Extremely fussy eater

joannereidx

Hi guys,

I was wondering if anyone can relate to my issue or perhaps offer some advice.

I'm 18 years old and have a very restricted diet. I've always been fussy but now that I'm older I can see how much of an issue it's becoming. Not only is it extremely embarrassing it's obviously not healthy. I rarely eat meals, I tend to snack on things like crisps and toast. The only meal I can say I actually like is macaroni and cheese (tried it for the first time a couple of months ago). I like plain foods from standard takeaways like Mcdonalds but rarely eat there. I do try new foods but I think my problem is that I tell myself I hate it before I've even tasted it. I've been to the doctors and they've simply told me to try new things. I have improved this year as I'm a lot more active, going to the gym etc. but I really want to be able to eat normally. I know I'm the only person who can help myself and the answer is I need to try new foods all the time but if anyone has had a similar experience I would find it comforting hearing from you!

skinbeauty2005

OMG! I'm 34 and I'm the same way. I guess it never bothered me too much, because I was always thin and could get away with it, but now that I'm more focused on health and training, I'm really upset about my ways. I've actually looked online to see if it classifies as some sort of disorder. I can't even "hide" veggies in things, because I know they are there and cannot bring myself to eat it! I refuse to eat eggs, seafood, yogurt, and most fruits and veggies.. I purchased a meal plan and immediately requested my money back, as there was no way I would eat 90% of what was on it..

It's almost depressing.. I'm like a toddler, turning my nose up at things I know I should eat, but I'm like mentally blocked from being capable of doing it!

barb106

My daughter (11 y/o) has this problem and I didn't really recognize it as an eating disorder until her speech therapist discussed it with me. So many people say "oh yeah, I have a picky eater too" but they have no idea! There are occupational therapists who work with kids, but I imagine there are therapists who work with adults too. Google "adult problem feeders" and you'll get plenty of info.

Jruzer

Interesting. One of my kids (15 yo) is very picky, although not quite as bad as you OP. He mostly likes beige foods as well - toast, popcorn, pasta, etc. He'll pick out the bits of onion or tomato in whatever is being served for meals. I do think it's a bit of an issue for him regarding nutrition.

What Mrs Jruzer and I do is continue to present food to him and encourage him to try it. We just tried some new Tater Tots with onions baked in, and he actually enjoyed the onion flavor, even when we explained what it was.

He has always been like this. When he was an infant he refused almost everything we offered and was not gaining. In desperation the doctor suggested we try vanilla ice cream. THAT was a hit! I'm hoping he will slowly grow out of it but I suspect he will always be pickier than most people.

deviboy1592

I'm 37 and I was a very picky eater, to the point where all I ate was hot dogs, burgers, waffles and Doritos 5 days a week, no water just Pop. Even at 23 I would pick the tiny onions off my burger. For me a huge leap was putting lettuc on my burger. When I made the change I cut all those processed, high sodium and sugar, drinks and meals out of my diet. The first couple of weeks I felt like an addict, starving, turning away all kinds of good food, looking for junk food or fast food to eat. Now I'm eating almost all healthy choices, with the occasional slip up, I believe that the high sodium and sugar ruins what real food is supposed to taste like, we smother everything in dips or sauces and were actually not enjoying the meals but ruining them. My advice get yourself out of your comfort zone, buy a bunch of food you normally wouldn't like and make that the only food you have in your house. You would be surprised at how could an apple can taste.

TeaBea

deviboy1592 wrote: »

I'm 37 and I was a very picky eater, to the point where all I ate was hot dogs, burgers, waffles and Doritos 5 days a week, no water just Pop. Even at 23 I would pick the tiny onions off my burger. For me a huge leap was putting lettuc on my burger. When I made the change I cut all those processed, high sodium and sugar, drinks and meals out of my diet. The first couple of weeks I felt like an addict, starving, turning away all kinds of good food, looking for junk food or fast food to eat. Now I'm eating almost all healthy choices, with the occasional slip up, I believe that the high sodium and sugar ruins what real food is supposed to taste like, we smother everything in dips or sauces and were actually not enjoying the meals but ruining them. My advice get yourself out of your comfort zone, buy a bunch of food you normally wouldn't like and make that the only food you have in your house. You would be surprised at how could an apple can taste.

This^

Try something new every single week. You may need to try the same thing multiple times (this is normal). Not everyone likes the flavor of something new, the first time.

With veggies & fruit. This will also be a texture thing. Raw VS. cooked. Frozen and cooked VS. fresh and cooked. Some veggies (and fruit) freeze well...others not so much. These are all texture changes. Especially with roasting and grilling, you can add in new flavors (garlic, soy sauce, and other spices).

hollyrayburn

Taste buds change. YOu learn to adapt taste. One week of "forcing" myself to have plain greek yogurt in the morning with fresh fruit? I now prefer it over the sweeneted kind with more calories and sugar.

jddnw

I really don't get fussy eating. Growing up, when people put a plate of food in front of me, I ate it. It was expected in my house. You clean your plate. It didn't really matter what was being served. I cleaned the plate. This is how it's done:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeFmoIEgAtY

HeidiCooksSupper

Many of our reactions to specific tastes are learned. All you need to do is watch an episode of Andrew Zimmern to see that folks around the world make different judgments about food or the recent commercial showing the guy reacting to his mother-in-law's delicious menudo when he finds out tripe is a cow's stomach lining. Often, with new tastes, the first bite is a shock and we shy away thinking we don't like it. This reaction probably protected our hunter gatherer selves but it's too restrictive for modern world adults. The only way to develop your palate is to try new foods -- not just one bite but several. And then you can feed the garbage disposal if necessary.

I've been working on overcoming my tendency to reject unfamiliar greens out of hand. I'm in my sixties and have only just discovered that turnip greens are good and mustard greens are not ... TO ME. The only way I found this out is by trying them. I haven't braved collards yet and I keep threatening hubby that I will steal some of his otherwise inedible (TO ME) raw radishes and try cooking some since various webby sources say they are good that way and taste totally different. I won't know until I try.

The only way to overcome a finicky palate is to challenge it. The only way to grow is to present yourself with new challenges and learn something new every day.

joannereidx

Thanks for all the replies, such a relieve reading them all! I do think one of the main problems was that my mum and dad never forced me to eat my tea or try new things, they were too soft. I know I need to be harder on myself and try foods more than once and try to overcome me telling myself I hate it before I've even tried it!

RodaRose

Take it easy on yourself. What counts is that you are welcoming changes now.

WinoGelato

OP I was a super picky eater when I was a kid, probably up until I was about the same age as you. Same thing, my mom never forced me to eat foods I didn't want to, didn't even force me to try things the way I make my kids try everything on their plate at least once. I started getting self conscious about it when I would go to other people's houses for dinner and have to tell them that I didn't like ANYTHING that they were serving. I kind of slowly started trying things just to be polite, and lo and behold, most of the foods I was scared of really weren't that bad.

I still am not much of a fruit eater - other than berries, I think it is a texture thing. Veggies I learned to like certain ones by preparing them different ways as I got older and started cooking more for myself, but there are still some that I really don't like: broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms. I also still order my cheeseburgers plain and my tacos with just meat and cheese, so I definitely still have some picky tendencies! The funny thing is I love to go out to eat and love to cook, so a lot of people label me as a "foodie" but my sister scoffs at that because she knows how picky I have been my entire life.

Try some things like: roasted carrots (they get really sweet, and you can even through some orange juice or maple syrup on them to make them even sweeter), salads with toppings that you really like (I don't like traditional salads much with cucumbers, tomatoes, etc but I love a spinach salad with blueberries, goat cheese, craisins, and pecans). I love grilled asparagus, zucchini, squash. Try noodles with different sauces, like a white sauce, red sauce, or pesto sauce. You can mix veggies in with that.

Good luck - you are definitely not alone.

joannereidx

Kruggeri - I agree. I think that once I start cooking my own meals I may experiment more. Just now I'm self concious about trying foods around others because they are always so hopeful that I will like it. Thanks for your advice

tulips_and_tea

deviboy1592 wrote: »

I'm 37 and I was a very picky eater, to the point where all I ate was hot dogs, burgers, waffles and Doritos 5 days a week, no water just Pop. Even at 23 I would pick the tiny onions off my burger. For me a huge leap was putting lettuc on my burger. When I made the change I cut all those processed, high sodium and sugar, drinks and meals out of my diet. The first couple of weeks I felt like an addict, starving, turning away all kinds of good food, looking for junk food or fast food to eat. Now I'm eating almost all healthy choices, with the occasional slip up, I believe that the high sodium and sugar ruins what real food is supposed to taste like, we smother everything in dips or sauces and were actually not enjoying the meals but ruining them. My advice get yourself out of your comfort zone, buy a bunch of food you normally wouldn't like and make that the only food you have in your house. You would be surprised at how could an apple can taste.

I 2nd this. A lot of our "dislikes" are learned and it is about mind over matter. If you want to change something badly enough you can. Yes, it takes work, but sometimes being referred to as a child as a picky eater (even if we really weren't but were not exposed to a lot of different foods) makes us believe that we are.

Same thing as when a quiet child is referred to as "shy" and then they believe that about themselves. I'm not saying this is the exact case with the OP. Just offering perspective.

jonathansilas1984

Watch a couple videos online of children starving to death, then thank whatever gods/fate/happy circumstance kept you from being them. Then go eat something, every time you think about saying I dont like this, remember the eyes of the children.

TR0berts

HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »

Many of our reactions to specific tastes are learned. All you need to do is watch an episode of Andrew Zimmern to see that folks around the world make different judgments about food or the recent commercial showing the guy reacting to his mother-in-law's delicious menudo when he finds out tripe is a cow's stomach lining. Often, with new tastes, the first bite is a shock and we shy away thinking we don't like it. This reaction probably protected our hunter gatherer selves but it's too restrictive for modern world adults. The only way to develop your palate is to try new foods -- not just one bite but several. And then you can feed the garbage disposal if necessary.

I've been working on overcoming my tendency to reject unfamiliar greens out of hand. I'm in my sixties and have only just discovered that turnip greens are good and mustard greens are not ... TO ME. The only way I found this out is by trying them. I haven't braved collards yet and I keep threatening hubby that I will steal some of his otherwise inedible (TO ME) raw radishes and try cooking some since various webby sources say they are good that way and taste totally different. I won't know until I try.

The only way to overcome a finicky palate is to challenge it. The only way to grow is to present yourself with new challenges and learn something new every day.

Collards are...interesting, and IMHO kinda like asparagus. Not the taste - but the necessity of proper preparation. If you get properly cooked fresh collard greens (or asparagus)? Oh, my, those are great. If they aren't cooked well? Well, not so much.

leehillx

Dear Joanne, I think what Deviboy said above, about getting habituated to high sugar, high sodium food is a great insight. I also advise you to ignore some of the comments above that dismiss the reality of your food problem, because I am close to someone with similar issues. I know how hard it has been for her to gradually train herself to eat well. I think Deviboy's way of retraining himself away from junk food might be too severe. So here is what I suggest. Cook for yourself food similar to the junk food: make your own hamburgers (plain if you like). Instead of tortilla chips, fry or heat up some corn tortillas. Once you've gotten to like corn tortillas,then you could try toping them with whatever you think you might be able to eat (maybe a mild salsa?). If you can eat tortillas mixed with salsa, then add chopped tomatoes to the salsa, later some ground meat, and cheese? If you get to like cheese and salsa, it easy to add that to most anything (veggies for example). The idea above about trying carrots is also a great idea, they are so sweet! You can dip carrots in salsa!
Another tip: to get rid of any icky feeling about the salsa, drain it in sieve before you use it. And start with the cooked salsa.

Best of luck to you and don't let anyone make light of your very real food habituation problem.

LEE

deksgrl

My boyfriend's daughter is 12 and only eats a very few things. Pancakes (with syrup no butter), grilled cheese sandwiches, and french fries are her main foods. Popcorn, chocolate cereal. A very few vegetables and fruits. Toast with no butter. Ice cream, milkshakes. No meats, no eggs. He tries to get her to try new things, so it is not a matter of never being made to try new things. She usually will try it and says, "it's okay" just so that nobody makes a big deal out of it, but she never makes it part of her regular list of foods. I usually will ask her what she doesn't like about it, taste or texture, just to see if she can isolate specifics, or if it is just that she has a preconceived notion that she doesn't like it. I hope that she someday grows out of it. He is concerned that she isn't getting enough nutrition, though she is growing tall and is a healthy weight.

DirrtyH

I don't really have this problem (I'm somewhat picky but it's not interfering with my life), and I'm not an expert so take this with a grain of salt, but my advice would just be to start small.
Eat what you like, and then find a way to try something new maybe once a week. You don't have to dive in right away, take it slow. Some things you just genuinely aren't going to like, and that's okay. But you may be surprised how many things you might end up enjoying.

ericbechtel

joannereidx wrote: »

Hi guys,

I was wondering if anyone can relate to my issue or perhaps offer some advice.

I'm 18 years old and have a very restricted diet. I've always been fussy but now that I'm older I can see how much of an issue it's becoming. Not only is it extremely embarrassing it's obviously not healthy. I rarely eat meals, I tend to snack on things like crisps and toast. The only meal I can say I actually like is macaroni and cheese (tried it for the first time a couple of months ago). I like plain foods from standard takeaways like Mcdonalds but rarely eat there. I do try new foods but I think my problem is that I tell myself I hate it before I've even tasted it. I've been to the doctors and they've simply told me to try new things. I have improved this year as I'm a lot more active, going to the gym etc. but I really want to be able to eat normally. I know I'm the only person who can help myself and the answer is I need to try new foods all the time but if anyone has had a similar experience I would find it comforting hearing from you!

Hey! I totally understand. I've had lots of girl-friends in my life who lived on the "chicken finger" diet (Chicken fingers, french fries, ranch). I have an adventurous palette, and I struggled to help those friends conquer their fears and try something new.

Here's the best advice I used, to convince them:

• Remind yourself that trying new foods is almost entirely psychological and the roadblock has nothing to do with taste, smell, etc. Millions (billions?) of people eat the "new" foods you're trying every day, and those foods were approved to sell by the FDA. Treat it like clothes: if millions of women wear Victoria's Secret and you don't, would you feel like you're missing out? Same thing applies to food.
• Set requirements that it takes a certain amount of time to make your food or have it brought out to you (usually 20 minutes minimum). If you promise yourself to do that, especially when you're around friends, it will almost completely change your diet habits.
• Try to think about how foods are created and what they contain when you eat them. If you knew the complete process for making crisps, your grocery store bread, McDonald's McNuggets and burgers, fries, etc. would you still eat them? If not, that should make choosing new food easier.

If all those concepts don't work, I'd say force yourself to only eat foods where you can identify it's origin. For example:

• Whole Unpeeled Carrot: it comes from the ground and is a vegetable, I know where it's from so I can eat it.
• Seared Tuna: it comes from a fish in the ocean and it's meat/protein that was grilled for a couple minutes. I know where it's from so I can eat it.
• Chicken McNugget: it has chicken but from which part of the chicken I don't know, it has breading but I don't know what, and it's fried in oil but I don't know what kind. It's confusing, so I can't eat it.

Hope that helps! All the best-

Eric

CM9178

hollyrayburn wrote: »

Taste buds change. YOu learn to adapt taste. One week of "forcing" myself to have plain greek yogurt in the morning with fresh fruit? I now prefer it over the sweeneted kind with more calories and sugar.

ha funny you say that, I had been eating the yogurt with fruit on the bottom for awhile and recently changed to the plain greek with my own fruit. At first, I was like omg I can't eat this, a week later, I'm loving it!

mwyvr

joannereidx wrote: »

I think that once I start cooking my own meals I may experiment more.

What is holding you back from trying to cook your own meals?

I wasn't a super-fussy eater but hated the vegetables my mother cooked because her idea of cooking was to boil all the flavour and crispness out of everything. Sorry mom, but it's true! Still true, sadly!

As a teenager I took up cooking as a form of self-preservation. I made crisp stir frys, ratatouille (tender young zucchini and other vegies of the day), steamed vegies lightly, and so on. Of course I moved on from vegetables and ended up becoming quite a decent cook. It's a good life skill!

Cook for yourself. Experiment. You may find that when you have total control over the ingredients and the cooking methods that you are more willing to try your own creations. You won't hit a home run every time but you will find new foods and types of foods you didn't think you'd like, and that will lead to further successes as you build upon each new discovery.

joannereidx

mwyvr wrote: »

joannereidx wrote: »

I think that once I start cooking my own meals I may experiment more.

What is holding you back from trying to cook your own meals?

I work in town and by the time I travel home by bus it's about 7.15pm, therefore my mum cooks my evening meal for me. I do enjoy cooking so I think I should definitely start experimenting with new things at the weekend. Then if I like it I can have it for my tea during the week.

joannereidx

RockstarWilson wrote: »

Smoke medical marijuana. You will eat like a garbage disposal. No joke, that may actually help you bc the chemicals make you think you are hungry. You will want to try new foods, and will have less inhibition.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/239720-signs-of-someone-smoking-marijuana/#page=1

mm I don't think I'm that desperate lol

cat_lady77

Try new foods in different ways! I used to be picky until I lived with someone who was an awesome cook & everything she made was amazing.
I learned to love sweet potatoes, zucchini/squash, & carrots because they don't really have a taste by themselves, it depends how you prepare them. Sweet potato fries are AMAZING. You can find endless recipes online. Just keep trying, don't give up!

DirrtyH

joannereidx wrote: »

mwyvr wrote: »

joannereidx wrote: »

I think that once I start cooking my own meals I may experiment more.

What is holding you back from trying to cook your own meals?

I work in town and by the time I travel home by bus it's about 7.15pm, therefore my mum cooks my evening meal for me. I do enjoy cooking so I think I should definitely start experimenting with new things at the weekend. Then if I like it I can have it for my tea during the week.

I go to the gym right after work and don't get home until 7 most nights. I'm still able to fix dinner for myself. Granted, I don't enjoy cooking and so I mostly do pretty quick easy things, but I'm just saying, it's doable.

RockstarWilson

joannereidx wrote: »

RockstarWilson wrote: »

Smoke medical marijuana. You will eat like a garbage disposal. No joke, that may actually help you bc the chemicals make you think you are hungry. You will want to try new foods, and will have less inhibition.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/239720-signs-of-someone-smoking-marijuana/#page=1

mm I don't think I'm that desperate lol

You eat one meal: mac n cheese. How much worse does it get?

joannereidx

RockstarWilson wrote: »

joannereidx wrote: »

RockstarWilson wrote: »

Smoke medical marijuana. You will eat like a garbage disposal. No joke, that may actually help you bc the chemicals make you think you are hungry. You will want to try new foods, and will have less inhibition.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/239720-signs-of-someone-smoking-marijuana/#page=1

mm I don't think I'm that desperate lol

You eat one meal: mac n cheese. How much worse does it get?

It would have to get a looooot worse before I took drugs

melimomTARDIS

check out the adult picky eaters page and corresponding yahoo group. I think what you have going on is beyond the average "fussy" eater, and may infact be ARFID. My kid has it, and eats a pretty narrow range. the adult picky eating website has been really helpful to our family.

joannereidx

melimomTARDIS wrote: »

check out the adult picky eaters page and corresponding yahoo group. I think what you have going on is beyond the average "fussy" eater, and may infact be ARFID. My kid has it, and eats a pretty narrow range. the adult picky eating website has been really helpful to our family.

Thank you, I will have a look!

RockstarWilson

joannereidx wrote: »

RockstarWilson wrote: »

joannereidx wrote: »

RockstarWilson wrote: »

Smoke medical marijuana. You will eat like a garbage disposal. No joke, that may actually help you bc the chemicals make you think you are hungry. You will want to try new foods, and will have less inhibition.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/239720-signs-of-someone-smoking-marijuana/#page=1

mm I don't think I'm that desperate lol

You eat one meal: mac n cheese. How much worse does it get?

It would have to get a looooot worse before I took drugs

Like....throwing up, or dying? You already don't eat much: bread and mac n cheese are far from nutritious. Eventually, you will establish nutrition deficiencies that can cause long-term disorders. My question still stands: How much worse does it get?