Posts by vamoose

People can lose their appetites/suffer from a lack of appetite for any number of reasons.. stress, financial scarcity, depression, bereavement/grief, a broken heart/messy divorce, being a picky eater.. personality (easily distracted, poor hunger cues).. environment. What separates poor appetite vs disordered eating is the lack of conscious intention. Some days my appetite is poor for no good reason. It's not a conscious decision and I might not realise I haven't eaten for x hours until the end of the day. When I'm hungry, I eat whatever I want.

Speaking from a) experience, and b) people I've known.. in some cases, grief or loss can effect a person's appetite on a long-term basis. I knew a lady who was deeply wounded by the loss of her mother and years later claimed her appetite was still as poor as it was when she was grieving. She didn't have an eating disorder. It might sound weird to someone who has battled an eating disorder or struggles with weight (assuming most people on this site fall into either of these two categories), because you are looking at it from the perspective of someone who has always been fixated on what they're eating to a degree and find it difficult to imagine the reality of someone who has other factors effecting their appetite.

The difference is a lack of focus on food. For someone with an eating disorder, there may exist a tendency to excessively fixate on what you are and aren't eating, which can make you more sensitive to feelings of hunger and fullness (in recovery especially). It can be tricky to find a balance because there's a danger in recovery with switching one mental obsession with another (e.g. going from being fixated on eating less to fixated on eating what your meal plan requires or whatever). It's emotionally charged, where as for someone with a poor appetite, food is not an emotionally loaded issue and other problems are taking precedence. If you eat less one day, it's likely you're going to feel hungrier the next day or couple of days running and not fight it.

I have a history of disordered eating but for some reason I can see both sides of the coin (not sure where my rational side comes from!). My mum has always had a poor appetite but never dieted a day in her life and eats what she wants. She'll lose her appetite when she's upset, busy, tired etc. 

Sorry about the essay, probably not necessary!

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