Help with eating

Question
Laurie

I am a busy working mum, I have two young boys (3 & 1), I am a full time Stay At Home Mum and I also work part time from home as a self employed bookkeeper.  My days are very busy and for the last 11 months, since my second son was born, I've not been finding the time to eat three meals a day.  I get up at six, skip breakfast and lunch and eat my tea around 7pm at night.  I rarely drink water, I maybe have three cups of tea a day and if I have more than that I get terrible headaches.  I've lot a stone and a half, feel tired all the time, depressed, tearful, I have headaches a lot, nausea and have had a lot of dental problems, despite brushing my teeth twice a day.  I dont know how Ive got myself into this state but I want to change my habits and get myself well again but yesterday I had Ready Brek for breakfast and a sandwich and a packet of crisps for lunch and then all afternoon I felt really sick and had bad stomach pains.  Do you think that this is because I ate?  I felt really ill all afternoon but hungry too so I ate tea and then the pains stopped.  How long will I get ill after eating like I did yesterday.  I go on holiday next Saturday for a week and dont want to be riddled with stomach aches and nausea all week.  I should probably add that I have a severe vomiting phobia so feeling sick really upsets and scares me and makes me not want to eat.  I know that I can change, but I don't know where to start?

Answer
I would have to advise you to see your physician.
Not that I suspect any illness you have, but I cannot tell what is exactly going on over the internet, as I'm sure you understand.

You may have just gotten so used to not eating that your system has to get used to it again.
It sounds like you haven't been eating or drinking all day, so you'll have to slowly introduce things again with small portions and easy to digest foods.

I would suggest tea and toast for starters, and perhaps a bit of juice and a tiny piece of meat to start getting some vitamins and protein into your system.  If crisps are what we call potato chips in the US, they have a high fat content and this is more difficult to digest when you're not used to it and may very well cause an upset stomach.

Feeling depressed and overwhelmed (as you very well may, with the stress from your tiny tots and busy job) often affects people's appetite.  The doctor may be able to prescribe something to help you feel better, and this will lead to an increased appetite--soon everything will be solved!

1. Prev:palm oil and cholesterol
2. Next:NO GALLBLADDER