the stress of choosing meals

Hi, It sounds very tough. I struggle a lot with food and digestion as well (also autism related) so I can relate to how complicated and difficult it is. Why do you not have your safe foods anymore? Was it something your mum used to make?

I also have a tendency to want to eat the same food over and over and have gone through periods of eating only a handful of foods- only a few months ago I was  only eating the same five foods in same order and combination each day- I unintentionally lost so much weight that I almost ended up in hospital. In the end I ended up making quite drastic changes as I was in a critical condition, but I do think baby steps in general are maybe easier- I used a lot of ideas from exposure therapy to help me expand my diet. 

I actually bought this book for adults with ARFID type eating issues which you might find helpful- "The picky eater's recovery book" by Jennifer J Thomas. It has a lot of exercises and tips in it to get you started on expanding your diet- in the end I didn't end up using it that much as I just acted out of desperation and started eating new foods but it has a lot of useful tips in it how you can incorporate more foods into your diet. 

Here is the link to the book- I really think it could be of interest to you as it has lots of good explanations and a clear stepwise plan to get you going, with lots of exercises and tools to use. The Picky Eater's Recovery Book: Overcoming Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder : Thomas, Jennifer J.: Amazon.co.uk: Books

Also, it is very positive that you have already bought different food, even if you haven't manage to eat or cook it yet. Step number one is just having it in the house- in the book they even recommend first just looking at the new food, smelling it, touching it etc. before tasting it. Be kind to yourself. It can be very hard to break out of a routine and to add new foods. Maybe start of by trying to add something new to go with the chicken nuggets- just a tiny bit to start with and then increase it over time? Or choose a food that is very similar to chicken nuggets that you could try? (maybe another breaded food- eg. fish fingers). Maybe make a list of foods you might be interested in trying and rate them by how difficult you find them- start with something you feel relatively comfortable with- take small steps, even a bite of something new is a victory. Also are there any foods that you used to enjoy that maybe you can try again? 

Cooking might also be very hard at first- so maybe make it as easy as possible to start with and get some convenience foods that don't need much preparation (you can put together quite healthy meals from ready stuff). 

Food issues are difficult and take a lot of time. I am also nowhere near sorted yet and I know how hard it is - I go between undereating due to lack of appetite, digestive issues, stress or as I at times only have a handful of safe foods, but then also struggle with stress eating and binging etc. And adding new foods is not easy- a few months ago, even just buying something new or a different brand of something would set my heart rate spiking. You are doing well and I am confident you can make positive changes. Believe in yourself :) 

I hope you find your way. Best, Ann 

I have also had support from a very good dietitian- if you are interested I can give you her contact details- She has experience with autistic patients and is great. Unfortunately it is quite expensive though (I was lucky that I had help from university to pay for sessions). 

Hi, It sounds very tough. I struggle a lot with food and digestion as well (also autism related) so I can relate to how complicated and difficult it is. Why do you not have your safe foods anymore? Was it something your mum used to make?

I also have a tendency to want to eat the same food over and over and have gone through periods of eating only a handful of foods- only a few months ago I was  only eating the same five foods in same order and combination each day- I unintentionally lost so much weight that I almost ended up in hospital. In the end I ended up making quite drastic changes as I was in a critical condition, but I do think baby steps in general are maybe easier- I used a lot of ideas from exposure therapy to help me expand my diet. 

I actually bought this book for adults with ARFID type eating issues which you might find helpful- "The picky eater's recovery book" by Jennifer J Thomas. It has a lot of exercises and tips in it to get you started on expanding your diet- in the end I didn't end up using it that much as I just acted out of desperation and started eating new foods but it has a lot of useful tips in it how you can incorporate more foods into your diet. 

Here is the link to the book- I really think it could be of interest to you as it has lots of good explanations and a clear stepwise plan to get you going, with lots of exercises and tools to use. The Picky Eater's Recovery Book: Overcoming Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder : Thomas, Jennifer J.: Amazon.co.uk: Books

Also, it is very positive that you have already bought different food, even if you haven't manage to eat or cook it yet. Step number one is just having it in the house- in the book they even recommend first just looking at the new food, smelling it, touching it etc. before tasting it. Be kind to yourself. It can be very hard to break out of a routine and to add new foods. Maybe start of by trying to add something new to go with the chicken nuggets- just a tiny bit to start with and then increase it over time? Or choose a food that is very similar to chicken nuggets that you could try? (maybe another breaded food- eg. fish fingers). Maybe make a list of foods you might be interested in trying and rate them by how difficult you find them- start with something you feel relatively comfortable with- take small steps, even a bite of something new is a victory. Also are there any foods that you used to enjoy that maybe you can try again? 

Cooking might also be very hard at first- so maybe make it as easy as possible to start with and get some convenience foods that don't need much preparation (you can put together quite healthy meals from ready stuff). 

Food issues are difficult and take a lot of time. I am also nowhere near sorted yet and I know how hard it is - I go between undereating due to lack of appetite, digestive issues, stress or as I at times only have a handful of safe foods, but then also struggle with stress eating and binging etc. And adding new foods is not easy- a few months ago, even just buying something new or a different brand of something would set my heart rate spiking. You are doing well and I am confident you can make positive changes. Believe in yourself :) 

I hope you find your way. Best, Ann 

I have also had support from a very good dietitian- if you are interested I can give you her contact details- She has experience with autistic patients and is great. Unfortunately it is quite expensive though (I was lucky that I had help from university to pay for sessions).