Eating the Same Meal each day

Yep - it’s an autism thing And comfort through repetition - i have gone through phases like that too- only rice and fish, cucumber and strawberries for a year. Then I had a pizza and tiramisu phase . I spent 6 months eating same meals in same order each day (toast with prawns and crackers) and the most recent phase was only eggs 1 brand of whole meal rolls, apples and carrots… i was misdiagnosed with anorexia nervosa despite being desperate to gain weight. It was quite damaging and things only started to make sense when i got the autism diagnosis. I have IBS and lots of digestive issues, made worse by stress, routine makes me feel safe, changes are scary so before I know it I get more and more stuck on same food pattern. Being bad at distinguishing hunger nausea and overfullness doesn’t help.

But thanks to now knowing I am autistic and my dietitian I have quite a varied diet now and am in much much better health.

You could also look into ARFID though at least in my area there is no support for people with ARFID and I personally would recommend staying away from eating disorder services when it comes to autism related eating challenges- i had very bad experiences- it cost me years.

Ann, thank you for your post, I clearly am not alone in my dietary habits; there are now about ten of us on this thread.

I’m sorry to read what a time you’ve had with digestive issues, and I’m glad to see that you’re making good progress. ‘Routine makes me feel safe’, you say. Well, I think all of us here understand you there.

I don’t think I actually have a problem, my meals are usually healthy, just rather similar.  

I note your warning regarding the eating disorder services.

Ben

Ann, thank you for your post, I clearly am not alone in my dietary habits; there are now about ten of us on this thread.

I’m sorry to read what a time you’ve had with digestive issues, and I’m glad to see that you’re making good progress. ‘Routine makes me feel safe’, you say. Well, I think all of us here understand you there.

I don’t think I actually have a problem, my meals are usually healthy, just rather similar.  

I note your warning regarding the eating disorder services.

Ben

Thank you Tris, you are right to create balance, not everyone's experience will be the same.

I'm glad to read that you're finding ARFID is helping you, and I wish you well for the future.

Ben

To give some balance, I am currently involved with the eating disorder services (for ARFID) and I've found it pretty helpful. I don't know if it will be the permanent life-changing thing I really want, but I've made some real progress. Some people do have bad experiences, but please don't dismiss anything out of hand.

Obviously if you're relatively healthy and happy you don't need fixing, but sometimes people need help (as I certainly did, having stopped eating) and they should consider all the options available.