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Selective eating disorder???

Posted , 3 users are following.

Dreamhigh
Dreamhigh

I'm 20 years old , all my life I have been extremely fussy when it comes to food I pretty much live off pizza,(just cheese) crisps sweets chips(only thin chips) I eat some meat but I'm very funny about fat. I'm always ill because I'm not getting the neutrients I need. I can't try new food without gagging or being sick. I been to see a few dieticians but they don't help. I'm fed up of being like this because when friends or family go for food I always have to look at menu to see if there's anything I'll eat 9/10 I won't like anything. Has anyone got any suggestions about what I do next? Or will I be like this forever??

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • omamlove
    omamlove Dreamhigh

    Posted

    Hi smile I'd suggest that you start taking supplements for the nutrients that are not present in your diet; I think that should be the first step to a healthier you, since you are not willing to get those nutrients from food. You'll start to notice after a few days that you're becoming less ill, more energetic, having better moods.. it's all a plus when you eat healthily. When you've noticed those positive changes, this will hopefully encourage you to buy actual foods that have the nutrients your body desperately needs, rather than buying expensive supplements. Good luck, I hope this helps.

    -Ash

  • katlouise1989
    katlouise1989 Dreamhigh

    Posted

    Hi - I know very little about SEDs, but i recently met a consultant who does specialise in this area. I can send over her details if it would help.

    I wondered if you've tried cooking your own foods, if you're not comfortable with fat?

    I have started to appreciate different cuisines and sometimes experiementing means you can be in control of what goes into your foods.

    If you only like thin chips, have you thought about butternut squashes or sweet potatoes, which might give you some more nutrients and if you like pizza do you manage the tomato sauce?

    I would suggest maybe looking into CBT or DBT from my own experience of tackling a very different eating disorder, but you'd need to go through a diagnosis of it being an SED first.

    Maybe have a go at experimenting with a couple of foods a week (or if that's too much over a month) and writing down how you feel when you're eating them and also the feelings before and after. It's worth doing this for foods you enjoy too, to identify what it is you are enjoying about them.

    Thinking as I write, you might also benefit from mindfulness. Have a look into this alongside the foods you are eating and the foods you might want to eat.

    I don't know if that helps?

    • Dreamhigh
      Dreamhigh katlouise1989

      Posted

      Hello, I would very my appreciate if you could send me her details. The thought of trying new food even makes me cringe. I would love to be able to just try new foods! Although I do have a fear that if I like more food I will gain weight which is something I really don't want to do as i already suffer with self confidence.
    • katlouise1989
      katlouise1989 Dreamhigh

      Posted

      Hi - I've sent over the details.

      Definitely try a food and mood diary. Sometimes we have foods we feel safe with, but if you want to improve things, working through the emotions which are connected with your eating patterns is the way to start.

      I'm not a psychiatrist, but have had a lot of therapy. If it were me, I would try and set myself manageable goals to help myself work out how I feel if I don't meet the goal, and how I feel when I do, but also whilst doing it. It makes therapy a lot easier then!

      Weight gain is a different story. 

      If you are under weight, then you will be likely to binge on high energy foods, as your body is driven to regain what has been lost, and to get back to what is your pre-determined body shape.

      Even if you are eating 3 meals a day, properly balanced out, but you are underweight, you still will binge for that reason.

      Hearing what you've written above, I don't want to scare you completely off recovery, but you won't gain weight if you eat you eat regular meals throughout the day; breakfast, lunch, dinner + snacks.

      Breakfast is vital in giving you fuel for the day, and also helps to keep the weight low.

      You also need to ensure you have carbs at each meal.

      Missing carbs, or not enough will lead to binges, because your body hasn't had a chance to be satisfied at the meal, and that leads to weight gain.

      This is ultimately why we need to eat the right nutrients at each meal.

      It all sounds very straightforward, but I appreciate tackling it isn't.

      But you have to start somewhere. I started by trying to get a fruit smoothie in at breakfast, and then porridge or a nice soup later in the day.

      The acceptance is in order to recover you need to change your eating patterns accompanied by understanding the causes.

      Make sense?

    • Dreamhigh
      Dreamhigh katlouise1989

      Posted

      Thank you I have already phoned to enquire, yes I think I understand I'm going to try to keep up with a food diary and see if I can help myself by cooking my own foods because at the moment I eat a lot of takeaways, pure laziness after work I just can't be bothered to cook. I skip meals a lot and just snack, I need to stick to 3 meals a day!
    • katlouise1989
      katlouise1989 Dreamhigh

      Posted

      I'm so pleased for you! That's a brilliant step to take smile

      It can be really hard to both cook and eat on a budget especially if you have a busy lifestyle. My flatmate is the perfect example of this, but she doesn't have an eating disorder. It can be even more challenging when you have all of the above and are trying to recover.

      I would re-iterate, really planning, e.g. what you're going to eat, what could be a realistic step, and even planning what issues might crop up.

      I work in events, and so one of the things that I've had to deal with is when I can eat lunch when I'm running an event. I have a really supportive manager, and we have factored this into the plan so I have somewhere to sit down, but because of this, it is often later than I would normally have it, making me more vulnerable to binges. To avoid this, I come prepared with my snacks to stagger my meals out.

      I've also got into a few old recipe books which have really helped me, but this is all relativey recently; and having a very good dietician.

      I think when you understand what makes you vulnerable, and what the challenges are, and how you can work around them, it's a lot more manageable to stick to your plan. Today, I'm feeling rubbish, because I have a horrible cold (I'm off sick) and my period started. I know that when I'm like this, I snack more, but actually that's a normal thing to do. It's a way of being kind to yourself.

      Do have a look into mindfulness - if you're London based, there's a couple of places that do it for free. 

      I'd also recommend Big White Wall (online community) as a source of support, as there is a lot of helpful pointers there. If it's not free in your area, have a go at inputting the odd London postcode and that should work.

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