Hello!

I wasn’t sure what tag to use, and I am sure this has been done to death, but I just found this sub and I’m so excited.

I have AFRID. It was made much, much worse by having parents who believed force feeding, bullying and discipline was the answer.

I’m trying my best to be… healthier. But sometimes being fed itself is a nightmare.

I desperately, desperately need more fruit in my diet. But I can’t trust fruit. It’s catastrophically unreliable.

Is there something on the Australian market that can help in that regard? I’m eating fruit straps and fruit sticks at the moment.

Thanks!

Hi.

I'm trying to eat at the moment but I can't, even though my stomach is rumbling. I'm really depressed and anxious at the moment but I don't think I've eaten enough since around February this year. I'm autistic.

I put trigger warning instead of "do i have arfid" because I could only pick one. The trigger warning is for talking about body weight and is in the next paragraph.

I've always had a low BMI even when I eat a lot. I've been tested for a few things but no reason has been found so doctors always said it's fine. Foods high in some types of fats seem to go straight through me - full fat milk is the most extreme. Oddly, peanut butter - which is also high in fat - doesn't. So basically, there seems to be something strange about my metabolism but I don't know what it is.

So I might have some kind of metabolic condition that makes it hard to gain weight, but I don't know what condition.

In addition to that, sometimes I find it really hard to eat. I've been in one of those phases for most of this year, with it getting better at some times and worse at other times. It's really bad right now.

Sometimes when I try to eat I can't swallow and sometimes food comes back up. The taste and texture of food feels really bad at the moment. But since it's mostly an issue when I'm depressed (I am very very depressed right now) idk if it's ARFID.

When I'm not in one of these phases I usually eat two eggs and two pieces of toast for breakfast, a bottle of Ensure Plus a few hours after breakfast, a bowl of cereal with low fat milk for morning tea, pizza or burritos or pasta for lunch, and something with lots of vegetables, carbs, beans, and cheese for dinner.

I'm a vegetarian and there's a lot of foods that I like but also a lot of foods that I don't like. As an adult looking back, I'm not sure whether some of the "no" foods are for psychological reasons or physical - for example, I can't stand most bakery items, but most bakery items are possibly high in the type of nutrient mentioned in the trigger warning paragraph that I possibly don't digest properly?

Today I've eaten a bow of serial, picked at a slice of pizza, eaten a couple of chips, an drank a bottle and a half of Ensure Plus.

Ensure Plus only has 300 calories and I work a physical job so I'm getting a little scared that I can't eat enough.

In addition to wondering if I have ARFID, I was wondering if anyone knew foods I could try to eat that are high in calories and easy to swallow. I'm going to go and buy some chocolate yoghurt soon but I could get other things too. AI estimates that the diet I follow when I'm healthy is about 2,200-2,800 calories so I guess I'm aiming for about 1,200 calories in food and the chocolate yoghurt only has 100 calories per pottle :(

it's hard for me to drink water or any liquid i can mainly only drink gatorades

So chicken maruchan ramen and original Kraft Mac and cheese are in my top 3 fav/safe foods. My cousin sent me a video about the two brands coming together and making a Mac and cheese ramen. I told her, hilariously enough, there’s a 50% I’ll hate this shit, but I’ll definitely be first in line to try it out!

So I graduated college in April and I’ve been living in my parents house which has been an adjustment after living in a dorm. But I found myself feeling a lot of difficulty to eat the foods that are prepared or just in the fridge. I don’t like cooking, but even simple things that I liked to eat in my dorm have been very difficult for me to eat here. For example, today I try to eat an air fried buffalo chicken, quesadilla and I couldn’t do it. I’ve got like so scared that there was something wrong with it then I started feeling nauseous and my stomach started hurting. There are some foods that like are kind of safe like cereal but it’s still like limits what I eat largely. And I’ve always been a picky eater, but it’s just never been to this level. I found myself spending a lot of money on ordering food because of this. The thing is it could be like a multitude of things it could be the roach problem, the past rat problem, strong smells, like just past trauma, or just like family members discussing what I’m eating constantly when I did live here and I would visit. But I find this very stressful because I love to eat. This has also affected cooking certain foods to like eggs. What do you guys recommend I do.
Note: I’m planing on seeing a therapist as soon I can but this affects day to day so.

My 7 year old has ARFID and the children's hospital feeding clinic referred us to Equip for treatment. Has anyone had any experience with their program and process?

Hello, I'm here looking for advice/perspectives. I have been working with a therapist and dietician for a few months for anorexia and ARFID and have come to a point where I feel like the treatment/advocacy fatigue itself is worse than the ED.

I'm so burnt out and I'm identifying that the treatment isn't trauma informed and neurodiversity affirming in the ways I need, but every time I bring it up I leave feeling more exhausted and doubtful. They say that this is hard work and it's going to be tiring and distressing. I know that, but not like this. I've been in different forms of treatment mental and physical for over 20yrs consistently. I know "lots of people don't like their dieticians", but I don't even feel enough trust or safety to even productively work with mine and she keeps making inaccurate assumptions and putting labor back onto me. Misunderstandings every single appointment. Willingness is not the issue, everyone else in my life understands that. It's hard because I like *her* but I don't feel like I'm *healing*.

How much is treatment itself supposed to be burning me out? I'm at my capacity and I'm scared I'm not going to be ABLE to continue treatment unless it adapts, but maybe it's "supposed to be like this"? That doesn't make anything more bearable or possible though. It just leaves me feeling more demoralized. If anyone has ideas or support or experience here I'd appreciate it, thank you!

Not directly related to food. Does anyone else have issues with Halloween costumes due to body image issues? Looking for suggestions for a couples costume for someone who doesn’t want a stereotypical tight costume 🥲

I’ve never tried the ones with vitamins or probiotics or whatever but I’m curious if they’re not too expensive, if anyone has had any health benefits from drinking them?

I just had my initial phone call with the Auburn Eating Disorder Clinic (AEDC). It was interesting to say the least. I'm officially on the waitlist for treatment, though. So, a small step forward. The waitlist is 2 months right now, but I was told on the phone that it could be much shorter than 2 months; they just weren't certain when they'd have availability.

Anyone have any tips for treatment? Or how best to prepare myself prior to treatment?

This has probably been posted before, but I really want something that:

1: is easy to prepare

2: has all the nutrients I need

3: ISN'T sweet.

I've tried various protein shakes and meal replacement products, but they're almost all sweet (even the sugar free ones have other sweeteners). Also I'm in Europe so a lot of American products either aren't sold here or are way outside my budget because of import fees.

Tldr: healthy weight but high body fat low muscles, but trying to find foods that are sensory afraid friendly (good consistency, not putrid flavor, relatively bland but able to be dressed up) that are healthy for muscle gain, low sodium/kidney safe, and cheap

When I was around 12 or 13 my pediatrician started seeing high protein numbers in my urine samples (a few years before I started drinking energy drinks), and at 17 they took me to a nephrologist who told me my kidneys were at 76 percent function. When I was around 16 I was 230 lb at 6'2 with absolutely zero muscle, and I went to the gym every day for a different muscle group depending on day of the week and did omad and lost around 50 pounds in the span of 6 months, but I was only able to lift 10-30 more pounds at the end of it. I'm 185 now but I need to get more muscle for health and personal reasons because I'm basically no muscle but all my meals are either processed home cooked, fast food, snacks, or expensive healthy meals.

I hardly drink pop anymore and i already made a big sacrifice cutting energy drinks out, which is what kept my gpa above 2 in highschool and let me focus, and on my current adhd meds I tried 2 non stimulants and 1 stimulant within the past few months and none are working so I have not been productive at all, but I know that my kidneys just are less compatible with the way I was drinking a few energy drinks a week and I don't think I can go back to them. I probably have 20 of them in the fridge because I barely drink 1 or 2 a month now but kept buying them here and there when I was stopping.

The issue is that I know I'll need to be eating better if I want to start putting muscle on, but I don't have that much money, and I can't stand eggs, certain chicken styles are super bland to me and I'll eat it but I'll procrastinate it and take hours to finish it, steak is good but it's way too expensive, and many other foods either I don't like, are too expensive, or are really high in sodium which I'm trying to cut back on. I love fried and processed foods but those have a bunch of other unhealthy things added to them plus I heard many are high in sodium.

I don't have much to spend because I don't even get a thousand a month, and I owe my family a few hundred each month in bills, and school commute sucks around 10 gallons a week in gas. I'm trying to save money on food here as well as make sure my body doesn't give me issues in the next few years but the foods I eat are narrow in options because my asd makes most textures, smells, and tastes off limits.

Often times I eat 2000 calories in processed foods at once and don't eat the rest of the day, because my hunger signals and my appetite are two independent, disconnected things. Many days I'll be hungry but nothing sounds good for hours and if I try to eat it will be chipped away at one nibble at a time for hours, and many other times, all day or randomly I'm randomly craving pizza, or a burger, or Mac and cheese, or noodles, and I'm still craving them even when my stomach says there's no room at all. The distraction of thinking of it until I get it or go to bed worsens my attention even more. But the number of days I force myself to eat just enough to stop my family from yelling at me since I'm completely unapetized usually means my weight stays at the same level on average.

I don't know what I need to do to eat more consistently while also finding better foods that don't trigger sensory hell but also won't bankrupt me and won't kill me. If there's any suggestions for consistent, well liked among arfid profile, reasonably available and priced, and healthy food id like to know. I am barely strong enough to carry my backpack but my stomach at a healthy weight is like a balloon.

Has anyone been treated through an online clinic called Equip? I'm trying to find a treatment option for a teen on state health insurance in a rural area. There aren't any options locally. Equip is covered but I know nothing about it. Any feedback is welcome. Thanks!

first of all i certainly don't reccomend this for everyone!! i've had super super severe arfid my whole life and my anxiety surrounding food has become worse and worse as time went on . the thought of eating something that i had never tried before or wasn't deemed 'safe' made me gag and the few times over the several years i have managed to put something in my mouth the anxiety makes me throw it up again. i have had absolutely no luck with my doctors and getting cbt or anything for my arfid. i also have social anxiety and i have in the last year been really getting into drinking. i notice that as most people who are drunk, my anxiety surrounding being social is lifted and i'm super bubbly and social. i thought what happens if i transfer this anti anxiety onto another source of great anxiety to me, food? i tried ham while drunk and the next day, tried ham again sober. the fact that i initially tried it and could still remember that totally lifted the fear i wouldve had. ive since tried a few different things like this and ive found a lot of success. ive tried so many treatments in the past and i can't believe alcohol is going to be what finally gets me out of the trenches. i obviously don't see this working for most people and its honestly probably not the healthiest way to go around treating anxiety with alcohol but a few months ago i genuinely thought i was going to die from malnutrition so im accepting anything. i dont drink for the sole intention of trying new food and i would scrap this whole thing if i couldnt try the food again sober. im posting this curious if anyone else have also self treated with alcohol and how far it got them.

hi all!
Ive been with my SO for a year now and ive not seen any progress, just regression and avoidance :(

My SO is arfid extraordinaire: i have never judged him.

I am a type 1 diabetic and have asd level 1. As a kid and teenager i was the pickiest one. had to have texture predictable etc. after cognitive therapy and ~insulin~ therapy i was able to expand this and im not picky anymore. I do NOT have arfid i just want to preface to say i compeltely respect and understand some of what you all go thru.

My SO has a very limited number of safe foods. It includes:
Chicken, fried. Chicken grilled. Cheese. Bleu cheese. White bread. Potatoes (fried only). Some sauce, like buffalo sauce, but very rarely. Mainly junk food like very specific kinds of chips (specific brands only). Pancakes and waffles. Waffle cone. Chocolate chip cookies (specific brands only). Other simple pastry like things.

This is all i have seen. No other meats, pasta, or anything else.

I have not seen him eat a green thing ever. he says he eats some fruits but i live with him and ive only ever seen him have 1 apple once and it was the beginning of our relationship so im unsure if he actually wanted to or not. He told me that he is very insecure about the arfid and its been hard dating like this. I would never judge him but im honestly worried for his health. hes gained weight and although active has a lot of back, leg, skeletal probelms. Early 30s for reference. he takes some vitamins but is not serious about it. I want to spend my life with him but i dont want to outlive him. Im diabetic and ofc i have to watch what i eat. i fear he will be a type 2 diabetic and diabetes sucks :(

at the beginning, newly dating, he wanted to try some things and i understand how hard that is. but after doing “light” research (he claims) he doesnt want to fool with all the medical bullshit that comes with this condition. i too hate health insurance… but of course he gets a new job and gets on the worst plan available for seeing specialists 😭

I know he wants to change… he told me ehe feels like hes missing out in life. and i dont know how to support him other than sounding like a naggy health guru wannabe and coming off like the others with their stigmas :-(

I dont know what to do anymore. hes already overwhelmed as it is. can treatment be microsdosed or do you have to completely jump in and be so uncomfortable youre in pain?

TLDR: my SO had never made progress with arfid and i dont want to lose him young. his safe foods are unhealthy and hes always sick

I am so sorry if i sound like the others and this is harsh but i really think facing his arfid would improve his life (for himself) and i dont know what to do anymore.

Every time I eat I just dont enjoy it. I tried to condition myself to enjoy eating whatever but developed a binge eating issue. I only enjoy ice, frozen tofu, frozen yoghurt, frozen fruit, and very cold food. I need to at least put everything into the freezer to not feel sick and need ice in my water. Sometimes i will pair frozen food with hot food to eat more.

Hello! I️ recently started nannying a preschool aged child. Eating lunch is always a struggle. He takes the tiniest bites and is always asking how many bites do I️ need to take. The only thing he will eat at a ‘normal pace’ is pizza and chicken nuggets. But I️ can’t feed him the same 2 foods every day.

Before I️ started, I️ met with his mom and she never mentioned him being a picky eater. I️ asked if he was adventurous with food at all, and she said no but gave me a list of foods he likes eating. A third of those foods, he will not eat when I️ am watching him.

I️ see signs consistent with AFRID and would like some insight on the best approaches to feeding the kid I️ nanny. I️ do not want to traumatize him. I️ have seen him gag on foods and tear up when trying to swallow non-preferred foods. I️ haven’t spoken to his parents about it, but they also haven’t asked. Not really sure how to go about it. I️ don’t want to overstep. Should I️ stick with just his safe foods? I️ still want to make sure he’s getting proper nutrition.

they had some when I went today and OMG ITS AMAZING.

I got some other kind be fore and it’s okay but this is SO GOOD.

I only got one bag but if they have it when I go again I am stocking up. I just made coffee with it and it’s a little weird of a texture but it tastes delicious. maybe gonna make some waffle with it next

What am I supposed to expect at a clinic where their going to treat me for arfid? Having to go gives me a lot of anxiety and I just want to know what's going to happen

I haven't been diagnosed with arfid but it would make the most sense. I am in treatment so if this continues I might bring it up to my team.

I've been able to eat every day for about the past two weeks with no issue which is rare for me since I barely have an appetite, I usually just drink some feeding tube formula. My only safe food is goldfish right now.

Since about Thursday I really haven't felt like eating goldfish but I managed to get myself to eat at least a small handful of goldfish since my dietitian wants me to eat one thing a day at least. Today the goldfish seem like the most unappetizing thing and since Friday all I've been able to think about is wanting to eat something else. I don't even want the feeding tube formula or water but I'm forcing myself to drink both.

I really want more safe foods but I'm too nervous to try anything new. Only things that seem like they'd be okay to try are ritz crackers since it would be similar to goldfish.

I wish I could just continue drinking the feeding tube formula but my ed team want me off of it. It's so much easier to just drink most days rather than have to bother with food. I'm already so tired of food and I only eat one thing. This is awful.

I’ve always struggled with protein intake, but now that I’m in college with limited kitchen access, it’s gotten even worse.

My protein-forward safe foods are most cheeses (especially cheddar), bacon, and sometimes Greek yogurt. Other safe foods consist of a lot of fruit and carbs like bread, crackers, etc. The only meat I eat is bacon and ground beef, and my college’s campus food is horrible, so I can’t get a good burger.

I guess a good option would be some sort of protein bar, but I’ve only found one that works for me (Quest crispy cookies and cream protein bar), and they’re quite expensive to buy as a college student.

I struggle with both texture and flavor, but any recommendations for me to look into would be helpful.

For context, I am late diagnosed Audhd and have always been a bit fussy but it never fully went away I think it’s only ever gotten worse.

While it’s been even worse in the past (at 21 I only ate cheese & tortilla chips for months and lost a lot of weight). However, since then, I had regained some safe foods but have lost them again over the last couple of years. In fact, the last few months have been quite awful food wise. I’ve lost about a stone, feel generally weaker, am having mood swings and brain fog. I’ve found it even harder to just push through the disinterest and the fact that I probably won’t like it so have given up a bit recently.

Historically, it’d be that, I couple only have eggs with the yolks removed but cannot have scrambled egg whites (I can have regular scrambled eggs if I or my dad makes them), have never rated the crust, I don’t like most sauces, cooked tomatoes, mild cheeses, anything mushy, seeds (except sesame), chicken (except well seasoned legs and wings) ect ect. The issues persist when I google “safe foods” and I cannot eat most of them. Eg I don’t like yogurt, protein shakes (certain fruit smoothies are ok), bananas, crackers (most used to be ok but I think recipes have changed), deli meat sandwiches ect. I did start to like certain humus’s at 19, but now I don’t (I’m almost 28 now). As a child, I’d often not eat my after school club dinner and only eat the separate dinner my mum made at home.

My safe meals are literally a few set specific meals that are often unavailable to me due to them being expensive and classed as “ethnic”. I also don’t have the will to cook or seek them out. It’s largely a case of ‘if that were here, I’d probably be able to eat it’ or ‘let me order something so I don’t feel ill tomorrow’ but it feels like a chore atm. My mum often has to coax me into eating something, however, I live in a shared house so when she isn’t here I just don’t eat.

The things that make me wonder if it’s not ARFID are:

• I have enjoyed food in the past. I used to like going to try new restaurants and places. However, in hindsight most new places had well seasoned non-mushy rice or pasta as an option or they were a dessert shop.

• I’m often happy to try new foods (even though I may not like them) because I might find a new safe food — although, I wouldn’t be up for it now unless offered by a safe person

• I’m not afraid of choking or other adverse reactions

• Strong spicy, sweet, salty or umami flavours are essential because bland food does actually make me gag as I’ll focus on the texture

• I can cook well but I cba, ever. Or I’ll cook and not eat it

•not afraid of choking, but I’ve always been emetophobic. Although I think the issues are more sensory and disinterest related, have always been willing to skip meals or items I think could give me food poisoning at catered events or restaurants irrespective of how hungry I’d felt

The things that make me think it could be ARFID are:

• Always taken longer to eat than others — I always felt “rushed” during the aeroplane inflight meal & at work

• Eating at work genuinely feels like a hostage situation (limited options, faking excitement, the smells, the chewing & binning my food when no one is looking)

• All of my fussiness from childhood just persisted & arguably got worse

• I feel “full” early when eating and have to take regular breaks — even for safe foods

• I’m often eating something different to everyone else at restaurants and am happy to have nothing if they don’t have what I’d like (I didn’t realise this was odd for a while lol)

• I don’t like ‘dry’ foods but I also don’t like any condiments except certain brands of chilli sauce, I can tolerate ketchup

• When I do just try to force it, I’ll gag

• I can get the food ‘ick’ mid meal or mid bite

• I couldn’t eat anything for lunch or dinner at work for 3 days and had to go home

• That time where I lost loads of weight bc I only ate tortillas & cheese despite being exposed to what was (prior) one of my favourite cuisines

• Even my “favourite” cuisines have significant limitations eg I like Mexican food but I can’t eat avocado, beans, any of their cakes and many veggies

• If I must go to a restaurant, I’ll often stick to seasoned rice, certain pasta and or kids meals (they’re usually smaller, don’t have nuts (allergic) and tend not to have funky thinks like mayo, raw tomatoes & seeds)

• My friends and family are (correctly) calling out the weight loss that came since I finally “gave up” and stopped forcing myself

My biggest concern is that the weight loss & extreme disinterest of this current episode just isn’t ending. It’s impacting pretty much every aspect of my life & even if I can’t eat a tuna mayo sandwich, I’d love to be able to eat things I used to like again (or at least the will). I’m speaking to the GP soon but it’d be good to know if this does sound like ARFID and if anyone has had NHS help actually go well (if it’s even possible).

Please feel free to share advice or adjacent experiences :)

I was recommended to come here with this problem. I don't know if I have arfid or not because I don't know if it's still called that if it's caused by autism. That doesn't matter though, I'm not here to try and get a diagnosis. Point is, I can't eat vegetables. I recently turned 18 and I'm still as picky as I was when I was 9. When my family eats dinner I only eat the same thing 1/4th of the time.

I'm starting to get really worried that my health is going to start going downhill. My pallet is very small, and I don't know what do do about it. I don't like that many fruits either. I like bananas but not enough to eat every day, same with canned pears or oranges. In terms of actual vegetables, the closest thing I can eat is olives. I'm okay with the taste of onions and tomatoes, but the texture is terrible, so if a piece in my food ends up big enough that I get a crunch from one of them it ends up killing my appetite. The only dish with vegetables that aren't olives that I'll eat is lasagna.

How do I keep my self healthy. I'm feeling constantly hungry and I think it's because of vitamin balancing or something I don't understand. Does anyone have suggestions on substitutes I might like? Or, equally as helpful, a rough list of specific important nutrients I need to be getting each day so I can work off of that?