Fussy food eater

Hello,

I was often thought of as a fussy eater as a child and still am but have you ever heard the term Avoidance Food Restricted Intake Disorder? This was a light bulb moment for me as it explained so much. Like you, I struggle with food textures but I do my best to eat healthy and enjoy fresh fruit such as apples, bananas. Eating out can be a pain trying to find something I can eat but stick to soups and have enjoyed new varieties. 

It’s a shame pizza huts are closing, I’m not sure if they are all closing or some remain open. I heard something about the take aways staying open but I’m not sure. It’s a shame because there’s a Pizza Hut in Liverpool me and mum are hoping to go to for my birthday but it might be closed by then. Yeah no matter what company though my toppings are always ham and pepperoni with no cheese lol! Only cheese I eat are quavers and mini cheddar biscuits. 

I used to have sausage patties as well but I haven’t been able to get them for ages, not even sure if mc Donald’s do them now

The mini sausages make me laugh because im the same haha! 

Totally get the pizza thing, I couldnt eat anyone's pizza except a certsin resturant for pizzahut and now theyve closed so I wont eat pizza anymore  probably for the best haha 

Thank you! I wish you luck too if ever you wanna tackle it too

Hi there. I’m 25 and I have this issue myself. I tend to eat more foods that are crunchy, I can’t stand anything soft or soggy etc. I mainly eat chicken though I occasionally have mini sausages, gammon and steak. I also don’t have sauces or dips etc. I also have pizza with no cheese (everyone says that’s not a pizza I have). 

Im not medically qualified here so you may want to talk to your GP  but if this helps I do take multi vitamins. With the weight loss I also exercise (I mainly do ring fit). 

I wish you the best 

I wouldn't do hypnotherapy either. I live in my head and I don't want it messed with. Also not everyone can be hypnotized, you have to want to be a little bit I believe.

Ra_ja2002 said:

I get super anxious at the idea of doing anything that involves an out of mind situation thing

The easiest way to deal with this is to take someone you trust with you to act as a "chaperone" to make sure the therapist stays on point and respects your wishes.

You are welcome, hope things work out well.

Hey! Thank you, I am very aware of what i need, im a bit obsessive in the respect that I like to know what I need for a healthy lifestyle, but its getting to that stage that im really struggling with

I think youre absolutely right about seeing a GP though thank you I will speak with them soon and see what happens

Thank you! I have my annual health check coming up so I think im gonna try for it at the appointment 

Hypnotherapy kinda freaks me out in all honesty, I can see why it may be good but I get super anxious at the idea of doing anything that involves an out of mind situation thing if that makes sense

Ra_ja2002 said:

I need help changing this but I dont know how to do it without torturing myself

Have you considered hypnotherapy?

As with most treatments it needs to be adapted for it to work well with autists but this may be what you need to get over your mental block against these things.

Please research this more if you would consider it and if you decide to try it then ask the therapist on how they adapt the technique to be suitable for autists - if they are super vague then they are probably not actually experienced.

Hi and welcome to the community. 

Firstly, I will say that I'm not a medical professional or dietician, and I would strongly encourage you to speak to your GP about how you can lose weight - they can refer you to an NHS dietician if required. I was offered a referral when I was trying to lose weight but I managed it on my own with the support and encouragement of my GP.

However, I will share my experiences and put forward some ideas. When I wanted to lose weight, I researched diet extensively and experimented with what worked for me, which was a low carb diet with the addition of some fibre rich foods. I ate meat, fish, eggs, cheese, vegetables, nuts, and high fibre cereal for breakfast. 

Because you struggle with the texture or taste of most foods, changing your diet is going to be more challenging. I am not keen on fresh fruit but I do like the pots of chopped peaches in fruit juice, which I like because there is consistency of taste and texture, however you might not like any fruit.

Meat contains essential protein and minerals such as iron and zinc, but it's better if it doesn't have breadcrumbs or batter on it. Fresh meat is obviously best, but can be expensive. Usually it's cheaper to buy frozen chicken breasts, legs or wings, or sausages or burgers (look for sausages or burgers with a higher meat content and less "fillers" - some can be 100% meat). I also buy ready roasted chicken breasts from the chilled section and reheat them.

It can be good to have a meat alternative occasionally, for example you can get Quorn Swedish style balls, which taste a lot like meat balls, and they are quite high in fibre too.

Vegetables or fruit are important, not just because of the fibre content but because they contain vitamin C and a deficiency can cause a disease called scurvy - it isn't heard of much these days as even people who don't eat much fruit or veg eat quite a lot of potatoes, which contain the vitamin. But I was concerned that you haven't mentioned that you eat potatoes either, not even chips or crisps? So if that is the case I suggest you discuss it with your doctor as they might want to test for vitamin deficiency.

I'm not sure what foods to suggest that you might like, but here are some that are high in fibre that you could try:

Nuts or peanuts

Oats - in real porridge or muesli, or if you don't like milk try cereal bars containing oats, or oat cakes

Bran cereals

High fibre breads or crackers or crispbread (some have oats or seeds in)

Dried fruit (only small amounts as they have a higher sugar content than fresh fruit)

Fresh carrot sticks Roasted parsnips, Vegetable crisps

A small jacket potato (eat the skin too)

Dark chocolate (only a few squares at a time, but most dark chocolate is around 10% fibre),

I think it might be worth approaching your gp to see if they can refer you to a dietitian. They might be able to give you some helpful strategies to gradually introduce new foods into your diet.