Selective eating disorder

[fimm]

Co-incidentally, I spotted this article in the Guardian at the weekend:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/feb/12/eaten-only-crisps-for-ten-years

Gaz, if you are looking for crunchy food, I'm munching my way through raw carrot and raw red and yellow peppers just now, and they are crunchy. (Green peppers are more bitter raw, I don't like them.) Apples can be crunchy - it depends on the apple. If you feel like trying an apple, I'd suggest that slicing bits off would be less daunting than biting into the whole thing? Again, I am not knowledgable or an expert, just offering some suggestions.

 

[661-Pete]

I also read that Guardian article. To be honest, to me it looked like a wind-up, a fraud. What I couldn't make sense of, that idiotic (to me) lifestyle and we end up with quite a good-looking young lady. Pretty, and with a nice smooth complexion. We're all brought up on preconceived ideas and prejudices, and I would have thought that diet would have yielded up a mass of purulent acne at best.

Ah well, I suppose I've been wrong about a lot of things.

And SED? I'd heard the expression before but never thought much of it. To me it's been "food aversion" of some sort, something I assumed every child goes through (I know I did). There are certainly a few things I cannot bear to eat (cheesecake is one). What of it? I can live my life without too much bother, without cheesecake. My son has more dislikes but we work around them. Mushrooms (which is a pity because Mrs P and I love them - especially wild ones we've picked ourselves). Eggs. Mayonnaise. Aubergine. A few other odds and sods. Mrs P cannot abide mayonnaise - and branston pickle. Again, things we can work around.

So, what am I leading up to with all this. Just that I never thought SED was a big deal.

Now: I read your blog Gaz, and I humbly stand corrected!

Excellent work, all that you've already been through! Pin a medal on that guy, if there's any room on his rapidly-shrinking torso!

So. It's clear that you want to move on from the doritos/chocolate/haribo regime. You say a lot about what you want to move on to, but you don't really say much about how you think you'll manage to move on! Lots of good suggestions have been made on this thread (I like the one about bananananas, but I don't really look that closely into a banana!). But the important thing is to get around to eating all these things, not just imagining yourself eating them!

What do you think? I suppose I count myself as a bit of a 'foody', certainly I could come up with a lot of ideas of what you could start on. They won't necessarily be the things others have suggested, they won't necessarily be things on your 'list'. But maybe they could be things you could bring yourself to put in your mouth, to chew, to swallow. That's where you need to be heading.

Any thoughts?

 

[ColinJ]

When you get down to it, for any given foodstuff there are your feelings about it (aborigines might be happy eating giant wriggling grubs, but most of us wouldn't be!), the appearance of it, the smell of it, the taste of it and the texture of it.

I can't bring myself to eat rice pudding because I saw a neighbour's poodle throw up once and the vomit looked just like rice pudding! Silly, but there you go. I imagine that Gaz feels like that about practically everything.

I had a big argument with a mate once because I took a pizza into his car. He said the smell of melted cheese made him feel sick. I ignored him until he started gagging and I ended up throwing it out of the window!

Gaz - if texture is a problem with some fruits, you can always make smoothies with them. Similarly, you could purée solid foods.

One warning about smoothies - when you get them right they can taste delicious, but just because they are made with fruit doesn't mean they can't be fattening. I got addicted to them when I was skinny, and look where I am now! (Mind you, the main problem was beer.) Everything in moderation ...

 

[661-Pete]

When you get down to it, for any given foodstuff there are your feelings about it (aborigines might be happy eating giant wriggling grubs, but most of us wouldn't be!), the appearance of it, the smell of it, the taste of it and the texture of it.

I can still remember one Sunday dinner when I was a small kid. I cut open a brussels sprout and discovered a (cooked) maggot in it. I recoiled in shock and pushed the entire plate away whining I-can't-eat-any-of-that-any-more. My parents took a different view. The offending sprout was removed, my plate was returned to me and I was ordered to 'eat up'. I couldn't. A stand-off ensued, I was threatened with force-feeding, I was threatened with a beating. I can't recall how it ended, that occasion. But it was quite normal for us kids: if I gagged on food, if I spat it out, my father would take me to my bedroom and beat me. That was deemed to be 'acceptable' parenting in those days (1950s). I didn't complain. How could I?

So was that the way of 'curing' SED in those god-forsaken times?

We have moved on a bit since then! All the things I have read on here, and on places linked to from here, have given me food* for thought.

*No pun intended. Ok alright, "pun intended"

 

[XmisterIS]

Gaz,

Thanks for that post, thanks for your honesty.

It explains something to me that I never did understand: when I was at University, I had a friend who would only ever eat buttered toast, pasta with cheese on it or ready salted crisps. Nothing else. Absolutely nothing else. We just thought his eating behaviour was "odd", but after reading your blog post, I wonder if he had SED too.

 

[gb155]

Just wanted to pop in here and thank everyone (Esp Colin) for all the support and suggestions.

This week hasn't gone well , under huge pressure at work, trying not to think about SED but at the same time, not wanting to forget about it and slip into the old way of thinking (ie ignoring it)

This week might not be good, but I have achieved more since coming out , than I have in the last 27 years

Once again, thanks people, I WILL get there.

Gaz

 

[slugonabike]

Sorry that you've had a bad week. External pressures have a tendancy to make us revert to our 'tried and tested' behaviours, don't they? Just take it one day at a time - one minute at a time if a whole day seems too much to manage. xx

 

[661-Pete]

Stick it out Gaz and work on those motivations! As for pressure at work, well we all get that (well I certainly do) and one usually gets through. Have you managed to add anything to the list of 'can-eat's?

 

[ColinJ]

Just wanted to pop in here and thank everyone (Esp Colin) for all the support and suggestions.

This week hasn't gone well , under huge pressure at work, trying not to think about SED but at the same time, not wanting to forget about it and slip into the old way of thinking (ie ignoring it)

This week might not be good, but I have achieved more since coming out , than I have in the last 27 years

Once again, thanks people, I WILL get there.

Gaz

Chin up Gaz - keep trying, and you will get there.

I know it is a particularly bad time, work-wise. I was on the phone to my sister last night and she is under huge pressure at work and is thinking of packing it in. The trouble is, of course, that it is hard to get a decent job these days. She is seriously considering just working at a supermarket checkout because she can't take the stress any more in her current job.

I cracked in 2003 when my dad was dying and work was getting on top of me. I just walked out. They kept a place open for me, assuming that I'd get over his death and want to go back, but once I'd made the break, I realised that it wasn't what I wanted to do. As a result, however, I've been struggling financially ever since. I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but it has been a difficult time.

 

[gb155]

Cheers everyone

and Colin

Today I took one step on the road to changing the stress part of my life and became a qualified British Cycling ride leader.

This is just the start of the plan

The good thing is I managed to try new tastes , with a strange result, dont want to get in to it right now as Im tired from riding 40 odd miles today.

but I will another time

Chin up Gaz - keep trying, and you will get there.

I know it is a particularly bad time, work-wise. I was on the phone to my sister last night and she is under huge pressure at work and is thinking of packing it in. The trouble is, of course, that it is hard to get a decent job these days. She is seriously considering just working at a supermarket checkout because she can't take the stress any more in her current job.

I cracked in 2003 when my dad was dying and work was getting on top of me. I just walked out. They kept a place open for me, assuming that I'd get over his death and want to go back, but once I'd made the break, I realised that it wasn't what I wanted to do. As a result, however, I've been struggling financially ever since. I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but it has been a difficult time.

 

[gb155]

Bad bad bad week

Didnt try a single thing, didnt even think about it

I realised by Friday though , that I cant keep getting stressed over my job, sure its stressful but I cant allow it to cause me to cycle less or not get my head round other issues.

I hope it was a breakthrough moment

 

[Telemark]

Hi Gaz,

you are not taking a step back, just pausing for a moment while you are busy with other stuff ... as long as it's only a pause, you are still on track.

I was wondering how you are getting on with this - are you incorporating the newly tried & tested foods into your daily food, or are you still mainly eating your old favourites + trying new things?

All the best again, you have been making great progress since you started on your new quest!

T

 

[gb155]

Just to update you all, I stalled in March, but, in the last 2.weeks I have been flying

For all those still interested, check out the top 2 posts and just know, crisps are no more!!!!!

http://theamazing39stonecyclist.wordpress.com/

 

[gb155]

Not a single crisp in almost 4 weeks

Nothing but hot, wholesome foods

It's a whole new world out there!!!!

 

[gb155]

To anyone else that duffers, for 28 years I was frozen in fear just thinking about anything other than crisps

Now....

Watch "No longer am I in recovery" on YouTube -

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fr1qQJG380&feature=youtube_gdata_player