I’ve been a picky eater since I was little. I don’t know why I am. If anyone has suffered more with my eating habits it’s my mom. I have an older brother who will eat everything but then I came along and wouldn’t eat anything. She’s tried everything from doctors (who back then said that “she’ll eat when when she’s hungry) to trying to punishment (if you don’t finish your plate, you can’t leave) and none of it worked.

To this day, I only eat certain things like plain cheeseburgers with ketchup, fries, hot dogs, chicken (only white meat), chicken-flavored ramen, cheese pizza, and only recently added pot-roast, roast beef, pepperoni rolls, and turkey. There may me a few more things... I also seem to love sweets but only if it’s chocolate or peanut butter

I got made fun of by peers and teachers when I brought lunch to school and when I older and didn’t have the option, I would starve for the day.

Just the idea of eating new food makes me anexious. What’s worse is when my friends point it out and they try to make me eat new things. It’s like a block comes down when the phrase “here try this” is spoken. It makes anything else I put in my mouth taste like ashes and blah DX. One time, my roommate harassed me so much about trying something new (I don’t remember what it was) but it made me upset and cry (I’m pretty sure I was having a panic attack because she wouldn’t stop it and thought I was being dramatic over nothing.)

The worst part of being like this, a extremely picky eater, is that you know it’s wrong and you stop it and try something new but when it’s gross and you feel sick just trying it, and you know something is wrong with you.

When I think about how picky I am, it hurts and I get upset. I hate that I’m like this. I wanna like other food. I want to eat normal things and be adventurous but whatever causes that mental block for food comes up and it makes food repulsive and gross and anxious.

I have been labeled a picky eater by my friends and family for as long as I can remember. I was always told that I would grow out of it. But I am 18 years old now and I still haven't "grown out of it." As I get older I'm experiencing more social challenges associated with food. I get made fun of a lot by my family and church leaders and friends. They think they're being funny but they don't understand the adversity I'm dealing with. It's embarrassing. I want to like foods but I just can't. I recently had an experience while celebrating my younger sister's birthday that really got to me. I don't like Mexican but that's where we went to go get for dinner. On the menu was a whole bunch of stuff that made me gag thinking about it. There was a small section called "north of the border". There was mac and cheese, grilled cheese sandwich, and chicken strips. I opted for the chicken strips. Ordering them out loud was hard for me because I was embarrassed. I was the only one not getting Mexican besides my three year old niece. But that wasn't the worst of it. When the server came with the food, she came back with the mac and cheese my niece ordered and my chicken strips. The lady thought that both were for my niece. My older sister quickly corrected her and said that her daughter only got the mac and cheese. So the server asked if it was my sister's boyfriend's 11 year old brother's food. He said no. Then I raised my hand and said that it was mine. And everyone laughed and even pointed at me. It was embarrassing. I quickly lost my appetite and sat there with anxiety building up. My own parents laughed. The only person that didn't laugh at me was my girlfriend whom I recently talked to about ARFID, something I've recently heard about and started looking into.

After a not so wonderful encounter with broccoli last night, I have been feeling all kinda of weird today in reflecting on my dinner last night. My boyfriend attempted to cook me my second meal with a vegetable (I hate vegetables, and have since I can remember). The first meal he made we had Brussel sprouts, that was ok and pretty tasty actually. I pretended not to feel the slight unfavorable texture between my teeth and was able to eat quite a few. WIN! Broccoli on the other had was not so good. I could hardly take a bite and the ones I did had me almost gagging... I have had severe texture issues with food forever. Last night I felt awful at my inability to eat a flipping bite of BROCCOLI!! I was embarrassed and it didn't help that my boyfriend got frustrated with me in difficulties with eating food, foods, most foods.

I am grateful for his effort in trying to expand my palette but this is something I have been dealing with for decades now and if any change is going to happen its not going to happen with one meal... and it definitely won't change with lack of patience.

If I didn't have to eat every day, I wouldn't. If I could just have a juice or take a pill to suffice I would. But theres no magic drink or pill to replace the value of food. So instead.... I eat the handful of things I actually like and I cycle through them until I get bored. The tough days are when none of your 5 go to meals sound good. then enters pizza or any other junk food.

Most meals for me consist of any combination of the following: chicken, turkey, salmon, eggs, beans, rice, bacon, popcorn, chips, ice cream, turkey sandwiches, PB&J... I don't mind the flavor of onions or tomatoes but hate the texture of them. I gag eating lettuce so mostly all salads are out (I don't know why Brussel spouts don't affect me the same as most other leafy greens, hmm) I will say I have found a mixed greens smoothie with peanut butter thats pretty good (no leaf texture!), I like potatoes and yams only if they are roasted with not a lot of mushy potato, and crunchy outside or skins or bacon bits and cheese on top to mask the texture of smashed potato, and I hate mashed potatoes or anything that texture. Yogurt I can only eat with granola and fruit, not by itself. Any foods the texture of yogurt, pudding, or mashed potatoes are pretty much a no go. I HATE most vegetables, especially: carrots, celery, green beans, peas, cauliflower, squash. I love fruit but not melons. I like avocados but only on a sandwich as a spread, cannot eat plain.
PLUS, I'm also gluten free and mostly dairy free (all but cheese, can't give it up but I'm picky about what types as some don't hurt as much)

I will say that since being a kid I have expanded the foods I eat. My options are still limited though and eating with these "issues" is difficult and mentally exhausting. It can be so embarrassing and often times people just think I'm acting like a picky 5 year old. I just wish people were more understanding of how difficult it is for me just to eat a meal. I wish I just liked food, and could eat anything anywhere, try new things, new flavors and actually enjoy rather than feel sick or scared or nauseous.

Thankful for finding this group. I just stumbled upon this page while doing some reattach about why I'm so picky after last nights mini meltdown. Hope to learn more and find some others to relate to. Thanks for reading..

My name is Deanne, I'm 26 and being picky has pretty much plagued me my entire life. Even as a baby my mom claimed I was impossible to feed and only liked a few flavours of baby food. I've never had red meat in my life. No steak, no burgers. The smell of bacon makes me sick so I won't touch it. I won't eat chicken unless it's breaded like strips or nuggets. I don't like vegetables, only eats apples and bananas for fruits. I don't eat pasta or any ethnic foods. I love dairy but I'm lactose intolerant so I carry around Lactase with me. I want to enjoy foods but I'm such a visual person and so many foods absolutely look repulsive to me. Even sometimes something that I don't mind, I can't deal with the texture. If people try and get me to try new foods I get sever anxiety attacks. No one quite understands the struggle because they don't know other picky eaters. I can never go to any nice restaurants unless they have chicken strips or plain cheese pizza. I have a strong sweet tooth and I love chocolate and some candy and chips. My diet consists of vanilla protein shakes and supplements because all the foods I do like are considered "junk food" or "kid food".

Hi, I have only just come across this site and have only read half a dozen entries so far - wow, I'm not the only who has food issues. Mine isn't so much as I don't like the taste, my problem is that I just can't try anything new. I don't eat any vegetables apart from Potatoes and Peas, salad is a No Go area, and fruit is a Banana inside a chocolate and banana cake. Meat is ok as long as there is no fat on it (apart from Lamb and Game - there's no way I would try them). I absolutely adore Bread and Milk and could quite happily live on a crusty ham cob with a glass of milk. My husband is the complete opposite to me, the weirder the food the better, there is nothing he will not try and often gets frustrated with me if he wants to go to a restaurant and I refuse as there is absolutely nothing on the menu that I would be willing to try. I would love to be able to overcome this fear of trying new foods. I'm going to spend some time reading through the site to see if anybody has any ideas for me to try. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Julie

Hello,
My name is Lindsey I am currently 26 and I have never had a salad. The only thing green I can eat is sweet peas. So with the peas I can also eat raw short carrots, corn, bananas, strawberries and that is it for fruits and veggies. Tuna is the only fish I eat. I have to have my rice plain white my chicken has to be well done. No bones, no red, no fat, not gristle on my meat. I have had my issues my whole life. Buttered noodles, pizza, and junk food keep me alive. When a food I can’t eat come near me I have a panic attack. I can usually hold my anxiety back and keep it inside. Although I have had to leave reastraunts because I have went into panic attacks before. If Lettuce, onions, any type of nut, or anything that gets accidentally put in my food I have to pay just for the receipt. I get made fun of, told I do it for attention, people have used it against when they have been upset. I want help!! I dream of eating salads and those little red tomatoes everyone eats in one bite. I just want to be normal.

Hello everyone! My name is Rhiannon from Wales, UK. I am 26 years old and since I was very young I have had issues with food. Mainly with the texture and taste. I can't eat vegetables (except raw carrots), potatoes (no, I don't even like chips!), onions etc. I am fine with pastas, meats, dairy, and fruits but that is all. Whilst it seems like a lot, my eating is stunted due to the excessive amount of foods that have vegetables or potatoes in them. I never realised I had an actual disorder until tonight. I thought I was just picky. It's nice to know I'm not alone 🙂

I've already written in this guestbook about a year ago, but I recently rediscovered this site and I cannot tell you the relief it brings still.
I'm 20, and since last year I've moved into an apartment on my college campus with roommates who don't know about my eating habits (I tell as few people as I possibly can because it's my biggest insecurity). My roommates like to poke fun at me about how I always eat the same few foods ("hey Kristen's eating fries for lunch again what a surprise!") and how I usually only ever eat my meals in my room. They don't mean any harm, I just don't think they see the discomfort it causes me.
A lot of times I feel like my eating habits are a burden to the people around me. I can't tell you how many times my family has wanted to go to a restaurant to eat but then said "oh wait, we can't go there, she doesn't like anything they serve." Again, they're never mean about it, but it makes me feel really guilty and insecure.
I wish I knew people in person that have the same issue as me, but this forum is a big help.

I'm a middle aged adult who is a very picky eater. I'm also a super taster, which contributes to that. I love sweets, will eat fruit but hate vegetables (even carrots). I also won't eat anything that looks slimy, such as noodles. I basically live on cereal, pb&j sandwiches, cheese pizza and fries. I'll occasionally eat meats if it's breaded chicken or turkey. And I love chocolate!

I am 32 years old and have had severe issues with my weight and my diet planning.

Since age 2, I have had problems with food. It got worse over time. My diet was very restrictive and refused to even try anything new. As time went on, I only limited myself to Peanut Butter & Jelly, Bacon Cheeseburgers, Pizza, Grilled Cheese sandwiches, and Bananas. Very little of anything else. I used to love hot dogs when I was little, now I don’t touch them.

I absolutely HATE Chicken!!! The texture, and especially the taste makes me lose my appetite and want to gag!

As I got older, my tastes changed very little. I eat salads. That’s about it in the changing of taste. I still don’t want to try anything new. The problem is, the foods that I will eat are unhealthy.

I’ve tried many diets, weight loss programs, Weight Watchers, diet supplements. Most of them failed. I did lose weight twice, only for all of the weight to come back. I am currently the heaviest I’ve ever been and still gaining. I have seen a nutritionist, but not very optimistic about it.

I have a high functioning autism, and after researching, I found out about Selective Eating Disorder. That is the PERFECT description of what I am going through. I am so glad I have stumbled on this page and what a relief it is to not be alone. Thank you very much for reading and understanding.