How often do you find that you need to eat?

[araminta]

I was feeling exhausted just now after mowing a not very large lawn, however I had a small snack and that has perked me up somewhat.   (I had a decent sized breakfast and lunch earlier today so I was by no means starving).   Do you find that more frequent eating is helpful?

[Way2dry]

I get tired if I don't eat.  The weird thing is that I don't feel hungry, so I have to remember to eat something if I haven't had anything for a couple of hours. After snacking,  I usually get my energy back 🙂

[Joe S.]

Let's see, a Hobbit would have breakfast, second breakfast, dinner, second dinner, supper, and second supper. Now add bed time snack and you should be good.

As a Diabetic I need to eat small meals several times per day. I do not eat as often as a Hobbit on most days.

[quietdynamics]

I feel better with light breakfast, lunch and dinner and grazing in between.. often on peanut butter. (Often before going for the day I will eat a spoonful of peanut butter and grab a snack to carry in with me.)

By instinct I gravitated toward an anti-inflammation and low to mid glycemic index  diet (pre Dx).

The other area that causes exhaustion is dehydration.. so often when doing gardening I drink a electrolyte beverage. You can google recipes to make your own and come up with your own concoctions.

If you mowed on a sunny day.. UV rays can trigger a inflammatory response ---> exhaustion, dizziness, headache, etc.
So hat, shirt and sunscreen even this early in year might help.

[Carolina]

As often as possible.

Pooh, on eating:

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It's the same thing," he said."

Hugs, and munch munch, Elaine

[araminta]

Many thanks for all your replies.   I like the Hobbit and the Pooh take on all this!

I think I do need to change my eating pattern, I've been used to having a big breakfast and big evening meal but not so much in between, I think I'll try to find some healthy snacks to browse on in the day.   I don't think I was dehydrated, Quietdynamics, but will watch out for that too.

[SjoGirl]

Way2Dry said -- The weird thing is that I don't feel hungry, so I have to remember to eat something if I haven't had anything for a couple of hours. After snacking,  I usually get my energy back

Before I took certain meds I didn't feel hungry much either and my weight showed it (I dropped down to 99 lbs). Now my husband says I have to eat every two hours and he's right. Because I have GERD I can eat big meals and I pay when I do, so I tend to eat lighter meals and about three to four snacks a day (a couple of very small piece of dark chocolate, nuts, fruit, veggies, etc.).

With the meds I'm on I become sick in my stomach if I don't eat often.

[quietdynamics]

  I don't think I was dehydrated, Quietdynamics, but will watch out for that too.

araminta.. I have gland dysfunction.. and so I am aware and do get dehydrated easily with an awful headache as a result.
Some info for readers:
"the amount of saliva that is produced in a healthy person per day; estimates range from 0.75 to 1.5 litres per day while it is generally accepted that during sleep the amount drops to nearly zero."

Since I consume electrolyte drinks ( I do not drink sodas .. sugars tend to affect me) I re-purpose empty bottles and consume two a day full of water, sipping throughout the day. With meds I drink a full glass of water. But times when I am in a flare.. eating and liquids .. I am not very good at this.
My ability to taste is off so enjoyment of foods is often a distant memory, and cooking? I am often often asking someone to taste for seasoning...lol.
You can pinch the skin on the top of your hand to see how fast/slow it goes back down to test for dehydration.

If you look into low glycemic index foods they stabilize blood sugars longer.. example is simply eating pasta al dente, rather than soft.. makes it more low glycemic. Easy for me..lol  Peanut Butter is another food.. so when I was working I had a small jar in car.

You did not say what type of mower you have. You may need to build up from winter inactivity of that type of action.

[SabbraCadabra]

Sometimes I get so distracted that I don't realize I'm hungry (some ASD issue somewhere, IIRC), but we also have blood-sugar issues in the family, so often I'll get the shakes if I don't eat enough. I can't imagine how most people just have cigarettes for lunch.

Curiously, when I'm doing yard work, or some other hot/humid/grueling work where I should be drenched with sweat, my body just doesn't want to eat anything for a while after.

[cccourt1942]

I have been widowed for over 10 years.  I eat when I want to.  W' SjS, I eat when I can.  In early years, pre dx, I would go for days w'out eating. Then, I would eat incessantly.  After dx I realized it was linked to discomfort eating without sufficient saliva.  So uncomfortable to swallow. 

It did level out.  This may not be your problem, just saying it is one of the problems.
ccc

[irish]

Eating seems to be a challenge. I get so hungry sometimes and because I am diabetic I need to eat on a regular basis. I find that some days I am grazing all day and other days I can't hardly eat.

I do have appetite aversions which is when you can't eat some foods. I have the most trouble with meat. I can cook some nice meat and then I can't eat it cause the smell will just get to me. There are other times that other foods will do the same thing. I eat a lot of cold cereal during these times. I buy the cold cereal with the high amounts of vitamins added. I also put fruit on my cereal which adds some vitamins.

Everyone is affected differently with these autoimmune diseases.Irish