Really struggling to eat.

I’m so sorry you’re feeling this way. I had anorexia in my teens and twenties, and had a late loss at 23 weeks, and found it difficult to plan food for this pregnancy and not obsess over exclusion lists, especially when they’re not consistent. I found it has helped me to plan my meals for the whole week in one go on a Sunday. I’ve used a vegetarian pregnancy book to help with the planning. I also prefer cooking myself, from scratch so I know things are properly washed and I can avoid artificial ingredients/over processed food. I also find it helpful to track my water intake, both because drinking enough is important and it gives me something to focus on that is not food, which helps me not be obsessive about it. This is the book I have https://amzn.eu/d/b0PZldG Hope that helps and you get to a better place soon. Also do speak to your doctor or BEAT if you need further help. I’ve always found BEAT in particular really helpful. https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk

@Donna thank you, I’ve never suffered with anorexia, I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through that. But I totally relate to what you’re saying about obsessing over exclusion lists. The problem is I’m also dealing with depression so finding it hard to plan meals and cook them for myself so I’m having to get takeaways.

Have you spoken to your doctor as they might be able to help? Is there somewhere familiar that you could get food from regularly that might feel safer than going to different places daily? Sorry if that’s not helpful. It’s obviously so hard for you and I’m really sorry you’re going through this.

@Donna not directly about the food but I spoke to a mental health midwife about it last week and I’m waiting for an assessment this Thursday. No that is really helpful, that’s what I’ve done tonight. The most helpful thing to be honest is you commenting and being so kind, really it means a lot x

I really hope your assessment is helpful and you get sorted soon x

Hey you. I had a lot of anxiety around food too during my pregnancy and couldn’t cook anything due to strong smells. So I ended up basically living off ready meals, salads and crackers. And any random stuff that I was craving as and when. Stressing about food isn’t worth the mental anguish. Just make your life as easy as possible and eat often. You’ll feel less on edge when you’re fuller. Even if your partner is crap at cooking, there’s no excuse for not being able to heat something up in the oven for you. I hope you have someone around to help you x

@Donna thank you 💕

@Jay what kind of ready meals did you go for? Did you wash salads first? I’ve just ordered a Nando’s. My husband is incredible and tries his best to cook what I’m feeling like, I just feel so bad! X

I started off with the best intentions so I subscribed to HelloFresh for a couple of months and then even that got too much for my partner who doesn’t mind cooking but he got a really demanding contract which meant he couldn’t do it every day. So we just stocked up on Iceland oven food. Idc if anyone judges me for it. It was that or starve and be miserable or have takeout every day. I got pre-cut and pre-washed salads and just ate it with French dressing. I ate avocados with salad cream. Mature cheddar cheese and crackers. So many tubes of Pringles. I drank pretty much a whole carton of apple juice a day. In the beginning it’s so easy to stress so I get it. Everyone around me tried to police me about everything, my caffeine intake especially, and it made me really depressed. I did not enjoy my pregnancy so I stopped caring what I ate. Hope this helps. As long as you’re eating well and taking your supplements, baby will be fine xxx

@Jay you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. That’s what I’ve been telling myself anyway. It sounds like you did what you needed to do to feed yourself and your baby which is the most important thing 💕 xxx