Difficult to find foods.
Replies
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I might be an *kitten*, but this seems rather suspect.
Edit: Excuse me for this question, but have any doctors ever talked to you about schizophrenia?1 -
lulalacroix wrote: »I'm slightly confused. In the original post you stated that an example of a meal would be a homemade burger that included a roll and cheese. But later you state that you are lactose intolerant and have a gluten allergy. Can you clarify?
Lactose intolerance doesnt neccessarily mean cant have any dairy - its not anaphalaxis. Cheese is often actually quite a low percentage lactose. Like mild cheddar is 0.0-2.1% lactose.. I can tolerate small amounts. And my tolerance is lower when my immune system is struggling so I have to judge it day by day. Not sure If I mentioned it but Im TERRIBLE at not eating gluten. I try to restrict it - no more than 1 serve a day and at least 2 days per week without it so yeah I eat a bread roll here and there.0 -
pebble4321 wrote: »I suggest you keep looking in any disability support that might be available = is the NDIS in your area? And do you qualify? If you aren't in an NDIS area, then ask your doctor about a referral to the local disability support service (it will vary state by state) and see if you can get any assistance with shopping and meal prep.
If that's not an option, then I would call in favours if you can - it sounds as though your sister, for example, might be willing to help. Or perhaps your local council or health service might be able to put you in touch with a volunteer group who could help.
Cooking batches of things that can go in the fridge or freezer would give you some meals to fall back on. As you like soup, that would be a great place to start. You can add in chicken or nuts or legumes to bump up the protein, plus use a bit of oil in the cooking then blend it all in and you have something that has some decent nutrition and calories.
Cant add chicken im vegetarian lol. I dont entirely understand the NDIS but it is on the list of things to ask my doctor about when I see her next week, as well as disability community support. IDK what community services there are around here but I know the CMHT was pretty *kitten*. So my expectations are fairly low. My flatmate might know some stuff actually -- before we moved in together she was her mothers full time carer. Idk why I never thought to ask her lol.0 -
Im hoping to see a qualified nutritionist (or is it a dietician which is the one with proper qualifications?)... will speak to my doctor on the 18th about it. There are so many contributing factors that just make this all harder. Like sometimes being too weak to even be in the kitchen so I just dont eat, or my lungs or stomach not being able to cope with eating, and then add in the psychological factors like the autism meaning I just cannot tolerate certain textures Its distressing as *kitten* - for example peas.
Sorry i know this all sounds ridicculous I swear im not trying to be difficult or make excuses. Im trying to give all the information.
A LOT of people on the autism spectrum have a lot of sensory issues. As a result, it can be very difficult to find foods that are tolerable, and can lead to diets that are not broad or balanced enough.
I'm not sure if your dietician (if you get one) will understand this particular problem. I'm not clear on if dieticians get training on this sort of thing.
There are a group of people who are extremely picky eaters--not just autistic types--and there have been psychological techniques to help them broaden the tastes, textures and so on that make up food. But I don't think this is particuarly well known and I'm not sure how much of it is successful for autistic spectrum folks.
But be aware that this sort of aversion can be worked with, and this is not all that unusual for autistic spectrum people. I work with a charming 15 year old young man that eats the same lunch every day without fail!
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Yes im socially fairly high functioning (when im around people) but its very draining and my recovery time can be quite long after socialisation. My main other issue is the sensory stuff. Im extremely sound sensitive. I have tinted glasses because of light sensitivity and between my pain and autism im quite sensitive to touch. For foods there are just certain tastes and textures that are so bad its distressing to me.. and im also quite particular about the arrangements around food - how its stored, prepared, what it touches, and i dont like anyone around when im cooking though im getting better at that. Cooking is such a difficult task in so many ways that adding in a social element is just too much.0
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kenyonhaff wrote: »Im hoping to see a qualified nutritionist (or is it a dietician which is the one with proper qualifications?)... will speak to my doctor on the 18th about it. There are so many contributing factors that just make this all harder. Like sometimes being too weak to even be in the kitchen so I just dont eat, or my lungs or stomach not being able to cope with eating, and then add in the psychological factors like the autism meaning I just cannot tolerate certain textures Its distressing as *kitten* - for example peas.
Sorry i know this all sounds ridicculous I swear im not trying to be difficult or make excuses. Im trying to give all the information.
A LOT of people on the autism spectrum have a lot of sensory issues. As a result, it can be very difficult to find foods that are tolerable, and can lead to diets that are not broad or balanced enough.
I'm not sure if your dietician (if you get one) will understand this particular problem. I'm not clear on if dieticians get training on this sort of thing.
There are a group of people who are extremely picky eaters--not just autistic types--and there have been psychological techniques to help them broaden the tastes, textures and so on that make up food. But I don't think this is particuarly well known and I'm not sure how much of it is successful for autistic spectrum folks.
But be aware that this sort of aversion can be worked with, and this is not all that unusual for autistic spectrum people. I work with a charming 15 year old young man that eats the same lunch every day without fail!
I have some experience in that regard. I'm not autistic, but I do have a lot of food phobias / aversions, to the point new food has, on occasion, made me vomit (thankfully rarely). Vegetables are the worst for me, meats and liquids are usually no problem at all, and other foods fall somewhere in between.
Some of the techniques I use when I push myself to expand my food horizons:
1. I usually start with takeout. It means I have someone with experience cooking my food, and it gives me a baseline for how the new food ought to taste. It also means the sights and smells that come along with food prep don't potentially increase my aversion to the food. Sometimes the act of cooking can make me more apprehensive about a food.
2. I choose a day to do it when I'm not unduly stressed or anxious about anything else. I pick a time when I'm very hungry, as food anxiety greatly reduces hunger, and I want to still have an appetite when the meal is in front of me.
3. I eat the food alone in a setting where I'd feel relaxed - for example, I'll put on relaxing music and sit in a comfortable chair, even if that means eating outside of the dining room.
4. At each step, I focus on relaxation and on reducing anxiety, for example by closing my eyes, breathing deeply, and listening to relaxing music / sounds. A "step" might be something as small as smelling the food, looking at the food, or putting a fork into the food. Of course each bite is a step as well. I take it slow - before and after each step I assess how anxious I am, and if I'm too anxious, then I'll continue to focus on relaxation until anxiety comes down. I don't take the step until I feel calm enough to do so.
5. At any point, if I'm too anxious, I give myself full permission to stop. I try to end the experience before I reach the point where I can't take anymore - it's much worse if you push too hard and end up having a really bad experience. It'll typically take repeated exposure to really make the food a normal part of my diet.
6. At each step, I also look for things I like about the experience. Maybe the flavor is particularly interesting, or there's a nice texture, or a good aroma.
While I can't say it's easy to incorporate new foods into my repertoire, I do manage to do it. For me, the trick is really about managing anxiety, and taking the experience slow.
I have no idea if any of this is helpful to someone with autism or not, sorry.0 -
rankinsect wrote: »kenyonhaff wrote: »Im hoping to see a qualified nutritionist (or is it a dietician which is the one with proper qualifications?)... will speak to my doctor on the 18th about it. There are so many contributing factors that just make this all harder. Like sometimes being too weak to even be in the kitchen so I just dont eat, or my lungs or stomach not being able to cope with eating, and then add in the psychological factors like the autism meaning I just cannot tolerate certain textures Its distressing as *kitten* - for example peas.
Sorry i know this all sounds ridicculous I swear im not trying to be difficult or make excuses. Im trying to give all the information.
A LOT of people on the autism spectrum have a lot of sensory issues. As a result, it can be very difficult to find foods that are tolerable, and can lead to diets that are not broad or balanced enough.
I'm not sure if your dietician (if you get one) will understand this particular problem. I'm not clear on if dieticians get training on this sort of thing.
There are a group of people who are extremely picky eaters--not just autistic types--and there have been psychological techniques to help them broaden the tastes, textures and so on that make up food. But I don't think this is particuarly well known and I'm not sure how much of it is successful for autistic spectrum folks.
But be aware that this sort of aversion can be worked with, and this is not all that unusual for autistic spectrum people. I work with a charming 15 year old young man that eats the same lunch every day without fail!
I have some experience in that regard. I'm not autistic, but I do have a lot of food phobias / aversions, to the point new food has, on occasion, made me vomit (thankfully rarely). Vegetables are the worst for me, meats and liquids are usually no problem at all, and other foods fall somewhere in between.
Some of the techniques I use when I push myself to expand my food horizons:
1. I usually start with takeout. It means I have someone with experience cooking my food, and it gives me a baseline for how the new food ought to taste. It also means the sights and smells that come along with food prep don't potentially increase my aversion to the food. Sometimes the act of cooking can make me more apprehensive about a food.
2. I choose a day to do it when I'm not unduly stressed or anxious about anything else. I pick a time when I'm very hungry, as food anxiety greatly reduces hunger, and I want to still have an appetite when the meal is in front of me.
3. I eat the food alone in a setting where I'd feel relaxed - for example, I'll put on relaxing music and sit in a comfortable chair, even if that means eating outside of the dining room.
4. At each step, I focus on relaxation and on reducing anxiety, for example by closing my eyes, breathing deeply, and listening to relaxing music / sounds. A "step" might be something as small as smelling the food, looking at the food, or putting a fork into the food. Of course each bite is a step as well. I take it slow - before and after each step I assess how anxious I am, and if I'm too anxious, then I'll continue to focus on relaxation until anxiety comes down. I don't take the step until I feel calm enough to do so.
5. At any point, if I'm too anxious, I give myself full permission to stop. I try to end the experience before I reach the point where I can't take anymore - it's much worse if you push too hard and end up having a really bad experience. It'll typically take repeated exposure to really make the food a normal part of my diet.
6. At each step, I also look for things I like about the experience. Maybe the flavor is particularly interesting, or there's a nice texture, or a good aroma.
While I can't say it's easy to incorporate new foods into my repertoire, I do manage to do it. For me, the trick is really about managing anxiety, and taking the experience slow.
I have no idea if any of this is helpful to someone with autism or not, sorry.
I don't know if it will be helpful to anyone or not but I found it interesting. Do you experience this with anything else that is a new experience for you or does it just occur with food.
I recently was having a discussion with someone about the anxiety that people have about trying new things. They are afraid they will fail...embarrass themselves...other people will think they look stupid. The conclusion that we came to is in a sense just what you describe...taking those small steps...going about it slowly until you build your confidence up.
There are some foods that I say I don't like...honestly how would I know...I have never had them. I say I hate boiled okra...I have never eaten boiled okra. I just can't stand the looks of it. I love pizza now but as a child I wouldn't eat it because of the smell. Then there is buttermilk...never drank any straight...never intend too. I always think curdled milk. I cook with it however and that doesn't bother me.
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rankinsect wrote: »kenyonhaff wrote: »Im hoping to see a qualified nutritionist (or is it a dietician which is the one with proper qualifications?)... will speak to my doctor on the 18th about it. There are so many contributing factors that just make this all harder. Like sometimes being too weak to even be in the kitchen so I just dont eat, or my lungs or stomach not being able to cope with eating, and then add in the psychological factors like the autism meaning I just cannot tolerate certain textures Its distressing as *kitten* - for example peas.
Sorry i know this all sounds ridicculous I swear im not trying to be difficult or make excuses. Im trying to give all the information.
A LOT of people on the autism spectrum have a lot of sensory issues. As a result, it can be very difficult to find foods that are tolerable, and can lead to diets that are not broad or balanced enough.
I'm not sure if your dietician (if you get one) will understand this particular problem. I'm not clear on if dieticians get training on this sort of thing.
There are a group of people who are extremely picky eaters--not just autistic types--and there have been psychological techniques to help them broaden the tastes, textures and so on that make up food. But I don't think this is particuarly well known and I'm not sure how much of it is successful for autistic spectrum folks.
But be aware that this sort of aversion can be worked with, and this is not all that unusual for autistic spectrum people. I work with a charming 15 year old young man that eats the same lunch every day without fail!
I have some experience in that regard. I'm not autistic, but I do have a lot of food phobias / aversions, to the point new food has, on occasion, made me vomit (thankfully rarely). Vegetables are the worst for me, meats and liquids are usually no problem at all, and other foods fall somewhere in between.
Some of the techniques I use when I push myself to expand my food horizons:
1. I usually start with takeout. It means I have someone with experience cooking my food, and it gives me a baseline for how the new food ought to taste. It also means the sights and smells that come along with food prep don't potentially increase my aversion to the food. Sometimes the act of cooking can make me more apprehensive about a food.
2. I choose a day to do it when I'm not unduly stressed or anxious about anything else. I pick a time when I'm very hungry, as food anxiety greatly reduces hunger, and I want to still have an appetite when the meal is in front of me.
3. I eat the food alone in a setting where I'd feel relaxed - for example, I'll put on relaxing music and sit in a comfortable chair, even if that means eating outside of the dining room.
4. At each step, I focus on relaxation and on reducing anxiety, for example by closing my eyes, breathing deeply, and listening to relaxing music / sounds. A "step" might be something as small as smelling the food, looking at the food, or putting a fork into the food. Of course each bite is a step as well. I take it slow - before and after each step I assess how anxious I am, and if I'm too anxious, then I'll continue to focus on relaxation until anxiety comes down. I don't take the step until I feel calm enough to do so.
5. At any point, if I'm too anxious, I give myself full permission to stop. I try to end the experience before I reach the point where I can't take anymore - it's much worse if you push too hard and end up having a really bad experience. It'll typically take repeated exposure to really make the food a normal part of my diet.
6. At each step, I also look for things I like about the experience. Maybe the flavor is particularly interesting, or there's a nice texture, or a good aroma.
While I can't say it's easy to incorporate new foods into my repertoire, I do manage to do it. For me, the trick is really about managing anxiety, and taking the experience slow.
I have no idea if any of this is helpful to someone with autism or not, sorry.
I don't know if it will be helpful to anyone or not but I found it interesting. Do you experience this with anything else that is a new experience for you or does it just occur with food.
I recently was having a discussion with someone about the anxiety that people have about trying new things. They are afraid they will fail...embarrass themselves...other people will think they look stupid. The conclusion that we came to is in a sense just what you describe...taking those small steps...going about it slowly until you build your confidence up.
There are some foods that I say I don't like...honestly how would I know...I have never had them. I say I hate boiled okra...I have never eaten boiled okra. I just can't stand the looks of it. I love pizza now but as a child I wouldn't eat it because of the smell. Then there is buttermilk...never drank any straight...never intend too. I always think curdled milk. I cook with it however and that doesn't bother me.
For me, it's just food that causes that level of anxiety. I mean, I get somewhat nervous about some things like international travel, but I think it's more of a reasonable level of anxiety in that it's a big deal that requires a lot of planning, and it's certainly not crippling anxiety, more of just a desire to make sure I have all my plans in order. With most things in life, I'm actually really easygoing.
I do know that people who have exceptionally picky eating are often at higher risk for anxiety disorders in general, but for me, the anxiety is specifically limited to eating new foods.0 -
SierraFatToSkinny wrote: »I might be an *kitten*, but this seems rather suspect.
Edit: Excuse me for this question, but have any doctors ever talked to you about schizophrenia?
Um what? I have several diagnoses. Schizophrenia has never been one of them or considered because it does not fit at all and also thats super rude.0 -
rileysowner wrote: »What in your definition, is crap food?
Take away, sugar, chips, instant stuff like macaroni.1 -
I sincerely hope you find relief and options. I agree with the above posters, keep searching for in home help, cooking bigger batches at a time, maybe meal prep for the week is too much at one time, try only cooking for 2 or 3 meals at a time. I may have skimmed over this already, but have you tried not eating" meals" but eating smaller snacks throughout the day? Even if it is later on in the day you start eating.0 -
SierraFatToSkinny wrote: »I might be an *kitten*, but this seems rather suspect.
Edit: Excuse me for this question, but have any doctors ever talked to you about schizophrenia?
Um what? I have several diagnoses. Schizophrenia has never been one of them or considered because it does not fit at all and also thats super rude.
There isn't anything wrong with having schizophrenia, I have a family friend who has it.
Didn't mean to be rude. 0 -
SierraFatToSkinny wrote: »SierraFatToSkinny wrote: »I might be an *kitten*, but this seems rather suspect.
Edit: Excuse me for this question, but have any doctors ever talked to you about schizophrenia?
Um what? I have several diagnoses. Schizophrenia has never been one of them or considered because it does not fit at all and also thats super rude.
There isn't anything wrong with having schizophrenia, I have a family friend who has it.
Didn't mean to be rude.
I dont think there is anything wrong with schizophrenia. But it is quite rude to assume or declare someone that you dont know has a specific illness based on what theyve written in one forum - Ive already given reasons for the symptoms and challenges I have with food and mentioned my doctor at least once. There was no reason for you to validly say I may be schizophrenic. Its also hugely problematic with the whole internet culture and online diagnosis thing. Unless you are a doctor you should not be saying things like that to a person you dont know.
If you have concerns something better to say would be something like 'have you mentioned X symptoms to a doctor? they could be something.' and dont mention a specific illness... that is the place of medical professionals not strangers on the internet.1 -
pebble4321 wrote: »I suggest you keep looking in any disability support that might be available = is the NDIS in your area? And do you qualify? If you aren't in an NDIS area, then ask your doctor about a referral to the local disability support service (it will vary state by state) and see if you can get any assistance with shopping and meal prep.
If that's not an option, then I would call in favours if you can - it sounds as though your sister, for example, might be willing to help. Or perhaps your local council or health service might be able to put you in touch with a volunteer group who could help.
Cooking batches of things that can go in the fridge or freezer would give you some meals to fall back on. As you like soup, that would be a great place to start. You can add in chicken or nuts or legumes to bump up the protein, plus use a bit of oil in the cooking then blend it all in and you have something that has some decent nutrition and calories.
Cant add chicken im vegetarian lol. I dont entirely understand the NDIS but it is on the list of things to ask my doctor about when I see her next week, as well as disability community support. IDK what community services there are around here but I know the CMHT was pretty *kitten*. So my expectations are fairly low. My flatmate might know some stuff actually -- before we moved in together she was her mothers full time carer. Idk why I never thought to ask her lol.
You can find out more about NDIS here. Basically it is the new Australian govt model for disability support that has been rolling out around the country in a series of launch sites. This means that not everyone has access to NDIS yet, in some areas it is limited to certain age groups at this time too.
However, if you are already connected with a disability service then don't worry about NDIS at this stage, ask them whether support for shopping/cooking is available to you.0 -
SierraFatToSkinny wrote: »SierraFatToSkinny wrote: »I might be an *kitten*, but this seems rather suspect.
Edit: Excuse me for this question, but have any doctors ever talked to you about schizophrenia?
Um what? I have several diagnoses. Schizophrenia has never been one of them or considered because it does not fit at all and also thats super rude.
There isn't anything wrong with having schizophrenia, I have a family friend who has it.
Didn't mean to be rude.
I dont think there is anything wrong with schizophrenia. But it is quite rude to assume or declare someone that you dont know has a specific illness based on what theyve written in one forum - Ive already given reasons for the symptoms and challenges I have with food and mentioned my doctor at least once. There was no reason for you to validly say I may be schizophrenic. Its also hugely problematic with the whole internet culture and online diagnosis thing. Unless you are a doctor you should not be saying things like that to a person you dont know.
If you have concerns something better to say would be something like 'have you mentioned X symptoms to a doctor? they could be something.' and dont mention a specific illness... that is the place of medical professionals not strangers on the internet.
Preach.0 -
The crock pot idea is great! You could make a big batch of vegetable stew with beans, or lentils. When I do that, I have meals for days. It sounds miserable, what you are going through. Hang in there!0
This discussion has been closed.
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