Help me eat.

[IlikeyouIlikeyouIlikeyou]

Daft thing that I am.

I'm having a bit of a mental health relapse at the moment. I'm coping with most things, but thinking of eating makes me feel sick. I don't fancy anything to eat and can't really bear the thought of cooking much. I would live on toast, but my toaster is broken.

I don't fancy anything at all, which is unhelpful. I eat mostly anything when I am not all the crazy, except baked beans, because you know, they are evil.

Last time this happened, I lost a vast amount of weight which was fine, because I was very, very fat. Now I'm only a bit fat, and though there's part of me that doesn't mind the weight loss because I'd like to be not fat at all, the last time this happened, the not eating made everything much harder and I can't afford my mental health to spiral as badly as before.

So please tell me easy things that make little mess, and might actually make me want to eat otherwise I just won't bother and for a bonus might provide some sort of nutrition.

When I feel like you do at the moment, either ready meals OR stuff that you can literally put on the plate with no prep are a lifesaver.

Veg, Pitta and hummus
Peanut butter on toast
Readymade salad with mozarella (and if you can do a bit of cooking pancetta too)
Avocado and chill on toast (again with a couple of eggs if you feel able)
Banana on toast
Boiled eggs with marmite soldiers
Toasties (I like ham and cheddar) especially if you can get a toastie machine

Keep going OP you can come out of the other side x

I'm Autistic too and when I feel overwhelmed/ shutdown all I can manage to eat is Pizza or noodles. Sometimes just a bowl of cereal.

Thankfully now my kids are at school and i'm working part time those episodes are very rare.

Just as an aside....many autistic women only realise that they have the condition when their children are diagnosed....

Marmite on a slice of a margherita pizza is lovely!

Another culinary delight when I’ve been ill and not eating is a slice of bread, cut the crusts off. Splosh with milk. Top with cheddar slices or grated. Splosh more milk on. Microwave until cheese and milk bubbles. Drizzle marmite and top with roasted and salted cashew nuts!

I call it hedgehog food! I’m rarely ill but it’s the one quick and easy thing that I can eat if I am!

Been there so empathy and sympathy for me.

I used to get takeaways - couple of starters and still not manage them.

Making stuff can be overwhelming so don't. My GP said "a calorie is a calorie" so stuff like cheese. Pack of crisps. Chocolate.

Anything no faff high calorie. Milkshakes are good - ready made from the shop. Nuts. Even sweets for an energy boost.

If it's more than a couple of weeks you can get fresbutin from the GP - the fruit juice ones are tiny and 300 calories a pop.

Full fat coke. Full fat anything. Ice cream is good.

I couldn't even microwave a ready meal but if I did I got things like sausages and mash or mac and cheese that you can eat with a fork and just pick at.

Second doing a food delivery of snack stuff. Pate, chocolate, clotted cream. Orange juice protein shakes.

I could manage cereal. Full fat milk and fancy high calorie granola sometimes with cream instead of milk. Cakes.

I know the feeling of walking into pret and walking out again because I just didn't fancy anything and knew I would eat it anyway.

I would try to eat at least 1000 calories a day but struggled. Anything you can manage us better than nothing.

It's crap. Hand hold.

From me! Not for me. That would be weird.

I get the too much choice thing - there's no way I'm ever entering Subway again now they've expanded their menu, it already had too many options!
I like to meal plan once a week and do an online shop then I don't have to worry about it. Could your DP or a friend do this for you? Then you'd just have to follow the plan.
I think you are right to try to eat as well as you can even if you don't feel like it. When I get to "beyond hungry" I lose the ability to make any decisions and someone has to lead me to food or I'll just shut down. And that's without any other mental health crisis on top of that!

A quick meal I like is pasta, stir in a bit of good olive oil, add halved cherry toms, salt, pepper, Parmesan.

From my pregnancy sickness days-

A box of instant mash next to the kettle. Just boil the kettle, mix in a bowl. Done. Add butter or cheese for extra nutrition.

Also, breakfast cereal bars. Also in a box on the counter.

High calorie low effort - a baked Camembert! Crisps. Fruit platter (melted chocolate and also marshmallows for dipping).
I’ve been where you are OP, it’s hard to motivate yourself to even care about eating but because you’re not nourishing your body everything slowly becomes that bit harder.
Make life as easy as possible.

When I'm anxious I completely go off food - my go to foods are yogurt and Philadelphia spread sandwiches. It fills a hole....then when the anxiety goes I'm starving and eat loads 😂

Just as an aside....many autistic women only realise that they have the condition when their children are diagnosed....

Appreciate what you're saying. When she was diagnosed I gave some thought to it myself, but I don't really show any traits. This is my C-PTSD rearing its charming head again.

I couldn't even microwave a ready meal but if I did I got things like sausages and mash or mac and cheese that you can eat with a fork and just pick at.

Things like this are so reassuring. I'm sorry you have had to feel like this too, but it makes me feel a little less alone with it. I'm normally hugely capable, and this gets me down so much.

Thank you everyone by the way. More suggestions welcome. I managed to go to the supermarket this evening and made my poor DP talk to me on the phone about his day while I wandered around throwing random items of instantly eatable food into a trolley. Let's skip over the part where I considered leaving it there, because I realised I'd have to put it all in the fridge when I got home. I'm starting to think maybe this is just extreme laziness.

Now it's in the fridge and I'm sitting on the sofa writing on here instead of eating, but it feels a bit more manageable. I appreciate it.

Something to think about too OP is when you do manage to go to the shop and get stuff, get more than you think because you don't know when you'll feel up to doing it again - I tried to do this as it takes the pressure off you for a few days. Sorry you're feeling so anxious it's a horrible thing to go through 😔

I did that. Yay me! I did also have to throw out a bag full of food that I've been ignoring for a week, but most of what I've bought is long lasting stuff, so it'll last a while.

OK, Ilike, go to fridge, grab some cheese or chicken, and slice a tomato or cucumber or apple. Then come back to MN & tell us what you bought. We can make you a meal plan and then you won’t need to think about it.

High protein full fat yogurt or Skir will keep you going for ages. Also try Weetabix with full fat milk or porridge with cream and honey, then mashed potato with lots of butter and grated cheese, oh and soup, and you will be fine.

I am you. The easier it is to eat is best, like baby food or something, it is comforting. I have a swallowing issue, so this works for me, I have not lost a kilo or anything near it, and feel good too. Not much crap in my diet though. I take a multivit every day too.

Everyone is different. I find going out to eat a bit of a trial though. But I get by.

I will eat, a bit later, I promise, but I'm still settling down from all the supermarket excitement.

But I bought..

Tomatoes, crispy potato slices, grapes, bagels, emmenthal (sp?) cheese, cream cheese, an antipasto plate (olives, sundried tomatoes, cheese), spicy chicken pieces, pastrami, mozzarella, sliced chicken, smoked salmon, some sort of garlicky roule cheese, eggs, raspberry yoghurt, apples, milk. I think that's it.

I'm not sure it's very meal plannable though. The only thing I sensibly planned was a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel because it was the sandwich that got made for me last week, and I ate that. I'm mostly intending to pick at it all until this subsides.

I'm having a very middle class crisis apparently.

You just eat what you want and like, and feel in the humour for.

Whatever it is doesn't matter right now. Wishing you the best.

Twiglets! Basically ready-made Marmite on toast! Plus you need the salt if you’re not eating much else.

Potato waffles and slightly posher pot noodles can be handy too, again, v limited choice I have a particular flavour of a particular brand.

Potato waffles with cheese all melted on top of them were a staple of my teenage years.

I had similar happen to me after something traumatic and lost way too much weight, had no appetite, felt sick even thinking of food let alone putting it in my mouth. A few months down the line and my dh had words with me thinking I had developed an eating disorder. I made a conscious effort to force feed myself and I had to send him a photo of what I was eating. 3 meals a day. To begin with it was a single bite of toast for breakfast, half an apple for lunch, a couple of veggie nuggets at dinner. Before long my appetite came back and I regained my weight but I did have to push myself through the first couple weeks, even if I was gagging, I chewed and swallowed.

Hope everything ok op

Tomatoes, crispy potato slices, grapes, bagels, emmenthal (sp?) cheese, cream cheese, an antipasto plate (olives, sundried tomatoes, cheese), spicy chicken pieces, pastrami, mozzarella, sliced chicken, smoked salmon, some sort of garlicky roule cheese, eggs, raspberry yoghurt, apples, milk. I think that's it.

Jealous of your fridge now! Well done. That’s an excellent haul.

To be honest, I’d eat the smoked salmon & cream cheese bagel over and over until salmon all gone. Yum.
I might mix it up for breakfast with some scrambled egg instead of the cream cheese (do it in microwave if the idea of standing stirring at the stove is off putting.

Crispy potato slices with a fried egg (if you can face frying it) sounds yum too.

And yes to just picking at it. It all sounds deliciously picky.

Mozzarella & chicken & sun dried tomato would be a winning bagel combo too.

Peanut butter and honey sandwiches on plain brown bread.