Weight Problem

[slippy girl]

Hey!

I'm also new to this board (how have I just found this...?) but not new to healthy anxiety.

I'm a grad student who's at the top of my class. I actually just won a national award for my work. However, the recent success has made my anxiety out of control. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but it just feels like now there's a bunch of pressure to keep succeeding and I always need everything to be perfect. I went to the ceremony over the weekend which was in a lovely location and all my expenses were paid for, but I was anxious the ENTIRE TIME. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. My stomach was in knots upon knots--it was actually awful. There's pics of me online and I look like total sh*t. One of the things that hasn't helped though, is that I'm one of those people who can't eat when I get anxious, and I've lost a bunch of weight recently from not eating. Obviously that makes me feel even worse--I'm already thin!

Does anyone have any tips for how to gain weight when super anxious? It's just triggering my health anxiety even more as I'm afraid I'll have a heart attack or pass out, or that I'm secretly loosing weight because I have some kind of cancer and not because I'm not eating (I know that's irrational, but is any of this rational??)

I'd love any advice possible. Since I got back I've been trying to eat more, but my body just doesn't want it. I really don't know what to do.

 

[triceps]

Hi and welcome slippy girl. Sounds like you've also got a bit of OCD which helps you be a great student but reigns terror in other situations. My anxiety often makes me unable to eat. My go to is bacon and cereal. The bacon I'll fry up and eat the strips as a snack, like you would jerky. Even when I can't eat anything else, I seem to be able to slog my way through bowls of cereal until my appetite returns. Steer clear of the cancer thinking if you can. It just makes your anxiety worse and that's already the cause of your trouble eating.

 

[Cuchculan]

This might sound a little bit odd. I was never a big eater at all. When I didn't want much I ate baby foods. Jars of things you can buy. They are very healthy and have a bunch of good things in them, as they are meant for a growing baby. Instead of biscuits I was eat rusks with a cup of coffee. Now this is only designed to get you through a rough patch. Not for long term use. Be surprised how nice those jars of the various baby dinners can be. Filling as well for us people who don't eat much as a rule. In other words eat the full jar of food. Not just a bit of it. You can mix it up with normal food if you want. Come the end of the day it is good for you. Vitamins and all of that stuff.

 

[seabelt12]

Hey Slippy girl...I also am freaked out about my weight. I was diagnosed with H Pylori about a month ago and about a month before that I also was officially diagnosed with anxiety (blah). I too fear the C word because of all my weight loss. I’ve lost about 10 pounds since Feb which is a lot since I am only 5’3”.

With my H Pylori, it makes me nauseous all the time which in turn makes it hard for me to eat. Which then transpires into more anxiety because not eating/being nauseated = weight loss obviously. Currently freaking out now about the C word and haven’t been able to eat all day.


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[MamaLove]

Similar to the baby food idea, I find smoothies to be very helpful. It seems to be easier to sip my calories sometimes. You can throw some higher calorie ingredients in but still have it be fairly nutritious. I've also mixed coconut oil into my coffee. Not the most pleasant texture, but it did the job!