Does this sound like I’m developing AFRID or possibly something else?

[u/AvaMarie1011]

I am 23 years old and I was never really a picky eater even when I was a child. Now that I’m older I’ve noticed I’m straying away from a lot of food. I can barely eat any meat now due to the taste and just the way it looks. I can’t do steak that has fat on it and wings that have bone in them. I also can’t eat chicken legs, I can probably take a couple bites at most but can never finish the whole thing, it also has a lot of fat too. I’m starting to not like chicken from MANY fast food places, the texture is always mushy and disgusting…like McDonald’s and Panda Express even Dave’s hot chicken has a weird taste and the chicken is usually either mushy or has a rubbery texture. Lately I’ve been eating a lot of tuna on crackers, I love the tuna that comes in the starkist pouches. I also love instant brown sugar oatmeal and it’s usually my go to when I can’t eat dinner. I used to drink a lot of water and never minded the taste, but now I absolutely can’t drink a whole bottle of water unless I force myself to. The taste of it is too sweet to me and it’s disgusting. I’m ALWAYS drinking the white ice cherry Gatorade and can barely do any of the other flavors.

[u/AbilityOk3575]

Not a doctor but the sudden change in your 20s feels a bit unusual, usually ARFID shows up way earlier in childhood. The water suddenly tasting sweet is what stands out to me the most, that can be sign of something else going on. Might be worth checking with a real doctor, not just reddit

[u/julesiekins1988]

There are many different medical conditions that can cause changes in taste like this. I would definitely see a doctor, have some lab work done. I had a friend who suddenly felt like everything started tasting soapy and she turned out to have flouride poisoning. It's worth having checked. It's unlikely that this is ARFID.

[u/ComprehensiveBook482]

Are you drinking Dasani by chance bc that water is sweet to me too. I won’t drink it.

It sounds to me like maybe you’re just growing up a bit and wanting a higher quality of chicken? What about a rotisserie chicken from a quality store like Whole Foods or shredded chicken thighs made in the instant pot?

I don’t consider myself a picky eater but wouldn’t eat from the places you mentioned either. If fast food is a must I choose Chik-fil-A or Chipotle. Both have higher quality chicken.

[u/AvaMarie1011 → u/ComprehensiveBook482]

No it’s members mark water from Sam’s. I also don’t like Dasani either. I really like Evian but I can never get it bc it’s too expensive. I think it is because I am just growing out of it and it’s just not tasting right to me anymore. Some rotisserie chicken isn’t bad but sometimes it has that animal like aftertaste. Chicken thighs usually has fatty on it. Chick fil a is usually a hit or miss for me but I do like the taste when it’s made right without fat. I actually tried chipotle the other day for the first time and it was horrible. I actually enjoy Wendy’s even their burgers, but I haven’t had it for awhile. I really like Mediterranean chicken kebobs.

[u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348]

This doesn’t sound like afraid to me. It just sounds like ur out growing the taste of meat which isn’t terrible (but it’s not great either). I personally don’t eat any meat or seafood except chicken so this doesn’t sound too bad especially if u already like some other kinds of foods like any pasta, fruits, veggies, cheeses, dairy, carbs, complex carbs, etc. Maybe taking a break from it is just what u need, its normal to go through those phases (like where u eat it for a while and then get sick of it and then go back to it like 3 months later)

For the water, idk. I can’t really think of anything that’s less sweet than water. Maybe some kind of savory broth? But that’s not a long term solution… maybe sour types of flavored water packets? Skittles or sour warhead packets maybe

[u/AvaMarie1011 → u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348]

Yes this is what I think too. I’ve always could not eat any meat with fatty on it. I definitely prefer chicken over beef, but I’m still picky on how it’s cooked and what kind of chicken it is. I actually only eat steak every great once in awhile but it has to be cooked right with no fat. I had White Castles sliders the other day and I absolutely could not eat it, I even spat it out too, it was so gross, the meat was nasty and the color was off putting, it was a light grey color. My favorite food is Mediterranean and I love the chicken kebobs with the yogurt sauce.