Background info: I have OCD and autism. I started living on my own this year for university, but I am unable to do basic things because of my obsessive and unreasonable fears.

My biggest one is that I can’t prepare food for myself because I can’t stand the smell or sight of refrigerated/leftover food, to the point where I feel sick and vomit. I had this problem when I lived with my family, but since I still ate meals with them and I didn’t have to prepare it, it wasn’t this bad. I didn’t expect this and, along with my other compulsions, it’s been hard to focus on succeeding academically and socially at my new school.

I’m hundreds of miles away from my family and my home so I don’t really have resources getting an OCD therapist/assessed for ARFID right now. I guess I’m just looking for advice or maybe someone who has been through similar. First time on this sub & new to reddit so I apologize if I made any mistakes.

Hey everyone.

I wanted to ask if someone here lives in Germany/Europe? I think I need help to get over this and I'm almost 28. I'd prefer something online. I'd appreciate any advice thank you :).

Long post, I apologize! Bold parts are most important.
I just got diagnosed with ASD and, in the report, the psychologist added 2 possible comorbidities: OCD and ARFID

she suggested a screening for ARFID, but there are a few reasons I’m hesitating

I have come with a list of stuff pertaining to my relationship with food to ask if anybody has any input on this or can relate to any of this stuff. I apologize for any ignorance (I had literally never heard of ARFID before seeing it in the report). I appreciate any and all responses so much!

I feel like I may have too many safe foods?

I’m slightly underweight but still healthy overall

I also never have super severe reactions to disliked foods, the absolute most I will do (physically) is gag or cover my nose/leave to avoid a smell. I see that some of the people in this sub report stuff like shutdowns and panic attacks, I never have that reaction. I do still feel discomfort around certain foods, but it stays internal and makes me freeze up silently

My aversion to most foods has absolutely nothing to do with fear of consequences, like vomiting/choking etc. As far as I know, nothing bad food-related, like almost suffocating to death while choking, has ever happened to me. Vomiting is rare.

I usually eat 3-4 times a day (2-3 of those are proper big meals, 1-2 are snacks like chips)

BMI = ~17.1, classified as slightly underweight by most sources.

Safe foods

Things currently on my rotation

Spaghetti bolognese (when my mother makes it) + some other pasta (elbow pasta with a specific sauce)

Chocolate mousse (specific brand)

Margherita pizza (specific pizza place)

Sandwich (only a specific kind of bread and only when paired with red bell pepper and my cheeseonion chips)

Cheeseonion + vinegar chips (specific brand)

Chocolate-filled omelette (can only eat for breakfast, refuse to eat as any other meal of the day)

^ these foods make up pretty much my entire diet

my most-days diet kinda has a formula that goes like this:

Schooldays: omelette -> sandwich OR spaghetti OR pizza -> chips snack OR chocolate mousse

Weekends: sandwich -> sandwich again OR spaghetti OR pizza -> chips snack OR chocolate mousse

Things I eat rarely (usually an instance of a food from this list appears in my diet about 2-3 times a week, to either replace a meal in the above “formula” or to be squeezed in between two meals)

Chicken

Popcorn (only cheesy salty kinds)

Corn (salted + buttered)

Ice cream (only chocolate)

Garlic soup (when my mother makes it) + chicken broth (when my mother makes it)

Schnitzel

Steak (when my mother makes it)

French fries (when salted enough)

Mcdonalds/burger king (specific order)

Fruits and vegetables n stuff I like: red bell pepper, cucumber, apple, melon, mango, grapes (purple only), garlic, cherry tomatoes (not regular tomatoes), oranges

Fruits and vegetables n stuff I cant eat: pretty much everything not listed above

there are a ton of fruits/vegetables I‘ve never had before because I don’t want to try new foods, can’t quite explain the reasoning

Can‘t tolerate any degree of spice, even a single grain of pepper makes me spit out the mouthful and discard the meal (once cried after biting into a KFC chicken strip)

Seafood/fish is beyond disgusting, even the smell makes me sick, I will try to get away from sources of a fishy smell but if I cant i just start holding my breath

I take omega 3 and vitamin D supplements, in the form of pills that I swallow once a day

I hate going to restaurants but when I’m dragged to them anyways I always, ALWAYS go for schnitzel + french fries on the kids menu. (If I had it my way I wouldn’t eat at all, but my family considers that rude and always forces me to pick something). I will only try to find an alternative if the schnitzel + french fries are absent (alternative would be another safe food)

There are several foods ive had on rotation for months/years and then suddenly started hating:

Had banana + nutella every single morning for ~2 years -> now I havent had a banana in the 4 years since

Got a sandwich from a specific sandwich place on my way to school for lunch every weekday for about a year -> now even the thought of eating one of those sandwiches makes me upset

Ate my omelette for breakfast every day, as i do now, (for about a year) and i hated cereal -> suddenly hated the omelette and had cereal for breakfast every day for 6 months -> now i eat the omelettes again and avoid cereal

My mother is a nutritional therapist. She is so patient with my pickiness and always makes me the food I want, and even when I reject foods she made because I don’t feel like it at the time, she lets me eat what I have the appetite for. She often just calls me a “picky eater” and that I’ll grow out of it, using my sister (formerly picky, now eats anything) as an example to convince me that the same will happen to me

She often has to remind me to actually eat, when I’m focused on something, or even when I’m not, I’m fully capable of forgetting to eat for 8 hours because most of the time I just don’t feel hungry. I’ve gone 24+ hours without eating a few times just because I didn’t really want anything

I can’t eat food that LOOKS a certain way (shown in images below) (there are more “looks” to food that I can’t bear but I’m too lazy to get examples of it all)

When food looks too complicated, I reject it, like when there are too many different things on the plate or too many different colors

With many foods I have to spend a few minutes picking at the meal until it’s ok for me to eat (removing parts/chunks I don’t like, making sure absolutely none of it stays)

Exactly what the title says. It has been two years since I have managed to make myself eat a fruit. I also hardly ever eat vegetables and my diet is incredibly limited.

due to my disabilities, my health has been declining lately and I know that my diet is making things worse. I need ideas of what to do.

Some fruits (eg. mangoes, pineapple, etc) are completely off the table of me because the strong smell makes me sick and i’m allergic to banana. i am super terrified of most other fruits but really want to start eating them.

with vegetables its easy to sneak some spinach into pasta or lettuce on a burger, but im not sure how to do this with fruit. I have seen people recommend yogurt drinks, but yogurt is one of my biggest fear foods.

does anyone have tips on how to sneak these into my diet?

Ich habe von klein auf ARFID und bin jetzt in der 24. Woche schwanger. Ich mache mir große Sorgen, ob mein Baby wegen meiner eingeschränkten Ernährung später selbst viele Lebensmittel nicht essen möchte. Ich habe gelesen, dass die Geschmäcker des Essens ins Fruchtwasser übergehen und das Baby sich später erinnert, wenn es diese Geschmäcker später wieder bekommt und dadurch besser akzeptiert. Ich esse häufig süß und vor allem Kohlenhydrate. Kein Gemüse, kein Obst, Fleisch nur paniert etc.
Ich möchte nicht, dass mein Kind so eingeschränkt ist wie ich.

Gibt es irgendwelche Möglichkeiten, dass mein Baby jetzt schon andere Geschmäcker über das Fruchtwasser kennenlernt? Zum Beispiel Über Kapseln/Nahrungsergänzungsmittel, die sich dann zb erst im Magen auflösen und den "Geschmack" abgeben?

Really struggling to feed myself and need some inspiration. I've been living on pizza and steak for weeks and have gone off everything else I used to eat.

I can eat most meats except pork, so any ideas around that would be ideal for me. I just can't find any recipes that are appealing to me

I’ve hard ARFID basically my whole life, but the actual term didn’t exist when I was younger.

Anyway, I was married at one point and that ended. For many years now I’ve just been a single mom and not concentrating on dating. However, I very recently met a guy and we plan to get together in person for something casual, like a walk. How do I tell him about the fact that I have ARFID? I don’t remember how I told my ex or how I worked up the courage. And now I’m terrified. I would prefer to tell him via text before seeing him in person so that he has the choice to proceed or not. I’m also far less shy over text. I really think I could like this guy, but I’m scared to get into this with him.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Hi. I grew up vegetarian till about the age of 6-7 where i decided i wanted to try meat. I would pick at meat and used to eat stuff like chicken, bacon, sausages etc. However, since I can remember seafood has always been something I can’t. Its beyond just not wanting to, I have had panic attacks when someone at the same dinner table as me has ordered seafood bc of the smell, whenever someone tries to get me to try it i physically shake and cry, and i literallt just cant do it. Similarly, I feel as though i have regressed with meat because now I can eat little to no meat because of the texture. The taste is good, but I just cant do the texture. Could this be ARFID? I eat everything else basically, but when it comes to eating meat I have a physical reaction to the texture and seafood I just genuinely cannot do.

I have stereotypical ARFID, the picky-eater-won't-eat-vegerables kind. I have eaten whole vegetables as many times as I can count on my fingers, and will not willingly consume them unless they're an ingredient i.e. in a broth/sauce/chopped up really small in a meatloaf etc.

Does anyone have recommendations for a *good* vegetable juice that I might be willing to palate for the sake of my health? I desperately need the nutrition and am tired of substituting with vitamins. At this point I'm ready to beat my ARFID to death so that I can finally eat more than dairy, meat and grains.

TLDR below.

I asked my father if it was possible to substitute 1 of 4 meals in this Chinese dinner we get. So, we'd end up with two happy families instead of one. I ask because I exclusively eat from the happy family dish. (And mostly protein at that).

Since the happy family is quite popular at our table, being my sisters favorite as well, I'm too conservative with my overall food portion. Never a full tummy with Chinese food for me. While my family takes from nearly all 4 of the dishes, mostly evenly.

Related info; skip next 3 blocks to return to story

As a late dxed autist/adhd haver with people pleasing tendencies, I seldom communicate issues like this. It simply feels like nobody tries to listen or, take me seriously. In fact, it seems that the more logical and direct I am with a point, the less they will listen. Unless the issue affects them as well, it'd seem.

It doesn't help that my Dad can be a quietly stubborn, others ought to be like me, type-a guy. He seems to struggle seeing others perspectives, similar to myself. He is incredibly nice in all other respects. I believe it's a sorta "obsession with perfection" tendency gone too far, picked up young from traumas that he, validly, never speaks of. His dad was more than just harsh on him.

I've suspected some sort of high-functioning neurodiversity in him. But as he's in his 50s, has a successful career, and would've masked his whole life up to this point, it's very difficult to extrapolate anything. Let alone, bring up such an idea to his worldview, especially when it's already so hard to talk with him in a serious manner.

Anyway, when my question about Chinese food didn't sit right with him, I made my point.

I tell him I've never gotten full before when we have Chinese food. (true). He then claims there are always leftovers. I say yeah, there are leftovers of the other 3 dishes. He then claims there are leftovers of the happy family too (barely), and the conversation fizzles. About 10 seconds later, I realize the small amount of HF leftovers he's thinking of are quite literally due to:

1: My sister routinely fills her plate up after I have ate/washed mine. She's upset when I eat all the HF protein, leaving behind just veggies, since it's her fav too.

2: Leftovers-wise I feel guilty eating all remaining protein and leaving behind or, tossing, the veggies.

I knew if I tried explaining, he wouldn't listen, and would act like I'm ridiculous/ignore. Hence I stewed. He still seems to believe that I'm making a CHOICE with food, that I'm a spoiled picky eater, that I'm lying. At damn near 22 years old, his son who has been underweight and food avoidant forever. Whom has already explained to him in depth their eating disorder (ARFID) and food allergy (OAS).

TLDR: Asked my dad to accommodate for an eating disorder (ARFID), got completely brushed off. Which he should know I have by now, as I've explained it and my food allergy (OAS) in depth to him. He still doesn't seem to believe me when I say I'm allergic to lettuce for example, because he KEEPS offering lettuce to me, despite me saying I'm allergic over and over.

Title.
I’d like to be on an anti inflammatory diet but I’ve struggled with ARFID my whole life. I struggle with new food and textures. Anyone who’s been in the same position, any advice???

I have struggled with being some kind of sick for most of my life. I have had multiple long periods of time where I had GI and pelvic issues that have affected my ability to eat and restricted my diet. First I was diagnosed with Celiac disease, then later I developed and intolerance to lactose. Most recently I have been sick for months without a real diagnosis. All of these times I had prolonged stomach issues that caused my a lot of discomfort, pain, and anxiety.

I am 30 and i've started to recognize an avoidance when it comes to eating. It doesn't necessarily have to do with trying new foods or eating different textures, but eating at all especially if my stomach feels upset in any way. Even if I am hungry the thought of eating anything makes me feel queasy. Sometimes I can only manage very bland specific snacks like popcorn or pretzel sticks.

I know I need to eat even when if i'm not feeling well, but more and more i feel i'm losing the struggle. Even if the feeling is hunger, if it is too strong I have a very difficult time convincing myself to eat. The thought of putting something in my mouth repulses me and I have fear that I will feel sick while I eat or after I eat.

I have a wide range of food I enjoy when I am feeling O.K. and can even go out to eat, but this is only if I am feeling 100% not sick. Sometimes the anxiety of getting sick or getting a stomach ache makes me feel sick and I will lose my appetite.

I do not know if this is technically ARFID. I definitely avoid and restrict food, but the majority of ARFID information/ books I see do not match my situation. Does anyone else relate to this?