I am 60 years old. I was a severe picky eater since I was a baby. In the beginning I would spit up my milk, keeping enough down to nourish me. When I was old enough for solid food, I would not take it. Eventually my mother was able to find a few things I would take. Peas, fries, mashed potatoes, gravy without the thickening, among the very few things I would eat. People did not understand my problem with food and I lived constantly with the fear of being forced to eat by someone. Only once my mother tried to force me to eat something I did not like. It only caused me to dislike it all the more, even to this day. Going to someone’s house that did not know me very well was embarrassing and brought me anxiety. Kids teased me and could not believe the things I would not eat. When I was old enough for dating, men did not understand and would drop me. I used to think I would outgrow it one day but the aversion towards food would not change with age. Finally when I was 22 I was at a point in life where I had to make a major change. That change included being able to eat what was placed in front of me. With full determination, I did it. It was not easy. Much gagging, somethings took a long time to eat, other things I never did like. While I did get over many things, I have come from severe to moderate picky eater. In the last year medical tests have found that I have a paralyzed stomach which restricts my diet and I am pretty much back to the way I used to eat... minus junk foods.

Hi! I’m Kate, and I do not remember a single day that I wasn't a picky eater. I have read many different entries on the page, and I had no idea this affects so many of us!!

All my life I’ve had to deal with my picky eating. I can eat and try foods in my comfort zone (fruit, carbs, some meats, and sweets are okay), but I cannot eat or try any of my “uncomfortable foods” (vegetables, soups, condiments/sauces, etc.). Just looking at them make me lose my appetite immediately.

I don’t think I have ARFID/SED nearly as bad as other people, but it still affects my life in very negative ways. I have always been told that I would “grow out of it.” It’s been 20 years, and I have still yet to grow.

I am very fortunate to not have to deal with weight problems, and my growth isn’t stunted at all. But I believe that I should eat healthier if I can. I just don’t know how...

I am 24 years old, and this is my first time coming across people who eat the way I do. After reading some these stories, I realized how much worse my situation could have been. Even as a child, my parents rarely tried to force me to eat anything I didn't like. When my mom first tried the trick of "eat this or don't eat at all," she learned very quickly how easy that decision was for me, and she decided she'd rather that I eat something I chose than nothing at all. Perhaps my parents were more accepting because my mom is relatively picky (compared to other people, though she's much better than I am), and her dad was also very particular about his food and the restaurants he would go to, in part due to his diabetes (though, again, he was much better about food than I am). I think others have judged my mother for how she handled the situation and they believed she enabled me and worsened my condition. After reading other testimonials, I realize the opposite is true. She taught me I don't need to be ashamed of my eating and ensured that I was able to feel safe eating around her. Things changed a bit when my stepmom came into the picture; she and my dad made efforts to get me to try new foods. For example, I had to try one new thing every time we went to a buffet, but even though I was able to choose which food to try, I was very anxious and distressed and usually ended up crying because I just knew it was going to taste disgusting and I was going to end up vomiting in a public place. Because of the vomiting, my stepmom was convinced I was bulimic, and that thought was also very distressing to me because a cousin of mine had anorexia and I knew how that situation had hurt the rest of my family. My grandparents told me a few times they thought I was going to end up like her. I burst into tears when a therapist I saw suggested I might have anorexia or bulimia, which she interpreted as proof that she must be right. I stopped seeing her soon after. I can eat spaghetti, linguine, and fettucini noodles with butter and parmesan, but I cannot eat cheese ravioli or lasagna because the noodles are too thick and I don't like the texture of ricotta. For 15-20 years, I have eaten some variation of buttered pasta everyday, sometimes more than once per day. I can eat Kraft macaroni if I make it or my mom does, but even I sometimes mess up and make it inedible. I can eat iceberg salads (I hate stems in my lettuce) with ranch, croutons, sunflowers seeds, and cheese. I d not like the salads without something crunchy in them (which is strange because I don't like crunchy peanut butter, for example), but I can still stomach them if I absolutely need to. I do not like carrots or tomatoes in my salad, but I can eat around them. I eat cheese pizza and alfredo pizza at Cicis and Double Dave's. I'm nervous about trying other alfredo pizzas because I can't stand the taste of garlic, though I tend to be ok if only a little is used on cheese bread. I can eat PBJs with creamy peanut butter and grape jelly. I am good with most variations of fried potatoes (chips [even some flavors aside from original], fries, and hash browns). I also like popcorn, though the butter at movie theaters upsets my stomach. As for meat, I can only eat the fried fish at Luby's, and I can only eat it if I drown it in ketchup so that I can't taste the fish itself (I like the breading). I like the smell of fajita meat, though. I'm good with some fruits (grapes, apples, strawberries, pineapples, and peaches), but I don't like eating melons or having seeds in my mouth. As for vegetables, I really only eat corn (on the cob or off) aside from iceberg lettuce. Unfortunately, although I can eat peanut butter as well as some fruits and vegetables for protein and vitamins, I rarely do, so I'm certain my nutrition is even worse than that of some others on this site. I tend to stick to my bland pasta and snacks such as chips and popcorn, perhaps because of undiagnosed OCD (I easily sink into habits/routines). My family is accepting overall (some even defend me from outsiders' comments), and I have never tried to hide my eating issues. If someone unfamiliar with my eating comments on it and I do not feel like explaining myself or am worried about offending someone, I simply say that I am feeling unwell or that I already ate. I still frequently go out to eat with my family and friends. I'm sure I'm a pain at restaurants because I have to special order almost everything for example, ordering nachos with only chips and cheese or pasta with only melted butter). Less-fancy places with simpler food are usually better for me. If the restaurant doesn't have something that I can make suit my needs, I simply order nothing, enjoy the company, and eat something later. I hate trying to explain my issues to someone new because that inevitably leads to the side-show act of me listing the few foods I can tolerate. As I said before, my nutrition is abysmal, but I'm worried about seeing nutritionists because I'm fairly certain they will just tell me I need to expand my diet. I can't. I just need to know the best all-around supplements to take. I can't really tolerate flavored protein shakes because they have a sort of chalky/gritty texture that I don't like. I know my family worries about my health, and they have told me I won't be healthy enough to have kids. I now have other reasons for not wanting kids, but it was still nice to see other women on this site say that they have healthily had children, though I still wonder if they had better nutrition than I do. I would love to be able eat as other people do, but I would be skeptical of any treatment options because (aside from hypnosis, which I'm unsure about) there's no way to force me to like something, and I have no interest in spending the rest of my life eating foods that disgust me in the name of being "cured." Some of the stories on this site made me cry because those horrible family and school experiences could so easily have happened to me, and my heart hurts for all the people who feel as if they need to hide how they eat because the people around them would not accept them. I am glad they (and I) have found this community.

Ok so food is an issue, but first I’ll tell you a little about myself. My name is Kellen and I’m 12 years old, I know this is for adults but I have a serious issue. You might be like “oh get over kid” but it’s weird my body is telling me I can’t eat food i don’t know if anybody in this world feels the same way but my parents ask me why and I tell them “it’s like I can’t I really really want to but I just can’t” if anybody knows anything pls help

Food! Everyone loves it. I do not. Food has been a source of cornered and embarrassment as long as I can recall. I thought it was "just me" until I learned that several other members of are experiencing the same disorder. I am tied of feeling low-energy and explaining my "food habit" when out socially. I can't eat any vegetables, nuts, berries, pasta, rice, or most fruit. Now that I'm older (57) I am concerned about my energy level and the cognitive impact of poor nutrition....

Hello I could spend hours writing about my issues with food. I will try and cut it down as much as I can. I am 23 years old and have been a fussy eater as long as I remember. The worst point was as a child when I ate nothing but pasta and bisto cheese sauce for five years. I now eat more but not much. Imostly pasta. I eat cheese pizza, chips, white bread, chicken, cheese and not much else. I eat junk such as crisps and sweats but when it comes to "real food" I phisically can not eat it. I can't even touch food that I don't like. Anything that goes in mouth that I am unsure of makes me gag and I can not swallow it. Even tried a few things recently and even though I like the taste I still can't swallow it. I have had to leave restaurants before because I don't like anything on the menu. I avoid going for meals with friends and Haveing dinner at other people's houses. As a result my weight has always been up and down..I have starved my self before in order to loose weight as I can't diet as I don't like most food. I have general anxiety and health anxiety and am am a self consiouse person. I worry about my health more and more each day but can't do anything about it because of my fear of food. I am a mother of 3 year old and really want to overcome my fears in order to get him eating proply...the main things my son eats is noodles and he dosnt like any meat fruit or veg. I have thought about going to the doctors but I am so embarrassed. Would they do anything anyway?...I could go on and on about food issues and food issues that happend to me when I was younger but I'm just being to the point....I am a very fussy eater and I need to change.

My name is Cody, I have never been able to eat correctly. For some reason I can smell food and think that is smells fantastic but as soon as I try it then it's like my throat closes and I can't swallow it. I have been living off of pizza and pasta for about 20 years now. Btw I'm 27. Doesn't anyone have any advice that could help me? I hate that I can't eat anything.

I’m Tori, I’m 22, and I’ve always been this way. When I was a baby, my parents say that I would reject any baby food that had meat in it. I would eat calamari and shrimp, but that disgusts me now.

My parents like to teasingly call me a “breadatarian”. I don’t eat any type of meat, fish or vegetables. The only fruits I’ll eat are cantaloupe, strawberries, the occasional apple and blueberries (but only in waffles, bagels, muffins, etc. - never on their own). I don’t eat eggs (unless they’re baked into something), and the only cheese I consume comes in the form of mozzarella sticks, cheese pizza (with the right ratio of cheese to sauce), and grilled cheese (but only from certain places). I basically survive off of milk, Honey Nut Cheerios, saltine crackers, bagels/toast, and sweet things that are awful for me.

It’s not that I’ve tried all of these foods that I don’t eat and decided that I didn’t like them - I’ve never tried most of them. The only piece of meat that I’ve ever had in my life was a chicken nugget that my parents bribed me to eat in order to get a frosty from Wendy’s when I was little.

It’s not for my parents lack of trying. I got the attempted force-feeding, the bribing, and the “you’ll sit here until you eat this” (I would sit there and cry for an hour over having to choke down a single green bean). The doctors would tell them to not cater to me and “she’ll eat when she’s hungry”. Nothing worked.

I think it’s a mixture of aversion and something psychological. If something smells or looks gross to me (meats, veggies, etc), I’m not going to eat it. It’s like I can’t bring myself to try new things. I thought for the longest time that I was the only one until I found out that SED/ARFID existed; now, I wonder if that’s what I have.

In the past, going to new restaurants and hanging out with new friends/having sleepovers used to make me worry. In fact, I still get a little worried when I’m out with friends from college and they want to go somewhere to eat. We recently went to New York City for a class trip and twice I went to a restaurant with friends and only ended up having a soda because there was nothing there that I would eat.

I’d consider myself a pretty outgoing person. To lessen my anxiety about situations like those, I’ve decided that being up-front is the best way to go about it. I don’t mind telling people that there’s something odd about my diet. Sure, some of them don’t believe that it might be an actual eating disorder (“I don’t believe that; you’re just picky”), but the majority are at least understanding to my face.

I don’t know if it’ll ever change. The stories that I read about ARFID in the news sometimes talk of new things being added to people’s menus, but that hasn’t happened for me. It is really comforting to see everyone on here telling their own stories. It makes me feel less alone.

Hi, My name is Stephanie. As long as I can remember I have always been a picky eater. It was always hard a family gatherings, holidays, or even dating. No one seems to understand that I don't choose to be this way and how I would love to be "normal". instead of a 'vegetarian" I call myself a "breadatarian". I pretty much eat anything bread, rolls, pancakes, waffles. My lunch is usually some type of crackers, Peanut butter or cheese crackers. I eat peanut butter sandwhiches, fries, cheese sticks chips. Basically junk food or "kid food" as I've seen a lot of people refer to it on here. the only meat I eat is bacon, and has to be very thin and crispy. Most think of my bacon as burnt. I will eat the sausage and cheese balls. The only fruit I eat is apples, and the occasional grape, but usually grapes are a bit to sour for me. I like peanuts by themselves and wouldn't think of eating them in any kind of chocolate, it makes me gag. It has a always been a struggle in a social way. I always have to think about where I go if they will have food for me to eat. A lot of times for any functions I go to I will have to eat before I go or wait until its over to eat. My boyfriend seems to think it isn't a disorder and it's just a fear and I wont conquer my fear. I think it is much more than that. A lot of food smells make me nauseous and I feel I have a weak stomach. it's nice to know I am not alone. I have only read a handful of these, but I look for forward to seeing everyones story.

Since childhood I've been known as "The Breadmonster". Now I'm 30 and ironically recently have developed a potentially life-threatening and rare wheat (and gluten) allergy .... I feel angry that I can't eat my favorite food anymore, which was bread and croissant and cookies, etc. This means I'm losing weight rapidly. My BMI is 17,5. Already two dietitians, for my allergies and underweight, have refused to help me further, because of my autism-related picky eating issues. My psychiatrist tells me I do not have an eating disorder because my lack of eating is solely an autistic problem, because eating and organising it is too complicated for me. He has never heard of ARFID or Picky Eating Syndrome. I have strong feelings of aversion and disgust against potatoes, starches, legumes, soy, nuts and certain vegetables. I'm a bit confused because most picky eaters like the things I don't and vice versa. My favorite foods are all fruits, salads, certain meats and fish, sheep-yoghurt (and -chees) and hard-boiled egg. and also very picky drinking behaviour (I don't drink plain water). I so much would like to gain weight (5 to 10 kilos), but I don't know how to do that. I suffer from chronic vomiting for years, which led to gastroparesis and reflux. The food that I want to eat the most, is only luxury food, which I can't afford. I want to eat shrimp, lamb, crab, lobster, pigeon, squid, artichok and asparagus. Is this not an eating disorder? Because I have made my doctors clear that I really want to have tube feeding to remain and gain weight. And I would like most to NEVER eat anything at all (which is biologically not possible), IF I can't indulge in my favorite foods anymore. So besides the luxury foods, it's all the bread, of which I used to consume more than 1000 kcal /day.