This is the first time I'm actually making a thread in this forum, it feels kinda weird. Anywho...

I went on a diet last year. I'd been gaining weight due to a number of reasons and decided that I should do something about it. Previously, when I had been exercising and eating healthy, I was about a size 8 and 145 lbs (I'm about 5'5"). When I decided to start going on a diet I was more like a size 10 or 12 (depending on the clothing company) and about 155 lbs.

I looked up information on BMI charts and healthy weights and decided to set a goal for myself of about 125-130 lbs. It took a few months with regular exercise (1 hr 3-7 days/week) and counting my calories (I limited myself to about 1,400-1,500 calories/day with some leniency on Saturdays). The change was slow and I'm not one to notice gradual changes but my a coworker of mine urged me that I wasn't eating enough and that I should stop dieting when I hit 135 lbs (size 6). I agreed with her began eating "normally". I have maintained that weight since but lately I've been having some issues eating properly.

Whenever I eat meat it just feels dry and tasteless in my mouth no matter how I cook it and I don't end up eating much of it. I don't pack much for my lunch as it is (small piece of meat and maybe 1/2 cup of rice) and even after eating only that I don't have much of an urge to eat dinner when I get home. Don't get me wrong, I can eat, but I haven't really had much of an appetite at all and if I do, it's really only for "junk food" (cookies, chips, fish sticks, ramen, etc.) and not like "dinner food" (steak, chicken, veggies, etc.).

The past few weeks I've been eating more junk figuring that it would be better than only eating a tiny bit but my face has really been breaking out so I need to figure out something different and I'm honestly wondering if I'm developing some sort of weird eating disorder. Have any of you ever experienced something similar? Do you have any advice for my situation?

Would you be able to try the little and often eating approach, if you never want to eat more than a little bit at any time? It is the healthiest way to eat, after all. It's more down to you finding foodstuffs that you want to eat, right? If you're not a big meat eater, then don't eat it, there's plenty of other forms of protein out there, cheese, nuts, tofu.

I've never had any issues with putting food in my mouth, but right now I don't eat a lot. This is partly a conscious thing, as I'm off work and spend 99% of my time sat so I don't need to be eating much, and partly because when I'm at home I eat when I feel like it and can easily ignore hunger. If I'm out and get hungry I need to eat fairly soon or I start feeling faint and sick, doesn't bother me at home. So I can go through the day having eaten not much more than breakfast things: one piece of toast; a banana later; a yoghurt later; maybe another piece of toast later. That can be my whole day's eating, plus between 4 and 6 mugs of tea.

Do you think you've got out of the habit of eating normally because you were restricting yourself previously? Would it be difficult for you to try and switch to healthier things, rather than the Ramen and so forth? Not eat more, just eat better?

Do you think your eating issues may stem from something else in your life? I saw a programme about an anorexic girl once, it came to light during the programme that she'd ended up with an eating disorder because what she eat was the only thing in her life that she had any kind of control over. Though by the time this realisation had been made she wasn't in control at all of course, it was in control of her.

I feel I'm not being any kind of help at all here.

hmm.. I'm not an expert, but first and foremost - an eating disorder is not physical, it's mental. And it seems from your description, that you "suddenly" lost appetite, and you had no control over it. People with an eating disorder usually starve themselves on purpose in order to lose weight.
To me, from what you have described, this is not the case. You are well aware that eating less than 1200 calories is not healthy, you just lost appetite. This can happen from stress/depression, or even from not eating correctly.
You said that you have appetite to junk food instead - and it seems to you that it's better than eating tiny bit of small healthy food. You're wrong. Eating Junk is bad as not eating at all.

Have you weighed yourself recently? Did you lose any weight drastically in a short period of time? If not, I wouldn't be too concerned. It's perhaps a phase that'll pass. If not, and you still have no appetite - at all, and by that, I mean, you have no appetite even to junk food, I would recommend going to the doctor.

@ Jelly: That might be a good idea, having some smaller meals. I kind of do that already in terms of breakfast. I'll just have a small bowl of cereal before I leave the house and then something else when I get to work like a bit of oatmeal. I'm not so good at eating afternoon snacks though. I should work on that.

As for other sources of protein... I'm a really picky eater so it's hard for me to find proteins that I like. I'm not really a huge fan of cheese, nuts, or tofu. Maybe I'll eat a tiny bit here or there but not really enough for it to count as a good source. Last night I had some lentils thinking it would be a good source of protein but I just looked them up and the don't have nearly as much as I thought they did. It would be nice to change up my diet but I don't have a whole lot of time to cook in the evenings so I tend to get lazy and eat the same things. I've tried looking up recipes but most of them require a bunch of ingredients I don't usually keep around or take forever to cook or prepare in advance.

In terms of other real life factors, the only thing I can really think of is that I'm always feeling tired mostly because I haven't been sleeping enough or sleeping well lately. I dunno if my body is maybe shutting itself down in the evenings telling me that I should go to bed rather than eat? I guess it's a possible explanation... I'm going to work on making dinner as soon as I get home tonight so hopefully I can go to bed on time.

@ Mogwai: I weighed myself last week and I had actually gained two pounds (probably from the junk food). I weighed myself this morning and was at about the same weight. I hope you are right and that it’s just a phase. Maybe if I can work on getting more rest and eating healthier things my appetite will come back?

I'm no expert, but while I was reading your post I found myself wondering if perhaps you have some nutritional deficiency going on. Sometimes when we find ourselves craving a lot of one thing it means that our body is craving whatever nutrients that thing has. Junk food doesn't have a lot of nutritional value to it, but it does have a lot of salt.

You can do some research yourself, but here is an article about salt cravings that I found: Why You Crave Salt | Hyla Cass, MD.

Mogwai pointed out stress and depression as another possible factor. Depression makes you want to sleep a lot and also can cause you to crave comfort foods like junk food.

Overall, I think if you keep feeling like this you should go see your doctor. They can tell you if there's anything wrong with your body or mental health that is causing you to eat like this.

Definitely try to work on your sleep schedule and try to eat some better food for a couple of weeks to see if things balance out on their own, but otherwise go see a doctor.

I'm happy to say that I ate a pretty good dinner tonight. I tried using a different sauce on my chicken and added some seasoning to my rice to make it almost like a home made meal from Chipotle. I can't wait to eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. >.>

I'm wondering if my lack of variety is also a factor to the loss of appetite I've been having. I don't have much time to make something fancy when I get home from work so I usually stick to the same simple, and relatively tasteless stuff. I've tried looking up recipes but some of them are just so complicated or require so many ingredients that I decide they're just not worth it.

Alright, I'm going to try and break down an explanation of eating problems that do not fall under either "bulimia nervosa" or "anorexia nervosa", cause it's downright confusing. As someone who has suffered from an eating disorder for well over a year, now that I'm seeking help I can tell you it can be frustrating, even discouraging , to either not be taken seriously because you don't meet the DSM (Diagnostic Statistical manual of Mental disorders) requirements for the two big name disorders, or to get the strange and vague diagnosis of EDNOS (Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified).

In my humble opinion, this term pretty much sucks...

A lot.

It covers disorders that don't fit snugly in the big two, which is basically a TON of disorders. To list a couple of the unofficially medically documented types of EDNOS, there's binge eating disorder, orthorexia, food avoidance emotional disorder, purging disorder, restrictive eating, pica, chew-spit eating, night eating syndrome, and more. The problem is, these issues are easily ignored or pushed aside by either the sufferer or those surrounding them because no one thinks of them as "real" or potentially harmful! Plus, the fact that the term is so general and includes disorders WAAYYYYY across the board from one another, it puts research on these disorders to the back of the line, which is unacceptable sincethe majority (I've heard statistics between 50 and 70 percent, but it's a strong amount of people) of those diagnosed with EDs are being diagnosed with EDNOS. Lots of people end up left in the dark. :(

Thankfully, the new edition of the DSM provided us with a new category to accommodate and provides a more concrete definition of these problems under the name OSFED (Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder). A number of the more common EDNOS disorders I listed above have been officially named and specifically recognized! Progress!

Here's a link to some info, it's short and sweet: Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder | National Eating Disorders Association
And another including pretty much what I've stated here, so if I totally confused you then I apologize and maybe her words will make more sense to you lolol: Goodbye EDNOS, Hello OSFED | Jenni Schaefer

This is a quick and simple explanation of this new term, but it's still pretty inadequate. I know the definitions of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa have been stretched a small bit to allow for people that just barely missed fitting the old criteria, which is a move in the right direction, but the criteria is still pretty darn hard to meet. While the weird overgeneralized name EDNOS has been essentially tossed, there's still the problem with the more obscure, and possibly harder to pick up on, disorders not being explained; or at least given some validation from the DSM with a name and definitions. I understand that it's hard to meet every single person's needs, but honestly, it's awful when doctors just don't know how to deal with you since you aren't textbook eating disordered.

All of this is basically to say that yes, you are/have been technically eating disordered, and you need some help to get back on track! I'll warn you though that there are doctors out there that will simply brush it off and tell you (as if you weren't aware already), that you "should just eat healthy" or "aren't in danger". It's actually really good that you're aware of your issues and even more amazing that you've kept track of the changes. If someone totally ignores you, I'd get a second opinion.

The bottom line is: Your current and past problems can damage your body if they remain persistent for long enough, and loss of appetite is definitely something a doctor should be concerned about. This is especially true if you have no clue what the cause is, and even if it is caused by medications or other factors in your life, those factors do need to be reassessed. Doctors are there to try to ease suffering, that's what they're trained and payed to do! You're not crazy for being concerned about this, trust me. :)

I hope this big rant reassured you in some way or was helpful haha. If not, well, I'm really sorry for taking up your time! I hope you find answers soon. <3

^ She said at the post right above you that just yesterday she ate a healthy meal and she thinks that her main problem is that she lacks variety in her meals and eats the same type of tasteless meal all the time. Also, that she can't wait to eat the leftovers today. I don't think she has a problem with a loss of appetite... perhaps only to her usual meals.

I personally don't think she has an eating disorder but perhaps i'm wrong. Either it was pretty interesting to know that there are other eating disorders. I didn't know there are others p:

@ 8a8y: I'm sorry that you've had such a difficult time with your own disorder but I'm happy to know that you are seeking help, even if you're having a hard time getting that help. Thank you for sharing that information about EDNOS. I've never heard of a lot of those disorders but it does make sense that others would exist beyond the big two.

I'm really hoping that my current situation is just a temporary issue and will work towards eating better on my own. If it does persist however, I will definitely go to a doctor and see if they can help diagnose more about what is going on with my appetite.

ziggie i have noticed the less i eat
the less i feel like eating.
i can go for days without eating much at all.
i can be hungry and then the smell of food turns my stomach
it's caused a lot of problems for me but i don't feel i have an eating disorder.
some people will disagree, my doctor included, she wants me to see a shrink
=(
that only makes me more apprehensive about eating!
i have tried to eat a mouthful when i know i should
and that has helped me 'feel' hungry.
it's usually a struggle every single day.
food hates me
i would say 'don't worry'
but i'm worrying for you.....
i have tried to keep a journal of what foods i eat
and how they make me feel so i know what works
i have been told food allergies don't always give you hives and such
sometimes it makes you feel bloated and unable to digest
so that could be some of your problem
i wish there was a magic pill

Congrats on the nice dinner, Zigs :D finding something different to add some variety to your diet can only help. Look at what you said there, you were looking forward to the leftovers for lunch the next day, that says it all :)

Something that I cook that's quick, and has endless variations is noodles and something. This is plain dried noodles, not Ramen or similar. These take about 4 minutes to boil, so I've got those few minutes to whip up something to eat with them ><

I'll chop up some veggies and fry them up while the noodles cook. Might throw a bit of chopped meat in too if I have any.

Fresh tomatoes are great for creating an almost sauce in the pan, I'll add bits of other stuff to that; a teaspoon of pesto, a blob of Greek yoghurt. Then add the drained noodles. Don't drain them entirely, leave a tablespoon or so of the cooking water so that goes in with the veggies too. Helps prevent the noodles from drying out, and adds to the "sauce".

Because you only have the time it takes the water to come up to the boil and the noodles to cook, this meal is never going to take very long, just time for you to look in the fridge and find some things to throw in a pan >< Hmm, I took a pic of the result of this once, because I was talking to a guy via IM at the time, and when I said I'd cooked noodles he assumed I meant Ramen because i'd only been gone a few minutes, I was offended. xD

Looks like I just chucked some butter in with that to make the noodles slippery, naughty jelly :O No more than I'd put on a piece of toast though, so no biggy.

Eating earlier certainly won't do you any harm either. What kind of time do you usually get home from work?

---------- Post added 02-12-2014 at 05:54 PM ----------

Oh, I was gonna say, don't dismiss lentils without giving them a chance. I love them, and they are super healthy. I like to cook equal parts green lentils and rice rather than just rice (I have brown rice, white is blech bland to me). Eating lentils with rice makes the combo a complete protein :) But lentils are a great low GI food, so they keep you fully for longer. Very easy to boil up a bunch and freeze into smaller portions, too. :D

Originally Posted by hummy

i have been told food allergies don't always give you hives and such
sometimes it makes you feel bloated and unable to digest
so that could be some of your problem

Food allergies and food intolerance really can impact how you eat. I have phases that last from a few days to two weeks long where I have issues eating. Tracing back the source, I usually find it has something to do with one of three triggers for me -- 1) garlic, 2) pineapples, or 3) mushrooms. I have a server intolerance to garlic and my stomach doesn't digest properly with pineapples or mushrooms. I do my best to avoid all three, but, from time to time, they slip into my meals (yes, even when telling people I cannot eat them).

If you find that you feel sick or have issues with certain foods, investigate further. See if there's a common ingredient in the foods you've having issues with. It took me about a year to discover that garlic was my issue and, if you know garlic, it's in just about everything. For the past two years, I have spent more time in a store staring at the label than the average person will in a lifetime. It's a pain, but it's worth it in the end.

Also, your body undergoes changes throughout the year. Every seven years, you have a 'new body.' What you might be allergic to now, might not be true in the future. I used to have issues with mangoes. Now I can eat them nonstop and without issues. Hell, I used to be able to eat garlic. Nowadays, within hours of eating it, I'm sick to my stomach and unable to do much.

To make matters worse, you not only do you have to worry about your 7-year changes, but you also have yearly changes too. A friend of mine used to a huge meat eater. She went vegetarian for about a year. Just recently she's been trying to get back into meat. Her body hates it and she's constantly sick. She know has to consume it slowly until she builds up a tolerance for it. Granted, not everyone can do this (I've tried with my garlic issue and, sadly, there was no getting 'better').

Definitely keep trying to figure out what's wrong. Experiment and play with your food. Adding spices (and taking away spices) can help. I know my body hates bland food so I've trained it to love onion powder and celery salt.

Hopefully, it's just a phase and you'll be over it in no time! If you're not, maybe you should try some probiotics? They support a healthy digestive system. They pull out the bad nutrients and resupply your body with the good kind. They're pretty much yogurt, but in pill form. I would check with a pharmacist or doctor first about them, as they aren't recommended for all people. Both my allergist and doctor recommended for me to take them, which is why I have them in my fridge.

Either way, I really hope things start to work out and healthy food becomes tasty again! <3

@ Jelly: I'm a horribly picky eater so while your noodle idea sound amazing, I'm not sure I could really get into that. I don't have a problem with pasta, but I haven't found many sauces that I like. To be honest I haven't tried many though so maybe it is something I could investigate. I'm also not a huge fan of many vegetables though there are a few different ones that I will eat.

If I get out of work on time, I usually get home around 6:00. I sometimes end up staying late though and then I won't get home till 7:00 or after. Things are kind of complicated at home to be honest though. As soon as he gets home, my fiance starts working his second job and he doesn't really get to take a break until 7:00 or 8:00 which is pretty late for dinner... I'll admit I sometimes get caught up in stuff here on Mene as well when I get home and don't always realize the time going by. ^^;

@ Xavrine: I honestly never knew about this every seven years thing, that's kind of crazy! I can definitely see how my diet has changed a lot in the past few years though so I'd definitely believe it.

As for the food allergies, it's a possibility. My digestive system has been feeling a bit out of whack overall lately so it's quite possible that I ate something that just doesn't agree with me. I've started eating more yogurt to try to get everything back into balance but I sometimes forget or run out so maybe the pills would work better for me but like you said, I should probably check with a doctor first.

Speaking of which, I really need to work on finding a good general doctor. I've moved around a lot the past few years and haven't managed to find anyone good. The last one I tried makes you wait in the waiting room for at least two hours after appointment before you can get in to be seen. Needless to say, that's not something I can really deal with, given that I usually try to make appointments during my lunch hour. V_V

Hopefully, whatever the issue goes away or presents itself so you can work on avoiding it all together! I really hope it's not an allergy though. Those are never any fun. :(

Originally Posted by zigbigadorlube

Speaking of which, I really need to work on finding a good general doctor. I've moved around a lot the past few years and haven't managed to find anyone good. The last one I tried makes you wait in the waiting room for at least two hours after appointment before you can get in to be seen. Needless to say, that's not something I can really deal with, given that I usually try to make appointments during my lunch hour. V_V

I need to find one too. I just moved from NY to Massachusetts and I can't say I'm impressed with the rumors I've heard around here. Granted, my doc back home was called Dr. Blazquack. >.<

It is really hard finding a decent doctor AND one that doesn't make you wait for hours on end! x_x And when you're new to the area, ugh it's the worst! I'm tempted to use my boyfriend's doctor who is 2.5 hours from me. It sounds like a pain but, at least he's reputable! And since it's Cape Cod, the odds of their being long wait times in the winter are slim since it's a ghost town right now. XD

I've been sick the past two days so my diet is a little all over the place...

Oh wow, 2 1/2 hours away to see the doctor! My mom does that but it's only once a year to see a specialist. I can't imagine going that far all of the time. Still, I guess it could be easier than trying to find someone you know you can trust. Here in the city I've been using zocdoc.com to find doctors. People can rate and review the doctors and you can sort by specialty and what insurance they take. It's not fail proof but it's easier than going about it blind.

That's a pretty nifty website, Zig! I love how it lists all the insurance types, even down to the exact type mine is. So helpful, especially since I have New York insurance and I live in Mass!

And boo to being sick! But maybe your body is trying to purge the whatever from your system and you'll be back to your usual self in no time. :D That's what I'm rooting for <3

I'm happy I could help! That website has really made my life a whole lot easier.

I really hope you're right about that. I've been mostly surviving off of toast and whatever else I can get myself to eat in the meantime. I did eat a pretty good dinner last night but my throat is bothering me this afternoon and I'm not really in the mood to eat. I'm hungry though so I'll have to scrounge up something soon.

Do you have any Vitamin E? Vitamin E is great for sore throats! And, if you have the gel pills, you can pop it open and let the gel ooze around the shell of the pill. From there, you swallow it and as it falls into your stomach it coats your throat. As odd as it sounds, it works. My allergist recommends this to me whenever my throat hurts. Apparently the gel in Vitamin E is a great lubricant for the throat and it speeds up the healing process. And unlike some pills, Vitamin E doesn't taste terrible (thank gawd).

I've never heard of that before but it sounds really interesting. How do you pop them open? Do you just prick it with a pin?

I dig my fingernail into them (I have long fingernails so it's easy for me), but a pin or sharp knife would work. :D

Ah, ok. I'll have to check that out when I go to the grocery store.

Not necessarily an eating disorder.
I get like that I guess?
Idk not exactly as you describe it but my appetite leaves for weeks to months at a time and I can drop tons of weight within that time u.u
EDs though generally are mental and are done on purpose rather than something you can't control, like your appetite.