Lost the will to eat (properly)

[Nicky]

Hi all,

I guess my problem isn't specifically a vegan one, so sorry if it's wrong to post here, but I know the answers I'm going to get elsewhere will involve eating meat & dairy, and I just don't have the energy to deal with that right now.

Basically, I'm usually a pretty healthy person - I like to cook and I eat a good and varied, largely whole food diet. But lately everything healthy seems to have lost its appeal - even once it's on a plate in front of me I just can't make myself eat more than a few bites, as I feel nauseous even from the smell. Instead I'm craving bland foods - bread, potatoes, pasta - constantly. I can't put a finger on what's happened, but I literally go to the produce aisle and want nothing but processed, uniform junk food. My usual "easy meals" - a few staple soups, salads and smoothies - are literally turning my stomach. I'm barely getting in one or two portions of fruit and veg a day which is really odd for me. I've tried new recipes with different ingredients as I thought I might just be in a rut, but I feel the same about these as everything else, except I've wasted extra time and money in the process. I'm usually all for listening to my body when I want a treat, but it's been months now and it can't be doing me any good. On a related note I've completely gone off coffee too, pretty much overnight. Also, no, I'm not pregnant!

Anyway, does anyone have any ideas of anything I could try? I think healthy eating is, oddly, a part of my identity, and I normally take nutrition quite seriously, so it's unsettling that my body seems to be rejecting the good stuff.

Thanks in advance for any advice. I'm a bit down in the dumps so please be gentle if you think I'm being a fussy brat who won't eat her greens - I already know that

 

[Emma JC]

I am sorry you are having issues, you may want to get checked out if it continues, you aren't pregnant are you?

Meanwhile, there is nothing wrong with potatoes and whole grain breads and whole grain pastas for couple of months. Maybe try those items for awhile and gradually put some berries and greens etc back in over time.

If you look up Spud Fit you will find Andrew's story, he ate only potatoes for a year. (under doctor supervision)

Emma JC

 

[Sockpim]

I was going to ask if you felt depressed, but you already wrote it in your question. I say this because that's the same thing that happened to me when I had a bad patch of depression some time ago. Maybe it's something different, but when I had this, I said to myself that I should eat the good stuff because I hoped I would make it out of feeling miserable all the time so that if/when I got there, my body was as healthy as my mind.

That being said, have you tried sprucing up your meals? By this I just mean exploring recipes a bit more. I don't look at recipes to follow them word for word, I just use them for basic ideas like when I saw a stuffed marrow slice, I just had a look at the recipe and made it up from there. If I did a stir fry, I'd have used the same ingredients, but with the stuffed marrow slice, it was a completely different dish and taste. I'd suggest trying something like this to see if it helps.

 

[veganDreama]

It might be depression you are suffering from? Have you seen a doctor about it?

 

[Deleted member 3018]

I'm sorry to hear about your struggle. That must be stressful.

Have you tried "hiding" vegetables into your food? For example, if a carrot is cut up into small pieces, it's easy to hide it in the pasta sauce. When it's boiled soft, you can't notice it from the sauce. Or if one carrot is too much and makes you feel sick, maybe half of an carrot could do the trick, or perhaps half of an half? If the smell of pasta sauce doesn't turn your stomach, then it could work. I think that pressuring yourself in this situation isn't a good idea, when the source of the problem is still unknown.

Pasta, potatoes and bread can all be made into variable healty meals, by mixing in some vegetables (I mean, vegatables in tiny portions, just the amount that you can eat without feeling sick), herbs (like dried oregano on bread or in pasta), spices (black pepper helps me when I feel sick from the stomach), leafy greens, hummus, and a source of protein (chickpeas, beans, TVP etc).
One other thing, alongside with black pepper, that helps me, is long walks. But I don't know if walking helps in your case.
Mashed potatoes are usually very gentle to my stomach. I eat it with boiled carrots and thai spiced tofu (unflavoured could be better in your case), or fried onions and black beans (fat and salt helps increase palatability). Also rice porridge, made with oatdrink, is bland and easy to get down. I eat it with a ripe banana and cinnamon. If your stomach can handle some carrots or bananas, or if the smell of cinnamon doesn't turn your stomach, you could try those out. Rice porridge or mashed potatoes are fine by themselves, or (if you can,) then add some spices.

Usually I don't watch the plate while eating, I read a book or watch someting else, and I eat very slowly. After eating, I try to sit about 15 min. before doing anything else, to prevent the digestion from getting disrupted.
I have stomach aches and a lost of appetite pretty frequently. It has been like that for my whole life, I have a "nervous stomach" caused by anxiety (that's why I can't eat sugary sweets, chocolate or drink coffee).

Maybe vitamin pills could also help, while awaiting the doctors appointment? But I'm not a nutritionist, or even much health conscious, so I don't really know anything, but my own experience.
Going to the doctor for a check up could help, as others have already mentioned. Knowing what is causing all this would make things easier.

 

[Nicky]

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for your kind replies, and sorry that I haven't checked in here for such a long time.

I'm doing a bit better now, in the end I figured that I could still stomach potatoes, lentils, beans and so on, so I went for a diet that was still pretty low on fruit and veg, but not horrendous nutritionally. I'm still at a loss to what happened - blood tests came back normal, doctor wasn't concerned. To me it seems most likely that it was related to either my mood in general or a chest infection that came along around the same time - anything fresh or raw were particularly problematic, so I wouldn't be surprised if some part of me was trying to avoid germs or something, and due to factors my emotional state has been a bit topsy turvy of late. Gradually I've been able to add some things back in, though weirdly a lot of fruit still seems to be off the table - bananas are fine, but I don't understand apples any more. Broccoli isn't going to be making a comeback any time soon either.

The positive that's come out of this is that it got me well and truly out of a quite intense coffee habit. Although I can drink it again now, it's got me out of the coffee machine club at work, which often saw me "helping out" by finishing off the pot.

Thanks again for your tips - which I'm going to try. I've been eating a lot of rice so I'm going to try and find some sushi-inspired dishes with tiny veg portions. I don't think the blended carrot trick would have worked a few weeks ago, but it might be just the job now that sweet potato soup is back on the menu. I'm already on the vitamins and a waiting list for a counsellor. My general health is a bit better and I'm exercising more now - I'm not totally back to "normal", but feeling a bit more positive about food.

 

[Forest Nymph]

The Chinese believe in a concept of balancing hot and cold foods. Personally I think raw veganism is insane, because it's so expensive and requires such enormous portions, but also from the perspective of moods, weather, etc it seems ridiculously imbalanced.

I know you didn't say you're raw. But I think the concept applies here. You can definitely over do raw food or fruit. If you had a chest cold, that makes even more sense you'd want warm, soothing foods. Also if your stomach is upset the last thing you need is a lot of insoluble fiber.

Besides bland starchy foods are comforting if you are stressed out. It makes sense to eat pasta or potatoes under stress instead of apples.

I'm glad you are feeling better.

 

[Deleted member 3018]

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for your kind replies, and sorry that I haven't checked in here for such a long time.

I'm doing a bit better now, in the end I figured that I could still stomach potatoes, lentils, beans and so on, so I went for a diet that was still pretty low on fruit and veg, but not horrendous nutritionally. I'm still at a loss to what happened - blood tests came back normal, doctor wasn't concerned. To me it seems most likely that it was related to either my mood in general or a chest infection that came along around the same time - anything fresh or raw were particularly problematic, so I wouldn't be surprised if some part of me was trying to avoid germs or something, and due to factors my emotional state has been a bit topsy turvy of late. Gradually I've been able to add some things back in, though weirdly a lot of fruit still seems to be off the table - bananas are fine, but I don't understand apples any more. Broccoli isn't going to be making a comeback any time soon either.

The positive that's come out of this is that it got me well and truly out of a quite intense coffee habit. Although I can drink it again now, it's got me out of the coffee machine club at work, which often saw me "helping out" by finishing off the pot.

Thanks again for your tips - which I'm going to try. I've been eating a lot of rice so I'm going to try and find some sushi-inspired dishes with tiny veg portions. I don't think the blended carrot trick would have worked a few weeks ago, but it might be just the job now that sweet potato soup is back on the menu. I'm already on the vitamins and a waiting list for a counsellor. My general health is a bit better and I'm exercising more now - I'm not totally back to "normal", but feeling a bit more positive about food.

I'm so happy to hear that you are doing better! Hopefully this negative experience can be turned into something positive and that you proceed getting even better.
I don't have anything else to say... I need new brains. Merely wanted to celebrate your healing process.

 

[Rory17]

Hi all,

I guess my problem isn't specifically a vegan one, so sorry if it's wrong to post here, but I know the answers I'm going to get elsewhere will involve eating meat & dairy, and I just don't have the energy to deal with that right now.

Basically, I'm usually a pretty healthy person - I like to cook and I eat a good and varied, largely whole food diet. But lately everything healthy seems to have lost its appeal - even once it's on a plate in front of me I just can't make myself eat more than a few bites, as I feel nauseous even from the smell. Instead I'm craving bland foods - bread, potatoes, pasta - constantly. I can't put a finger on what's happened, but I literally go to the produce aisle and want nothing but processed, uniform junk food. My usual "easy meals" - a few staple soups, salads and smoothies - are literally turning my stomach. I'm barely getting in one or two portions of fruit and veg a day which is really odd for me. I've tried new recipes with different ingredients as I thought I might just be in a rut, but I feel the same about these as everything else, except I've wasted extra time and money in the process. I'm usually all for listening to my body when I want a treat, but it's been months now and it can't be doing me any good. On a related note I've completely gone off coffee too, pretty much overnight. Also, no, I'm not pregnant!

Anyway, does anyone have any ideas of anything I could try? I think healthy eating is, oddly, a part of my identity, and I normally take nutrition quite seriously, so it's unsettling that my body seems to be rejecting the good stuff.

Thanks in advance for any advice. I'm a bit down in the dumps so please be gentle if you think I'm being a fussy brat who won't eat her greens - I already know that

Hi ,
Maybe speak to your doctor about this?
Also, try to think of healthy, vegan foods that you have liked in the past. Are you a fruit fan (like me)? If so, try to think of fruits that you have liked in the past? Do the same for vegetables, beans and/or nuts.
Please go to Amazon Smile and/or charity shops to purchase some vegan/vegetarian recipe books. You might find some good vegan recipes in vegetarian recipe books as well, and they tend to be easier to come by in charity shops. You could also get creative and add spices, sauce, beans and vegetables together to create a new dish.
Please recognise that you need to be kind to yourself and look after yourself properly. You should eat as healthily as you can, 90% healthy foods (fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, pulses, vegetables, tofu and healthy spices) and 10% what you want/fancy (chocolate, cake, sweets, etc.)
Hugging yourself to show yourself some love may help you feel better when you’re upset, afraid and/or anxious may help you feel better. Reading self-help books from Amazon Smile/charity shops, meditation ‍, relaxation exercises, yoga ‍, Rescue Remedy, hypnotherapy (hypnotherapy with a therapist can be very expensive, but you can do self-hypnosis via apps and albums) and speaking with a doctor and/or a fully-trained therapist may also help.
Thank you to the moon and back.
Best wishes,
Rory.
Have the best day and night ever!

 

[wrtrong]

Thank all for you!

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