. I've run through the list of questions--do I

want something sweet? crunchy? chewy? etc.--and the answers are all

"No." Blah!

Sohni