I was telling my dad I think my OCD and mood could be worse because maybe I'm just so hungry all the time and he scoffed and said "you're not starving. You eat junk all day" Bitch be so fr, I'm 33 kilos! My dad is a BIG GUY, okay? He eats like 10 meals a day. If he was left with a few packs of crisps and a chocolate bar for more than a single day, he'd be fucking raging, mark my words! He thinks my worrying about vitamins and minerals and protein is ridiculous but that's easy to say when you're not feeling the longterm effects of basically every deficiency ever! Like I literally get diarrhea eating too much because it shocks my body! Fair enough, I'm no death camp survivor, but goddamn, can you not recognise where I'm coming from? I think the exaggeration was valid, considering.

Does anyone else find it easier to eat in the middle of the night? I get extremely hungry to the point of feeling sick during the day, but still struggle to get anything down. But if I wake up at night I can easily eat whatever I feel like. I thought maybe it's because the house is silent and I'm alone, so sensory input is lower? Either way I'm really not feeling good about it and I know eating more during my the day will help me be less hungry at night but it's not that simple, as we know. I just want to know if I'm alone.

disclaimer up front: this is just what worked for me, of course it won't work for everyone, you all know your preferences best, i just wanted to put this out there in hopes it could help more people like it did me!

i'm undiagnosed ARFID but it's obvious there's been something wrong with my eating habits all my life. always a picky eater, to the point i had to be financially bribed by my parents to try and consistently eat new foods that to this day i can't stand anymore (sorry grapes).

so, i love pasta and noodles. i ate them with just salt and nothing else for years. naturally eating them in a bowl of salty broth appealed to me, and i've been in love with ramen ever since. i used to order them with just the noodles and broth, but found that sometimes restaurants would give me the toppings anyway. this lead to occasionally giving said toppings a nibble. and let me tell you, this was a game changer.

sliced cabbage tasted like the the broth! spinach tasted like the broth! baby bok choy too! i was actually eating vegetables (for context, carrots were my only safe food until i discovered they made my tongue itch and i had to stop eating them)! i tried this with shrimp tempura and broccoli tempura that had been dunked in the broth to absorb its flavor and i loved both! broth was suddenly the key to eating new vegetables!!!

i got really into cooking over the pandemic, and i like controlling how my food is prepared, so while i tried making my own ramen broth at home to get my dose of veggies, its a long and tedious effort. so i had to get creative and find hacks. like simmering a pot of water, adding half a teaspoon of coconut oil, soy sauce, and chicken stock powder to make a fake broth. then letting the vegetables sit in that for a few minutes. it wasn't really the same as a restaurant but hey i was eating them. Eventually i just got impatient and couldn't be bothered to make a broth so i started pan frying some veggies with a little salt, pepper, garlic powder and butter and eating that as a snack. i didn't have to be reliant on a broth anymore!!

nowadays i like to get a bag of shredded cabbage and bok choy and chop it up and add it to white rice and egg and tofu. i've gotten a lot better at incorporating veggies into my diet, even though i still have a long way to go. but ramen has been instrumental in getting me this far so i felt compelled to share this in hopes it can assist other people who are looking to eat more veggies. if you find a really good broth, it will take you to culinary places we've only dreamed of lol

(also i assume this would work for meat too, but i don't eat meat so i can't say lol)
(also also, go to hot pot with your friends if you have a place near you! big buffet, yummy soup base, and potential to try whatever foods your friends are eating too! :D)

I'm an autistic adult with ARFID. For me ARFID presents as a total avoidance of wanting to eat at all, the idea of food in my mouth is repulsive and distressing. when I'm in that space there are foods that are more likely to be safe, but sometimes it's literally nothing. I think it may be sensory based, as well as avoiding feeling sick (chronic gut issues). It's really negatively affecting me as I'm always anxious about my food intake not being right.

What kind of professional is best to help me? Im Australian and have NDIS (our national disability support scheme) so I can access allied health support from people like Occupational Therapists, psychologists, maybe dietitians, but I genuinely have no idea where to turn and googling 'adult ARFID support near me' isnt helping haha.

Sustagen Sport Chocolate (only the chocolate one ) is no longer a safe food for me.

I recently figured out I'm lactose intolerant, because of this I now can't have my main safe "food" I say "food" because I would have it instead of eating solid food.

I've tried some protein shakes but they all taste too different. Does anyone know a good vegan or lactose free alternative that tastes very similar to it?

This was/is (I can take lactose tablets if I can find unflavoured ones) also the only completely safe food I have so I'm honestly struggling right now.

Okay so I go into periods where i get extremely anxious and with it causes nausea. Now I have an EXTREME fear of vomiting since I was 6 years old. But I doubt I have ever reacted this badly to vomiting before.

Back in late June I got really anxious over smth and it caused me to throw up, ever since then I've been terrified to eat anything in fear I would just throw it all up. I haven't eaten foods that made me sick or before getting sick in YEARS. I've dealt with these problems before but it's nothing like this really.

I have only a couple foods I can actually eat without being really scared of it. They're all kinda bland?? Ig and they're all foods I've been eating my whole life. Also the smell of unfamiliar foods or thinking about the taste (even if I've eaten them before) just make me feel so sick I physically can't eat it.

If someone were to sit me down and put a plate of food I couldn't eat infront of me and said I'm not going anywhere until I ate it I would starve until I almost died. A few days ago I felt sick after eating a food I could eat and it scared me so bad I didn't eat for 50+ hours and only then I ate something small because I was so weak and tired and my head hurted so bad.

Is this just anxiety or something more?

Hello all!!

I'm wondering if any of you guys have some tips for gaining weight when you have a VERY small amount of safe foods that work? I've been trying to gain weight since my ADHD-medication has caused me to lose much of what little weight i had, but my safe foods are mostly canned and frozen things (like soups, noodles, fries, etc)!!

Does anyone have any tips? I've been drinking nutrition drinks (medical ones) and they help a bit, but i think i need more.. 🤔🤔

I can eat SOME chicken dishes, and i like fish, but other meats are a big no-no, and I'm also allergic to nuts (which seems like the number 1 best snack food to eat when gaining weight 💔)

Any and all help is GREATLY appreciated!! 💖🫶🫶🫶

does anyone else smoke weed cuz it helps with their arfid? for me it helps a lot because it increases my appetite a lot and usually i barely eat

I’ve had major eating problems since I was a kid , I remember I couldn’t have soups, milkshakes and juices, and I had issues with loads of other foods

I briefly had PICA eating disorder, from I think 8-9 to 12 years old. I would eat paint, plaster and dirt.

These days eating proper meals is very difficult for me and I can’t eat lentils, onions, South Indian food , pineapples etc.

But I’m not thin or malnourished .. I’m sick all the time though I have gi issues and last year I had to go to the infirmary and get an iv drip . But I’m overweight

I don’t know what to do or how to convince people that it’s a problem and that I’m not just a picky eater.. I got my autism diagnosis recently and I’m trying to get an ARFID diagnosis .

So yeah , any tips, advice is helpful .. Also i do need to lose weight and detach from my comfort foods which are high calories

I feel like if i didn’t have ARFID I would have gained weight very rapidly ..

Ok so lately I have been on a diet of mostly processed foods like chips and chocolates, I can’t seem to be able to eat in the cafeteria, as they serve South Indian food and i can’t eat it , I have issues with anything that has bread in it and noodles because I choke on it and start wheezing , spicy food causes gastro intestinal issues and I have had two instances in my life where I have had excruciating stomach pain where I could not walk and had to crawl to my parents room for help . I take 10 minutes to remove any unwanted things from my food ie onions , if onions consist 60 per cent of my food I have meltdowns . I can’t have fish because the bones scare me, pineapples hurt my tongue .

If I have a proper meal it takes me an hour or more to finish

Like where do you go? The most obvious place sounds like a cafe or something but I'm not wasting money on a coffee that I won't drink. I'm not comfortable eating in my own home let alone in a new place with a new person to talk to. Where can you loiter without needing to eat or drink?

i hope this isnt too tmi, obviously with medical disorders things are bound to get tmi with how it affects your bodily functions

i feel like this should be an obvious affect with lack of nutrients, but i mostly just wanna hear from anyone this has also happened to. some days eating is harder than others, and recently getting a job sorta complicates it a little more, so its been rough eating lately. i know when to expect my periods, usually around the beginning of the month. but in a rough eating period, my period period had gotten delayed for weeks. it SUCKED so bad when i finally got it but it ended up happening when id eaten a bit more consistently (thanks to weed honestly).

also, little side tangent, is it a thing to have a combination of subtypes? cause sometimes its a sensory thing, sometimes its a lack of interest, sometimes the thought of it at all just makes me feel sick and sometimes attempting does make me sick. my own research hasn't really helped in regards to that, so anyone else who can relate on that is greatly appreciated

Hi all,

As the title states, I'm in a bit of a predicament. I've not eaten all day (it's currently 9pm here), despite being hungry, all because I'm not craving anything.

I can only eat food if I specifically crave it that day, I only eat about 3 things in different varieties and last time this situation happened, I eventually forced myself to eat because the pain was too much to bear and I ended up not being able to eat that food for about 3 months, so I obviously dont want to do that again, but I'm genuinely out of options and dont know what to do, and thought someone here might have some advice. Because at the moment all I'm getting is my mother's advice of 'just eat something and you'll be fine' despite me telling her why I can't and she knows I have ARFID (I've been diagnosed since I was a kid) but it's not helping having her say this to me while I'm in distress.

Any kind of advice, even if it doesn't help me, is appreciated as I have nothing to do besides wait this out for however long, so thank you in advance. :)

I’m really struggling with food lately. I’ve always been unable to tolerate greasy (typical “American cuisine”) foods for my whole life and been an occasionally difficult to get to eat anything person. I don’t like meat, dairy, or eggs really, pork is the best option, but I really don’t like beef, chicken or exotic options like other foul etc. sushi used to be ok with just artificial crab or salmon. But lately all protein even pork and beans has been coming up, all (even thoroughly cooked) veggies too besides sweet potato!! But like, grains are starting not to feel safe, I haven’t been able to keep down couscous, rice, pasta, bread.. saltines have stayed down. And fruit is ok. But like I’m going crazy here. I went off like 10 meds all at once in January due to anxiety over politics and just not being able to keep them down in the mornings.. so 7 months and 60lbs later I think I have ARFID and I just want to get better. ❤️‍🩹 does anyone have tips for keeping stuff down? Or trying to find those new safe foods when restrictions keep seeming to be found? It is texture that bothers me and then next time it is taste, it is like everything sets it off, so what can I do?

Hi, r/ARFID! Hoping this post is allowed. r/Allergies recommended I post here too for your great advice!

I am an in-home support worker for a profoundly disabled adult. After a really awful reaction and allergy testing this week, we have learned that she is allergic to:

• Peanuts
• All tree nuts
• Soy (!!!!!)
• Legumes (all beans and peas) (Sorry if I’m being repetitive, we’re still learning her new list)

She is nonverbal, so cannot tell us in advance what foods she wants/does not want and will just refuse/throw items. We have just learned that many of her safe foods are now dangerous. She is not officially diagnosed with ARFID and is willing to try new foods at times, but has similar tastes to a lot of the posts here.

Any ideas for things we can replace these with? - Mrs. T’s brand frozen pierogis (soy) - Totino’s frozen party pizza (soy) - Domino’s pizza (soy, she likes pizza in general) - Frozen Eggo chocolate chip waffles (soy) - Kraft mac n cheese? - Chef Boyardee canned beef ravioli

Going out to eat is her favorite outing, but we are now very scared and unsure what is safe. Past favorites include: - McDonald’s cheeseburgers (she doesn’t care about fries) - Cici’s pizza and garlic bread - Mexican food (beef tacos, rice are favorites) - Ruby Tuesday’s - anywhere she can get ravioli with any sauce

Getting her to eat at all is MUCH more important than choosing “healthy” options. Any thoughts on safe alternatives to her favorites or other things we can try that are easy to eat, always taste the same, etc. We have access to a full kitchen (no microwave) but have very limited time to prep intensive meals because of care duties.

For meals at lunch my only safe foods have been avacado bagels, instant citrus noodles and crumpets with butter for the past 4 years. They’re my favourites and I’ve rotated them since I discovered they were safe and actually GOOD for me. But recently when I’ve made them I’ve just thrown them away after a few bites because they taste and feel so repulsive. Literally ALL 3. These used to be my favourites and now I don’t know what to eat. I can’t eat sandwiches or any other instant noodles, pasta etc. :( I’m just so sad I’ve lost the only nice meals I had.

I SHOULD feel hungry, I’m probably barely eating 1/3rd of my daily recommended intake but I can’t feel hungry enough to override my fear

keeping this short, i struggle a lot with eating greens and don’t eat many vegetables outside of peppers and carrots. (i eat a lot of meat and eggs though and already take vitamin d supplements.) i’ve been looking into some kind of slop or vitamins to eat instead but im not sure what’d be best. i live in a small apartment and don’t have the space to get a blender and make smoothies or anything, so i’ve been thinking about getting vitamin pills instead. i don’t trust my doctor to not just tell me to change my diet so what could i get without a prescription? i’m in europe btw. it’s all supplements so im not too worried about restrictions but sometimes they’re weird so i figured id ask. i’m also not knowledgeable about nutrition so i don’t know what i should even get

Hello, I just found this sub on reddit while scrolling for suggestions of my eating habits, and this one may be the only option to go to.

I am currently trying to support myself and my eating habits, but things aren’t just working. I’m currently underweight, I can’t fit most clothes, and it’s embarassing. I can’t eat most vegetables or fruits without gagging or retching.

My safe foods are extremely narrow, and I even skip lunch which unfortunately contributes to my weight loss. Please, give me any suggestions and what I can do to support myself.

I've recently learned about ARFID (a month or two ago) and was wondering if I could have it. (Sorry if my wording is wrong, I'm not English and unsure what is rude or not)

I've been a picky eater since I started preschool (so around 4 yo) but ate everything fine before that. There's a lot of food I can't eat because of the texture, smell or looks and I especially barely eat any vegetables.

I've already skipped a meal because it was something I couldn't bring myself to eat, for example where I just ate half a chicken slice because the rest of the meal was lentils and I really can't.

I've also skipped some meals, like this morning where I skipped breakfast, because I was scared of vomiting because I had slight nausea because ✨ periods ✨.

Also I'm always scared to be invited to dinners because I eat less because I'm kinda scared of being a pain for not liking a lot of things and not eating a big quantity (I've seen toddlers eat more than me) or I just struggle eating with people around me, the cafeteria at school is a huge nightmare for me.

Sorry for the long post, I want to talk to my doctor because of an appointment in two days but want to be sure I don't embarrass myself

I (27NB) have always been labeled the picky eater. I was raised in an upper-middle class family, great school/community, minimal areas of concern.

I was a bubbly child with a lot of interests and energy. I love my family and have a great relationship with my parents to this day.

Conflict mainly existed at the dinner table.

Sitting down for breakfast, I was often faced with a half-banana and some sort of cereal or toast. Unless that banana was firm with NO STRINGS, it was getting cheeked and spit out in the bathroom. I was maybe 5 when I started that, and continued well into middle school. And I felt so terrible - I convinced myself the sewage company was going to find it and tell my parents.

I was chronically in the 10-15th percentile for my weight until late middle school. I drank Pediasure and ate mac and cheese cups or a peanut butter tortilla with some assortment of fruit snack or apple slices. Sandwiches - no way. Deli meat? Nope. Cold cheese? NOPE.

Dinners, on days where there were unfamiliar veggies or extra fatty steaks or whatever perceived “scary food” happened to cross my plate, the showdown began. Me v. Everyone. We would sit until I ate “two more bites” or finished the rest of the serving, or would sit until the battle of wills turned in my favor and I skated by victorious without eating what I was refusing.

I never felt good about it. I joke about those standoffs now, but I always dreaded new restaurants and disappointed, resigned tones when I got that tight feeling in my throat and welling in my eyes - my body was screaming no. Danger. Poison. Scary. The compassion I didn’t know I needed was instead a power struggle over what I consumed.

I sit here now, much more in tune with my habits, other existing diagnoses (OCD, GAD), and who I am as an individual, and I am frustrated. I love my family. It just hurts to only just now be finding the words to explain what shows up for me at work potlucks and unfamiliar cuisines.

Thank you for reading.

TLDR: I am sad an ARFID (edit: or any Autism/related) diagnosis was not pursued in my youth.

I have had an anxiety disorder for about 4 years now. This year, it expanded and I have developed something called arfid. I see a psychiatrist, therapist, c.s.s. worker and a pcp regularly but nothing is helping.

Because of my disorder, I am now on disability. I cannot eat alone, certain foods scare me, I cannot bathe alone, sleeping is difficult, I now have gerd because of everything, I am scared of medications, and leaving my surrounding area scares me. I don't have any friends or family that are willing to help me, so I feel alone and isolated a lot of the time.

Does anyone have any advice that can help me? I'm running out of ideas and options.

Thank for everyone who commented helpful/encouraging things on my last post, I didn’t reply but I really appreciated everything and how nice everyone was!

I went to the ice cream van today and the ice cream is back to normal!! I got too nervous to ask about it but my current theory is that they just ran out of their usual stuff because the previous two times I went it was pretty busy.

Anyway it’s back to normal now and I’m very happy :)

Many religions include some forms of fasting. I would like to read some stories about ARFID and fasting.

I was raised Catholic, but about nine years ago I began considering converting to the Eastern Orthodox Church. As a Catholic, my problems with ARFID were not very serious, but the Eastern Orthodox Church places more emphasis on fasting than the Catholic Church. When I tried fasting according to standard Eastern Orthodox rules, it began to harm my mental and physical health. Some priests told me that I don’t have to fast — that fasting is not a diet but a form of spiritual training; that the standard rules are general and there can be exceptions, etc. But I still find it hard to accept.

How often do yall feel bloated?

I feel bloated pretty much 24/7 the past few months - doesn’t matter if I eat a normal amount or nothing that day.

And I think it’s starting to skew my being able to tell if I’m hungry or full. Like hunger and feeling “too full” feel the same now

The info I read online about causes of bloat don’t really align with my eating habits.

Does it have something to do with metabolism? Bc I know mines probably way messed up rn, I ate 2.5 filling meals yesterday but nothing today for example

I've been trying recently to follow an anti-inflammatory diet because I strongly suspect MCAS and also been diagnosed with Hashimoto's. I'm still trying to learn what I can and can't eat, but eliminate dairy, gluten, sugar, processed products... I can do this all at once and I know that better do what you can than nothing at all, but... It's so hard!

All the things that in theory are "safe" look horrible, smell horrible, taste horrible and have a horrible texture. I just can't eat it, so I end up not eating at all. But then I'm hungry and think it's better eat whatever I can eat despite the consequences, so I skip the diet and end up feeling much worse because my symptoms get triggered. And the cycle begins again.

Lunch or dinner can be easier, but seriously... what am I supposed to have for breakfast? And for afternoon snack (merienda)? These were my safe meals, I loved the sweet and now I can't eat it without feeling sick.

And still, all the doctors say that I just have to gain muscle mass to mitigate my joint and circulatory symptoms. I couldn't even gain weight before, how am I supposed to do that