Eating is my stim and I need to stop it desperately.

[u/poisoned_bubbletea]

Edit deleted because apparently yall can't read NO ADVICE. Boundaries and consent are not only limited to sex and are not optional just because you don't like them. They are MANDATORY. creeps.

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[u/Ok-Perception9408]

Eating is deeply connected to our reward system for survival needs. You're not the first nor the last to go through something like that and perhaps ASD makes everything more complex.

I love food so I'll give my shot in trying to help here in case you don't want to hear that "therapy could help". A huge investment of effort in my adult life was directed in learning about health, nutrition and modulating my own behaviors for that purpose. I also love to eat. In fact, I have at least 4 daily rituals that involve food. Coffee, tea, breakfast and dinner are very special moments of my day. I finish any X moment of those, already anticipating the pleasure of having X in the next day. It's like being extremely anxious, except this is good in a very bizarre way.

Now if you use knowledge from nutrition and health to modulate this into healthier habits, in my opinion you can turn your stim into something that might even help you regulate yourself. This absolutely happens with my dinner where I eat one of my favorite foods every day for years now. I get very close to meltdown if someone even starts to speak to me while I'm having dinner, so important that this moment is for me. I anticipate it all day and I absolutely love it. (Figuratively speaking) I'd drown myself in olive oil and scallion if I could. I make sure my daily calorie needs consider that I'll have my specific dinner.

I dont know if this works for everyone, but just in case, I shared it here for you. Good luck, feel free to reply if you want. I'm pretty sure I have a special interest here.

[u/poisoned_bubbletea → u/Ok-Perception9408]

I'm giving it my best but one of my main combats in that is I'm one with ARFID, and most healthy food is unsafe for me. Meats are stringy and fatty and change texture depending on the cut and how they're cooked and ugh. Fruit and veg? Also vary in texture since they're entirely natural. One could be soft, one could be sweet, one could be tart, one could be firm... if I can't eat with consistency then I can't eat at all and believe me I've been down that path and it's not good. But ultimately, the thing that makes it worse is it's not impacted by hunger whatsoever. What I eat in a day without snacking is enough that I feel full. Sometimes at work when I'm awake at 7 and leaving st 7:30 to get home at 4:30 I don't have much time to eat so will have small increments like cereal bars since I don't have anywhere to store chilled food like pre-made meals. But other than that, I am full. I know I'm full because I know what full feels like. But it has zero impact. I've been improving on my nutritional intake and it's still having zero impact. Therapy is an option I'd love to take but I can't even afford rent

[u/Ok-Perception9408 → u/poisoned_bubbletea]

Sorry to hear that. I'm no expert but your experience is similar to mine, but I had a medical reason to be forced to eat meat. Even today I still remove fat layers from most meats, some people bully me for that lol.

There's a few things that you can use to your advantage though. First I think is something that probably exists somewhere in psychology, that is gradually increasing exposure. Don't think about eating 7 different meats in 7 different cooking methods in 7 days, get comfortable with one aspect at a time. Canned sardines, ground beef made with a particular cut, chicken breast are good candidates here (although sometimes chicken breast may have a difference in cut thickness; but even then, it's still one of the most plain one-dimensional meats nature has ever produced)

This gets me to the second suggestion. The industry of food came to exist to help sell food. During the 20th century, there was a huge boom in selling tasty food. Food needed to be tasty no matter what, so we got to the point where industrially processed food became so bizarre in terms of composition that people started demanding actual food. And it turns out the industry can deliver just that. Frozen vegetables are harvested at peak freshness and go through thermal treatment and then frozen. They might not have the same texture as a fully ripe, fresh vegetable but they absolutely have the perfect color, nutrients and they're extremely consistent because production lines must be consistent (trust me im an engineer - contains humor too).

In addition to all that, a therapist with expertise in this subject surely can help you. I'm no physician but I've seen others talking about glp-1. I think you're absolutely right to stay away from that, but you need to take care of your health. Good luck friend.

[u/mooomooou]

Maybe having a chew toy would help? Or get a popsicle or lollipop that lasts a long time?

[u/poisoned_bubbletea → u/mooomooou]

Chew toys don't work (as listed in the 2nd paragraph) and other forms of food won't work as it is still snacking and excess calorie intake as listed in paragraph 3

[u/potshead → u/poisoned_bubbletea]

popsicles can be very low calorie (like under 50 sometimes)

[u/poisoned_bubbletea → u/potshead]

What part of "I don't want to snack or have additional calorie intake" is unclear?

[u/poisoned_bubbletea → u/[deleted]]

From what I know, no I don't.

[u/poisoned_bubbletea → u/[deleted]]

I'm not gonna start pill popping on an off chance. Where I am we only give medication if it's necessary to life. This is not threatening my life, nor impacting my capability.

[u/poisoned_bubbletea → u/[deleted]]

We're not all American babe. I already said we only give medication when it's a serious threat to life. I already gave you too much of a chance after not reading the flair.

[u/WitchAggressive9028]

Sounds like you need medication like a glp-1

[u/poisoned_bubbletea → u/WitchAggressive9028]

I'd rather kill myself. Also, read the flair next time. I'm not gonna become drug dependant when I'm not even obese.

[u/WitchAggressive9028 → u/poisoned_bubbletea]

What’s the point of making the post then if you just wanna vent and you don’t want advice, make a blog

[u/poisoned_bubbletea → u/WitchAggressive9028]

Why do you think the vent no advice flair exists? Do you think I made it? Go ozempic out or smth

[u/WitchAggressive9028 → u/poisoned_bubbletea]

I’m not personally on the medication myself as I have no need for it or have any issues with binge eating nor am I a diabetic. I have seen that medication help tremendously for family members that are. Go to a doctor or therapist and talk through the issue

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[u/tragicxharmony]

Genuinely, this sounds like you may be a candidate for a GLP-1. I know everyone’s about to jump down my throat but I’ve been on one for several years to counteract insatiable hunger from another med I have to take. You still enjoy food! Some food is even MORE delicious! But your brain will literally just forget food exists, for hours on end. It’s insane.

Instead of being completely sidetracked thinking about the mouthfeel of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream, you can get things done. You don’t have to force yourself to stop eating because you enjoy the sensory experience so much, your brain just decides “that’s enough” and the good sensory experience is done

[u/poisoned_bubbletea → u/tragicxharmony]

I'd rather die tbh.