Trusting Your Appetite Again: Finding the Workarounds When Eating Changes During Cancer Treatment

One of the less-talked-about challenges of cancer treatment is how much it can change your relationship with food.

Sometimes the problem is physical: nausea, mouth sores, changes in taste or smell, digestive discomfort, or simply having no appetite.

Other times, it becomes emotional. You may begin questioning every choice: Is this the right thing to eat? Could this hurt me? Am I getting enough? Should I be eating when I’m not hungry?

In a recent Food for Thought conversation, Stacy Fritz sat down with Sara Stratton of Remission Nutrition to talk about what it can look like to begin trusting your appetite again. Sara brings a unique perspective to the conversation as both an oncology nutrition professional and a cancer survivor who has experienced chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and treatment-related food changes herself. Pasted text

What emerged from their conversation was not a rigid eating plan. It was something much more practical: learn what your body can tolerate, build a nourishing foundation, and be willing to find the workaround when the usual approach no longer works.

Your hunger cues may not work the way they used to

Before treatment, hunger may have been fairly predictable. You eat, a few hours pass, and eventually your body lets you know it is ready for more.

Treatment can interrupt that pattern.

Sara explained that chemotherapy can affect the gut, contribute to nausea, alter the microbiome, and change the way people respond to certain foods. Smells may suddenly become overwhelming. Textures can feel different. Foods may no longer taste the way they once did. Even the fear and anxiety surrounding a cancer diagnosis can affect appetite before treatment side effects are added to the picture. Pasted text

That is why rebuilding appetite may begin with something as simple as rebuilding routine.

Sara suggested that, especially after treatment, eating can become one of the habits that needs to be intentionally brought back into the day alongside drinking water, moving the body, and preparing meals.

The goal is not to force large amounts of food because you think you “should” be eating more.

In fact, Sara cautioned against going from eating very little during treatment to suddenly trying to consume large meals. Digestion may still be sensitive, and the body may need time to regain its ability to comfortably process food. Pasted text

Sometimes you have to relearn the practice of eating

One of the most practical parts of the conversation was Sara’s reminder that eating involves more than putting food on a plate.

Cooking the food. Smelling it. Sitting down. Chewing thoroughly. Allowing the body to settle enough to receive a meal.

She described this as rebuilding the practice of eating.

That may sound simple, but after treatment it can be an important part of getting reacquainted with food and digestion.

Instead of rushing to “get calories in,” the first step may be creating a calmer environment and slowly increasing what the body is able to tolerate. Pasted text

Start with the foundation of the meal

When appetite is unpredictable, Sara recommends keeping the basic structure of meals straightforward.

Look at the plate and ask:

Where is my protein? Where is my healthy fat? Where are my carbohydrates, fiber, and color?

Protein might come from foods such as eggs, chicken, beef, fish, hemp hearts, or soy.

Healthy fats might include avocado, coconut, nuts, or seeds.

Then there are the colorful, fiber-containing foods that help round out the meal. Pasted text

The amount of food can change.

The basic balance can remain.

That distinction matters because someone coming out of treatment may only be able to tolerate a small amount of food at first. A balanced meal does not necessarily have to be a large meal.

What if you simply are not hungry?

This is where Stacy and Sara talked about reframing food.

We often think of eating in terms of enjoyment, comfort, tradition, or community. But during treatment and recovery, food may sometimes need to be viewed first as fuel.

Sara encouraged asking a different question:

What is this food giving me right now?

What are the nutrients in the berries providing?

What are the amino acids from the protein giving the body?

What are healthy fats contributing?

That shift can be especially helpful during periods when eating does not feel pleasurable.

As Stacy put it during the conversation, sometimes you may have to “eat like it’s your job”—not because food should become another source of pressure, but because nourishment is another tool supporting the body through treatment and recovery. Pasted text

The number on the scale is not the whole story

Another important part of the discussion centered on weight.

Cancer care often places understandable emphasis on preventing excessive weight loss during treatment. But Sara encouraged looking beyond pounds alone.

The real question may be: What kind of weight are you rebuilding?

Treatment can result in loss of muscle. Regaining weight afterward does not automatically mean rebuilding strength.

Sara emphasized looking at muscle, bone, strength, protein intake, and the quality of the foods being used to rebuild the body rather than focusing only on getting back to a previous number on the scale. Pasted text

For some people, the goal may not be regaining every pound they lost.

It may be rebuilding muscle and finding an appropriate weight for their individual body.

When food becomes frightening

Sara also talked about another side of cancer nutrition: becoming afraid of food.

She sees clients who worry that nearly everything might be harmful.

Is this going to feed the cancer?

Does this contain pesticides?

Is this meat good enough?

Am I making the wrong choice?

That kind of thinking can create its own stress.

Sara encouraged shifting away from constantly asking what a food might do to you and instead considering what it may be giving you.

What are the colorful foods providing?

What are the omega-3 fats contributing?

What are the amino acids in protein supporting?

The goal is not perfection. It is developing a food philosophy that is focused more on nourishment than fear. Pasted text

Stacy connected that idea to something she had recently heard: aim to make choices 1% better.

Not perfect.

Just better than before.

Find the workaround

Perhaps the most useful theme from the entire conversation was the idea of workarounds.

Cancer treatment can make eating complicated, but Sara and Stacy repeatedly came back to the idea that the food itself—or the way it is served—can be adapted.

For example, Stacy shared what happened when her brother developed mouth sores during treatment and had additional dietary limitations.

A traditional plate of food was not always realistic.

So they created what she called a “plate in a cup.”

They used a high-quality protein or collagen, a small amount of low-glycemic fruit, avocado for fat and creaminess, and filtered water. It became a way to deliver the components of a balanced meal in a form he could tolerate more easily. Pasted text

Sara offered other examples.

If mouth sores make eating difficult, try changing the consistency and temperature: cooler foods, smoothies, or popsicles may be easier.

If nausea makes complicated foods unappealing, simpler and softer foods might work better.

Sara recalled making protein muffins with almond flour, protein powder, and eggs when she wanted something bread-like during treatment. It satisfied that desire for a softer comfort food while still providing protein and keeping the food lower glycemic. Pasted text

The point is not that everyone should eat the same foods.

The point is to ask:

What can I change so this works for me right now?

Texture.

Temperature.

Portion size.

Ingredients.

Preparation.

Even the room where you eat.

Sometimes the workaround is the thing that makes nourishment possible.

Food aversions are real—and you do not always have to overcome them

Sara shared a very personal example from her own treatment.

During chemotherapy, she drank bone broth while fasting. She also experienced some nausea at the time.

Years later, she still cannot drink bone broth by itself.

She can have it in soup, but sipping it plain brings back an aversion her body has never fully released. Pasted text

And her response to that is refreshingly practical:

That is okay.

There are other foods.

Not every treatment-related aversion has to be conquered. Sometimes the better answer is finding another nutritious option that accomplishes the same goal.

Caregivers need workarounds, too

The conversation also turned to something Stacy experienced firsthand while supporting her brother: the tension that can develop around food between a patient and the people trying desperately to help.

Caregivers know nourishment is important.

They prepare food.

They encourage eating.

Friends drop off meals.

But the person in treatment may feel nauseous, exhausted, uninterested in food, or unable to tolerate what has been prepared.

Sara described the resulting dynamic as friction—not because either person is doing something wrong, but because everyone is trying to help while the person going through treatment may simply not feel well. Pasted text

Her suggestion was patience, listening, creativity, and having backup options.

She also shared something that helped her own family during treatment: people contributed toward a meal delivery service that offered foods she could eat. That support helped not only Sara but the rest of her household, because there was less pressure to cook for everyone.

Stacy and Sara challenged the familiar instinct to automatically send the casserole or sweets.

Instead, ask the person:

What would actually be helpful?

Maybe it is appropriate prepared meals.

Maybe it is groceries.

Maybe it is helping with filtered water.

The support becomes far more meaningful when it reflects what the person actually needs.

The end of treatment is not necessarily the end of the work

Sara closed the webinar with one of the strongest ideas from the conversation.

People often ring a bell when they complete treatment, marking the end of a difficult chapter.

Sara looks at that moment a little differently.

She described the bell not only as a finish line, but as a starting line—the beginning of rebuilding the body and its cells from the inside out. Pasted text

That rebuilding does not require perfection.

It requires attention.

It might mean rebuilding meals gradually.

Finding a new food when an old favorite no longer works.

Choosing protein when rebuilding muscle is the goal.

Asking someone else to cook because the smell makes you nauseous.

Blending a meal when chewing hurts.

Or simply making today’s choice 1% better than yesterday’s.

There is no single formula for trusting your appetite again.

But there are workarounds.

And sometimes finding the one that works for you is a very good place to start.

Watch Trusting Your Appetite Again
Hear the full conversation with Sara Stratton and explore more practical Food for Thought nutrition webinars from Believe Big:

Food for Thought – Nutrition Webinar

Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for individualized medical or nutrition advice. Cancer treatment, fasting, supplements, cannabis use, weight management, and nutrition strategies should be discussed with qualified members of your healthcare team.