Share Tips For Eating With Decreased Appetite!

[LastUnicornLady]

Hello, everyone! Lately I've been dealing with decreased appetite and getting enough to eat, and I've noticed that this seems to be a common problem among POTSies and dysautonomia patients. Since a lot of us seem to deal with this, I thought it would be cool to start up a thread for people to just share tips they have, things that helped them, etc. Do you have any particularly great high-calorie milkshakes or foods that were easy on the stomach? Essential oils that helped bring back appetite? Feel free to chime in!

[Becia]

Peppermint essential oil is my favorite, has been for a long time. I like the taste, and it seems to help soothe some of the nausea I deal with.

I have swallowing issues, so when I'm feeling hungry, and not nauseated, I'm ravenous it seems, and end up going overboard. My I favorite thing to make are fruit smoothies, because I can get a good hit of nutrients, they are the consistency I need for swallowing, and to me, they seem to curb the starving feeling (because when I feel like that, I want things like a hamburger, or something too heavy, and I get sicker than a dog). I get a frozen fruit blend of mango, pineapple and strawberries, add some Greek yogurt, a banana, a little milk and sometimes a little orange juice to really brighten it up. Last time I also dumped in some raspberries and blackberries I had left in the fridge. Blend it up, and serve. My recipe makes two servings, so I freeze half in a bowl, and I have "sorbet" for later if I want. The smoothies fill me up, are something I can take slow, and while are not a hamburger (good knights in white satin, I really want a hamburger...), are something I know my body can handle. Normally after drinking that, I'm good for a bit.

[lejones1]

I rarely have this problem anymore but for a while it was so hard to eat anything - was always either nauseated or no appetite. So let's see...

- I would eat lying down a lot...which probably came with its own drawbacks but I do think it really helped me with nausea/not getting so tired.

-Let yourself eat really slowly instead of on a normal schedule. It would honestly take me 2-3 hours to eat dinner every night because I'd eat a few bites, stop, continue. Also always have food around - this is good for those moments when you do suddenly have an appetite. Plus can be good for those days when there's just no way you can make it to the kitchen.

-And to echo what Becia said...drink your food! Smoothies and milkshakes and soup. They always seemed to be slightly easier for me to get down + we can always use the extra liquid. If I wanted a change from fruit smoothies, sometimes I made them with frozen bananas, milk, carnation good start or cocoa powder, and peanut butter.

-If you're really not eating much, try to make a lot of what you do eat calorie dense food. If you eat dairy, don't be afraid of full fat. Nuts. Throw butter or coconut oil on whatever you can.

[griffism]

My favorite pre-made shake is the Bolthouse Farms Chocolate Protein Shake, which basically tastes like chocolate milk...(I love chocolate!) I drink it every morning that I am capable of putting something in me, as well as I can use it for supplement if I am not able to get enough calories throughout the day. Hope this helps

Stefanie

[LastUnicornLady]

I've heard that getting nutrients from shakes/smoothies works well! I'm hoping to start doing more of those, especially fruit smoothies, since those are my favorites.

[looneymom]

If you are needing to add some calories to your milk shake, do half frozen vanilla ice cream and greek yogert. I also mix in pinapple juice and Tyler's favorite frozen fruit. He likes the frozen mixture of peaches, pineapple, mango, and strawberries.

Rachel

[srb]

Eating really slowly and/or frequently (grazing) has really helped. I also stopped trying to force myself to eat on the traditional 3 meal per day schedule. Always having food or snacks available is important. And drinking Gatorade in between meals also sometimes helps me.

[khaarina]

I never have an appetite in the morning so instead of eating solid food I drink Carnation instant breakfast. It has plenty of nutrients, I love the taste, and it helps me get more fluids in the morning. I also lose my appetite if I've been physically active. This becomes a problem if I go to a restaurant, because of the effort it took to get there, or when I cook a meal, because by the time I am done cooking I no longer want to eat. I haven't found any solution for that except to avoid activity as much as possible before meals.