Under eating recovery

[Pinkandpurplehairedlady]

I've been undereating for a long time and have made myself quite physically ill. I have brain fog, get dizzy standing up and have fatigue. My GP is quite supportive and I had some blood tests to see if I'm deficient in anything (I'm already under the mental health team so am getting support there). He's told me to eat three meals a day and have 3 snacks which I'm trying to do even though the idea of eating that much food makes me feel ill. My question is how long will it take for the extra food to make a difference? I'm really struggling but if I know it's going to help will try and persevere.

I would think the benefits should take effect quite quickly, maybe not so much weight gain but definitely energy levels. Try high calorie, low bulk foods and plenty of protein so you don't feel like you're stuffing yourself too much - nuts, seeds, full fat diary, eggs, chicken, turkey, oily fish. Use wholemeal bread, rice and pasta so you're not sugar crashing on white carbs so much.

Good advice from pp. My first dp was type 1 diabetic testing his blood sugars minimum three times a day, so I got really familiar with how energy and sugar ebbs and flows in your bloodstream depending on how much and when and what you eat. The good news is: eating will have a rapid effect on your body.

Lots of small meals will stop your blood sugar from crashing so easily and you should quickly feel much better.

A snack could be a glass of flavoured milk and a handful of berries; a banana; a small handful of nuts and raisins; a yoghurt; a bowl of stewed apple - it can be quite light and easily consumed. And then build up from there.

make sure you always have a snack in your pocket or handbag - a cereal bar or an apple is an easy thing to keep in your bag on hot days - don’t let yourself have an excuse to forget to eat.

make sure you stay well hydrated, take small light exercise which will help stimulate your appetite (heavy exercise can make you feel less hungry I often find), and get enough sleep! IME you will feel rubbish and groggy and not at all hungry for breakfast if you are sleeping badly/not enough and then the day starts off with a long fast which isn’t going to kick start your metabolism. Getting up quite early so your body wakes up before you have to eat, is also a good idea, so you don’t have to bolt down breakfast right after you wake up.