Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Has Anyone Seen My Appetite?

I was told one of the side effects of the treatments would be a loss of appetite. Well those who say so are not kidding. I have little to no desire to eat even the foods I enjoy. I lost three pounds over the weekend and for my skinny frame, that's three pounds I need. So, I am going to continue to eat a healthy diet, but I am also going to keep some junk food around the house so I will eat when I have no appetite.

Now each one of us has different "junk foods" in our diets. So to best explain it, I'm talking about the foods you can barely resist even after you have eaten to your satisfaction. Those treats that you always have room for. I need to have some of those around for the days I have no desire to eat. Because it’s not just that I have no appetite, but I actually feel full and could go all day without eating. And anyone whose known me for any length of time knows I cannot go long with out grabbing a sandwich [Right, Steigerwald???]

So, I will stock up on these foods so I will still eat. Because I am clear that without those foods I will likely eat nothing and that would dangerous for a fella like myself whose already lighter than I believe I was born to be.

3 comments:

  1. Bert,

    Ice cream always works! I, too, struggle with my appetite... it's not that I don't feel hungry, because the steroids make me hungry. It's that nothing tastes or smells good, so I am hungry but hate to eat.

    Except for ice cream, which always works.

    So, I say get the foods you know you will always be able to eat, try to continue to be healthy, but make maintaining your weight your short term goal - whatever that takes.

    Get out the spoon, man!

    Maria Brown

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  2. Good Morning Bert.
    Yes, everything's topsy-turvy when you're going through chemo. My regimin was in-office treatment once every two weeks. (Sometimes, I would ask if it could be three weeks, because the few days bout of nausea didn't lift soon enough to give me a full week with a decent appetite.) Anyway, I had the sensation of "now I understand what anorexia feels like". Yet, there were a few unusual things I could eat. One was chicken pie (of all things!)....a comfort food from my childhood?
    Anyway, I would buy the organic kind from greenstar or Nature's Marketplace, Wegmans. Amy's is the brand. Funny. BTW, that's what pregnancy's like, at times. You crave the strangest things! Maybe you could try a nutrition shake or a homemade smoothy on the days you just can't eat.
    l
    rain

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  3. Reply to maria brown:

    I'm sure if all else fails, ice cream will be far from a struggle! And you are correct - the short-term goal is indeed the priority.

    Thanks!

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