Forgetting to eat

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I take a fairly high dose of ritalin to make me an acceptable human being, and of course one of the side effects is that it kills appetite. I then get all wrapped up in doing ther stuff that I forget to eat. And if I dont forget, I cant be bothered cos I can think of a million and one better things to be doing than making boring food. To me all food is boring, I just dont enjoy eating.

Anyone got any tips about how to make food more eciting, or how to remind myself to put down the remote/rugby ball/ laptop/ whatever Im doing, and come inside to get foods.

I don't take ritalin nor have I ever, but I too find that I HATE to eat. Food is just a chore and I often find myself not eating. I don't know if it's an AS thing, my whole immediate family has AS and we all hate the process of eating.

I suppose all you have to do is treat it like a chore and get it out and over the way, because let's face it, it is boring, but you couldn't live with out it

I've been starting to feel this way, and to me it's kind of weird cause I do enjoy food. Maybe my metabolism is slowing due to the Seasonal Affective Disorder.

I don't really eat during the traditional meal times, I just eat when I get hungry.
I start work at noon and I'll eat lunch around 4 or 5, but I won't eat again till around 10 or even 11 pm.

This has caused some problems when family visit because they expect me to eat when they do.

i was on methylphenidate for a few months (same drug as ritalin but mine was concerta, so it's extended release, and actually a really cool pill if you read how it works) and i found the same thing. i'd get so focused on whatever i was doing that i'd completely forget about eating, which is normal if i'm obsessing about something, but the medication would also kill the feeling of hunger that would normally make me get up to get something to eat. i had to remind myself to eat, and it wasn't always easy because i didn't feel like eating.

now i'm on dexedrine. the reason i switched is because the concerta started making me tired during the day (i actually fell asleep in class on a stimulant) even if i had a good night of sleep, and the comedown at the end of the day was pretty bad, i'd get irritable, nothing interested me, and it was just generally unpleasant. now with the new medication i'm able to focus well, but i don't get tired and the comedown at the end of the day isn't nearly as bad, it isn't pleasant, but it's so mild that had i forgotten i was taking medication i wouldn't think it was too far out of the ordinary. the other thing about the old meds is that i definitely felt like i was on something, now i barely even notice the medication.

the catch with the new stuff is that it kills my appetite so much worse than the methylphenidate did. i actually find it difficult to eat. after a few bites of food i feel full and it takes a lot of effort to get any more down. it's definitely a lot worse right at the beginning of the day (i take the extended release formulation) when the meds just start working, so i have to make sure i eat either before taking them or right after because if i forget to eat it'll be hard to get enough down for the day. the other thing i've found that helps is if you eat small portions throughout the day. it will probably feel like a chore to get it down, but you've just got to tell yourself that it's something that's got to be done and shovel it down. the other thing you can try is having a glass of water or milk with you when you eat to wash it down. i've found that strong tasting foods are harder to eat than weaker tasting foods, so if i can get the taste out of my mouth it's easier to get more down. i've also started trying to eat more calorie-dense foods because that way you can get your energy in smaller portions so you don't have to eat as much. so instead of drinking water i'll drink juice or milk, i'll use mayonnaise on my sandwiches, pretty much the opposite of what you would do to lose weight.

LOL. It's funny, cause I thought I was the only person whom forgets to eat.

I don't take anything, but I always forget to eat. I have to remind myself.

I am always forgetting too, which is not good, since I am diabetic.

Something that both over and undereaters may want to try is setting up a day's (or week's) worth of food and split it up to where you are eating small and often. This will help the overeaters with portion control, and the undereaters with their disinterest in food (as it is a small amount, and eating can be done quickly). The big part is preparing and scheduling. I am not that great with the prep-and-schedule, so this is more of an "as I say" post than an "as I do" post.

I have lost a lot of weight since just last year, and I have been eating less because my stomach can't hold as much food.

I've always forgotten to eat.
At work, people are always telling to go take my lunch.. partly because we rotate out of the lab based upon when mid-shift comes up for each of us.

I don't have AS, although I relate quite well to many of the traits of AS.
I do have ADD/HD (which I am now calling... Attention Difference Display/Happy Dance... ).

But before and even after taking meds, I always forgot to eat.

Now... I can eat like a pig... especially when I am upset, but I'm only now hitting 218lbs and I'm 6'2".

But back to your question...

Carry it with you!

Now-a-days, we have all those little snack bars and gels.
You could even get those gooey fruit globs for a bit of variety.

I'm not proposing that you substitute a complete meal with these, but they can be a help during the day if you do forget to stop and eat a regular meal.

I like Tiger Milk bars myself.. the peanut butter ones. If I can find them on sale, I can get them for around $0.60 a piece.

If you have a car, put some in the console or glovebox (although I'd be prone to forgetting they were there), or just in a bag on the seat.

When I am in school, I always take a P.E. class first thing in the morning.
I have been able to make it a habit, finally, to leave my breakfast on top of my backpack(my books and laptop), so I see it when I come back to the car to grab my stuff for class.
Otherwise, I would grab my backpack and wander off to class without eating, since I don't like to eat before P.E.

That's the only way I have found to eat more consistently.... carry snack bars around with me (I sometimes have apples or other fruit also), and/or put my food out where I am most likely to see it when I need something like my car keys or backpack.

Basically it has to be visible for me, or else I'm likely to forget it.

The only other thing I can suggest is to have a kid...lol.... yeah... when I am responsible for feeding my daughter, I usually remember pretty well to fix meals.
The problem there is that I don't keep much in the way of food in the house, because I'm always forgetting to go shopping.
I generally shop for the day's meals, the same day we want to eat them.

I always forget to eat, it's too much trouble to prepare a meal and disrupt my schedule. This is something I really have to work on. I eat about two meals a day. I'm not on any medication

I normally eat when I'm hungry. I had to force myself to start eating breakfast though. I never used to eat anything in the morning but now I do. It became a habit after a while. I prefer to eat at night though my mum normally keeps asking me if I've eaten during the day so I don't forget.

I forget to eat a lot...I'd rather be doing something else. At the times when I am hungry enough to actually bother with eating, it's usually something like 2 AM at night. I can't stand eating in the morning or at lunch time. In the morning especially, since that's when I naturally want to sleep (I don't get tired until really late at night) and the last thing I want when I'm trying to stay awake is to eat something! When my parents ask about this I ask them what they think it would be like if someone woke them up in the middle of the night and told them to eat something right then.

I do get hungry in the day sometimes but I just don't feel like eating so I don't. On non-school days I don't eat until the late evening. I think my problem is mostly that I just don't want to eat at the right times and want to eat at the wrong times so sometimes I just don't eat at all.