Anyone have food issues?

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I have heard that eating disorders or diet struggles are common among aspies. I have struggled weird eating issues for a VERY long time and I'm thinking that aspergers could be the connection I'm looking for.

I'm wondering if anyone struggles with some kind of eating disorder or food issues, and if anyone experiences something similar to what I do.

I have this thing where I have absolutely no interest in food. I see eating as a chore rather than an enjoyable or gratifying experience, and I almost NEVER get hungry. Sometimes I experience "hunger" in that I feel a discomfort in my tummy and I understand that it is due to a lack of food, but I really wish that i didnt have to EAT to make that feeling go away. I usually just hate having to eat.

I often "forget" to eat for extended periods of time, especially when I am occupied with something. I really have to force myself to eat or else I will just go without eating. For example, I just recently realized that I hadn't eaten since yesterday morning, and so I finally ate some cereal after much negotiating with myself.

I am pretty picky and find most food gross. I have an issue with textures and I can hardly handle anything creamy, mushy, lumpy or real squishy. I sometimes like the taste of certain foods, but after a few bites, it starts getting more and more gross and eventually I just can't even finish it because it makes me want to gag.

My best friend says that spend to much time thinking about my food and playing with it and moving it around rather than just eating it (she says she watches me). She has worked hard to make me more aware of my eating habits and to engrain the importance of eating into my head, but I often don't eat even when I know I should simply because everything grosses me out.

I have also noticed that sometimes I get "hooked" on one certain food for a while and that becomes the only thing I will at for a while. Most times its either fruit or cereal. Right now, it's cheerios.

I'm an extremely picky eater too. I get on "kicks" where I eat the same food every day for weeks and then it just changes for some reason or the other. I only have around 10 dishes that I can cook and thankfully my family doesn't mind. I'm also big into the way things smell, look or how I think they may taste even though I've never tried it. *scratches head* I just like the things I like. I think if I haven't tried it by now (I'm 36), I see no point.

I've got a lot of food things.

My biggest one is that I don't like my food to touch. Yeah, I know it goes to the same place but I just don't like it touching. No one really seems to get that.

I also tend to eat the same kinds of things for weeks on end for meals - with the exception being dinner because my dad usually cooks that. Left to my own devices, however, I usually eat the same things.

I'm also big on the texture of food. If I don't like the texture of something, I won't eat it regardless of how good it tastes.

I always have an apple after dinner.

I won't usually try new foods.

I'm extremely picky as well.

When I go to restaurants, I get the same thing depending on the restaurant. For example, at this local Mexican restaurant, I'll always order the bean cheese and rice burrito. At Taco Bell, I always get the crunchwrap supreme. I don't like to try new foods at restaurants or new restaurants for that matter.

I don't like changing food plans. If I plan on having something for lunch and we don't have it, I usually will skip lunch.

Wow. I sound really finicky and anorexic...But I assure you that's not the case. I eat a lot.

I actually have the opposite problem that you do. I love food, and love eating, even if I'm not hungry. Chewing on things comforts me, so that's probably why.

My relationship with food has always been strange. For one, I'm a super picky eater. I usually eat the same things every day, and the list of foods that I like is quite narrow, and resembles a list that a child would make of his/her favorite foods. Texture issues make this list smaller...there have been times that I've really liked the flavor of something, but gagged from the texture. The most disturbing foods to me are cherry/grape/whole tomatoes and corn (off of the cob), or any kind of food that 'pops.' My favorite texture is that of ice cream.

I'm a vegetarian...for many reasons, but all red meats completely disgust me. When I did eat meat, I liked chicken or turkey, but it had to be very thin. If a thick piece of chicken was on my plate, I would refuse to eat it. My mom said that I refused to eat my 'baby meats' or 'baby vegetables' when I was on soft food, and that basically matches my food preferences today. Yes, I'm a vegetarian who doesn't eat vegetables. I guess that technically makes me a 'fruititarian.' Although, now that I think about it...I pretty much like the TASTE of most fruits, but some of the textures are too much for me. So, what does that leave me?

CARBS. That's basically the only thing I'll eat. Bread, pasta, chips, etc. Specifically: pizza, mac 'n' cheese, spaghettios, cheese sandwiches. I'm 26, btw.

The problem is, my eating habits distress me, because I'm actually very health conscious. Nutrition is a special interest of mine, and I'm well-versed in all the things one should and shouldn't eat in order that their body run more efficiently. Unfortunately, I've tried and failed many, many times to adapt the same eating style that I verbally advocate. I just can't. This always leads me to food relapses, where I start eating really poorly, and as a result, my weight fluctuates up and down at 50-80 lbs. a 'phase.' Yeah, it's BAD.

Another weird thing is that I can sometimes go 24 hours without eating (even though I love to eat, sometimes I'm too busy to think about it), and feel totally fine, and other days, I can't go more than 3 or 4 hours without getting sick, light-headed and irritable. My sugar levels have been checked probably a dozen times over my life, and they always check out fine. Who knows?

I just bought a custom stamp that says: "STOP! If you eat that, your heart will explode!" - it's in bright red ink, and I'm going to stamp it on my hand every day, starting tomorrow. I'm very hyper-aware of my internal body processes, so if I'm made to think about my heart and the potential for it stopping due to my unhealthy eating habits, I think it will prevent from making really poor choices...like chugging 10 cans of Mountain Dew a day!

I too find eating more a chore than anything. Most food just doesn't taste particularly good to me, and I seem to be allergic to most of it.

That said, when I find something I think is tasty, I tend to eat a lot of it, detrimentally usually. That said, I'm what most people would surely consider skinny

Overall, I'd rather not need to eat at all. Even tasty food isn't that great and the whole thing is annoying (cooking, cleaning, going to the bathroom, going to the store, storage)

If I go to a restaurant I order chicken strips.

But I'm allergic to avacado and eggplant, I don't eat cheese if possible. I don't use microwaves...

I like things exact, same sauces, same meals. I don't try new restaurant's and I'm very specific about taste and texture. And I know food like hotdogs or sausages give me anxiety, and make me feel bad.

Very picky eating, segragating food and difficulty with certain textures are common problems for autistics, I think this has been proven more then once.

I'm allergic to a protein in an animal enzyme. I break out in psoriasis and eczema whenever I eat animal based products.

Food really affects whether I'll be climbing up walls or lying on the couch like a sloth, fighting sleep. A lot of healthy food gives me energy but it's like more energy than I can handle. Food like chips can make me lose focus and become more hyper than anything. So I guess the junk food stereotype is true for me. But pizza and pasta makes me so tired I could fall asleep. My brain cannot think properly and if I talked to you I wouldn't make any sense.
Avocados, tomatoes, protein in chicken, white bread, chocolate = energy. I only eat a bit of chocolate (or I'll get sick) and I prefer dark chocolate which helps me concentrate when I read. Milk chocolate can also increase some focus but only for a bit. Needless to say fish really give me energy, too much energy. It's when I can't control my hyperfocus.

I like to eat healthy with a few unhealthy snacks for when I watch my sci-fi shows. I find I get stuck on the same kind of cereal or sandwiches (Nutella!) and for dinner it's always chicken stirfry with vegetables or pasta with a cheesy sauce. If I want a healthy snack it'll be a banana, apple, or yoghurt.

I've got a low tolerance for spicey usually due to too much flavour. Too much flavour of anything can be spicey to me. I have an intolerance to Vitamin C and dairy products though I do like my milk and cheese. Brown bread is too thick for me and rye is like eating a mouthful of hardened mud. I hate the texture of onions and there are times when eating tomato is too much. Tomatoes are my energy foods though.

Very sweet or rich food can give me seizures or lower my thresh hold and even after eating a sugary cup cake I could feel a jerk of an arm or leg and tingly pain or stiffness in my head. Red wine is another no no and vodka and other spirits. I now only drink one brand of beer and very little of it.

I don't drink a lot of juice so that could make me feel ill or with my medication a little loopy.

I don't like eating microwaved food. It's like eating melted plastic.

I don't go to a lot of restaurants but when I go to Subway it's always the same sandwich. Because my medication gives me appetite suppression I choose the ingredients that I'll be able to eat like strips of chicken instead of the roasted kind. Or even turkey but I hardly eat turkey so I won't get turkey.

I like to mix all my food together though because of my love of stirfries. I love tasting each ingredient together.

I had an eating disorder for years and now eating is just a chore for me. Only time I ever ate right was when I was pregnant and fully breast feeding and when I was growing up because mom always cooked so I had what she made. Now that my son is eating solids, I slipped back to my old eating habits. I prefer sweets and since I won't let myself have lot of them, I end up not wanting to eat. But I still eat eventually. Neither my husband or I eat very much so people are shocked at how low our food bill is compared to theirs and we all shop at the same place.

I have a long history of anorexia, so that has made my food intake weird. Now, I am eating regularly again, but I am still very picky. I hate trying new foods, except for fruits and some unusual grains (if they are plain and not with spices). I don't like eating food that is too flavorful, except for sweet things. (I really like ice cream and certain types of chocolate, but am surprisingly picky about other sweets, just due to preference). I don't eat meat (I am a vegetarian for ethical reasons, not taste preference). I am more open to trying vegan foods that just regular vegetarian foods, because eating vegan foods makes me feel good. I am surprisingly picky about vegetables, particularly for a vegetarian. I don't like going out to eat very often, especially to new restaraunts.

I spend a lot of time with my girlfriend and we eat together, so I do eat a variety of things. However, if I was alone, I would probably fall back into a pattern of eating the same things all the time.

I basically prefer eating things with simple flavors and sweet things. I like eating organic wholegrain cereal, one flavor of ice cream, one type of chocolate bar, most types of fruits, frozen organic pizza, and whatever I am having for dinner.

I tend to diet a lot. I don't have a lot of self discipline so sometimes it doesn't go my way but I'm pretty obsessed with dieting.

i have aspergers with adhd so i tend to overeat massively to occupy myself. i regularly find myself in the fridge without even realising it.

I eat a lot, but I lose it quite easily as well, I become quite obsessed with dieting and know how to lose weight. So my weight swings around a lot.

I've grown out of most of my food dislikes and I'm reasonably adventurous.

I do have an anxiety related swallowing problem sometimes, so I only eat when I've got a drink to hand. It's not nice as my brain says I'm choking, when I guess it's just half way down.

Jason

I do have eating disorders. I also forget to eat sometimes. I'm picky, and I obsessively smell all food I eat.