Published on 12, July, 2020
I have difficulty eating and drinking at work due to comments made to me by a former employer and issues with using the toilets where I work. Whilst I do notice at times I don’t feel great due to total starvation, on the whole I manage to go for the majority of the day with no food or drink at all, and when I’m struggling mentally (as it is currently) I can go a few days without consuming anything at all. Meanwhile, I somehow still get all of my work and activities done. Yet when I raise this with doctors (as I know this isn’t healthy) they always respond with ‘well you must have consumed something otherwise you would be ill from that’. But that’s just the thing, my body appears to have a peculiar robustness when it comes to starvation.
So I’m wondering, is this an aspie thing, is it because other than this I’m really healthy, or is it just my body being an unusual one?! I know of others with autism that have eating/drinking issues but I’m not sure how they manage that or how it affects their ability to function physically/mentally. Any thoughts?
I would say, yes, it is an aspie thing, under the general heading of hyposensitive 'interoception', not knowing the state of your body. I get it a bit, less than I used to.
I think we discussed it somewhere else on the forum about not feeling hunger, or not being able to distinguish between feeling hungry and feeling full. The other thing is that immersion in an activity can be so all-consuming that you forget physical needs.
In terms of the physical effects, did your doctor check or comment on your BMI? I kind of assume three meals a day is still the recommendation, and try to focus on that, although it's pretty irregular. I suspect the current fashion for fasting can't be that unhealthy either.
Cassandro said:I think we discussed it somewhere else on the forum about not feeling hunger, or not being able to distinguish between feeling hungry and feeling full. The other thing is that immersion in an activity can be so all-consuming that you forget physical needs.
Yes I saw that discussion. It’s true that I often don’t feel hungry or thirsty, but even when I do I appear able to just ignore the signals and carry on which is kind of what I’m getting at here. You are certainly right about getting immersed in something and forgetting physical needs, but I can often be doing nothing and still ignore them!
My BMI is fine, the lowest end of normal. I’m sporty so I guess the weight of muscle helps, but also I do try to get enough calories by having two meals in an evening (when I am eating). It’s unconventional but it appears to be sustaining me at present.