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Bored With Eating

(118 Posts)
Mel1967 Sat 23-Mar-24 22:01:54

Does anyone else get bored with eating or is it just me??
I cooked dinner tonight, normally my favourite, and just picked at it and ended up throwing it away.
This isn’t a new thing.
I find food boring and is just something I have to do.

DrWatson Mon 25-Mar-24 14:48:23

For Downtoearth, and M0nica, it sounds like you have a gluten problem! My sister suddenly developed issues with bread, maybe 20 yrs ago, moved to 'gluten-free' on doc's advice, and that greatly improved things. And these days the gluten-free ranges are far superior.

She even makes her own bread, uses Spelt flour (which has some gluten, but it's BETTER gluten?!).

Mirren Mon 25-Mar-24 14:56:55

Me too !
I think part of my problem is that I try hard to keep my weight under control.
I am a healthy weight, after losing 3 stones some years ago .
I find it easy enough to stay around the same weight now but this is only because I have learned to limit my intake.
The downside of this is I eat a boring healthy diet.
Despite WW producing many interesting looking recipes I just can't be bothered

chrissie13 Mon 25-Mar-24 14:57:29

No, never, I'm always looking forward to my next meal!

queenofsaanich69 Mon 25-Mar-24 14:59:26

I’m bored to death with cooking,been doing it for 61 years.

Beau1958 Mon 25-Mar-24 15:01:13

Try and appreciate your food. I wish I could swap your stomach for mine any day. I’m on a very restricted diet for life due to narrowings in my small intestines from radiotherapy. What I would do for a decent meal !!

pooohbear2811 Mon 25-Mar-24 15:02:38

I know the feeling. I have a swallowing problem and live on pureed mush and no matter how interesting it looks when I dish it up for hubby mine just looks like a pile of cat puke time it is on my plate.

I know this makes me sound horrible but I really resent having to cook for him when I am not going to be enjoying it, but as his carer he is not safe to let loose in the kitchen on his own and I find it less stressful to do it for myself than have him in under my feet.

Don't think it would bother me if I never ate another meal again.

cc Mon 25-Mar-24 15:26:03

I love cooking and usually cook from scratch but my husband is a carnivore who likes simple food so I rarely cook anything very exciting and can get bit bored eating his favourites.
Like many of you I don't bother so much when I'm on my own, so when he's away I happily admit to buying a chow mein ready meal for a change.
My mother lived alone for almost thirty years after my father died and was never bored with the "proper meals" she cooked for herself, but I've a suspicion that when I'm very old I might develop a ready meal habit. Some of them are very nice - though I do always read the nutritional and ingredient information on the back.

littleowl Mon 25-Mar-24 15:32:15

Yes. I would quite happily live on cheese sandwiches and a packet of crisps every day. I only enjoy eating when I go out for a meal, so no washing up or preparation.

Debbi58 Mon 25-Mar-24 15:33:31

Me too, I just can't be bothered with cooking or eating anymore. I do make myself eat obviously, usually salads or scrabbled eggs. Whatever's easy

DonnaB5959 Mon 25-Mar-24 15:53:04

Well - due to oral cancer surgeries, I am no longer able to swallow. I would LOVE to be bored with eating!!

Donna

Babamaman Mon 25-Mar-24 16:02:27

I tend to eat at lunch time - never hungry in the evening after my afternoon cuppa.
Don’t enjoy the preparation any more

Amalegra Mon 25-Mar-24 16:31:05

I too have little interest in food and just eat because I have to! Living alone now doesn’t help and I no longer enjoy cooking when I used to love it. I try to eat healthily but don’t really have much appetite. I am currently trying to ‘enrich’ my diet by eating higher calorie foods which are still nourishing. I have lost more weight recently and don’t want to fall below what is healthy. I am currently having medical treatment and need to be fit and strong for it.

M0nica Mon 25-Mar-24 16:32:41

As I said before, I love food and eating, less talented as a cook, so enjoy that less. So over the years I have built up a library of recipes that are tasty and quick and easy to prepare and batch cook.

I could not live on ready meals, I find their bland taste, and texture and funny manufactured consistency quite off putting.
For two years, while official carer for an elderly relation, I would drive some distance to his house to visit his care home and get his house cleared and sold and I usually stayed the night after visiting him. On my way back from the care home I would nip into Sainsbury's for a ready meal for my supper. By the time I had walked up and down the ready meals looking at the delicious pictures on the packing and knowing what a disappointment they would be to eat, I would completely lose my appetite and end up with a bg of grapes or cherry tomatoes, or eat nothing at all.

Scarlettsnan Mon 25-Mar-24 16:35:21

Yes I eat to live nowadays
No joy in eating 🤷‍♀️

karmalady Mon 25-Mar-24 16:43:51

I am never bored with my food and never need to throw any away. I have what I want, which is always basic and simple these days. I use good ingredients such as fresh organic veg and fruit and the taste alone is wonderful. I don`t use sauces or anything to disguise the taste

I live alone and choose to eat this simple way, back to nature and I bake or cook everything from the raw ingredients. I love eating this way, prep is easy. I do sometimes make a batch of ready meals, just the protein part like lamb casserole

I eat breakfast, lunch and a light tea. I start at 7 and tea is usually by 4

MissAdventure Mon 25-Mar-24 16:48:13

DonnaB5959

Well - due to oral cancer surgeries, I am no longer able to swallow. I would LOVE to be bored with eating!!

Donna

That must be very hard to live with.

I'm so sorry. flowers

KaazaK Mon 25-Mar-24 17:15:29

My late husband was a dreadfully fussy eater so cooking meals was a nightmare. Now I’m on my own I rarely cook - my fridge is virtually empty and my freezer is full of dog food. Only do basic meals. Poached eggs and advocado, smoked haddock and veg. Salads in the summer. I’d rather spend money on getting my nails done than food! I only buy what I need as I need it so very little waste. I do eat fruit and take multi vitamins.

SunnySusie Mon 25-Mar-24 17:25:11

I am frequently bored of eating. I have never been that interested in food, loathe cooking and have no understanding at all of why other people like it! All that faffing around in the kitchen to produce something that takes about ten minutes to eat. We fend for ourselves in the week, which in my case means boiled eggs or sardines on toast eaten at 6pm, whilst DH is cracking open the beer and starting on some long cooking session with the aim of eating his meal about 8pm. We do share meals at the weekend, although finding a mutually compatible time to eat is a problem. I am grateful to DH for cooking the weekend meals, but I dont let on to him that I rarely look forward to long, slow eating sessions and fairly often get indigestion from eating too much too late for my metabolism.

MaggsMcG Mon 25-Mar-24 17:34:16

Sometimes I feel like cooking a meal. Somtimes I feel like cooking a batch of meals. Other times I have a sandwich or even a ready meal.

M0nica Mon 25-Mar-24 17:34:34

When working DH travelled a lot on business and, on occasion, was away for months. Like you karmalady I used fresh ingredients and still cooked. The difference being that I love casseroles and stews using lots of different ingredients and herbs and spices. I could also cook all those things I like that he doesn't. At its most basic macaroni cheese, but also chicken livers and soft cod's roes.

HowVeryDareYou2 Mon 25-Mar-24 17:37:05

Bonnybanko Me too, after a stroke 2 1/2 years ago. I'd had 4 weeks of being on a drip, then a week of pureed food, so once I was able to eat again, it was great (and I haven't stopped since)

HowVeryDareYou2 Mon 25-Mar-24 17:38:20

DonnaB5959

Well - due to oral cancer surgeries, I am no longer able to swallow. I would LOVE to be bored with eating!!

Donna

So sorry. A friend of mine is the same - she hasn't been able to eat anything more than pureed foods for 11 years sad

ordinarygirl Mon 25-Mar-24 17:44:32

I love cooking and love eating so I have difficulty with your post. Why not look at recipe books or youtube for inspiration?

rather than throw food away, can you put in in the fridge for another day?

ComeOnGran Mon 25-Mar-24 17:53:56

Yes I feel the same. I really used to love food but not so much now - even going out for meals doesn’t excite me very much apart from the company. I wouldn’t bother cooking if it weren’t for DH who shows no sign of losing his appetite. Maybe it’s all the years of planning, shopping and preparing, I don’t know. I feel regretful as I appreciate food is one of life’s great pleasures.

jocork Mon 25-Mar-24 18:37:42

For the last 17 months I have been prescribed the weekly injections of Ozempic - the drug for diabetics which reduces one's blood sugar. It also can be prescribed for weight loss as it often makes one feel queasy and reduces appetite as it slows the digestion so you feel full sooner and for longer. It can be like having permanent morning sickness which I suffered with badly during both my pregnancies. I've lost 2 stones and I'd already lost a lot of weight before I was put on it, so my BMI is now almost in the normal range. Unfortunately it has taken most of the pleasure out of eating. I tend to shop frequently as I often have to just buy something I fancy on the day and hope I can still face it once I've cooked it! I've completely gone off some foods altogether. Living alone has helped a bit as I can just buy what I fancy and don't have to worry about others, but I'm not always eating a balanced diet. I hate wasting food but end up throwing stuff away as I just don't fancy it after it looked great in the supermarket. I worry that if I stop the injections I might put the weight back on yet I miss enjoying food. I definitely used to live to eat but now I eat to live. I know it is not unusual for ones appetite to reduce with age and I'll be 70 later this year so I worry I may never feel completely normal again. I'm also bored with the lack of variety I can still face eating. I do still enjoy a meal out when the opportunity arises but I always worry that I might not be able to face it when I get there. Some things seem to taste different too, but I'm not sure if that is the medication or something else.