# The problem of NOT being able to eat



## fffff (Jun 28, 2009)

I just graduated from college and am pretty much under a huge amount of stress and anxiety right now. And when I get stressed I cannot eat. 

It's like having the flu. I go to the grocery store and walk up and down every aisle and there is absolutely nothing I want. Even the things I normally love I have no appetite for. 

It's not uncommon for me to have this problem, I usually lose a good ten pounds at the end of every semester. But this has been going on for weeks. I'm lethargic, constantly nauseous, and just generally not feeling well. 

Does anyone else have this problem? And what do you do to feel better?


----------



## PrncssNicole (Jun 28, 2009)

I get like this sometimes when I don't eat for a day or two because i'm so busy, nothing seems appetizing and then I just end up not eating. What I usually do is try and start with something small like some crackers and cheese maybe a little bit of cranberry juice and just have a couple of bites. Even though you don't feel like eating you kind of have to force yourself to have a couple bites of something progressively throughout the day. This should bring your appetite back somewhat and even if it doesn't just keep doing it. As we all know when you don't eat your body starves itself and slows your metabolism substantially.


----------



## Risible (Jun 28, 2009)

I've had this happen a few times, always following some emotional trauma (a bad breakup, for example). Completely lost my appetite, to the extent that food tasted like cardboard.

I rolled with it; what little food I did eat I made sure counted nutritionally. I also exercised to boost my energy, which got easier the more weight I lost. During these episodes, I lost anywhere from 30 pounds to 100 pounds, with the episodes lasting from a month or two to six or seven months, after which my appetite slowly resumed.


----------



## olwen (Jun 28, 2009)

You could try meditating or yoga or something to relax. If you're worried about it, you could go to your primary doctor and see about some anti-anxiety meds.


----------



## Risible (Jun 29, 2009)

P.S. I always regained the weight I lost during my "episodes." And then some.


----------



## steely (Jun 29, 2009)

I feel this way often since being diagnosed with diabetes. Most of what I can eat I have no interest in and then watching everyone else eat what I want, it really just ruins it for me. I can't help but think why bother.....

It's not always this way but it happens often.


----------



## MuleVariationsNYC (Jun 29, 2009)

fffff said:


> I just graduated from college and am pretty much under a huge amount of stress and anxiety right now. And when I get stressed I cannot eat.
> 
> It's like having the flu. I go to the grocery store and walk up and down every aisle and there is absolutely nothing I want. Even the things I normally love I have no appetite for.
> 
> ...



This happens to me too, when I'm stressed out. Eating just drops down on my list of priorities and seems like a waste of time, or unsavory.

For me, the thing that helps me get back is to exercise. I work out alone in my apartment in an unhurried way, taking lots of breaks, making sure I'm drinking plenty of water. I feel more relaxed, and my metabolism cranks up while burning off my few energy reserves. Pretty soon I'm hungry enough that it's impossible for me to ignore food any longer, and I'm on my way back.

Hope this helps.


----------



## TallFatSue (Jul 14, 2009)

Stress comes in many forms. Sometimes it's good stress, but it's still stress. I'm an office manager, not a saleswoman, but when the economy took a nosedive last year, several of us were "encouraged" to help our sales reps drum up more business. It's been fun to visit to cities as far-flung as Philadelphia, Nashville and Reno, and I've had some fantastic meals. On the other hand it's also stressful to live in a succession of hotels and schmooze potential clients. Finally business is returning to near-normal, and methought I could stop travelling so much.

Guess again. This week my boss talked me into "just one more trip", but before I could clobber him, he sweetened the deal by putting me up at the Swissôtel in Chicago. So here I am! 

It's a great hotel, and last night I had a delicious dinner downstairs at The Palm Restaurant. About an hour later I got the hiccups, which is pretty typical because I loooove to eat, but these hiccups were much more intense than usual. After another hour I had an impressive case of food poisoning!  Fortunately my body got rid of whatever it was, and I soon felt much better, except I was pretty weak. This morning I had absolutely no appetite for breakfast. Instead I asked room service to send up some Gatorade! Now that I'm replenishing my fluids and electrolytes, I've started to feel like my old self again, and I can go ahead with the client meeting I have scheduled later this morning. No doubt it will look funny to see a middle-aged obese woman clutching a sports drink, but right now it tastes pretty darn good, and I can feel my appetite returning. 

Good thing I didn't wine and dine any clients last night, or they'd probably be sick too! I'd better let them recommend a place for lunch. 

And after I return to my office tomorrow, methinx I'll clobber my boss anyway.


----------

