Eating the Same Meal each day

I think it’s an autism thing. I’ll find a recipe I like, eat it on repeat for weeks on end, then get fed up of it and move into something else! 

I tend to have meals on a weekly and seasonal rotation, so I'll eat different things every day, I do eat lots of rice and pasta, less so potatoes, only about once a week and never chips, I know I'm strange but I don't really like chips, they give me indigestion.

All of the food I eat is vegetarian and often vegan, I can't digest animal protein.

If I had to eat the same meal every day it would probably be rice and dhal, with a few vegetables or salad on the side.

Thank you for mentioning ARFID. I agree with your advice on avoiding eating disorder services. I stick to the same meals, pasta one day and home baked bread and jam and new potatoes as a side dish. I try not to comfort eat but given the world at present, can you blame me?  

I eat chips usually three times a week.

Not sure if that counts - or not? 

When I was pregnant once I saw a stupid video on YouTube, of monkey sitting in baby chair and eating a potato purée, feeding herself with a spoon from a bowl. Till the end of pregnancy my everyday must was a potatoes purée. Now it’s pasta over over and over again. 
i don’t support owning wild animals such as monkeys or apes by the way. Their natural habitat is in the wild. 

Ben said:

I can eat fish and rice seven nights a week and am just wondering if this is an autism thing? 

One of the common symptoms of autism is repetition. By way of example, I eat cheeseburgers every Friday. 

Steak, spuds and beans.

Fish and rice is pretty healthy as far as a repetitive diet can go. So at least you've got that.

Pretty much all my dishes can be reduced to a stewed meat with carbs. Air fryers and ovens are almost useless to me cos all my cooking can be achieved with a hotpot.

I am the same as you. I have had food problems since I was 15 yrs old. I have cycles of eating the same until im board with it. But I cant get off the sugar, I just cant stop eating at present. But I have had many serious and distressing things happen in the last few years. I have literally made myself go out for lunch every day for a carvery, or I would just eat junk. I just do not cook anymore except the air fryer foods like pizza.

I dont like baked beans over cooked so eat them cold

Bump

I love chicken and i don't think of this much.

Roy said:

I’ve been asked how I can eat spaghetti hoops but will vomit baked beans up, easy spaghetti doesn’t change texture, all beans become mushy.

Thanks for stating this. I have always wondered why I can eat some foods prepared some way but not others, and now I have an answer. 

To be honest I am quite happy to eat the same food everyday, I often think of eating as just a function to survive not an experience to enjoy. When my wife is away I often buy a large pack of sausages and tins of spaghetti hoops, 3 sausages, hoops plus bread and butter every day. I know how it will taste and what the texture will be. I’ve been asked how I can eat spaghetti hoops but will vomit baked beans up, easy spaghetti doesn’t change texture, all beans become mushy.

This below explains a lot of my childhood.

Yeah this is how I ended up eating same thing for ages too- once I found something I tolerated well I just stuck to it 

I can relate to this- i used to be so so inflexible- even portion sizes, brands and everything had to be the same - i got super anxious otherwise but this need for sameness was also causing more issues as actually sometimes i want different things or am more or less hungry 

Yep, similar. I often find myself thinking so much about what to do with food, and then typically opting for the same. 

Have family members who would eat the same thing at the same time each day. 

I love chicken! I currently also really love chocolate digestives and Bahlsen biscuits!

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.