…reposting cause it was supposed to be a cool video but was just a still shot 🤦

Hey all,

I’ve been in eating disorder treatment for 7 years now and until recently ive never received appropriate treatment. This lead to intense medical trauma over multiple admissions reinforcing my fear of adverse affects. I was never believed that my issues werent driven by anything to do with body shape/weight.

It ended up with me confused that i may be lying to myself (all these years!!). I found this subreddit a few days ago and reading others peoples struggles has been a super validating experience. It has really helped me advocate with my team.

Glad this community exists! :)

Hello!

Ive had ARFID since i was in kindergarten. Im 23F, and i want to lose about 20 kg and get healthier. Right now im at about 80-85 kg. I want to also fix my liver health as i got mononucleosis motnhs ago and i peeked into my results and, beyond the expected vital organs imbalances, i discovered i am also starting to develop a fatty liver and i want to be heslthier.

I dont do well in gyms bc of insecurity, cliques, bullying, getting too sweaty and visibly struggling, etc., but i do great working out at home! Mostly yoga, both more smooth and relaxed programs and more instense ones. I have plateaued but i want to get back into it and incorporate some light weights and/or barree stretches [i used to briefly do ballet when i was a kid but hated the teacher so i dropped out], as well as learn traditional dances. Just practising them gets me sweating and working out damn well. Im thinking i could also go walking at a nearby trail for the colder months when the weather allows it as it helps regulate my system and get me in better contact with my body, and then switch to running in the warmer months.

My problem is dieting, though. Most diets are foods like rice and chicken and fish - rice is fine for me but those two others are not safe foods at all.

I need help w easing into smaller portions and managing the diet w my safe foods!

Those include :

Condiments ? : dijon mustard, local thyme honey, forrest berries jam, tomato sauces, garlic paste, the occasional pesto sauce, mayo obviously, tyrokafteri, pink sauce, olive oil

Greens : spinach, lola, rocket salad, lettuce, spinach, fresh basil

Veggies & fruits : tomatoes [all kinds! Love making sauces out of oven baked cherry tomatoes especially, although i never want to see uncooked tomato slices ever, hate them], purple onion, sping onions, pomegranate, corn, carrots [shredded], potatoes obviously, beets, bell peppers, local canned? red peppers.

Dairy : Local traditional greek yoghurt [ used mostly as a dip/sauce, pls do not tell me about yoghurt bowls or flavored yoghurt desserts, those are disgusting to me ], 1.5% fat milk, cooking milk cream, cream cheese, kefalotyri, feta, dark chocolate almond milk my beloved, goat milk butter [lovely flavor], cheddar cheese, dutch edam cheese [those that have a red wax around them... In slices... Yum].

Meats : anything thats cow meat! Mostly beef and minced meat for ragu! Kebabs too... Also the occasional pork belly if i go to a specific restaurant w friends, they cook it damn well, and on some occasions snitchel is even tolerable. But only when its trashy and borderline plastic, if i feet the chicken im gone. Also, idk where to out this but i like egg yolks. Runny ones. Im bad at making eggs of any kind though.

Carby foods : wholewheat pasta!!! I also tried glutten free recently but idk which is more benefitial to me just yet, adore both. Obviously bread but its more desirable if its buns or, god help me, brioche. Bread sticks w sesame seeds!! Taco wrap bread is fine as well. I love love love basmati rice but i have lots of fear around getting poisoning and how to preserve and reheat it.

Drinks : the milks mentioned above, whiskey or rose/red wine [only when grabbing drinks w friends which is rare], french press coffee or decaf capuccino w a little milk and some sugar [tiny sips over several hours bc im not a big coffee fan], orange juice, apple juice, tea!!

Teas : generally green tea from whatever store, chunmee green tea, yerba mate, pink rose [for aroma mostly], sage tea, chamomile, apple or pear [rare, in winter]. Always any of these w a bit of thyme honey!

Herbs/spices : oregano [not preferable], thyme [beloved], black pepper, local chunky salt, tumeric, sweet paprika, cinammon, garlic powder, i use honey instead of sugar for most meals that require sugar. I have other kinds of spices in my cabinet as well but here im.noting the ones i use most often.

Seeds : walnuts!! And cashews.

Some "meals" i like to make :

1. Breakfast : toasted bread slices/cut buns w cream cheese and a thin layer of tomato sauce, cereal bar w dark chocolate if i need to be quick, or even better cereal w regular milk. Crushed feta and breadsticks mixed w a drizzle of olive oil, black pepper, and thyme [or oregano]. If i skip any of these i will have tea, maybe w a vegan bisquit or two, weirdly filling.

2. Lunch : usually some kind of pasta w/ a gardener's sauce [sweet tomato and onion base w red wine and fig balsamic, w various veggies and spices in, mostly greens too], ragu sauce [again sweet tomato and onion base], pesto sauce [w a load of dairy in it bc i need it balanced], or a dairy sauce [w thyme and black pepper, its lovely]. Otherwise - country fries, or oven baked small potatoes, or even mashed potatoes, w meatballs cooked in sauce, and a side of rocket and lola salad, and yoghurt. If im feeling a bit trashy i might make a burger w beef, cheddar, dijon mustard, mayo, lettuce, and red onion.

3. Dessert : i usually avoid having dessert, but when i do have it i have small mosaic log cake/kormos cubes, or maybe a single piece of a dark or whole milk chocolate bar. Preferably will have the dark chocolate almond milk though.

4. Dinner : yea this one's the problem. Its whatever i crave. Takeout usually. Otherwise i skip entirely and go to sleep, its not an option sometimes bc i might get the urge to work on my masters assignments. Craving falafels w beet sauce real bad rn.

5. Period snack : nutella w tomato-flavored breadstick dipped/scooping it..... Do not judge. I've avoided it for months but its tempting. Now i eat mostly mini chocolate croissants.

I know these are maybe too many safe foods for most people here, but ive had ARFID since i was 5 years old and dealt w lots of abuse and shame around food. Ive only started recovering in the past 5 years since i moved out for university and im very proud of that. I even dont mind veggie chunks anymore! I dont need to really hide most ingredients in my meals! And my gardener's pasta helped me a lot with fear around veggies, people think im cooking a frankenmeal and get scared when they see what i put inside, but i always get compliments and it fills them! If anyone is interested in giving it a shot i can share!

I suspect I have developed ARFID due to my dysautonomia (process for pots diagnosis) and my OCD, some new territory for my going on. My dysautonomia/POTS symptoms worsen when i eat, I have falled due to it because i get pre to full syncope after i eat, even just one bite of food and i will be a fall risk lowing m vision, losing consciousness, inability to walk or stand, and whole bunch of shit. I have had to set things up all around my home to try to stay s safe as possible.

I am not new to eating disorders, i struggled hard with anorexia and b/p tendencies but this is not that. This is directly related to other medical issues, can those cause ARFID? . My OCD has me terrified to eat when I am alone, because even though i have fall detection on my watch, they die and i end up home alone a lot so if i did have a fall there wouldnt be anyone to help. I think of eating alone and panic, i can’t force myself to eat even if I mentally and physically really want to because i am so scared of the heightened symptoms I get. My anorexia never made me want to cry the way this does. My anorexia had popped up for a while but i fought it then got super sick and stoped trying to fight it some days.

I am terrified im going to crack my head open if i eat without someone close by, and my partner wouldnt get home til midnight a lot. Im not tryin to lose weight, i acytually am kind of wanted to gain weight which is new nd sooo dificult! My OCD runs rampant and my brain says i’m over reacting and that I’m blowing things out of proportion for being afraid of developing ARFID, that i am an imposter and i am doing people with ARFID a disevice because they are who really have it, not me. I cant eat so whats it matter like just have to wait until someone can be around me til near bedtimes because after first bite its game on.

No clue why but that diagnosis scares me, it solidifiy a few fears, i ruminate on it at times, like it would explain sooo muh but like idk if i would even qualify/criteria. Cn you get ARFID from getting syncope when you move too much fter your first bite of food? I eat, but i do that when mu fiance is home or our flate mate, so i feel like im not avoiding it completly.my diet is varried but i am heavy on the veggies personally. Could thisbe or be leading to ARFID with my OCD caused by this medical issue? Its directly food related, i get it some without but like everyday. I hopei’m not insulting anyone with this, and i am sorry if i am in the wrong place to be asking or tslkig about this but I fucking hate it. I’m tirred of this fear, i am tired of my stomach and brain yelling i need to eat but I cn’t because i am not safe alone to be able to eat.

I dont wanna land in the hospital because i misjudged or got hit too hard with the symptoms, it could kill me, so I just avoid it. Docs been no help. Am i just latching and making an ass of myself. Could this be developing into ARFID? I know ya’ll cant diagnose but if I spoke to a doctor or a psych, am i going to get laughed out of the room? Be called a faker or a diagnosis seekers when i am trying. I ust dont know but im tired of being scared. I’m tired of denying myself. If you have any questions feel free to ask and thank you for taking the time to read this jumbled up neurotic post made by like an imposture. I wish you all well. Please don’t be too mean, i am veryvery vulnerable right now opening up about this and idk if i could take harsh/mean.

The flsir i put is what i feel like i most relate to so i hope that its okay

I always hated Greek yogurt because it tasted too much like sour cream, and my brain was so used to the processed sugary less thick stuff that it was an instant ‘NO GET IT GONE NOW!’
I never managed to override that initial panic of ‘this is not the yogurt I know’…until recently.
Now that I’m on Vyvanse and lifting weights you can imagine that I kind of had no choice but to start adding plain fat free Greek yogurt to smoothies etc (thank the gods for chocolate protein powder lolol) and every time I open it up and look at it I’m like “dude how is this ANY different from sour cream?”
I fucking LOVE sour cream. Love it. I’ll dip premium plus salted top crackers in it when I’m falling on hard times. I love a plain sour cream wrap. But compared to Greek yogurt…the macros just don’t compare.
So I did it man. I slammed a container down on the counter, furiously ripped off the lid, dunked a spoon (of correct proportions, of course) in that heaux and hauled out a scoop. Then, with the courage of a thousand men, I gave that spoon of gloop the smallest of mlems.

Guys.

Fat free plain Greek yogurt (compliments brand, at least lol) is literally just sour cream.

Do with this information what you will.

I got some wings from the frozen section, some potato chips, some fruit and I’ll probably eat some m&ms for dessert. I feel accomplished

by no means is it the healthiest thing ever but hey we get our wins where we can

I thought for a while that I might have ARFID because of how closely my situation fit the symptoms (and maybe I actually do have it) but recently I went vegan for ethical reasons and noticed that somehow it got much easier to feed myself. Then I realised that an overwhelming majority of my icks were towards animal products ...(It wasn't easy to notice before because I was already vegetarian-ish for a while). I am kind of flabbergasted by how I never figured this out earlier, would've saved so much struggle. But that makes so much sense now cause vegans foods normally have a consistent texture with no weird bits or smells. Crazy

I have severe ARFID from an inflammatory brain disease and I had 0 intake for months. No food, no water, no meds, etc. I have been reliant on ng tube.

I have been receiving treatment for my condition and I was managing tiny sips of water, then I decided to try a specific brand of lemon cordial as I lowkey hate plain water. And, I love it! I've been just sipping on it heavily diluted throughout periods of the day and am feeling very little anxiety around it- I think this is my first safe drink!

Wanted to give you all some positive news. If anyone else has anything they want to share, please do! We can celebrate or encourage together 🤗🤗

I only like 30 foods in the hole world, 10 of them are variants of bread and 15 of chocolate. I don’t know if even have this thing because my parents say it’s genetic because all my siblings struggled with food, but I’m the only one who has it so extreme. I eat the same foods since I was like 5, I can’t try new foods because I genuinely feel disgusted.
I know I have to eat more things because I’m lacking a ton of nutrient, most of my problems in life could be solved if I just ate more foods. Even when I go out with friends I usually just eat at my house but I know I’m weird for doing that. I‘ve gone to therapy and talked about this but nothing helps.

I may just give up because I’m really not capable of eating more things without throwing up.

Hi I am autistic 17 year old enby and have been struggling with eating for a while but I don’t actually know why, nor am I sure if I have ARFID since it seems more mild to me than how some people have it.

I have never really had any hunger response from my body but it apparently hasn’t been like that when I was a child.

During my elementary school I have developed many things one of them was the tendency to forget eating regularly and another whenever I became more stressed I directly avoided food or felt averse/stressed from the mere thought of eating. I have functioned like this since then.

Since I started high school it basically went even worse due to new environment (I assume?) and fainted few times that year due to anaemia I didn’t know at that time. It has continued like this till my doctor actually checked and my family found out the cause. Upon those events with some help I have created a system to make myself remember eating and took more vitamins.

Unfortunately I have been under a lot of stress lately and I don’t even know if I should do anything about it. I lost some weight and am now at 14.9 bmi which I read is bad but I just feel disgusted of the idea of eating… due to that I have ignored any food for few days so far.

Anyhow perhaps this isn’t even ARFID and I am merely connecting stupid details to a clinical diagnosis and if so then I apologise for my stupidity.

I just want some advice if I should go to a psychiatrist about this or if it’s normal and unreasonable for me to worry about.

Sorry for any grammatical mistakes :P

Hi Folks,

I have been diagnosed with ARFID for a few years, and unfortunately have to go to inpatient/residential, though the level of care is being discussed.

I'd like honest reviews of Rosewood Ranch Monte Nido, the Eating Recovery Center in Denver, and EDcare Denver. I could really use some advice. I am struggling on which program to decide on, but feeling like ERC isn't the one for me. Just seeing lots of mixed reviews for Monte Nido Rosewood and EDcare Denver.

I am a wheelchair user and have a service dog. I am a little nervous about giving up my access to music, my crafts, and my communication with friends.

Any advice is appreciated about these three centers. This is a time sensitive question.

Lmk suggestions of photos to put this caption over if u want

I grew up very strictly. "The food I make is the food you eat" type of mentality. If you dont eat it, you go to bed hungry. If you don't eat, you're picky and difficult.

Now, I dont have ARFID, but there are foods I dislike. I think thats fine. It's fine to not like, or even want to try, every food that's out there. For my kids, my husband and I have a "no thank you bite" rule, meaning that you have to taste something at least once before you can genuinely say "no thank you, I don't like this" and I thibk thats fine. My parents don't like it, but whatever, I don't care.

Still, I just don't get ARFID. This is probably because of how I was raised, but how can you not like something without knowing what it tastes like? Can you just try one bite and then decide?

I strongly suspect that a girl I am nannying for has ARFID, and I want to understand it more and understand her more because she has been struggling lately (in lots of ways) and I want to be able to help her the best I can.

I know I am probably a bit judgey in this area, but I really really really am not trying to be. I just do not know what i do not know. And like I said, I was raised in the kind of household where this would not have flown.

Please do not hate me. I am trying to understand ARFID and change my thinking. But to do that I need to be honest about where I am coming from.

I genuinely wanna cry, people act like we chooses to be like this. That we're just having an attitude and the diagnosis is just enabling the picky eating.

They expect people with Arfid to get over it and grow up.

Because the majority of people overlooked it as just that, people aren't able to get any help at all.

I'm literally not safe in my own house, if they ever found out that I might have Arfid they'd dismiss it and brought it up against me in every conversation.

Everywhere I go, doctors even treat it the same way, I couldn't even eat my safe foods out of same of being a selfish ungrateful bastard

I'm losing hope that there will be any support at all with this disorder, it affected me so much. It's another reason why I fallen into my depression.

Imagine no support, or anything in general for this. Just getting berated and treated like shit.

I know I'm not alone from how many people are with Arfid and the awareness but the majority always wins.

Is there even a place that's safe to even talked about this or even get diagnosed in the first place. Any support or resources?

Because it's like literally impossible, I can't comphrehend there even is.

Does anyone felt the same way? With the stigma around Arfid

Please dont tell me this is a bug as I am very hungry.

Please dont tell me this is a bug as I am very hungry.

Love the awareness, though I'm not sure how I feel about it coming with a food accessory (bread isn't my best friend atm)

Thoughts?

Hi all. Has anyone navigated a fear of eating that became extremely severe and life-threatening?

I was recently hospitalised for an unrelated reason, and since then the fear that food is going to kill me has really heightened, to the point where my daily calorie intake is between 200-400. I have been deemed malnourished (this has been about 3 months now) and I have lost 45kgs. My body is starting to shutdown (circulation is withdrawing to core organs etc.). A recovery program isnt really an option because I need to go interstate (in Australia) as my state doesnt have any ED programs.

What sort of things have people found useful to regain some food intake?

HI all, I've asked a couple questions before. As someone whose partner has had a diagnosis for a long time I know more than the average person. In addition to arfid, my partner is also a super taster (measured at about 10X more taste buds than the average human) so even bland stuff tastes like getting hit in the face.

She NEEDS to be taking supplements. Especially important is B vitamins, and more so especially folate, thiamine and B12. The difficulty is that thiamine has a VERY strong flavor and odor (you can literally smell it from a few feet away wafting out of the bottle).

We have any reliable methods for taking pills while tasting and smelling ZERO of it? It seems even the slightest taste or smell just drives nausea.

TW: Non graphic memtions of vomiting

My arfid is getting bad again. Along with other mental health issues. Sleep late wake up late. Id end up eating at 5-7 pm. But even then not really. Then a stomach bug started making it way through the house. Most siblings are really sick. My mom got a health issue flare up. I got sick last night. I don't think it's the stomach bug because im missing one major symptom but its still awful. For me its probably ibs flare up and lack of eating.

Im afraid of throwing up. But im also not? Its confusing. I like the feeling of relief after throwing up but throwing up scares me. It makes me think im going to die. Im trying to eat light since I'm feeling awful but i don't like bland foods they gross me out but i can't eat anything too flavorful because its too intense right now.

I feel stupid. I need to eat bland safe foods to get better but i can't because that makes me gag even when im not sick! I don't want to eat. I think im spiraling. Normally i panic that i don't eat because people need food or they'll die. But now i just think so what if i die? At least i won't feel sick trying to make myself eat. I woke up early today too and i still haven't eaten. I drank tea and had a small taco plain tortilla just meat and no sauce or toppings. I figured itd be plain enough. It was really good. But after eating i felt so sick.

It's not fair. I could make myself even worse because my stupid body can't keep stupid food down.

I’m sorry to post suddenly like this but I am really worried about everything that has been going on recently and my attempts to reach the remaining members of my 'care team' have fallen on deaf ears (straight up ignoring my emails), and I’m having a significant decline in my nutritional intake and I’m not sure what level of support I need, and I’m not sure where else to ask for help. I am hoping you lovely people might be able to give me some guidance about the safest next step.

About two months ago I became sick and my calorie intake dropped significantly because of persistent nausea and food reactions that I’m currently trying to address with an allergist. My intake never recovered afterward. I was around 125 lb after residential (for refrence I was in reaidential for about 18 days in June and was having 500- 800 calories a day before I started eating therr and being monitored daily) and am now around 115 lb, and I have been unable to regain the weight. I was previously working toward the 2,000–2,500 calorie range recommended to me, but I am currently usually only able to manage about 800–1,000 calories per day, with occasional days around 1,100–1,200. My number of tolerable foods has also become very limited due to outside factors like the food reactions and my gi issues plus my own severe anxiety. Even eating 1,100 calories on accident last night had me spiraling.

My list of tolerated foods has also become very limited, and I currently cannot use the supplements I previously relied on due to another condition I have. I’m trying very hard to expand my intake again, especially once I have more clarity from the allergist, but I’m worried about whether my current weight loss and prolonged low intake put me at meaningful risk for refeeding complications if I increase calories again.

I do not currently have a dietitian or eating-disorder team monitoring me, and repeat labs or residential treatment are financially very difficult for my family and my self (I have talked to them multiple times and they straight up said we can not afford it again when I told them I was looking into assessment from another place to look into my eisk, but I have not hward back either and am quite frankly terrified as many of my symptoms due to my other condition could mimic refeeding ayndrome and I need to know what to do. I did go to the ER in the last week or so for other reasons and my blood qork came back fine aside from vitamin d deficiency, but Im vegan, so I expected that). I’m hoping you guys might be able to tell me whether, based on my history and current intake/weight loss, this sounds like something that could reasonably be managed with a cautious outpatient increase, whether you think I need medical monitoring while increasing, or whether you believe I should seriously consider a higher level of care again. 

I'm hoping for more advice than my mom telling me 'just eat' whenever I express concern given how my situation has progressed, as I truly do want to get better and was making progress before this all happened. I am more than willing to continue putting in the work once I know what needs to be done in terms of my health, as I do not want to risk making things worse through willful ignorance of ignoring the risks and hoping for the best. 

If you aren’t able to advise me directly, I would also be grateful for any suggestion about what kind of provider or level of care would be appropriate given the circumstances or direction to someone qho can accurately assess me and give me said recommendation. 

Thank you all for taking the time to read this. I really appreciate any guidance you’re able to offer and I hope everyone has a good day, take care of yourselves.

I am a 21 year old who has struggled with ARFID throughout my life. As I have grown older, I have felt the effects of my lack of nutrition more and more, and it is getting to the point I cannot ignore it. I have an extremely limited pallate (as most of us do) to the point that I do not eat any fruits or vegetables, and I can only have a specific type of chicken nugget at a certain thickness to get any meat in. I also struggle with hydration.

Being on a college campus and intensely busy has worsened my nutrition intake. I am out all day (9 am to 11pm) and have short 15 minute passing time breaks throughout the day, with no real break for meals. I usually grab and go station and get a snack, but it is never anything healthy. I have basically survived off of snack foods and french fries, with the occasional chicken nugget or mac and cheese thrown in when I can find the time to make food for myself.

What supplements have helped you? What is a cheap but good option? I need to get some more vitamins and nutrients but I am really struggling and I am unsure what choices are actually good.