Picky Eater Support

You. are. not. alone. i understand you and I'm here for you. Please feel free to message me or ask me questions. you can tell me your own picky eating stories too. I really want everyone with this problem to feel supported. You should not feel as if you...

[pickyeaterprobss]

can I ask what does ARFID stand for

Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder

[little-blue-duck]

it’s so hard to explain to someone what it’s like to be a picky eater. it’s not like being a vegan or vegetarian, because that’s a choice someone makes. it’s not like having allergies because you don’t get medical issues from eating certain foods and some people actually love the food they’re allergic to

it’s just like

my taste buds are literally rejecting the taste of so many foods and it’s awful

[secondstomars-blog]

My eating disorder sucks because I’ve never known life without it so I don’t really know how I’m supposed to ‘recover’.

[chocolatecastleinthesky]

PSA on Picky Eaters

Something that has been on my mind lately (aka my entire life) is the anxiety and frustration of a picky eater.  So here are some thoughts and advice for those who know a picky eater.

First of all, please be patient.  Whether you are a parent with a picky child, in a relationship with a picky eater, or friends with one, it doesn’t matter.  I promise we aren’t trying to picky.  It is frustrating to us, too.  Don’t I wish I could just go wherever to eat?  It would be so nice to do so.  I’m sure I’m not the only one who makes up excuses as to why they aren’t eating (not hungry, can’t afford it, etc.).  Especially when your friends pick the place to eat, and you don’t want to be difficult.

Second of all, when you get frustrated about our eating habits, we feel guilty.  Guilty that you are making a separate or altered meal.  Guilty that we’re asking for too much.  It isn’t easy to say, “I actually don’t like that” when someone buys or makes something for you.  Especially when you know they are doing it from the kindness of their heart.  It can be very difficult to respond to these, and we feel awful for disappointing you.

Third, we get judged.  A lot.  When you turn down food, people will ask about why you’re not eating.  If you’re female, I’ve been asked a number of times if I’m anorexic or something.  Sometimes I do go long periods of time without eating around people because I don’t like the food and it sucks.  Or I get judged for eating the food I do like (which does happen to be junk food a lot of times when that is all that is available on a college campus that I enjoy and can afford).  

Being picky is rarely a choice.  We don’t want it.  We wish we could just grab a burger like everyone else.  It would be easier.  So please be patient and gentle with your words.  Making an effort makes the world.  Whether it is keeping an easy to prepare meal on hand just in case or altering something just a little for a meal, it can go a long way in making us more comfortable.  Thank you.

[arfid-ace]

*at a restaurant with people*

Me: *only ever gets one thing here*

Me: *opens menu anyway*

[pickyeaterprobss]

Over the summer, I went on a camping trip & while we were there the food was prepacked. What we had was what we had & I had no say in what was brought. im so ridiculously proud of myself for trying about 5 new things without having a panic attack during the trip.

That is amazing!!!!! I'm so so ridiculously proud of you as well for handling everything so well! 😊

[arfid-ace]

Rest assured. If you make me food? And I don’t like it? I will feel t e r r i b l e about it. I will want to crawl into a hole and dissapear I will think about it for days I will beat myself up enough about it. You do not need to help.

[arfid-ace]

ARFID is weird.

Especially because it usually presents really early in life.

So there’s no “Life Without ARFID” to refer to when people ask me what it’s like to have it.

Like the most honest answer is that I feel like I’m surrounded by people with friggin superpowers. Like “Wow you people can just walk into a restaurant and eat anything off the menu and like it. That’s amazing!”

[arfid-ace]

ARFID is…weirdly isolating. Because most people LOVE food. And it makes me all the more happy that I’ve found the ARFID community on tumblr.

I love that I’ve finally found a place where I can just say

“Thanksgiving”

And hear a chorus of disgusted groans and “ugh don’t get me started”

[arfid-ace]

If you had told me three years ago that my lunch would look like this, I would have laughed in your face.

But I’ve been working on my salad for a long time now, and I feel really proud of my results.

Currently: Lettuce Cucumbers Shaved Carrots Quinoa (just a bit) Sunflower Seeds (newest addition!) Croutons Balsamic Vinegar

Just a little reminder not to give up, even if it takes a while :)

[pickyeaterprobss]

This is honestly so inspiring. Maybe I'll get there one day

[crow-caller]

found this really nice chart on arfid and I’m inspired to finally make a short guide to it. also faceblindness. I’ll do faceblindness first

[pickyeaterprobss]

Reblogging again because it's important to know the difference

[pickyeaterprobss]

Life update

So this is just going to be some personal stuff that went down in my life a months ago. I'm really just now realizing that some of you may have been through a similar situation so I thought I'd share just in case you either relate or just want to hear about my life I guess.

My last romantic relationship was unhealthy. Verbally abusive actually. There were many hurtful things he would said when we had fights, but one thing just has really stuck in my mind long after any feelings I had for him disappeared.

"You're going to be an awful mother"

It was a few months into the relationship. He knew about my "picky" eating, and his family even seemed super accepting of it. Turns out, his family had told him he needed to change me. I'm not sure why it was such a big deal to them, but he said if I was going to mother his children one day I'd better change my diet.

We had only been dating for eight months. I was in my senior year of high school.

He would poke fun at my eating. I understood he didnt know it hurt me at first, but even after I told him, he and his father would still make fun of me for getting "just fries".

One day when we had a particularly bad fight he was telling me I didnt support him or do enough for him (because I had missed an important event of his due to going an important event of my own) and he said he always supported me. I pointed out that he had been making fun of me which didn't feel suppotive at all. He then denied every saying anything. He told me I had made it all up in my head. He said I was a joke and he gaslighted me. Made me think I was going crazy for being hurt by his words.

Since then, i have regressed a lot in my progress of accepting my "picky" eating (or possible ARFID). I pretend to eat salads that make me gag and hide away from social events with foods I don't eat. I've let the anxiety take over my life little by little once again. And I've been embarrassed of myself honestly.

So that being said, thats where I am in life right now. I'm just trying to do my best, but I'm not perfect either. Its okay not to be sometimes. I'm slowly picking myself back up, and if you've been abused for this you aren't alone. You will become strong again, but for now its okay if you arent. ❤

[pickyeaterprobss]

A couple of times I've wondered if I have ARFID but I'm not severe enough to fit the criteria so I seem to be a normal picky eater. However, it wasn't a childhood phase and I'm almost 18 and still very fussy about certain food groups. It drives everyone around me nuts.

I'm in the same situation as you, but I feel like if it interrupts your social life and you want to change it you could still get treatment. Personally, I haven't looked into doing that and I just do my best to surround myself with accepting friends and to accept my own eating habits as a part of loving myself as a whole. I'm not sure if I have arfid either, but I'm going to be 19 tommorrow and my "picky" eating hasn't changed much at all since childhood. So whether you have arfid or not, its important to not let how you eat control your life. I'm not sure if my answer is much help to you because I'm no professional, but I hope you know that there are people who will love and support you every step of the way whether you choose to seek arfid treatment or not 💕💕

[pickyeaterprobss]

So, my family are big eaters, and I’m the eldest child hence I’m expected to be a role model to my little sister who is more social, extroverted and eats more than me. My family are constantly trying to force foods I hate down my throat , to which I end up gagging, vomiting and crying since they take away the water I use to swallow it and even go as far to hit me. Your blog really helped me in realizing it’s not only me with this problem but others are like me too. So I want to say Thank You!:)

Thats really terrible what your family does to you. Sadly not everyone is understanding of it. I'm happy to hear that this blog showed you that there are others struggling with this too. Stay positive, love. I hope things get better for you ❤

[pickyeaterprobss]

I think I might cry I've been 'picky' about what I eat since I was super young. I thought it was just me, and I had no idea that I might have SED or ARFID. I always thought it was just me. There are times where I just go days without eating because there's nothing I can tolerate eating (and also maybe a few other factors).

I thought it was "just me" too for most of my life and I'm glad this blog helped you to learn that you are not alone in struggling with arfid or sed. ❤

[pickyeaterprobss]

I legit thought that my picky eating was just me being stupid and never considered it as a eating disorder. I stumbled on your blog and was surprised by what I saw. I was really happy knowing that I’m not the only one struggling with this. I have body issues and my doctor thinks I’m starving myself but I just can’t eat anything that’s different. I had a nutritionist but it never worked out and I’m just feeling like shit for not being able to loose weight.Keep up the good work on this blog👏🏽

So glad that this blog could show you that you’re not alone in this. Wishing you the best on your recovery process ☺ keep us updated

[pickyeaterprobss]

WHY WAS THIS NEVER MENTIONED TO ME!?

I just heard about this an hour ago and now I have a likely name to put on my "picky eating." Story Time: I tried bacon and kinda liked it but ended up hating it again. Same case with Mayo(I liked Mayo for a lot longer though.) The End. I dont know if that can happen with ARFID.