Advice needed on how to control my unhealthy diet

My relationship with food has always been terrible, even before I was diagnosed with autism.

I would eat very large plates of food as a child, and would pick off of other people's plates once they had finished. I loved sweets, so much so that when my mother started to hide the sweets, i would dig through the cupboards until i found them. I ate and drank things so fast that i would have frequent nausea. I never stopped mouthing, so any pen, pencil, lid or bottle cap would either be chewed to an unrecognisable clump of plastic or swallowed.

Even with the diagnosis, i haven't seemed to control myself. I know now that i mostly overeat because of a lack of mental stimulation and because of sensory input, but I can't change my diet no matter how hard I try.

However, i do worry that at the rate i am going, i could end up with diabetes. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

Parents
  • I was very similar to you in my teens, and now I have a really good diet, good habits, and regular exercise. So it can be done!

    I am definitely drawn to overeating when I'm looking for sensory stimulus. So I drink herbal teas. I also realised I mistook thirst for hunger, so I body scan now to decide which it is.

    I found a community exercise class at the local college where i felt not embarrassed and did that for a few years. I eventually progressed to fell running and found a sport finally that i love. I also did badminton classes that felt ok, and tai chi.

    I focussed being disciplined in the shops and not buying sugars there, easier to resist when shopping than at home.

    I focussed on introducing good habits, rather than cutting bad ones, like a wholemeal lunch of pulse, grains and salad. And I cut dairy which was the biggest weightloss!

    There were other things too, but that's probably enough. There's loads of awful advice out there but some good books that are research based, Diet by Design I think was the one that helped me most. But there are others that come at it from different angles.

Reply
  • I was very similar to you in my teens, and now I have a really good diet, good habits, and regular exercise. So it can be done!

    I am definitely drawn to overeating when I'm looking for sensory stimulus. So I drink herbal teas. I also realised I mistook thirst for hunger, so I body scan now to decide which it is.

    I found a community exercise class at the local college where i felt not embarrassed and did that for a few years. I eventually progressed to fell running and found a sport finally that i love. I also did badminton classes that felt ok, and tai chi.

    I focussed being disciplined in the shops and not buying sugars there, easier to resist when shopping than at home.

    I focussed on introducing good habits, rather than cutting bad ones, like a wholemeal lunch of pulse, grains and salad. And I cut dairy which was the biggest weightloss!

    There were other things too, but that's probably enough. There's loads of awful advice out there but some good books that are research based, Diet by Design I think was the one that helped me most. But there are others that come at it from different angles.

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