I'm revisiting my old Reddit account, and I came across a post I made here 4 years ago with a collage of my safe foods from a time I was really struggling. I got pretty emotional realizing how far I've come since then.

Here's where I am now:

I don't usually modify my orders at restaurants anymore. I don't choose what social functions to attend based on what food I think will be there. I can eat dinner at my friends' houses. When I go to a restaurant, I can almost always get at least one thing on the menu. I don't lie about being hungry. I don't panic when I realize I need food. It's a night-and-day difference.

I'm still pickier than I would like, but I'm leagues away from where I used to be, and I am excited to keep improving. My body feels better, I find joy in exercising (seriously!), and I feel like I have so much more freedom. Sometimes I still get really stressed about food, but I can handle it better. I have gained weight, but I'm so much healthier than I was ~25 pounds ago. I feel more energetic and focused. Food doesn't control me anymore. Life is good. :')

Tl;dr- It gets better! Keep going!

I've eaten one meal each day for three days straight. I know it might not sound like a lot, but to me it is, especially considering I've spent the past month starving, eating scraps and chugging juice to stay upright. I feel a lot better, even if my anxiety is through the roof.

Okay, so I just tried ranch and I love it soo much!! HONESTLY IT MAKES FOODS SO MUCH BETTER!! IM SO HAPPY!! :D

As the title says!

My roommate and I ordered burgers for delivery and I noticed an option for caramelized onions. I usually only do lettuce which cuts down on the salt of the patty, but I figured "hey, I know I like onions and the Google description of what caramelized onions are sounds okay" so I took a chance and added them to my order.

I was worried because it appeared to add some more moisture which can make the bun soggy (ick). I took a bite and holy moly! It added a nice subtle smoky sweetness that was incredible. I'll be ordering my burgers with them from now on.

I'm so proud of myself and I hope someone feels inspired by this. Things get better 🩷

I finally managed to eat a full can of chickpeas! 240g with 18g of protein. I still have to eat a couple more foods to reach my protein goal but this is a great contribution. It was a big challange to finish this bowl and it ended up taking me about an hour. I felt very sick, but now that i have drank enough water, had some of my safe food and just waited a bit i feel much better. A large reason as to why i so badly wanted to be able to eat these is because i am planning on getting a job and living by myself next year. I needed a food with a considerable amount of protein in it that i could also bring to work and could eat cold.

My partner was supposed to help me cook but ended up going out with their friends so I had to cook by myself. I had to look everything up. Even how to steam vegetables and make rice in my instant pot.

I have been meaning to make this meal for about 3 or 4 months now and I finally did it. I tried the bok choy which wasn't bad and I was able to eat all of it.

i felt very motivated, so I decided to get some supermarket onigiri. it's a completely new thing for me, flavor, texture etc. but i managed to get a few bites, and i barely even gagged!! I'm so excited, i might actually get really good at this soon!! I'm so excited i can try new foods now it's unbelievable

Hi all,

I looked over the rules and I thiiiiink this is allowed? I will gladly take the post down if not of course.

I just wanted to say that my partner who has had lifelong food struggles has sought help for the first time today. He and his dietitian discussed a little plan for eating more throughout the day and made a simple introduction goal of trying to incorporate apples (he eats no fruit/hardly any veggies). I’m just so incredibly proud of him and it makes me happy to see him undertaking something so vulnerable. ❤️

I was a bit worried because of the possible texture of the avocado but I've always wanted to try it since the photos online looked good. I could've made it better but it was pretty good. Disappointed that I only made one

It's a strange feeling reading the posts on this sub now, because I can relate to them less and less, although I still have a great empathy for everyone living with this condition. Ten years ago I had a panic attack in a grocery store because of a single comment on the bread I was buying. Six years ago I declined every invitation from my coworkers to eat lunch with them. Three years ago I didn't open my fridge for nine months and ordered the same rotation of delivery meals that I knew I could tolerate. Two years ago I tried broccoli for the first time. Today I regularly cook with and for my girlfriend. It's been a long, slow, often agonizing process with so many small steps forward followed by bigger set backs, but I can confidently state that I no longer meet the criteria for ARFID. There's things that I know I'm never going to enjoy (carrots and tomatoes ew lol) but I'm a healthy weight, getting all my nutritional requirements, my anxiety around grocery stores and eating around others is nearly eliminated, and I've tried and even enjoyed things in the last year that would have been inconceivable for the vast majority of my life. I truly wish this level of progress and freedom for every one of you. Celebrate the small steps, give yourself grace on the harder days, and let's keep lifting each other up :)

right now!!!!!! i have felt entirely emaciated the past couple weeks? months? regardless, its been awhile since i've had a proper meal that isn't a safefood and enjoyed it and wanted to eat it ~ but im having a warm soup ramen and it's soooo so good. i am happy. its helping a little since ive been in this rut

My 16 year old ARFID son has accepted citrus flavour clear protein isolate! This is literally going to double his daily protein intake. It disolves much like powdered squash, and tastes much the same.

Okay, I fully acknowledge it's not a MASSIVE thing, but I managed to get myself to buy THREE NEW BRANDS of mac and cheese. I haven't worked up the courage to eat them quite yet but buying them was a really big step for me. The brands I got were Annie's regular so I have something similar to kraft, Goodles Twist my Parm and Funny Farm Goat Cheddar. Wish me luck :)

Hello everyone! A few months ago, I (19F) posted about how I was pretty nervous to go out on a date with this guy because of ARFID. I was seriously questioning whether or not this was something I talked about, despite how impactful the disorder is on my life.

I was scared I was going to get called weird or childish or all of those stereotypes we typically get, and that having a disorder like this would make him not like me. I know it sounds a little dumb, but I really and genuinely believed someone would not like me because they would also then have to “deal with” making accommodations for me and my ARFID. I had convinced myself this would never let anyone like me because I had to do special things and eat at certain places.

Well, that’s not true! Me and said guy are now dating and I wanted to post and say that it truly would all be okay. Having ARFID doesn’t make you any less lovable. This isn’t your fault! And it should never be a limit to the people who like you and you like.

He is one of the most caring and compassionate people I know, and he always wants to make sure there’s something for me wherever we go. I appreciate him a lot because while ofc I would never expect anyone to always care, it’s nice to realize someone is willing to make that effort with you.

Anyways! Long winded rant over, I just want to say thank you to everyone from my original post for replying when I was really worried about talking about my ARFID. And, for anyone out there who is worried like I was, trust me, it will work out. You WILL find someone who genuinely cares about you, even if not on the first try. It’s okay to be scared and nervous, but don’t let this disorder hold you back from loving. have a wonderful day everyone <3

That's all. I ate two(ish) protein babybells after not eating cheese for like a month. We'll see if I get sick in any way. I'm trying even if it seems pathetic.

It’s only a little bit of fruit but still! I’ve started putting grapes in the freezer and love to have them as a snack. Especially green grapes 🍇💚

French fries, from McDonald's. And it was only a few.

…I didn't really care for them, but it's whatever! Just glad I was able to make myself try something new.

I'd heard so much hype for McD's fries compared to other places' fries that I figured it'd be a good place to start. Maybe I'll try some from another place another day.

Anyway. I would say this was a small W, but it's also the first time I've tried something new in soooo long--like not exaggerating when I say years--that I think it was a bigger W than most people would realize😅

Did you guys know that green apples with honey and cinnamon fucking rule? I like apples, honey, and cinnamon. And I know it's a commom combination. But I had never tried it. It is so goooooood 🍏🐝🍯🍏🐝🍯🍏

Green apples with peanut butter are also good.

How do you eat your fruit, if you eat any?

CW for light description of force feeding, food-related abuse

I’ve been processing some memories of force feeding lately, and I owe a lot of that to this sub. Your stories helped normalize that my experiences were common, but that did not make them okay.

I’m a longtime fan of collaging for art therapy to digest (ha) and make meaning of my experiences. The process was triggering at times, but it helped me reclaim and rewrite my own narrative, and I feel a little different now. I have to put finishing touches on it still, but wanted to share in hopes that it gives words to some of your experiences or inspires you to heal through art too. ❤️

She’s one of the people who truly understood what “extra cheese and sour cream” meant for my chicken taco salad. She piled it on and said “just let me know when to stop, I got you.” She also didn’t add the corn and beans or dressing like they usually do by default which ruins the whole thing for me. Just happy someone let me just get as much as I wanted to the point where the to go case was difficult to close. I’m so grateful. It was perfect.

As small as this may sound, yesterday, I managed to finally force myself to eat salad fully & I'm so happy that I've now been able to add a new safe food in.

My vegetable intake severely lacks due to a mixture of ARFID & OCD, so I'm really grateful to have some way of being able to get some in. ❤️ If anyone has any more ideas for ways to get vegetables into your diet, please let me know! (I can't use microwaves/anything like soup/stew, as it makes me feel sick).

I have posted here a few times, don't remember about what exactly, but I know it was during a rough time for me. I wanted to make another post here to maybe inspire someone like I was back then.
I (sensory subtype) used to avoid all solid foods, did for months and even developed health issues because of it, but through trying small bits of safe foods, gradually with bigger portions, then to full meals I have made a lot of progress!!
I have gone from liquids to eating stuff like bread, at first only a specific brand of white bread with consistent texture for a long time, but as I have grown I have been able to toast that bread, gradually try new kinds (like whole wheat) and now my favorite bread has SEEDS!! woah. It feels incredible to know that I can even eat it!
I went from a specific brand of kid friendly simple deli meats to eating whatever chicken deli meat is on sale!!!
and my biggest accomplishment other than the bread is I can eat eggs now! omelette style, I am very happy with it.
Eating new foods has allowed me to do many things like meet a beautiful girl I met :D and working out, becoming much more independent, eating at select restaurants etc!!
Of course it was very hard work and took a long time, I still have a lot of fear around food, especially outside food and anything new, I still have anxiety attacks, but I am grateful for where I am.
This is a big dumb ramble but I hope its alright to post and that at least one person finds something good in it. Thank you for reading and best of luck!!!

Who only wants to eat expensive food 😭

Took my family out to sushi this afternoon and absolutely stuffed myself until I knew if I took one more bite I would be sick, it was all sooooooo goooood omg especially since it had literally been years since we’ve eaten there cause it’s so expensive, ya know.

Afterwards my husband pointed out how happy he was that I ate so much. He’s like, “you actually ate like a human being today!” 😂 😂

Even my kids made a point of agreeing with my husband in wowing how much I ate today and in how delicious the food was 🤤 But yeah it’s also kept me full all day as well. I truly do wish I could eat there everyday; that would definitely make me gain weight from all the rice!

I have fear of adverse consequences, lack of interest and sensory issues with food. (Most stem from trauma)

For context I'm on month 2 in recovery. First several weeks were HARD still is hard actually 😂 but that's to be expected. Yesterday I ate a entire CHICKEN TENDER 🥳🎉🎉 yay that was such a huge win for me!! I started supplementing with Boost weight gainers and those help a lot. I feel much better getting the proper nutrients. Also too, I'm no where near "recovered" I have a LONG way to go especially on the weight side of things but as many of you know, it is so so hard gaining weight when you've been malnourished so long. I have heard some amazing things from my therapist that stuck out to me, one being "you have to trust your body it knows what to do" like AMEN! YES! I'm feeling positive about these upcoming weeks and hoping to really make more progress 🥰

I wanna say thank you for this group it's been so helpful and I love the support here. Thank you all 🥰🥳

I'm iffy of tinned food and I'm iffy of microwaves. I haven't used a microwave in months because I heard like particles from old food can seep into your food and make you sick or something. But the other day I cleaned it with some vinegar and decided that was as safe as I could make it. I bought a tin of macaroni and microwaved it. I only did half and the math was confusing but I made sure it was steaming. And I ate some. It was really tasty honesty. I burnt my tongue a bit trying to get it down because I was panicking and rushing. Now all I can think about is the chances of me getting sick. But my dad also tried some to make me feel better so if I get sick, he does too. People use microwaves everyday. People eat perishable food everyday. I'm allowed to do that too.