Not eating right! Help?

[Mothercooter]

Since starting my new job which Im constantly moving, walking, on my feet for 7 hours straight I have been losing more but I have developed a bad habit or not eating right. I dont know when it started but I guess the first week of being too busy to fix myself a good lunch to take so I didnt eat at lunch at all (nope, not cheating) Instead, I have found myself only eating super small amounts like twice a day. Not getting near enough carbs or calories for that matter and I know this is hurting me and probably throwing my body into fat storing mode instead of fat burning but I didnt even realize until recently how little I had started eating and how few and far between my meals were.

The thought of food is not appetizing anymore nor do I even want to eat. I have finally went out and bought groceries (that solves one prob as I was out of all atkins legal foods besides eggs and a little dairy) and now I am going to start taking a nice lunch and make myself eat it.

I tried to get 3 small meals in the other day, Ate breakfast, then a small meal (hotdog, no bun) right before going to work (late lunch 2pm) but then couldnt bring myself to eat my dinner because I wasnt hungry. Or...I will eat a late breakfast(I sleep late working afternoons) and if I do, Im not hungry before work so I only get the dinner at work in. I just cant seem to fit 3 meals in.

Why is the thought of food not appetizing anymore? Why am I never hungry? Is this just ketosis and I can break it if I force myself to eat more even though I feel full? I just dont want to get back in that habit that took yrs to break of eating when not full. Would two nice meals be enough if I snack on some nice protein and fat rich snacks a few times between those meals? I dont know, just wanting to get back on track.

Just because I havent eaten sweets or carbs, I know its still getting off track of atkins so Im trying to get back on it and im just a little worried because I have had eating disorders since I was a teen and dealt with anorexia and bulemia and never want to go down that path again but its a slippery slope and I always seems to be trading one eating disorder for another (like when I traded anorexia and bulemia for over eating and gained 120 lbs! Now, Im on track with atkins for several months and food doesnt rule my world anymore and I seem to have a normal relationship with it again and then this sneaks up on me where food is becomeing an issue again. I guess I just need some advice.

[Elizellen]

Re: Not eating right! Help?

Would two nice meals be enough if I snack on some nice protein and fat rich snacks a few times between those meals?

I would think that would work fine as long as you dont 'waste' what little hunger you have on nutrient poor foods when you do eat.

[Mothercooter]

Re: Not eating right! Help?

Yeah I am trying to get the best nutrition in when I do. Such as creamed spinach (homeade with heavy cream and butter) and chicken breast chunks and try and get a small salad in there but I usually cant so i try for salad veggies instead such as mushrooms or cucumber slices. Or at least this is what I am trying to do now that I have noticed the prob. Before I was eating 1 or 2 scrambled eggs in the morning maybe with cheese then nothing until 2 or 3 and if I ate then, it was a hotdog weiny and then nothing else the rest of the day, or if I didnt eat then, I would eat at work and in walmart, ready made food is limited so I would go to the deli and get a few slices of roast beef and swiss cheese or buy some string cheese and a pack of pepperoni. No carbs for the whole day sometimes. Sometimes I would buy some fresh blueberries or grape tomatos too but that was rare. I am getting back on track now though. Just have to make my meals count is all and rely on quality instead of quantity.

[quotidianlight]

Re: Not eating right! Help?

I bring lots of snacks that add up to several good sized meals and then just much when I can and eat a good breakfast. You do want to make sure you are eating enough for two reasons, not eating enough not only can stall loss but can also cause chemical changes that can start an eating disorder. I also notice I eat more if I eat more cooked veggies and less salad. Salad tends to fill me up too much. Good luck.

[TheDogAteMyName]

Re: Not eating right! Help?

This sounds a lot like me when I first started this WOL. I was flat out not hungry (and I'm still not) and to even think of food made me almost sick. I have learned to eat mini-meals throughout the day so I do get enough calories. Breakfast is getting harder for me, but I've found that not eating within the first 2 hours of waking up helps me. If I wake up at 6:00a.m., I won't even think about munching on something until 8:00a.m.

[mistydawn73]

Re: Not eating right! Help?

I was the same way when I was on Atkins before. ( starting again and for the final time June 1st ) I can remember around the second week, I was no longer hungery and the thought of food made me sick. My daughter would tell me, Mommy, you have to eat something, and she would give me a chunk of cheese, or a fresh vegetable to eat or a boiled egg. I was affraid that if I didnt eat, my body would go into a starvation mode, and I would gain or stall on my weight. So, what I would do, is every 3 hours or so, I would eat something that was legal on Atkins, even though I wasn't hungry. I was also drinking alot of water. I craved water all the time, which is very unusal, for I never really use to drink water much..........Hang in there, and try to eat a little something so your body keeps burning!

[Creek]

Re: Not eating right! Help?

I did a little research on this topic because I take medication (synthroid) in the morning that requires an empty stomach, and a two hour wait for food. I haven't eaten breakfast for twenty years, but I do eat lunch around 11 AM. The Atkins rule is that you should not go more than 6 waking hours without food. Since I wake up at 6 AM, and eat by 11 AM, I haven't had any problem with just eating lunch and dinner. I do however, eat good quality meals and get at least the minimum of induction vegetables spread between those two meals.