What to do/eat when eating makes me feel sick?

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I work VERY hard to maintain my mental health and I'm becoming more and more aware of the importance of proper nutrition in this area. I need help on idiot-proofing my "make sure I get enough nutrition" plan.

Sometimes I can't stand to put food inside my body--sometimes I can't even drink water (which I usually love), although I try to choke it down when I have the willpower. It's a sensory thing. Sometimes eating will make me feel like vomiting--and to make matters worse, certain foods (usually processed or packaged foods) actually DO make me sick, so I need to try to avoid those. I can't just force down a protein bar or something and expect to feel okay.

The longer this goes on, the harder it becomes to eat sometimes, and I'll get dizzy and have trouble standing and thinking, which I HATE. I start shaking and my anxiety and sensory issues get worse and my executive functioning skills plummet to the point where once I DO decide I want to eat, I can't figure out how to eat anymore! If it gets to that point, without help I'll end up suffering until I get so hungry that I'll just grab whatever food's closest to me and eat it--and sometimes that will shock my system to the point where I vomit afterwards. Sometimes I end up having to crawl around for a while.

I want to prevent it from getting that bad. Does anyone have any ideas for coping mechanisms, foods that are relatively easy to eat, or anything else of that nature for the times when I don't want to eat? I can't always spend a long time exercising or whatever in preparation for eating food because sometimes I have to get up and go to class, or I forget that I need food until I stand up and everything goes black and I fall over.

I did read the post, but I'm still not entirely understanding why you have difficulty eating.

Is it color/taste/texture, hard to chew/swallow problems, digestion issues?

Firstly, I will start on recommendations for your macronutrients - that is Protein, Fats and Fibre.

I would first and foremost suggest liquid breakfast drinks.

These are exactly what they sound like, and are essentially Cereal in a bottle.

They can be quite costly, but a 6pk is usually the same price as a regular box of cereal (in Australia, about $8).

A cereal box of that size would be equivalent to about 20 servings, so to buy liquid breakfast drink would be 6 servings for the price of 20.

Unfortunate, but a necessary compromise.

Liquid breakfast drinks are very nutritious and provide everything you'd get from eating a heathly wholegrain cereal with milk, along with providing a healthy form of 'fast food' and convenience.

Rather than get mcdonalds or such on your way to work, you can have a liquid breakfast drink in the parking lot in just a minute.

The most popular one's here are UP&GO's, but there are many others and to find some in your area you'd probaby just have to do some simple looking.

They are typically a milk-based drink and basically feel and taste like milk but flavored - e.g. Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, banana, etc.

For breakfast I drink 2 UP&GO Energize and a glass of milk. This totals to around 40g Protein, 15g Fats, 4g Fibre, and 75g Carbohydrates all in one serving. Considering I eat 6 meals a day, this is a GREAT start as it's already half the amount of protein I need for my growing body, about a quarter of the fat I need, 1/5th Fibre and 1/4.5th Carbs.

Second, if you can drink it, I would recommend actual milk.

Milk is something of a 'super-drink' heavy in nutritional value and helps kickstart chemicals in the brain to make one feel more happy and relaxed.

Finally, there are softer meats such as various forms of sliced ham, rather than hard to chew ones such as beef and pork.

A ham sandwich on bread with side serving of softer/chopped up veggies makes a great combination for a lunch/snack meal.

And now, my suggestions for getting your micronutrients, which is stuff such as your vitamins and minerals.

Firstly, if you can swallow pills with water, I suggest a daily Multi-vitamin tablet.

If you have the milk and liquid breakfast, these drinks are already high in both macro and micronutrient content, so you're already halfway there if you can do all these things.

Perhaps when you eat fruits and vegetables you can blend them together into a nice health drink to drink them slowly at the same time (slow sips, not big scull or gulps).

Can you eat nuts and seeds such as Almond nuts, macadamia, quinoa, and rice?

I also suggest soft types of tofu.

You sound very concerned about this.

Why so? Are you actually losing significant amounts of weight due to lack of food and water and are underweight and otherwise dizzy, weak and anxious?

Perhaps, the best plan of action to do first, would be to consult medical attention to see if you have any health conditions or eating disorders you may not know about.

Once you visit your doctor, follow their advice but perhaps ask about or just start implenting my suggestions on your own to see what works for you.

Good luck.

think you're becoming a ghoul .....no really, but what is it that makes eating hard?the taste?texture?appearance?aroma?...try home cooking