I hate thinking about what I want to eat, I hate going through all the effort of preparing food, I wish I could just have a drink full of whatever I need to live that I could just down like medicine and just have that for every meal. I don't care if it tastes particularly good.

Any one else feel like this? Maybe possibly even know how to achieve this?

My girlfriend has anorexia and i have ARFID and when i undereat it really stresses her out and makes her feel fat. I usually am able to finish what she gives me but recently i be been nausous and throwing up due to it and i dont know what to do because i cant eat anything without this nausea but it really freaks her out.

I feel like the diagnostic criteria could be made a lot better for ARFID. Someone like me could have that weird thing where the brain avoids most foods almost as if it's a reflex against some kind of poison or hot coal. But the problem is that to be diagnosed per the criteria, it requires something like nutritional deficiencies, dependence on supplements, psychosocial impairment, etc.

In theory, I could get all that I need to live off from safe foods, but at the same time find restaurants where I can't eat a single thing off the menu or maybe just one thing. If some kind of event has some form of mass catering, usually I can't eat it. Now what I do have is being really uncomfortable eating around others, but it honestly wares off somewhat quickly. So if I am able to plan my life around ARFID and have access to the right foods and not have noticeably large impacts on my health, does that mean I don't have ARFID?

I have ARFID and barely eat , but I’m OBSESSED with food.
All of my candles are “cinnamon roll”, “vanilla cupcake”, or “banana bread”.
I like to make fake cookies out of felt too.
I just love the concept of it but don’t actually like eating it. Does anyone else do this?

I’m not sure if anyone else with ARFID deals with this, but i’ve been steadily improving for years and slowly but surely trying more foods. But lately it feels like i’m regressing.

I had shake and bake chicken about a week ago that was undercooked and had a bone in it. Ever since, I have barely been able to eat anything that isn’t one of my top safe foods, everything else feels absolutely disgusting. There was leftover rotisserie chicken in the fridge for me today, but I felt intense anxiety even thinking about having to reheat it and eat it. I could eat rotisserie chicken just fine recently, despite it not being one of my safe foods. I ended up just eating cereal for dinner with strawberries while my husband had chili, but I started gagging on one of the strawberries and almost threw up. One of the strawberries didn’t taste right and the smell of the chili was so disgusting to me, I just couldn’t do it.

I ended up barely being able to eat dinner. I’m so lucky that I have such an empathetic and caring husband, otherwise I would easily spiral into a cycle of self-loathing because of this disorder. He’s truly so patient with me, despite him being able to eat almost anything. I wish I could be like him sometimes

Got another doctor's appointment on Wednesday, and I'm feeling so antsy. Bit concerned what the scale will say.

I did six months with a dietician, and I managed to gain back half of the weight I'd unintentionally lost at the start of the year. Finished up with that a couple of months, since we were feeling I didn't need the additional support anymore. I'm pretty sure I'm back to where I was before the dietician, weight-wise, without the accountability that provided. I booked the appointment ages ago, when I figured it would be a "Look how far I've come!" sort of check-in, but now, that's unlikely, which has me feeling disappointed.

I know having the appointment is still a good thing. She might have some ideas to make the situation easier. I'm not willing to go back to the dietician thing, though, because I'm seeing a counsellor now for other stuff, which is more critical, and I can't afford both. Fingers crossed she's got some ideas that aren't costly.

Hi, I'm a college student and I live alone. Been struggling with ARFID for as long as I can remember, but lately it's gotten worse because of some traumatic experiences.

I have not been eating well lately. I eat whatever I can find in my fridge that is "tolerable" in the morning, once in a blue moon I make myself scrambled eggs, but I don't really have the energy for that. I leave at 7:00 every morning and come back in the afternoon or evening.

Last week I visited the cafeteria. I was excited because I knew the food was cheap. But, um. I took, like, 3 bites at most? then I felt like I would cry or throw up because the texture on the chicken was all wrong, it was dry, it lacked condiments, and the mashed potatoes were too salty and made me want to gag. I decided not to force myself any further because I was sitting at a table with a bunch of people, and it was pretty embarassing (I also struggle with eating in front of people).

Anyway, the conclusion is, cafeteria is not for me. This was literally the only food that seemed somewhat tolerable, but it was worse than bad and I don't indend to sample any more cafeteria food. Problem is, restaurant food is expensive, I am very afraid of fast food because I fear it makes me sick, and I don't have time or energy to cook at home. Pastries have been an option for days when I said ok, better eat something than nothing at all, but I don't believe they're the most nutritious option...

I need advice on food I can bring with me to uni. Keep in mind my budget is really low.

Little food profile I guess~

I don't eat meat, unless it's chicken prepared with a specific set of condiments and tomato sauce, or grilled. I eat salmon sometimes, i prefer the smoked or raw (sashimi) version as the texture gets kinda weird when cooked. I hate most vegetables with a passion, except Brussels sprouts (weird pick, I know). Potatoes are tolerable ig but not a big fan of them and not even trying because they don't have a lot of nutritional value. Most of my safe foods are sweets, especially containing chocolate, or plain bread or pasta if I'm very sensory overloaded and hungry. (i don't eat sweets if I'm hungry, it makes my stomach feel really weird so i prefer to starve) I like figs, but their availability is almost over, since it's the middle of fall. Everything else that I didn't mention is most likely a fear food. Or tolerable. Idk. I don't like thinking about food I lowkey feel sick now

I suffer from extremely bad chronic fatigue and low energy and I’m curious to hear if anyone else with ARFID experiences the same thing. I don’t think my problems are purely a result of my ARFID— I think there’s other stuff going on with my body— but I do think maybe my shitty eating habits and generally being underweight is making the issue worse.

Is anyone else perpetually exhausted? Have you found anything that helps with it? If you’ve found a way to eat better, has it made your fatigue less apparent?

Right now something I’m very frustrated about is the fact that a low appetite contributes to my ARFID significantly, but most appetite stimulants make you sleepy. And even worse… most medicines to help keep you alert, awake and focused decrease your appetite! There really is no winning because it feels like trying to solve one problem will just worsen the other 😭

I’ve been taking Megace which has helped a bit with my appetite without making me too sleepy, but the dosage is starting to be too low compared to the appetite suppression of all of the other meds I’m taking, and I’m not sure how high of a dose my psychiatrist will be willing to give me. Especially because I’m fairly sure it increases your heart rate and I’m already on like 3 different meds that do that. It’s to the point where when I went to an airway doctor last week to try and get some of the chronic fatigue stuff figured out (I think I might have UARS) the doctor was like “Holy hell your heart is fast. Is it normally like this?”

And the answer is yes. Yes it is like that 😭 which is probably not good for my heart, especially when combined with the fact that I barely eat and mostly eat junk. I fear it’s going to give out early because of this shit.

OH. Also, I wanted to ask if anyone had suggestions on working Vitamin D, Vitamin B, Protein and Iron I)to their diet. Those are all things I’m currently low on and it’s tough. I’m planning to take supplements for the Vitamins, but it would probably be good to find a way to naturally get them into my system too.

One thing that sucks is I think I would be able to enjoy sweet flavored protein bars (massive sweet tooth LOL. Sweet stuff is one of the things I can almost always stomach), but on top of the ARFID I also have severe peanut allergies restricting my diet, and almost all protein or energy bars I’ve seen are manufactured in the same facility as peanuts. Which sucks!

It feels like a lot of issues I have are stacking together against me in a way that makes it really frustrating and difficult to manage, and I wish treatment for one thing didn’t often mean worsening another.

Hi everyone,

A couple of months ago, I got released from the hospital from an eating disorder recovery program for my ARFID and gained a couple of pounds when I got out. I was really happy about the progress I have been making up until I got released from the hospital.

Due to some complications and life stuff happening, after I got out I have not been taking care of myself as much as I should and have been struggling with the symptoms of my ARFID again for many months due to a very distressing situation that happened to me a couple months ago and I have been noticing a significant drop in weight. Around 6 months I've lost ~6-7 lbs in total and I am getting more and more worried about it.

I've been trying to fix my schedule when it comes to eating meals but it's just so hard to stop limiting my diet especially when I am not feeling the best at the moment in my life and this feeling has persisted over the months I have been going through this stump. My therapist recommended me to seek out outpatient treatments if it gets worse and I am unsure where to start looking.

I just don't want to deal with all of these feelings I have and my symptoms anymore and get back gaining weight again so I can be a healthier person again.

Anyone here who has experience with Kaiser for ARFID?
My 13 yr old was just referred to mental health dept and just scheduling has been a pain. i was told someone will call you then no one calls and then I call then they tell me i have to have my teen with me for screening questions, then when i have my kid with me they tell me “oh its another sub dept” and to wait for a call.

Hi! I have ARFID and also POTS causing insulin resistance. Unfortunately 99% of my safe foods have lots of processed sugars and things that do not help with my a1c and whatnot. So I was hoping maybe somebody here would have good advice? I already do what exercise I can with my disabilities but I figured maybe somebody here had advice?

Mainly replacements for

Chocolate Timbits (donut holes)
Chocolate chip muffins

hi there! it's kind of starting to annoy me how every other advertisement makes me [TW] want to throw up, i can't eat probably most foods because of that and just the looks are enough to trigger my arfid. i was wondering if there's a way to maybe block these ads? either individually or by keywords. not sure if this is suitable for this subreddit but if anyone had the answer i'd expect to find it here haha. thanks!

Hi! So I’ve never posted here but I’ve looked online for a while and am having a lot of trouble finding something to help me. I’m in treatment for suspected POTs (just waiting on a formal diagnosis but my doctor believes that’s what I have). I also have ARFID which I’ve had my entire life but only recently (a year and a halfish) found the terms/words to describe it.

So with my POTs I need to up my protein intake as well as just eating healthier. With my ARFID though a lot of foods I’ll eat are high in carbs and low in protein. I have a lot of trouble eating meat. I also am kinda poor and healthier food is expensive. I need to be eating small frequent protein heavy meals. And I’m stumped.

Any help is greatly appreciated ❤️

Parents of kids with ARFID, at what point did you realize something was different? What were the deciding factors that led you to seek medical advice? We want to seek out medical advice, so what advice would you give when seeking out a medical professional who won't immediately dismiss our concerns as typical picky eating For clarification, I am not seeking the diagnosis or looking for yes-doctors only, I just don't want my child to be glanced at.

Back Story: My wife and I think we are at the point where our 3.5 year old toddler is no longer just a picky eater. From the moment we switched to solids, there has always been a safe list. She never wanted to eat, let alone try, a lot of the typical foods kids her age ate, like yogurt, and the very early stage was just items like fruit. Her safe food list has had things removed from it, one day randomly, hard stop, and it is very difficult to add anything to the list. Her curiosity around food and cooking ends just there, as she likes to be part of the process, says things smell good, has fun doing it, but trying is never on the table. We also enrolled her in pre-k mostly for education, but also because this location provides onsite meals and we hoped that seeing other kids eat foods, she would be encouraged to try. This has been mostly unfruitful with things not on the safe list, but out of the few things like alfredo sauce on pasta that she does find that she likes, she is incredibly excited to share that she now likes something new and it is a very proud victory for her.

For the past 2 years, but more recently the past 6-12 months, her attempts at trying new foods that we encourage are showing signs of severe distress for her and she uses words like scared and afraid, and often leads to tears. She also has an immediate, and what appears to be involuntary, gag reflex when putting the new food in her mouth. This occurs even if she says it tastes good, but doesn't want to continue to eat it.

I want to be a good parent and help give her all the nutrition she needs, but I don't want to diminish any real issues she's experiencing or lead her to having other poor relationship issues with food by doing the wrong things.

For context: My kid listens very well and is very well behaved. If this is her one thing of being stubborn and not another issue, ARFID or otherwise, I will consider myself blessed. If I ask her to do something she typically complies right away, but trying a new food is the one item that leads to a fight or argument and straight refusal on her behalf every single time and this dad needs a better way.

Safe Food examples: bananas, strawberries, apples, pancakes, waffles, bread, crackers, hot dogs, mac n cheese, McDonalds nuggets, french fries, pasta preferably with white sauce, but sometimes red. Some of the items on this list are location, producer, or brand specific

Removed Food examples: blueberries, pizza (always bread and sauce only)

Hard No/Never tried examples: Any condiment sauce, straight red meat, vegetables

Does anyone here consume things that "normal" people would consider sick or inedible/undrinkable? Like for example milk drinks or vinegar with sweetener and salt?

And how do you feel about it?

Or is it "normal" to have some preferences that seem weird to most?

I'm struggling for the life of me to find recipes that seem on the safer side and is ARFID friendly. Sadly, I'm not big on veggies so that is part of the struggle. I'm also trying to be weary of what I eat but trying to research everything has become a bit overwhelming as it's starting to seem like most things are risky. I'm sorta at the point where I may try to cook spaghetti with red sauce and beef and be very light with the last two for my portions.

Any recipes or meals to recommend on the low fat or freshly removed gallbladder end that aren't majority veggies, soups/broths, or really soft foods like mashed potatoes or granola?

Hi! I have PANS (inflammatory brain disorder) which has caused really severe ARFID to the point of being totally reliant on a feeding tube for meds, fluids, feed etc. I have just managed to start having small sips of water once or twice a day and am struggling.

Maybe this is a silly question but how am I supposed to actually eat? Like I'm struggling with drinks a lot already and I just can't imagine being able to tolerate any texture or feeling or food in my mouth. I was wondering if anyone had any success stories or tips. All of the typical safe foods don't feel safe to me but I'd still love some recommendations.

I also was hoping to have a party with my friends in 3 weeks involving alcohol (within the legal rights of Australia) but I'm not sure if I'll be able to do that either.

My 5 year old got a coupon for a free happy meal at a trunk or treat today. She was so excited so we went and got one after. She won’t eat meat except for the rare biannual event where she’ll entertain a chicken nugget. She was diagnosed autistic at age 2 so I do wonder if some of it is ARFID.

Our order at McDonald’s is a cheeseburger happy meal and I order the cheeseburger with no meat or condiments, just cheese and bun. I explain that I know it’s weird but I have a picky eater. I worked at McDonald’s through high school and college and I know it’s annoying so I apologize. I’m never rude, I don’t get upset. I thank them and apologize.

Sometimes it’s right on the first try. Often times it’s not. I’ve learned I need to check the box first or she’ll get really upset if she sees a beef patty.

Surprise, surprise, today we got a box with just beef and cheese in it. I went in and explained I just needed a bun with cheese and they were so annoyed with me.

I usually avoid fast food because of the cost but also because of the ordeal it is to order something she’ll eat and enjoy. It breaks my heart that she has such a complicated relationship with food already at 5 years old. I just wish it was easier for her.

If you need any other info well... uhh... just shoot me a comment!

A lot of my life, i have been known to be very...picky, and I heard about ARFID a while ago and never thought I had it until i started rapidly losing weight after getting on meds (ritalin) and having my appetite being suppressed. Before I even went on meds, I did display a lot of symptoms of ARFID but now it's worse (i think) since i barely eat.

I've also had a complicated relationship with food and my body because my mother is obsessed with me being thin, but i've never had any thoughts of not being pretty / skinny enough and my very restrictive food intake is absolutely not related to anything about body image.

I have had severe reactions to food I don't like, namely tomatoes where even thinking about them or looking at them makes me sick, and eating them raw makes me puke. When blended up into a sauce / soup with no chunks at all i can eat it though (pizza n pasta mainly)

I'm also very avoidant to fat on meat, where i will refuse to eat any meat if there is any tough fat on it as the texture makes me again, want to puke. I hate it SOSOOS MUCH.

Also ver avoidant to chinese food because the texture on a lot of things is absolutely horrid to me and there were times where i skipped lunch and dinner bc of CNY and my parents dragging me to chinese restaurants.

Safe foods - Rice, Cheese, Pizza, Bread, potatoes (any kind BUT raw), Beef, Pork (sometimes, has to be prepared specifically), some vegetables, Apples, Watermelon, Mango and Melon (I rarely eat fruits anyways), Pasta, Deep Fried Tofu, Curry and there's probs some i'm forgetting.

Foods i REFUSE to eat - Tomatoes (unless blended thouroughly)(i can't even look or think of them, writing this makes me lowk sick), meat with fat, most fish, Sweet N Sour Pork, Korean BBQ Pork Belly, Most fruits, nuts, eggs (ESP HARD BOILED ONES I LOOK AT THEM AND WANT TO VOMIT EVEN THE SMELL IS HORRIBLE), Sea Cucumbers, mushy + watery foods, most seafood infact, cilantro (mostly bc it tastes like crap), pickles

I used to be ok going to restaurants but now i'm more unwilling, because a lot of things i wat are mixed with thing i can't eat.

The thing is my mom won't take this seriously bc she's happy i'm losing weight and just calls me picky and yells at me when I won't eat stuff. Sad thing is despite my sensitivities I used to have a big appetite and now i can barely finish a plate.

Has anyone had success getting back a safe food their child lost, either after an illness or at any other time?

Our 5-year-old is minimally verbal and has ARFID. About three weeks ago she had RSV, and since then she's dropped her only two safe foods, nuggets and potato sticks. Right now she's living on fruit pouches, apple juice and formula.

She still asks for them, touches them and sometimes nearly picks them up, then stops herself and pushes them away. She's also started wiping her hands after touching them, which she never used to do.

We're offering them every day with no pressure, but it's really demoralising seeing them pushed away over and over.

If your child got a lost safe food back, what helped, and how long did it take? Any small wins or tips would mean a lot right now.

I hate the texture of pretty much all vegetables and most fruits, so I do smoothies that have fruits and veggies in them, sometimes with added supplement or vitamins powders.

Im 26, and iv had it pretty much all my life, essentially only having chicken, chips peas, maybe plain pasta ?

Iv never really looked into it because iv been avoiding the situation like a plague but I guess I'm now coming to the realisation that I need to do something about it.

Mine started from my mother forcing me to eat random foods until I threw up, screaming at me, and straight up being verbally abusive to where id nearly pass out.

I cant go near any other foods, I wanna eat normally and god it'd make life easier cos dating is hard when I tell a girl oh sorry I cant go to literally any restaurant, its just embarrassing at this point.

Anyway, was just wondering how other people started with it or.. how they over came it? Is it even possible?

I’m about halfway through my first semester as a sophomore at college, and I’ve found myself slowly whittling down my options at the dining hall.

I used to eat there for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (mostly because I’m broke with zero money for groceries + unlimited meal plan), but looking through the menu now just…makes me a little nauseous. It’s not like I’ve had a terrible experience there — the food’s mediocre but not bad — I just feel like I can’t bring myself to go inside. The smells get overwhelming, too, so that worsens my appetite.

It doesn’t help that my dorm reeks because of my roommate microwaving processed meat every day, so that makes my safe foods aka chicken/plain burgers/anything with meat a lot less appealing.

I still eat breakfast every day, but everything else I eat is just starting to look very unappealing, and I feel like I’m caring less about eating a second/third meal each passing day.

Hypothetically, I could eat a burger/yogurt parfait/pizza/whatnot every day and be alright, but I feel like I’d get sick of it pretty quickly, if I’m not already. I’m also trying to be a little more health-conscious (I’m paranoid about my heart and blood sugar, no I don’t have any symptoms of anything), which makes the situation even worse.

Does anyone have any advice/tips? Anything and everything is much appreciated.

I’ve been getting HelloFresh for a few weeks now and it means I at least don’t have to think about making lunches for the week for work, I’m trying new things, cooking for myself, working on skills, whatever. But I still end up feeling gross and not wanting to eat after finishing cooking a meal.

Honestly, I frequently feel like “hey, I’m doing better now than I was before” but really it’s maybe not as bad but mostly just different.

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back story: Wholefoods sells the only tortillas i eat. they are thicker and much chewier(more gluten?) than any other tortilla ive seen. but its the only thing i buy there and im tired of making 2 seperate grocery trips whenever i want tacos. and their tortilla machine is often broken so 1/3 of the time i leave empty handed.

im trying to find an alternative i can get at giant. wegmans, or harris teeter. my mom suggested gyro bread. i bought some but now im feeling real anxious about trying it.

also open to suggestions for other flat breads that can hold up to folding without crumbing or snapping. i tried naan already but it wasnt chewy enough.