restricted eating

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I am having a serious problem. I am a diabetic and almost every food I find acceptable is a carbohydrate of some kind. potatoes, corn, and chocolate are three prime examples. I can't help it. meat disgusts me most days because of the texture. beans are iffy, as is peanut butter. I get most of my protein from cheese, but the cheese is always attached to a carb, like a potato or pizza. my diet is so very restricted and I literally cannot help it. I am basically living off of cereal, potatoes, pizza, salads, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, and green beans. it's getting a little out of hand and I don't know what to do about it. foods just largely trip my gag reflex because of how they feel in my mouth or how they smell or taste. I would NEVER be able to do a high protein diet. it would kill me. I would puke incessantly.

I don't know what to do. eating largely carbs when you are a diabetic is near suicide, but I literally cannot force myself to eat most foods. it is so bad that I will fake eating sometimes just so my parents will think I ate, and then eat potato chips or pretzels later in the night. or popcorn. or cereal.

what do I do?

Look for the amount of fiber in the carbohydrates - the correct carbohydate/fiber ratio makes a huge difference in things like glycemic index.

If there is a food that has more fiber for the same amount of carbohydrates then that tends to work better.

thanks for the advice guys.

just to give you an idea. last weeks shopping list was this:

3 cheese pizzas
2 bags of frozen broccoli
4 2 liters of diet pop
2 bags frozen corn
2 cans of cheese sauce
one block of colby jack cheese
butter crackers
2 loaves diet bread
2 bags of salad
ranch dressing
cereal
milk
trop 50 orange juice
3 frozen dinners
begals
cream cheese
cauliflower
2 boxes of mac and cheese
2 little debbie snacks

What about eggs? Eggs are a great source of protein and you can ea the, in several ways. There are a lot of veggies you can eat, like lettuce, spinach, zuchini, eggplant, celery... My husband was on atkins diet for about a year. It is all about proteins -no carbs-. It is great for diabetics, and they have a great site with lots of recipes.

of the food you listed, I can tolerate celery. the rest, and most of the time that includes eggs, I don't like.

You have a lot of cheese and milk products on there--have you tried emphasizing those? They are protein-heavy and if you get the non-sugary kind they are decent for diabetics.

Would a nutritionist help, I wonder? It's often easy for diabetics to get referrals. You'd have to find someone willing to do research on autism and taste/texture issues. A good way to explain it is that "Many foods feel to me like hearing fingernails on a chalkboard." (It's a good analogy for NTs, because they cringe just like we do when they hear that.)

How willing are you to experiment? Finding things that are low-carb but don't have a texture or taste that bother you might be a matter of just buying lots of different things, playing with them, and finding out which ones you can tolerate. Don't discount things because NTs think they taste bad. Maybe you'll find you like, oh... tofu, or hummus, or something like that. There's no guarantee that your tastes will be NT-style, right? I guess it will mean some food gets thrown away for a while when you find you can't eat something, but better than a really limited diet.

You might need to get used to things very slowly. I talked to some parents who helped their kid expand his own selection of food by just presenting them very slowly--first just having them on the table, so the kid got used to the smell and sight; then just asking him to pick up and hold the food; then asking him to put it in his mouth; then eventually chewing and swallowing. If along the way the kid felt nauseated by the new food, they either backed off or tried something new. They apparently found quite a few new things that their boy could eat without distress. You might need to be that gradual with trying new things yourself, if you have really big problems.

Regarding meat: I find it disgusting much of the time, myself. The worst sorts are the greasy, cheap meat. Find the low-fat stuff, and it tends to be a lot easier to stomach. Chicken breast is something I'll eat anytime, personally, especially if it's baked rather than fried. My problem with meat is that I can't trust myself to cook it safely or store it safely, so I don't get a lot of meat--I'm not really a vegetarian, I just get most of my protein from nuts and beans. You could, if you hate meat, also research vegetarian cookery and see whether any of those things appeal to you.

I got for you the whole list of low-carb foods from the Atkins site:

All fish, including: flounder, herring, salmon, sardines, sole, tuna, trout.

All fowl, including: cornish hen, chicken, duck, goose, pheasant, quail, turkey.

All shellfish, including: clams, crabmeat, shrimp, squid, mussels, oysters (mussels and oysters do have carbs, so easy on them)

All meat, including: beef, lamb, pork, veal, venison, bacon, ham (check the carb content of bacon, ham and other

Dairy: Cottage cheese, heavy cream, mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese

Nuts and seeds: almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, hulled sunflower seeds, macadamias, pecans, pistachios, walnuts

Fresh fruits: blueberries, cantaloupe or honeydew, raspberries, strawberries, apple, banana, cherries, grapefruit, grapes, guava, kiwi, mango, peach, plum, watermelon

Juices: Lemon juice, lime juice, tomato juice

Starchy vegetables (small portions): acorn squash, carrots, white potatoes, yams

Legumes (small portions): black beans, chickpeas, great northern beans, kidney beans, lentils, lima beans, navy beans, pinto beans

Grains (small portions): oatmeal, pasta (whole wheat), rice (brown)

Cheese, including: blue cheeses, cheddar, cow, sheep and goat, cream cheese, feta, gouda, mozzarella, parmesan, swiss
Vegetables: alfalfa sprouts, arugula, bok choy, celery, chicory greens, chives, cucumber, daikon, endive, escarole, fennel, jicama, iceberg lettuce, mushrooms, parsley, peppers, radicchio, radishes, romaine lettuce, artichoke, asparagus, artichoke hearts, avocadoes, bamboo shoots, broccoli, broccoli raw, broccoli rabe, broccoflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, swiss chard, collard greens, eggplant, green string beans, hearts of palm, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, okra, olives green, olives black, onion, pumpkin, rhubarb, sauerkraut, snow peas and snap peas in pod, spaghetti squash, spinach, summer squash, tomato, turnips, water chestnuts, zucchini

Dressings: crumbled bacon, hard-boiled egg, grated cheeses, sautéed mushrooms, sour cream, basil, cayenne pepper, cilantro, dill, garlic, ginger, oregano, pepper, rosemary, sage, tarragon, blue cheese, Caesar, Italian, lemon juice, oil and vinegar, ranch

Fats and oils: butter, mayonnaise – make sure it has no added sugar, olive oil, vegetable oils (canola, walnut, soybean, grape seed, sesame, sunflower, safflower)

Artificial sweeteners: splenda

Beverages: clear broth/ bouillon (make sure it has no sugars added), club soda, cream (heavy or light), decaffeinated or regular coffee and tea, diet soda (be sure to note the carb count), flavored seltzer (must say no calories), herb tea (without added barley or fruit sugar added), water – at least eight 8-ounce glasses per day (including filtered water, mineral water, spring water, tap water)

There are a lot of things in this list, so I imagine you can find there things you like to include in your meals.

Just a thought: my daughter is Aspie and she does not like meat either, but she will always eat it if it is grounded. You can buy the meat and ask the guy to ground it, including chicken.

If you need recipes you can get some at the atkins site (atkins.com). I can also help you, because I cooked my husband's meals when he was doing the diet, and I love cooking. Good luck!

I would suggest looking into whether there are any Legumes that aren't problematic. While they have carbs, they have very low glycemic indexes for the amount of carbs, and they're a really good vegetarian protein source .

Chickpea based foods are really good for people avoiding meat - Have you tried things like hummus? I like broccoli dipped in hummus.

Lentils are good too - lentil soup?

I don't know in particular which legumes you're more likely to like, but I'd strongly suggest looking into them.

I don't know what to do about my restricted eating either.

I have ate the same foods for months and months. I have ate one food everyday for over a year now.

I can't tolerate meat, beans, cooked/mushy vegetables, most fruit, dairy ... and I don't eat wheat. I live off grains and the couple vegetables I will eat, protein shakes, and chocolate.

Is there any kind of food therapy, like sensory therapy?

thanks for the list of foods. I know all about atkins as the dietician I saw in 2008 tried to get me on it and I flatly refused.

I do like nuts, and lentils are my favorite bean. in fact, we are having lentils for dinner. with celery and carrots. NOM. and we are having tater tots. I also like hummus on occassion. sometimes it scares the living s**t out of me, though.

for lunch today I had a salad and cheese and crackers. cereal for breakfast.

anyone ever notice their gag reflex trips when there is too much food in your mouth?

it's hard to believe I weigh 340lbs, thanks to psych meds, with the way I eat. it must be the potatoes.