To not bother eating?

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Came down with some sort of cold last Monday and have barely eaten since. I am hungry, but the thought of food isn’t appetising and the idea of making food is exhausting. I don’t normally have a sweet tooth but a bag of sweets or chocolate is what I’ve been living off. Today I had a double cheeseburger from McDonald’s which I normally love but could’ve happily stopped after half. Im now forcing myself to have boiled eggs and toast just so I’ve had something else to eat, but actually, do I have to? Would it make me heinously ill just to not bother eating until food appeals? Half of google says I’ll make myself worse and the other half that it’s fine.

Usually I make homemade UPF free food 90% of the time but I’ve simply got no appetite for it nor energy to make it.

Id just listen to your body but try to eat nutrient rich food when you can to help fight the infection

When I’m sick and feel like that I soup the most bearable thing to eat.

Sorry you’re feeling shitty.

I came on here to say the same thing, I particularly like chicken soup in this situation (apologies if you're vegetarian) you can get some good ones in the fresh section in the supermarket. Hope you feel better soon

Thank you. I bought some tomato soup thinking it’s the classic relief food. It’s still it’s tin, the idea of it turns my stomach.

Have you ever heard the saying 'feed a cold, starve a fever'? I know you don't feel like eating and nothing seems appetising but your body needs energy as it tries to fight it off. Try comforting foods that you usually enjoy or get the calories in by adding extra nourishment eg peanut butter to porridge, butter on veg etc. hope you feel better soon!

I'd always be inclined to listen to your body in these situations. A few days without food is not going to cause you any long-term problems, and trying to force yourself to eat when you've no appetite is miserable. Just try to stay hydrated.

If you live alone and don't feel like cooking, I'd do something like scrambled eggs.

Even if it's just 2 or 3 eggs and no toast, it's better than nothing.

There's a time for making sensible and healthy decisions when it comes to food, and a time for eating whatever you can manage. This is definitely the latter. I hope you feel better soon

The important thing is to keep hydrated so force yourself to sip water throughout the day. Eating is less important so just manage what you can.

I often feel like this, my ‘emergency food’ is a tin of big chunky chicken soup and a par-baked baguette which takes 6mins in an air fryer. It’s not ideal but a lot better than nothing. As others say keep drinking. I have a 2l bottle which I make up with squash and keep by the sofa as getting up and moving to get a drink often seems like too much effort.

You’ll be fine not eating it’s staying hydrated that’s key really but something like toast is usually well tolerated when unwell

Every time I've had Covid I've completely lost my appetite. First time, I lost a lot of weight very fast (but I could stand to lose it). Unfortunately this made me very weak and shaky. So I forced myself to eat the bare minimum to stop the weight loss, or at least drastically slow it down, and get some vitamins and minerals into me.

Unless you are already underweight, I doubt fasting will do you any harm. Just ensure you keep well-hydrated and try to get some vitamins and minerals into you to keep you going until until your appetite returns.

Soup or a smoothie maybe? Or that Complan stuff chemists sell (though I've heard they taste horrid).

If you can be arsed, something along these lines will sort you out! Nigellas is my go to (in her Feast book) but this is similar, I don't bother with the balls.

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken/jewish-penicillin/

Far too much effort for me at the moment but will 100% give it a go once improved. Sounds delicious.

Actually a smoothie sounds okay. Yoghurt and fruit are mildly appetising.

When I feel like this I buy drinks like kefir yoghurt drinks, chocolate milk and fresh orange juice. Or make healthy hot chocolate with just milk and cacao. Mixed spice added to hot chocolate with squirty cream on top is also good.

Just keep drinking, and maybe try broth or thin soup. Beware of relying on sugar though, as it becomes a habit really quickly. I was a person with no sweet tooth at all but I did exactly that when I was very ill for about a month in 2018 - I lived off sour sweets - the sugar cravings became strong and it took me about two years to get fully back to normal. I'd suggest snacking on cheese or meat instead.

You'll be fine
I had nothing but half a pack of hula hoops, cans of coke and the odd fruit pastille for 10 days with food poisoning
I did lose 17lbs but don't recommend it

I’d probably just have the toast.

if fruit or smoothie is appealing then that’s what to go with I would think.

If you don't want to eat it's probably fine as long as you are having plenty of fluids. When you get your appetite back you will probably be ravenous.

Should say I did drink loads though, water, cups of tea, whatever I fancied

When I'm like this I can usually manage yogurt and plain biscuits like digestives
Hydration is more important than food, so I'd say follow your appetite until it comes back.
Eating junk for a few days doesn't matter.

Just be careful- I ended up eating no more than a bag of crisps in a week and my sodium/sugars went wildly out of synch and was very ill. Hallucinating and in hospital- I am not slim so assumed I was OK and would just lose a few pounds which was fine with me. Drank tonnes of water which flushed everything out.
Make sure you keep hydrated but try a little sugary/salty food too until you are up to easy meals - scrambled eggs/soup etc. Maybe just crisps and haribo?

I really feel your pain. When I'm sick, I have a dreadful appetite and know that if I try and force myself to eat, it will 100% be vomited back up. As PPs have said, hydration is the key. Sugary squash, smoothies, milk, soup. Once you've got a bit of nutrition inside you, appetite hopefully slowly returns.