Please help me eat more!
March 14, 2015 7:29 PM Subscribe
Recently, I went on Zoloft for depression, and the primary side effect for me is that it kills my appetite. Nothing seems good. It's frequently an effort to convince myself to eat something, even when I know I'm hungry. Unfortunately, nearly all the suggestions I can find for issues with eating is either a) diet stuff or b) geared towards people with anorexia nervosa, which I do not have. (No body image issues here, thanks!) How can I get calories inside me more reliably?
I am generally not a person who is good about getting food into me and I lose appetite relatively frequently anyway, but the Zoloft has really made things worse. Compounding the problem, if I don't eat for too long I get headaches and I get confused and emotionally reactive, and that sucks for everyone.... and makes it harder to convince myself to eat more later.
I have had some success by making it as easy for there to be food right to hand as I possibly can--here having snacks and making my own frozen meals has been great. Having a routine, where I always eat at X time of day because it is eating time, is also great--when I can stick to it. If I'm not going to work that day, my routines tend to dissolve. When I'm really having a hard time eating, it's like my hindbrain is a toddler who has discovered the joy of "no!"--I'll come up with ideas for stuff in my fridge (including but not limited to frozen stuff), and every time I'll get back "no I don't want that." If I try to make myself eat it anyway, I get distracted relatively quickly or feel more intensely uninterested than before. This isn't simple pickiness--it's stuff that most of the time I would say is awesome, tasty food.
I am almost always happy to drink even if my jerkbrain doesn't want to eat, so I have laid in a lot of Carnation Instant Breakfast, but it doesn't provide as many calories as I would like it to when I use it as a form of meal replacement. Other suggestions for stuff to mix into milk would be fine. I love to cook and have laid in things like pizza dough and pasta which should be easy to make, but I feel pretty gun-shy about buying food I have no immediate use for and which is perishable--since I've had to throw out a lot of food when it goes bad since I wouldn't eat it. And I hate putting in the effort and spending the time cooking food just for me when I feel like I might or might not actually eat it at the end.
Ideas for other ideas for things I can have lying around for eating that won't go bad soon and are ready with minimal prep work would be AWESOME. So would ideas for talking my hindbrain into just eating a goddamn granola bar, if any of you have experience in that field.
I am generally not a person who is good about getting food into me and I lose appetite relatively frequently anyway, but the Zoloft has really made things worse. Compounding the problem, if I don't eat for too long I get headaches and I get confused and emotionally reactive, and that sucks for everyone.... and makes it harder to convince myself to eat more later.
I have had some success by making it as easy for there to be food right to hand as I possibly can--here having snacks and making my own frozen meals has been great. Having a routine, where I always eat at X time of day because it is eating time, is also great--when I can stick to it. If I'm not going to work that day, my routines tend to dissolve. When I'm really having a hard time eating, it's like my hindbrain is a toddler who has discovered the joy of "no!"--I'll come up with ideas for stuff in my fridge (including but not limited to frozen stuff), and every time I'll get back "no I don't want that." If I try to make myself eat it anyway, I get distracted relatively quickly or feel more intensely uninterested than before. This isn't simple pickiness--it's stuff that most of the time I would say is awesome, tasty food.
I am almost always happy to drink even if my jerkbrain doesn't want to eat, so I have laid in a lot of Carnation Instant Breakfast, but it doesn't provide as many calories as I would like it to when I use it as a form of meal replacement. Other suggestions for stuff to mix into milk would be fine. I love to cook and have laid in things like pizza dough and pasta which should be easy to make, but I feel pretty gun-shy about buying food I have no immediate use for and which is perishable--since I've had to throw out a lot of food when it goes bad since I wouldn't eat it. And I hate putting in the effort and spending the time cooking food just for me when I feel like I might or might not actually eat it at the end.
Ideas for other ideas for things I can have lying around for eating that won't go bad soon and are ready with minimal prep work would be AWESOME. So would ideas for talking my hindbrain into just eating a goddamn granola bar, if any of you have experience in that field.
How long have you been on it? Is it proving efficacious enough so far for you to stick with it? Side effects of SSRIs usually wane after a month or two for most people, so hang in there! In the meantime, might be worth emphasizing more in your diet relatively caloric-dense foods like peanut butter, nuts, full fat greek yogurt, etc. You could try making peanut butter banana milkshakes (combine pb+banana(s)+milk in blender, blend, drink!) and variations on that, which are actually pretty healthy and easy to make.
posted by un petit cadeau at 7:40 PM on March 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by un petit cadeau at 7:40 PM on March 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
If you're okay drinking liquids, why not add some protein powder to your milk? It will add some calories and nutrients to your drinks.
Also, I agree with the previous reply suggesting nuts. They are shelf stable, easy to eat, and have a lot of calories.
posted by barnoley at 7:50 PM on March 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Also, I agree with the previous reply suggesting nuts. They are shelf stable, easy to eat, and have a lot of calories.
posted by barnoley at 7:50 PM on March 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I've been on it for about six months, and this is actually the stage at which the appetite side effect has worn off about as much as it's going to. For a few weeks there I was pretty much living off the Carnation Instant Breakfast I mentioned above, plus ice cream.
posted by sciatrix at 7:57 PM on March 14, 2015
posted by sciatrix at 7:57 PM on March 14, 2015
Best answer: Avocado smoothies?
Since you love to cook, maybe soups but homemade and then pureed. Something with full-fat coconut milk, red lentils and lemongrass, or a spicy peanut soup with tomatoes, sweet potatoes, peanut butter. Or a chilled avocado soup with yogurt, lime and basil. Those will have more calories and nutrients than most canned soups and will be easy to freeze.
If this doesn't diminish in time, maybe go back to the doctor and ask about trying something else.
posted by bunderful at 7:59 PM on March 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
Since you love to cook, maybe soups but homemade and then pureed. Something with full-fat coconut milk, red lentils and lemongrass, or a spicy peanut soup with tomatoes, sweet potatoes, peanut butter. Or a chilled avocado soup with yogurt, lime and basil. Those will have more calories and nutrients than most canned soups and will be easy to freeze.
If this doesn't diminish in time, maybe go back to the doctor and ask about trying something else.
posted by bunderful at 7:59 PM on March 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
Ideas for other ideas for things I can have lying around for eating that won't go bad soon and are ready with minimal prep work
Cheese, crackers, bread for toasting and slathering with butter and/or cheese, nut, nut butters, bananas (in fridge or freezer), good chocolate.
posted by bunderful at 8:01 PM on March 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Cheese, crackers, bread for toasting and slathering with butter and/or cheese, nut, nut butters, bananas (in fridge or freezer), good chocolate.
posted by bunderful at 8:01 PM on March 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I've had some experience with anti-depressants killing my appetite (although not to the same extent). However I have had a lot of experience with depression sapping all my energy and motivation to make or go out for regular meals. During those periods I exist on the following: Greek yogurt, mixed with some variation of honey, granola, berries; hummus with raw veggies or rice crackers; crispbread with smoothed avocado, olive oil and red pepper flakes; sliced turkey breast and sliced cheese; apple slices with peanut butter; prepared soups (TJS + WF carry some in boxes--like large juice boxes--that are tastier and perhaps healthier than canned options): canned cannellini or garbanzo beans with olive oil, salt and pepper or almond milk mixed with flavored protein powder or Spiruten (I think that's the brand name) that has a lot of vitamins added. I don't have a microwave, but if I did I'd add some frozen meals. In general Trader Joes is your friend for pre-packaged, relatively healthy and not-to-expensive prepared food/snacks. If you have one nearby, I'd go and load up on things that might tempt you to eat more frequently.
posted by kaybdc at 8:23 PM on March 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by kaybdc at 8:23 PM on March 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Pick a food that can be palatable when at room temperature (I would do mashed potatoes or pasta) and take a bite every once and a while as you do something you enjoy. It may take you two hours to consume what you used to in fifteen minutes, but you'll get the calories in. I learned that foods high in fats helped me meet calorie requirements when my appetite problems got in the way. Bonus, they often taste good.
You could also look into weight building nutrition powders for folks who have trouble putting on healthy weight. They'd probably be more calorific than carnation instant and therefore save you in the long run.
posted by gilsonal at 8:52 PM on March 14, 2015
You could also look into weight building nutrition powders for folks who have trouble putting on healthy weight. They'd probably be more calorific than carnation instant and therefore save you in the long run.
posted by gilsonal at 8:52 PM on March 14, 2015
Higher calorie foods you can eat with other foods :
Peanut butter
Dairy butter
Cheeses
Pecans and other nuts
Sausage
Chips and crackers
Brown rice
Pasta
Jam
Maple syrup
posted by zennie at 8:53 PM on March 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
Peanut butter
Dairy butter
Cheeses
Pecans and other nuts
Sausage
Chips and crackers
Brown rice
Pasta
Jam
Maple syrup
posted by zennie at 8:53 PM on March 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
Soylent. Try it. You can manage your caloric intake very specifically, ensure you have the right nutrients, and not bother with needing to deal with food culture.
posted by Pacrand at 9:24 PM on March 14, 2015
posted by Pacrand at 9:24 PM on March 14, 2015
Best answer: People have talked about smoothies a bit, but I'm gonna add some stuff: yogurt thrown in can add some protein; you can get giant bags of mixed berries at costco that are pretty good (better than the strawberries, IMO), and you can use milk or fruit juice as the liquid. Some people add peanut butter to them, which seems weird to me but they seem to like it. My dad exercises a lot and so ends up having to eat way more than he can actually really enjoy the food, and smoothies are good for him.
I'm not sure if this would help you, but sometimes I find that food smells can really help pique my appetite when I'm having a hard time making myself eat. When I was in college and I felt crappy/depressed and didn't feel like eating I'd sometimes go to Subway because even though their food isn't that great, sometimes the bread smell really helped me get an appetite. YMMV for whether that would work for you and what smells work; for me it's mostly bread, meat and garlic that do it.
If all else fails and your lifestyle/personal history/habits would allow it, weed might help. There are also "reminder to eat" type of apps and blogs and twitter accounts that you can follow, or you can use a general alarm app, if that is the kind of thing that works for you.
posted by NoraReed at 11:10 PM on March 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm not sure if this would help you, but sometimes I find that food smells can really help pique my appetite when I'm having a hard time making myself eat. When I was in college and I felt crappy/depressed and didn't feel like eating I'd sometimes go to Subway because even though their food isn't that great, sometimes the bread smell really helped me get an appetite. YMMV for whether that would work for you and what smells work; for me it's mostly bread, meat and garlic that do it.
If all else fails and your lifestyle/personal history/habits would allow it, weed might help. There are also "reminder to eat" type of apps and blogs and twitter accounts that you can follow, or you can use a general alarm app, if that is the kind of thing that works for you.
posted by NoraReed at 11:10 PM on March 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Mount all your sauces. That means, stir chunks of cold butter into them. In fact, mount your soups, mount your pasta, mount everything that you eat hot.
When you say you're happy to drink things, does that mean if you kept a mug of greasy broth by your elbow then you'd absent-minded sip at it all day? Because you can seriously get a thousand calories a day that way. Just throw a chicken carcass or some sawn-open beef femurs into a slow cooker and keep it going all week long. I find it gives me the same sort of warmth in my hands, steam in my face comfort that I want from tea, but with more calories.
Ditto hot chocolate. Make a ganache by melting dark chocolate in an equal weight of heavy cream, then thin it with half and half.
In fact, just chug a pint of half and half in the morning. That's six hundred calories right there, and if you don't get around to it, it keeps for weeks in the refrigerator. This was my breakfast for a year or so, until my doctor saw me with a pint bottle in his waiting room and told me to knock it off.
Can you eat candy? I often carry a bag of hard candy (e.g., those round pinstripe mints), so that if I'm about to go shopping on an empty stomach I can eat a few on the train and hopefully not buy that much dumb stuff.
I get that this sucks for you, and I don't actually want to have this problem, but boy there's a part of me that's having a lot of fun imagining super calorie-dense foods for you.
posted by d. z. wang at 11:28 PM on March 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
When you say you're happy to drink things, does that mean if you kept a mug of greasy broth by your elbow then you'd absent-minded sip at it all day? Because you can seriously get a thousand calories a day that way. Just throw a chicken carcass or some sawn-open beef femurs into a slow cooker and keep it going all week long. I find it gives me the same sort of warmth in my hands, steam in my face comfort that I want from tea, but with more calories.
Ditto hot chocolate. Make a ganache by melting dark chocolate in an equal weight of heavy cream, then thin it with half and half.
In fact, just chug a pint of half and half in the morning. That's six hundred calories right there, and if you don't get around to it, it keeps for weeks in the refrigerator. This was my breakfast for a year or so, until my doctor saw me with a pint bottle in his waiting room and told me to knock it off.
Can you eat candy? I often carry a bag of hard candy (e.g., those round pinstripe mints), so that if I'm about to go shopping on an empty stomach I can eat a few on the train and hopefully not buy that much dumb stuff.
I get that this sucks for you, and I don't actually want to have this problem, but boy there's a part of me that's having a lot of fun imagining super calorie-dense foods for you.
posted by d. z. wang at 11:28 PM on March 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Best answer: After a long lifetime of loving to eat, and needing to keep it under control, I've developed a medical syndrome that has completely destroyed my appetite. It sucks. I keep forgetting/ignoring eating, then feeling terrible, then realizing it's a glucose crash. It's hard to use your brain to do something that we usually trust our body to tell us. It sounds like you're doing a really good job of handling it -- good on ya!
What has helped me the most is to identify a few things that I like to eat, and then eat them while watching a movie, or reading, or sitting outside watching the clouds. I still plan meals, and try to eat them at mealtime, but I depend on:
Costco mixed nuts and orange slices
carrots or red peppers slices and hummus
sliced apples and a big glurp of almond butter
grapes and sweet potato chips
bowl of plain yogurt with jam stirred into it
Somehow having two things makes it more interesting, and easier to eat. And something to remember: it may be easier to drink things, and it's easy to pile on the calories that way, but for me ... gotta have that fiber. Staying regular is more of a problem when you're not eating enough, or regularly enough -- and you've already got enough problems.
posted by kestralwing at 3:33 AM on March 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
What has helped me the most is to identify a few things that I like to eat, and then eat them while watching a movie, or reading, or sitting outside watching the clouds. I still plan meals, and try to eat them at mealtime, but I depend on:
Costco mixed nuts and orange slices
carrots or red peppers slices and hummus
sliced apples and a big glurp of almond butter
grapes and sweet potato chips
bowl of plain yogurt with jam stirred into it
Somehow having two things makes it more interesting, and easier to eat. And something to remember: it may be easier to drink things, and it's easy to pile on the calories that way, but for me ... gotta have that fiber. Staying regular is more of a problem when you're not eating enough, or regularly enough -- and you've already got enough problems.
posted by kestralwing at 3:33 AM on March 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I have a similar issue of sometimes not wanting to eat but also being able to drink. Aside from carnation instant breakfast (which I'm also a fan of), I am very pro-smoothie. You can use greek yogurt to get protein, as well as fruit like banana/mango/strawberry/pineapple/blueberries/etc. You can also make a smoothie with peanut/almond butter or avocado as listed above.
If you like drinking liquids, you might also do well with soups. For pre-made stuff, Trader Joe's has some good options. I also eat a lot of yogurt since it's sort of a compromise between solid food and smoothie. Again, go for greek yogurt.
In terms of solid food, I find something in small, easy to consume pieces can be helpful. Trail mix is great for this, and it's a good way to get healthy fat, protein, and calories.Bananas and apples are my go to fruits because they have fiber and they're easy to grab and take with me. If you have trouble getting them down, cutting the apple into small pieces can make it easier.
I'm not a sandwich person, but I sometimes just buy deli meat which I snack on. I also get celery and put almond butter on it. It's a good snack, very portable, quick to make. For grains, I sometimes go for wheat thins. Again, they're portable and easy to eat mindlessly. For a slightly less healthy option, I like peanut M&M's because I'm a huge chocolate person, and I've convinced myself that the fact that they have peanuts in them makes them healthier.
Oh, and this isn't something I personally like, but pita chips and hummus could be a good food to eat mindlessly.
Also, I don't know if you have this issue, but especially in the morning, I have difficulty actually swallowing the food without gagging, and I find drinking a lot of liquid with each mouthful of food helps me get it down easier.
From a psychological standpoint, I find really distracting myself makes it easier for me to eat. I'll read something I'm interested in or watch a TV show I really like so that I'm not so focused on UGH FOOD. It can also be helpful to set small goals for myself, so that I'm not dreading having to eat a bunch of stuff in one sitting. I often will just be eating small things every hour throughout the day.
Having to force yourself to eat is really not fun, so I hope the suggestions in this thread help you out!
posted by litera scripta manet at 5:05 AM on March 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
If you like drinking liquids, you might also do well with soups. For pre-made stuff, Trader Joe's has some good options. I also eat a lot of yogurt since it's sort of a compromise between solid food and smoothie. Again, go for greek yogurt.
In terms of solid food, I find something in small, easy to consume pieces can be helpful. Trail mix is great for this, and it's a good way to get healthy fat, protein, and calories.Bananas and apples are my go to fruits because they have fiber and they're easy to grab and take with me. If you have trouble getting them down, cutting the apple into small pieces can make it easier.
I'm not a sandwich person, but I sometimes just buy deli meat which I snack on. I also get celery and put almond butter on it. It's a good snack, very portable, quick to make. For grains, I sometimes go for wheat thins. Again, they're portable and easy to eat mindlessly. For a slightly less healthy option, I like peanut M&M's because I'm a huge chocolate person, and I've convinced myself that the fact that they have peanuts in them makes them healthier.
Oh, and this isn't something I personally like, but pita chips and hummus could be a good food to eat mindlessly.
Also, I don't know if you have this issue, but especially in the morning, I have difficulty actually swallowing the food without gagging, and I find drinking a lot of liquid with each mouthful of food helps me get it down easier.
From a psychological standpoint, I find really distracting myself makes it easier for me to eat. I'll read something I'm interested in or watch a TV show I really like so that I'm not so focused on UGH FOOD. It can also be helpful to set small goals for myself, so that I'm not dreading having to eat a bunch of stuff in one sitting. I often will just be eating small things every hour throughout the day.
Having to force yourself to eat is really not fun, so I hope the suggestions in this thread help you out!
posted by litera scripta manet at 5:05 AM on March 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Isopure protein powder is the best, safest protein powder that I have come across. You can mix it in with anything, even water.
When I was having appetite problems, I kept chocolate around me at all times. I found that I would get really hungry (sugar crash) about an hour after I ate chocolate, which would make me want to eat protein.
posted by myselfasme at 6:57 AM on March 15, 2015
When I was having appetite problems, I kept chocolate around me at all times. I found that I would get really hungry (sugar crash) about an hour after I ate chocolate, which would make me want to eat protein.
posted by myselfasme at 6:57 AM on March 15, 2015
You might also try searching for advice about what to eat when pregnant or getting chemo; nausea and inappetence often go hand-in-hand, so you should find lots of highly palatable and/or nutritionally dense suggestions.
posted by teremala at 7:16 AM on March 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by teremala at 7:16 AM on March 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
If you really just desperately need calories, try Nutella -- calorie-dense and intensely palatable. Long-distance hikers love it for that reason -- some people's appetites just vanish for some reason when they hike, which is pretty much the opposite of what you want when you really need to replace the enormous number of calories you've been burning, but Nutella is, shall we say, easy to eat :)
posted by ostro at 7:32 AM on March 15, 2015
posted by ostro at 7:32 AM on March 15, 2015
When I get depressed I have no appetite until I'm well into glucose crash, and that just makes it harder to find something that sounds good. I've learned to rely on things I can eat mindlessly while watching tv or on the computer.
Nutella and cut fruit or bread or anything else that sounds ok with nutella.
Trail mix, either homemade or good quality store bought with low salt content.
Hummus and pita bread (or chips) or veggies.
Smoothies.
posted by MuChao at 8:33 AM on March 15, 2015
Nutella and cut fruit or bread or anything else that sounds ok with nutella.
Trail mix, either homemade or good quality store bought with low salt content.
Hummus and pita bread (or chips) or veggies.
Smoothies.
posted by MuChao at 8:33 AM on March 15, 2015
I get the same with eating sometimes. One strategy I've found useful is cereal. Keep a box (or nice container) of one of the more fortified cereals at hand, and treat it like popcorn. Nibbly meals are also useful, for me--hummus & pita and some olives, bunch of grapes. Stuff you can graze on mindlessly without having to do the whole I Am Eating A Meal thing.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:29 AM on March 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:29 AM on March 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Go back to your doc and get a different drug. Zoloft sucks, for you, at least.
posted by Oyéah at 5:51 PM on March 15, 2015
posted by Oyéah at 5:51 PM on March 15, 2015
Other suggestions for stuff to mix into milk would be fine.
Here's a recipe from Strength and Health, an old-school muscle mag:
6-8 scoops of protein
2 quarts of whole milk
2 cups of dry skim milk
2 eggs
4 tablespoons peanut butter
Half a brick (.875 quarts or 462 grams) of chocolate ice cream
1 small banana
4 tablespoons malted milk powder
6 tablespoons of corn syrup
Works out to about 5000 calories. Keep a jug in the fridge and drink it all day, that oughtta do the trick.
posted by mrbigmuscles at 6:39 PM on March 15, 2015
Here's a recipe from Strength and Health, an old-school muscle mag:
6-8 scoops of protein
2 quarts of whole milk
2 cups of dry skim milk
2 eggs
4 tablespoons peanut butter
Half a brick (.875 quarts or 462 grams) of chocolate ice cream
1 small banana
4 tablespoons malted milk powder
6 tablespoons of corn syrup
Works out to about 5000 calories. Keep a jug in the fridge and drink it all day, that oughtta do the trick.
posted by mrbigmuscles at 6:39 PM on March 15, 2015
Make homemade broth. I mix eggs in, like egg-drop soup. Put in mug and drink.
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 9:12 AM on March 16, 2015
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 9:12 AM on March 16, 2015
Have you tried setting a timer on your phone? I'm having a lot of the same problems you are, but I found that setting an alarm helps. I mean, when don't I have my phone with me?
I've got one set for 9:00 in the morning that reminds me to have breakfast and one for 2:00 in the afternoon that reminds me to have lunch. I don't have to worry about dinner because my husband will remind me about that one. I did my alarms to show up late so that if I've already eaten I can just dismiss them. It might be better for you to set them exactly the time you want a reminder to eat.
posted by TooFewShoes at 5:53 PM on March 16, 2015
I've got one set for 9:00 in the morning that reminds me to have breakfast and one for 2:00 in the afternoon that reminds me to have lunch. I don't have to worry about dinner because my husband will remind me about that one. I did my alarms to show up late so that if I've already eaten I can just dismiss them. It might be better for you to set them exactly the time you want a reminder to eat.
posted by TooFewShoes at 5:53 PM on March 16, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
Also, buy some really nice butter (like Kerrygold) and slather it on everything. It'll taste like magic and give you extra calories.
posted by phunniemee at 7:38 PM on March 14, 2015 [1 favorite]