Since ARFID1 and ASD are pretty common together, I’d figure there would many of us in here that share similar issues with eating. Those of you that relate to ARFID, what are some strategies you use to maintain a healthy diet?
1: Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a feeding or eating disorder in which people avoid eating certain foods, or restrict their diets to the point it ultimately results in nutritional deficiencies. This can be due to the sensory characteristics of food, such as its appearance, smell, texture, or taste; due to fear of negative consequences such as choking or vomiting; having little interest in eating or food, or a combination of these factors. People with ARFID may also be afraid of trying new foods, a fear known as food neophobia. Wiki
Fascinating, I’ve ended up doing much the same. For a while it wasn’t the healthiest as I got too used to replacing every meal of the day with milk. It was just too much milk. Now I manage a sandwich or porridge or some snacks during the day, limit the milk to a smaller amount, then have a larger meal in the evening, and I mostly enjoy that meal as we tend to have extra good local and homegrown ingredients every day.
I’ll be outdoors tending to the farm during a most of the day and that’s how I manage to get hungry enough to get some snacks in. It’s a strange way to eat but works well for me. It took a while to develop naturally. I still get it wrong on some days and end up chewing on something I definitely shouldn’t have bothered to prepare and don’t really want to eat, and just force some of it down for the sake of it.
I used to buy those expensive liquid meals in the past but ultimately they are just oatmeal with a few additional nutrients. When I really can’t get down solid stuff I soak oatmeal in water for a day or half a day, shake it well, pour it through a sieve and drink that. Could mix in fruit, but I prefer really plain.