Autistic food aversions

scaryclaregoth
scaryclaregoth Posts: 2 Member
in Motivation and Support
I was diagnosed with autism a year ago just before I turned 45 and one of the issues I have is severe food aversions due to sensory issues. The taste, smell, texture and even appearance can put me off.

The problem is when it comes to trying to lose weight is your average diet seems to consist of salad, cheese, fish, rice, beans and pulses, vegetables and fruit.

I don't like most of those so won't eat them and I can't find any information aimed at those like me with autism.

Does anyone on here have the same issue?

Replies

  • hipari
    hipari Posts: 1,367 Member
    Being the healthiest version of you is the key here, I think. If the best version of you can’t eat salad or fish or fruit, then it doesn’t. What can the current version of you eat, and how much of each thing do you eat regularly? Have you logged your food, do you have examples you could share?

    I don’t have autism, but currently experiencing similar aversions and nausea triggered by specific foods due to pregnancy. Since pregnancy is a passing situation and I’m already improving, I just let it pass and ate what I felt like I could, which ended up being carbs, meats and dairy. Even though the phase only lasted a little over a month before starting to improve, I have a newfound sympathy for these kinds of issues.

    There’s no single diet you need to be on to lose weight, or any specific thing you need to eat. Weight loss and weight management is about calorie balance, not a specific diet. Even for a healthy diet nutrient-wise, there are plenty of different ways to achieve that.
  • goal06082021
    goal06082021 Posts: 2,130 Member
    You don't have to eat or not eat anything in particular to lose weight. It comes down to calories in < calories out, that's all.

    That said, nutrient deficiencies are no good and a quick way to develop one is eating a very restricted list of foods - even if you're eating enough calories to meet whatever your goal is on that front. It's 2021, are you really out here about to get scurvy like an 18th-century pirate or some *kitten*?

    So, what CAN you eat? And can you pinpoint what it is about foods on your No list that put you off? It may be possible to process or prepare some No foods to make them palatable to you, although some processes/preparations do affect the availability of certain nutrients.
  • Speakeasy76
    Speakeasy76 Posts: 961 Member
    edited April 2021
    You may want to look into the Food Chaining technique. It's a problem geared towards kids, but I think it makes sense for adults, too. You build off of the foods that you already like that are similar in taste, texture, temperature, size and even color. The idea is that you only change one of those properties at a time, which can be really tricky to do.

    You also don't want to introduce too many new foods at once when doing so, introducing a new one maybe every 3-4 days (if not a week). You could also use some principles from another feeding technique, where you build up your acceptance of new foods in a very gradual hierarcial manner. For example, since smell puts you off, you can just put the new food on your plate until you can tolerate it. Then, the next step may be to touch it (yes), then put it to your lips, etc. There are several steps even between there, but hopefully you get the idea.

    You may want to reach out to a speech and/or occupational therapy clinic, as an SLP and/or OT may be able to help you as well.

Categories