Peculiar tolerance to starvation

Yes, but they can come on very suddenly and powerfully if I've been engrossed in something! Like my brain just bypasses the feelings if it's focused on something else.

Yeah, it doesn’t stop all the other issues mind! At first when I went plant based, I thought it was amazing and the answer to all my problems but in no time at all, all the other complexities of my eating became clear but eating the plant based food has cleared my mind and body enough for me to be able to observe them and therefore build a plan around them. So it’s still a work in progress but I’m more than happy with that because for 51 years I was simply stumbling around in the dark with it all and now I have food I can tolerate and the clarity to be able to slowly build an eating/drinking plan around the complexities ~ and you can’t ask for more than that :) 

I’m pleased to hear you’ve found a diet that works well for you. I must admit that since I switched to a mainly plant-based diet I have felt much better.

Our bodies must be opposites! Do you find that you experience hunger and thirst as well then?

I'm absolutely the opposite way! 
While I do often forget to eat due to being absorbed in an activity I feel REALLY physically and mentally unwell when I do and often suffer bouts of hypoglycaemia, though I'm not diabetic. 

In fact, if I don't eat enough carbohydrates I get dreadful migraines (this is something that runs in the other side of my family to the autism- hit the genetic jackpot lol!).

I never used to stop eating and drinking on purpose, like you, it’s all to do with sensory stuff but I was delighted to find that I was actually doing myself a favour! 

After I haven’t eaten in a few days I do get the feeling of what I think is hunger but it feels amazing to me, it feels so good I don’t want to eat, to prolong the feeling, lol, but yes, it’s definitely all in moderation and fasting is an intuitive thing and requires knowledge but I’m glad I discovered the benefits because now I can work out an eating schedule that works for me and gives me optimal health. 

I switched my diet to a raw vegan diet as well which has made an incredible difference to my health. My body loves raw food and I don’t get any of the horrible after effects of eating cooked food so I’ve got a lot of good info now to finally build an eating plan that works for me. 

I saw your reply to Cassandro. I get that also and I am also a skinny elephant.  5ft 8inches and 8st 2 currently... and in a shrinking phase...but Im on holiday from work soon, so will gain weight again soon with that stressor removed.

Yes, anxiety stops me eating too. In fact, I think that any strong emotional state does it for me, which correlates with your sense of needing to be calm. Guess that’s why I’ve never understood the concept of comfort eating!

I’m also fussy e.g. I don’t like any sauces, I can’t stand the smell of certain foods, I don’t like certain foods touching etc. I was always teased for this as a young child, but I guess this and others symptoms still weren’t enough to scream ‘autism’ at anyone until later.

On the topic of eating, elephants are welcome here as long as they don’t chew at my tree bark!  

Dry fasting, particularly, is the ultimate form of healing.

Interesting, thank you for that insight. I didn’t know I was doing myself a DIY health benefit! Everything in moderation I guess. I certainly feel different myself when I haven’t consumed anything, and whilst I don’t feel ill with it it’s hard to describe exactly how I do feel.

I agree, I think there’s a sensory part to it with regards to not feeling hungry/thirsty.

Hey Aspie-Tree-Person

It is usually tiredness or anxiety that stops me eating. I need to be calm to eat and if this aspie head is still processing or over analyzing things that can be a difficult place to reach at times.

I can be fussy about food, i like things simple and natural (was veggie for years) and don't like eating out.

from 

"Nasally Enhanced Friend"

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.

Disambiguating Cynosure said:

Aspie-Tree-Person

I love it! Maybe not enough to change my name here though - my brain is far too content with the current combination of 3s, 6s and 9s. Sorry guys!

Good point about the fasting. I don’t know why but I hadn’t even thought of it in that way. I guess I wondered if it was an aspie thing in relation to hyposensitivities, but I realise it’s not a diagnostic thing.

I regularly go for days without food and water and now I do it consciously because not only do I feel at my best when I don't eat or drink but also I've recently found out that it's the most healing thing you can do for your body. People actually pay lots of money to go and do it under medical (not mainstream medical) supervision ~ they could save themselves some money and simply come round my house! Lol! 

Dry fasting, particularly, is the ultimate form of healing. Animals do it in the wild and in the home. It goes against everything we've been taught but there is simply no denying how great I feel, how clear my mind is, how peaceful I am etc, how much energy I have and how good I feel when I dry fast so I'm going for the ultimate in dry fasting, I'm in training to be a breatharian! ~ I don't do things by halves! Lol! 

I think the not feeling hunger etc is an aspie thing, I've never felt hunger but anyone can experience the benefits of fasting. 

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.

NAS36609 said:

Any thoughts?

NAS36609 said:

So I’m wondering, is this an aspie thing,

Greetings Aspie-Tree-Person (!)... Preferably others will give better answers than this... but NO it is not an "Aspie" thing.

Try looking up something like "Fasting", and there will be found out that food is used in many different ways, including not used at all. (As to myself, due to very many (annoying) illnesses, my own diet is VERY restricted also.)

Your own body is just that - your own. And so advice from others about how to manage it should be taken as from others. It is indeed a pain trying to PROVE it, though...    :-/