Dear MIMsters: Help! I Can’t Eat Anything Except Fruits & Vegetables!
I am a single lady in her late thirties but grew up with an aversion for food. I hate to eat virtually all foods. From childhood, I hated milk and milk products, and still do. As a matter of fact, my mum told me I never accepted any baby formula, that I only fed on breast milk for almost 2 years as a baby. Now in my late thirties but look 25, with a slim body shape just because I still find it difficult to eat. I just don’t like eating staple foods, except fruits like oranges, apples, watermelon, bananas, etc, and vegetables – I eat them as if tomorrow no dey.
The most painful thing is that I live alone and love cooking but because of my hatred for food, every day I cook to see if I would be able to eat but at the end of the day, I always waste cooked food and foodstuff as I would eventually run to my fridge which is always stocked with different kinds of fruits.
I have been to the hospital severally to complain about my poor eating habit. After examination, the doctors would always assure me that there is nothing wrong with me and prescribe multivitamins that would make me eat. One of the doctors actually told me that when I’m married, I may develop good eating habits. I was advised to deworm every 3 months, take enough water and take those multivitamins. All these I adhered to but instead of me eating after taking the multivitamins, I would be hungry, my eyes would be looking at the food but my mouth would not be willing to eat. The only thing I’m always happy to eat and have appetite for are fruits and vegetables.
The issue now is that I’m an ulcer patient and have been advised by my doctor to drink milk often but for me, milk is a no-no. I have never taken it, aside breast milk when I was a baby. I have tried several times but each time I make an attempt, I vomit. Poured it into my fruits juice but still vomited it. I also added little vanilla flavour to give it nice aroma, but still vomited it.
I don’t know what to do now. I can’t even eat eggs – only fruits and vegetables. How do I get rid of my ulcer? How do I cope during pregnancy and childbirth because I know women lose a lot of blood during childbirth and milk helps them restore lost blood quickly or am I wrong?
Kindly help me if you have any idea of what I can do to develop my appetite for foods like rice, semo, amala, yam, etc. I want to start ‘devouring’ semo and amala mountains like every other woman. And, how do I overcome my aversion for milk?
You can start trying out these foods in small portions, that way you can start developing interest.
I don’t think you’re lactose intolerant, you just hate milk that’s all. I don’t even much myself. Inshort sometimes food irritates me and I end up not eating anything not even fruits. Then I started taking one drug like that someone prescribed, I started eating like a hungry lion and added weight so much, my belle started to grow then I learnt the drug is a steroid and does more harm than good so I stopped taking it. After 2 months, I was back to square one, no eating and dislike for food. What I do now is try to eat once in a day at least. Whenever I feel like taking cereals, I use fruit juice instead of milk for example, if I want to take Muesli or all bran or flakes, I use chilled 5 alive or chivita juice because milk is tiring to me. Since you like fruits, when you make your own juice, use it to take cereals and see how it turns out. Then for semo and the likes, make them very fluffy and not hard. Take it little by little, for rice (which is what I eat the most) you can try it with vegetable soup or add plenty of veggies into your stew while cooking it. Another thing is, try not to stock your fridge with fruits for a while and try normal foods for say a week or two and see.
hmmmmnnn
You’ve passed the first stage by acknowledging you have a problem. The next stage is to determine to make a change. It’s a gradual process. Start little and try eating in front of a TV during your favorite program, before you know it, the plate will be empty.
Just make up ur mind to start eating b4 u knew it u will start eating
Hie
Biko see a dietician not just any doctor then u need someone to live wt,me I HATE eating alone even as a student, I will cook and invite friends to eat, so find someone who wl motivate u to eat so u can develop appetite
There is nothing wrong with your diet. It is actually the right way to eat. Just add meat, take your multivitamins and you are perfect!!
You can turn to be a strict vegetarian. Try tigernut milk, soy milk as substitute for milk. You can get all the protein you need from beans- black beans,cowpea, lima beans. To cut d whole thing short,I advice you to subscribe to Webmed newsletters on nutrition. You would see a host of recipes u would love to try. Start mild to moderate exercise,it would boost your appetite. Explore your taste buds by trying new foods and recipes both local and international. Get a friend(s) who love food and open up your heart so that they can influence you.
i don’t think uv got a problem. In my opinion, ur even healthier than an average human being bcos of ur veg diet… and c’mon! u said u look 25 and ur in ur 30’s.. sometimes what a want is not what we need.. but In the mean time, u also got ulcer.. hmmm… pls follow the docs advice.. just try… try… and try again