Being put off by food (situationally)

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Ollywog
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16 Feb 2019, 6:18 pm

I have a lot of trouble feeding myself appropriate food at appropriate intervals. It's a complex problem, but I've recently realized that one factor is that I often find food very unappealing. Interestingly, this isn't much of an issue when I eat with (familiar) people, but when I'm alone even things that I like in other contexts frequently put me off. Either they smell wrong or they have an unpleasant texture or they just taste bad.

Does anyone else experience something like this? How do you cope with it?


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AspE
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16 Feb 2019, 9:33 pm

Ollywog wrote:
I have a lot of trouble feeding myself appropriate food at appropriate intervals. It's a complex problem, but I've recently realized that one factor is that I often find food very unappealing. Interestingly, this isn't much of an issue when I eat with (familiar) people, but when I'm alone even things that I like in other contexts frequently put me off. Either they smell wrong or they have an unpleasant texture or they just taste bad.

Does anyone else experience something like this? How do you cope with it?

I sometimes have issues eating in front of people, I lose my appetite. Especially at work, when people want to eat in groups. Now I always find an excuse not to. But when I'm alone, I'm fine, even if it's in a restaurant or crowded cafeteria. I also don't like people eating in front of me or at their desks.



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28 Feb 2019, 10:40 pm

I hate watching other people eat, even if it's on tv or in a movie. But especially if they're sitting right in front of me. I've learned to just not look up and focus on what's on my own plate. I take earbuds or headphones with me everywhere I go, so they help when I'm in restaurants or public. I tend to have more of a problem with sounds than sight but as I said I make it a point not to look at people when they eat.

I don't really have a problem eating when I'm alone, though I do go through phases where food turns me off entirely. When that happens, I fast for a couple of days. Fasting isn't dangerous and it is healthy - it's not starving. Fasting is choosing not to eat anything (and in my case I drink liquids). Starving means you have no choice.

When not fasting but still egregious I tend to just have fruits and veggies until I feel up to trying something else.