Struggling to Eat Regularly: Any Tips?

try eating with a friend/family member so you’re not alone and pace yourself!!!!! if you don’t like the idea of that (which i totally get because sometimes people are not the solution) you can also set up rewards for yourself after accomplishing the task! like allow yourself time to do something you really like to do after!! just remember its okay if you can’t finish a meal and even something small is better than nothing :)

My doctor recommended early on in my Anorexia recovery that I eat 6 times a day, basically large snacks, making sure to focus on protein at each mealtime and eating every 2-3 hours. It didn’t have to be a large amount of food or anything super complicated, for example: a handful of trail mix, a sandwich with meat or nut butter, yogurt and fruit, scrambled eggs and toast, etc. She also recommended that I do one liquid meal a day (for me a smoothie, could also be meal replacement shake) to make sure I was getting enough fruits and veggies. Honestly, I’m 5+ years in, and the lack of hunger was one of the hardest parts of recovery for me! Even when I wanted to eat more, I felt sick to my stomach after a few bites bc I’d gone so long without eating probably. I would highly recommend 1. Seeking out a nutritionist/doctor and 2. Eating smaller, more frequent meals, like I recommended. If you’re consistent at eating small servings every 2-3 hours, your hunger will come back (maybe not as fast as you want, but it will)! Good luck to you

Oof. A few things. 1. I felt "I'm tired of being tired" in the very core of my being. I'm sorry you feel that, but know you aren't alone. 2. I agree with everyone else, shakes can be great. If you're like me tho, I CANNOT get beyond the taste. They are usually so nasty or they are full of things I can't have (gluten, soy, dairy 😕). I try to make things in batches - a ton of rice, a dozen boiled eggs, a bunch of cookie dough (bc fresh baked cookies are always better). Then, all you have to do is eat it. That said... 3. Sometimes even if the food is right in front of you, you still don't have the energy to eat it. That's tough. It reminds me of this study I read about mice who had a severe lack of dopamine. They became so unmotivated that they wouldn't eat even if the food was right in front of them and they would literally starve to death... with an abundance of food around them. They would chew and swallow if the food was physically put into their mouth, but otherwise wouldn't eat. I'm not really sure what do to with that information, tbh, but maybe it will make you feel better as it made me feel better to think that it isn't that I'm "broken" but that there's probably a despirate deficit of dopamine in my brain making me how I am. I have 100% laid in bed, hungry, with a bowl of food in my hand that my boyfriend made for me, without the motivation to move the fork to my mouth. It's tough. 4. To get myself to eat, I sometimes will "eat with my brain and not with my stomach." Meaning, I pick foods I know are good for me and I don't pay much attention to if I WANT to eat them or not - especially when I don't WANT to eat anything. Pick a veggie, a protein, a grain, maybe some fruit, dairy if it agrees with you, and something sweet. Then just eat a little of each until you can't eat anymore. If that's a bite of each, then it's a bite of each and that's okay. Just do what you can, and leave it available for when you are able to come back to it. 5. Be patient. If you haven't eaten much of anything in so long, your stomach will have shrunk. Don't beat yourself up about not eating more than __ amount because you might not physically be able to! It is good to slowly stretch it back out, but that can be a nice, slow, gentle process where you gradually eat a little more and a little more. It is uncomfortable, but important to do - just not the first priority. Be kind and loving to yourself. You are fighting a difficult battle and it's a long game, not a sprint. I'm proud of you for trying again and again ❤

Hi! I’m so sorry you’re struggling! I do have an eating disorder, but I definitely understand that depression makes eating difficult sometimes! What I would recommend is like drinking a boost/ensure/protein drink of some kind to help with your energy and intake everyday. You could also try setting an alarm for when you should eat a meal, and then even if you don’t feel 100% up to it, at least go to your kitchen and make something small that you like and make yourself a plate (even if you don’t feel like it) and try to eat as much as you can. If you want to talk more you can DM me. Best of luck

I just wanted to say that I'm new here and it's such an overwhelming relief to immediately find someone I can relate to almost word for word... But as for actual advice, I've been trying hard to find snacks I can just grab and eat with ease like protein bars or beef jerkey, or fruits and nuts. Keep them with you at all times! Right next to your bed if that's where you're at the most. If you're able, you can even make a large batch of cookies too so it can last a while. Smoothies are great also as all you have to do is throw a few things in there and your food is ready to serve (tbh I get lazy with this too sometimes tho). Fried rice with canned meat + eggs and other easy prep meat with leafy greens or small vegetables are my personal favorites... it's easy to chew and swallow and most of your cooking is just throwing it all in there and stirring.

I think you may want to see a doctor of food therapist. In the meantime, just set reminders to eat something. Anything, even if it’s just a granola bar. Maybe, in the morning you prepare like half of a meal and come home and do the rest so it’s less overwhelming? Set some snacks out every night? Pay close attention to when your body is hungry? Definitely take vitamins though.

I’m honestly going through the same thing if it’s not easy to access I don’t really have the desire to eat it or nothing sounds good. What has kinda gotten me to eat is protein bars even I only eat half it still something.

So there are multiple types of eating disorders that don’t revolve around wanting to be skinnier or anything like that. Would protein shakes help? I have them for my barters syndrome. But they have a lot of vitamins, protein, and things like that.

The things that helped me most when I struggled with this was just microwaveable foods or even protein bars but if that’s still too hard (which is understandable) get some vitamins so you’re at least getting what you need