Food Aversion

[keligrn]

Hey there,
Its only day five for me but I am battling a food aversion. It sounds strange but I am having difficulty eating! I am strict with my induction rules but even food I like is hard to swallow. The thought of food make my stomach turn and I can chew it all day but trying to swallow and not choke is hard. I have never had this before! Yesterday I ate 1/3 cucumber, two ounces of cheese and ten pepperoni and every bite was a battle.
Other than feeling flu like and a bit grouchy I am doing well. I had a bad six cans or more a day diet mtn dew habit that I stopped cold turkey on the same day I started so I am sure some of my crabbiness is from the caffiene withdrawl too.
I have been walking 60 minutes every day on the treadmill and riding my bike to work... 3 miles roundtrip. So far I have lost over ten pounds but I know that not eating at all is a recipe for disaster!

[Laurenfra]

Try to eat enough and dont worry for some it is part of inducton flu and it will pass. Drinking more water may help.

[not2late]

Originally Posted by keligrn

Hey there,
Its only day five for me but I am battling a food aversion. It sounds strange but I am having difficulty eating! I am strict with my induction rules but even food I like is hard to swallow. The thought of food make my stomach turn and I can chew it all day but trying to swallow and not choke is hard. I have never had this before! Yesterday I ate 1/3 cucumber, two ounces of cheese and ten pepperoni and every bite was a battle.
Other than feeling flu like and a bit grouchy I am doing well. I had a bad six cans or more a day diet mtn dew habit that I stopped cold turkey on the same day I started so I am sure some of my crabbiness is from the caffiene withdrawl too.
I have been walking 60 minutes every day on the treadmill and riding my bike to work... 3 miles roundtrip. So far I have lost over ten pounds but I know that not eating at all is a recipe for disaster!

Congratulations, you are in ketosis! One of the side effects of ketosis is appetite suppression. It's alarming, especially to those of us who are "hungry all the time" or who have "wooden legs" that can contain 4 giant pizzas, a pan of lasagna, and a dozen bags of potato chips.

Now is your chance to begin controlling the food you eat. So be sure to follow the 6 hour rule (no more than 6 waking hours without eating something). Don't worry too much about not eating enough, because your body will not let you starve: eventually you will find that you will eat more at some meals than others (and that's perfectly fine.) So feed your hunger....don't eat the amount that you've always been eating in the past.

Make sure you have snacks on hand because you might not be hungry after eating some cucumber slices and a chicken leg, but a couple of hours from now, you might want to eat some more. So make sure you have legal food available to you. If you have to bring a small insulated lunch bag with you to work filled with legal snacks---bring it. It will save you alot of grief in the long run.

Take full advantage of this appetite suppression by learning your natural hunger cues. When we were babies, we only drank enough milk/formula for our energy needs. As we grew older we developed bad eating habits like 'cleaning our plates' or having a slice of pie eventhough you were stuffed to your eyeballs so as not to offend Great Aunt Maud who made that pie especially for you. So while this appetite suppression is in play, make sure you don't go more than 6 waking hours without eating something. If you are totally satisfied with a boiled egg and half of a tomato, that's all you eat. If you are totally satisfied with 3 chicken wings and a cup of green beans, that's all you eat.

Good luck to you and be aware that you are now learning how to control your food intake and that will help prevent you from over-eating (and gaining weight).