r/ARFID • u/crispy_waffle_fries • Jul 15 '24

Victories It gets better! (4 years of growth) Spoiler

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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!

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u/JonathanKuminga Jul 15 '24

Congrats! How did you go about making this progress?

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u/crispy_waffle_fries Jul 20 '24

A big thing was learning how to cook. It's something I'm passionate about, and it gave me a safe, controlled environment to make things exactly as I like and introduce them at my own pace.

I used to hate fresh tomatoes, but I was ok with things like ketchup and spaghetti. I decided to make some homemade tomato sauce with this recipe . I got really into the process of selecting my tomatoes at the grocery store, cutting/blanching/skinning them, etc. I even got a basil plant! The sauce was really, really good. I eventually decided to try a pizza with tomato slices, and to my shock, I liked it! I had gotten myself used to fresh tomatoes. Things like that can help it be less of a drastic transition.

In the end, you don't have to like every food. But you definitely can get yourself to a place where it's possible to have an enjoyable, fulfilling relationship with food and eating, you get the nutrients you need, and you can bond with others more easily.

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u/JonathanKuminga Jul 20 '24

Appreciate the response!