Autistic adults and food

Hi! I can relate to this very much - I end up eating same thing over and over and get very stuck to my routine. I also have digestive issues which make me even more likely to stick to the same food once I think I tolerate something well. I’ve had phases of being more or less diverse in my diet throughout my life and I have noticed that the more everything else changes in my life the more comfort I get from eating the same thing over and over.

In fact the past months have been filled with so much change for me and all I have eaten for months now is eggs with whole grain bread 3 times a day with apples and carrots as snacks (and gum which is a bad habit). I do need to add in more variety again but every time I tried I ended up nauseous with digestive issues and stressed. So much is going on in life right now that I feel unable to tackle this. Right now eating the same meal every day gives me a lot of comfort and I enjoy it. But sadly I am loosing weight and probably also missing out on nutrients like this...

In the past I have been stuck eating other foods- I once spent a year only eating rice, cucumber, fish, apples and strawberries. The worst was when I got stuck having to eat 2 pizzas and 2 tiramisus every day- that was awful for my digestion, my finances and wellbeing but it was very hard to change at time. So even when I get stuck to a bad routine it is hard to change it. In the past I tried making small gradual changes (baby steps) which is probably the sensible way but I find it very hard as it causes stress but doesn’t feel like it is worth it for such a small change- it often then means that I just gravitate back to sameness. The way I did end up changing my routine was usually through quite drastic change (often out of need to survive due to becoming too underweight) which also caused a lot of stress and often didn’t lead to very healthy changes. Even when my diet was more diverse it was always a fight to keep it that way and in the end I end up gravitating back to only a handful of foods. 
Have you looked into resources for ARFID? I bought this book a while ago and it seemed to give some useful tips though I have not yet put them into practice-https://www.amazon.co.uk/Picky-Eaters-Recovery-Book-Restrictive/dp/1108796176/ref=asc_df_1108796176/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=499352049769&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15075699099797360545&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006598&hvtargid=pla-1278438966387&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

Happy to summarise main points for you if you want- I can go check tomorrow but the book is split into categories depending on the reasons for selective eating (eg. Fear of adverse consequences (such as vomiting or feeling ill etc) or sensory sensitivities or disinterest in food/ forgetting to eat) and then gives tips on how to address these. Some of the advice I remember is that it gets you to identify/ score foods based on how scary/ challenging they seem - then the recommendation is to start by adding something that feels relatively safe / that is close to something you feel comfortable with. 

What I think will help me personally is to be very rational about what i add- eg . My current diet lacks xx nutrient- let me find a food that is rich in that nutrient and try and add it. 

Recently I’ve only managed tiny changes when a food i was stuck to no longer was available- so i couldn’t get my brand of rolls anymore which was super stressful but then i bought the most similar type to those rolls that i could find and funnily got stuck to the new brand (old one became available again but now i wouldn’t want it anymore) - so maybe it is easier to change / try something new when the safe food you usually have is not directly/ easily available as backup. Otherwise it might be too tempting to just play safe one more time... but again it is also important to not put too much stress/ pressure on yourself. Also step 1 to actually trying something new is to actually buy it and have it in house- obvious one but for me even that step can be a challenge. Maybe go shopping and just be at d as somewhat impulsive and grab a few things that catch your eye- sometimes it helps to not overthink.

if you don’t mind me asking- why do you think your diet is very selective? Is it comfort of routine? Or sensory sensitivity? Or fear of adverse consequences when you change? Or other reasons? Are there foods you used to eat and like in past that you could try to reintroduce? 

I have worked with a great dietitian too for over 2 years now though at moment not so often as we have recognised that whilst I am under so much stress in other areas of life, i don’t have space to tackle food. And it’s sadly quite expensive (in past my university helped pay) If you want I can send you her details. 

gps sadly have not been helpful at all with regards to selective eating. They kept thinking I must have anorexia nervosa ( due to weight loss) even though I never intentionally loose weight and am in fact desperate to gain weight- I wasn’t believed and it was damaging - i tried following advice that was not suited for my issue- i was desperate for someone to understand and know how to help- i tried to convince myself i must have a typical eating disorder but it never fit-in fact my autism diagnosis has helped me a lot - at least now I understand better why I love eating the same foods over snd over.

not sure if any of this is helpful- sadly i have no solution-i just wanted you to know you are not alone with this challenge. 

Hi! I can relate to this very much - I end up eating same thing over and over and get very stuck to my routine. I also have digestive issues which make me even more likely to stick to the same food once I think I tolerate something well. I’ve had phases of being more or less diverse in my diet throughout my life and I have noticed that the more everything else changes in my life the more comfort I get from eating the same thing over and over.

In fact the past months have been filled with so much change for me and all I have eaten for months now is eggs with whole grain bread 3 times a day with apples and carrots as snacks (and gum which is a bad habit). I do need to add in more variety again but every time I tried I ended up nauseous with digestive issues and stressed. So much is going on in life right now that I feel unable to tackle this. Right now eating the same meal every day gives me a lot of comfort and I enjoy it. But sadly I am loosing weight and probably also missing out on nutrients like this...

In the past I have been stuck eating other foods- I once spent a year only eating rice, cucumber, fish, apples and strawberries. The worst was when I got stuck having to eat 2 pizzas and 2 tiramisus every day- that was awful for my digestion, my finances and wellbeing but it was very hard to change at time. So even when I get stuck to a bad routine it is hard to change it. In the past I tried making small gradual changes (baby steps) which is probably the sensible way but I find it very hard as it causes stress but doesn’t feel like it is worth it for such a small change- it often then means that I just gravitate back to sameness. The way I did end up changing my routine was usually through quite drastic change (often out of need to survive due to becoming too underweight) which also caused a lot of stress and often didn’t lead to very healthy changes. Even when my diet was more diverse it was always a fight to keep it that way and in the end I end up gravitating back to only a handful of foods. 
Have you looked into resources for ARFID? I bought this book a while ago and it seemed to give some useful tips though I have not yet put them into practice-https://www.amazon.co.uk/Picky-Eaters-Recovery-Book-Restrictive/dp/1108796176/ref=asc_df_1108796176/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=499352049769&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15075699099797360545&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006598&hvtargid=pla-1278438966387&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

Happy to summarise main points for you if you want- I can go check tomorrow but the book is split into categories depending on the reasons for selective eating (eg. Fear of adverse consequences (such as vomiting or feeling ill etc) or sensory sensitivities or disinterest in food/ forgetting to eat) and then gives tips on how to address these. Some of the advice I remember is that it gets you to identify/ score foods based on how scary/ challenging they seem - then the recommendation is to start by adding something that feels relatively safe / that is close to something you feel comfortable with. 

What I think will help me personally is to be very rational about what i add- eg . My current diet lacks xx nutrient- let me find a food that is rich in that nutrient and try and add it. 

Recently I’ve only managed tiny changes when a food i was stuck to no longer was available- so i couldn’t get my brand of rolls anymore which was super stressful but then i bought the most similar type to those rolls that i could find and funnily got stuck to the new brand (old one became available again but now i wouldn’t want it anymore) - so maybe it is easier to change / try something new when the safe food you usually have is not directly/ easily available as backup. Otherwise it might be too tempting to just play safe one more time... but again it is also important to not put too much stress/ pressure on yourself. Also step 1 to actually trying something new is to actually buy it and have it in house- obvious one but for me even that step can be a challenge. Maybe go shopping and just be at d as somewhat impulsive and grab a few things that catch your eye- sometimes it helps to not overthink.

if you don’t mind me asking- why do you think your diet is very selective? Is it comfort of routine? Or sensory sensitivity? Or fear of adverse consequences when you change? Or other reasons? Are there foods you used to eat and like in past that you could try to reintroduce? 

I have worked with a great dietitian too for over 2 years now though at moment not so often as we have recognised that whilst I am under so much stress in other areas of life, i don’t have space to tackle food. And it’s sadly quite expensive (in past my university helped pay) If you want I can send you her details. 

gps sadly have not been helpful at all with regards to selective eating. They kept thinking I must have anorexia nervosa ( due to weight loss) even though I never intentionally loose weight and am in fact desperate to gain weight- I wasn’t believed and it was damaging - i tried following advice that was not suited for my issue- i was desperate for someone to understand and know how to help- i tried to convince myself i must have a typical eating disorder but it never fit-in fact my autism diagnosis has helped me a lot - at least now I understand better why I love eating the same foods over snd over.

not sure if any of this is helpful- sadly i have no solution-i just wanted you to know you are not alone with this challenge. 

I just remembered if you think you are at risk of being deficient in some nutrients due to your diet it might be an idea to get a blood test to check and to take some supplements to see you through if necessary whilst you work on expanding your diet. I am not a fan of taking supplements but I have finally conceded upon insistance of dietitian (as a temporary damage limitation) and I also intend to ask for blood test with gp to check on some vitamins and nutrients (eg vit b12 , folate etc.) - it’s not possible to check for everything but could be useful ( my dietitian again recommended) - Not sure what your diet is like and if this applies but if you do think you could be deficient in anything that is something a gp could possibly help with. Ideally of course the diet provides all we need but these things take time