When you are grieving or facing a deeply distressing situation, it’s totally normal to lose your appetite. During a season of grief, my appetite would come and go and I started to lose weight. Your body still needs nutrients to function so planning ahead for challenging times will keep you healthy.
- Have nutrient dense foods such as nuts and dried fruits to supplement your daily food intake.
- Set up a schedule. Don’t wait until you’re hungry in this situation. I found that I had to shift to a later lunch time to accommodate my new situation. Decide and choose a lunch time such as between 12 and 1.
- Have staples such as cut veggies, hummus, and nut butters so it will be easy to throw a meal together or as a snack.
- Consider making a casserole or large batch of soup so that you always have food on hand. Oftentimes, you don’t have the mental or physical energy, so having a meal delivery service will help you have one less decision to make.
- As tempting as it is to look for cupcakes and cookies, try to make most of your meals from whole foods. It’s okay to indulge as a treat, but you need high quality food to meet the demands of grief. It’s much harder when you don’t have sound nutrition.
In the beginning, you may just be going through the motions and that is okay. Think of this as a basic form of self-care. Eventually you will regain your appetite, so be patient with yourself.
