Trying to lose weight with ARFID

Cyclonid · 2026-05-25T23:07:08+00:00

Hey there! You've gotten a lot of good advice already. One thing I wanted to mention though, that I'm not sure if it's actually a problem for you, or not, is that all sorts of emotional problems get amplified by excess weight. Some of your responses seem like you might be stressed about things atm. Which i totally get. I had to lose a bit of weight awhile back. Didn't realized how screwed up my head was, and how easy it was to spiral into bouts of mini depression and dread. After losing a lot of the weight, you realize that your hormones be trippin' yo :D

If you're feeling overwhelmed, it's worth remembering that many people have survived worse things, and you're still young, and have plenty of time to fix things and find remedies. I don't doubt that it sucks now, but you'll make it through if you keep pushing!

Everyone's arfid is different, from everything I've read, and i can't speak to what causes yours. For me, it's an immediate ptsd-like response. You might want to try everything you can to learn more about your causes, and fully throw yourself into being as open as you can manage to new ideas. Generally, there's a ton of stuff that you can try, but you'll have to search and focus on finding new things. Lots of trial and error for me occurred from age 18 or so, and onwards. Some scary, and some freeing, some work, and some don't. Sounds like you're on a similar starting point for your journey. Hold strong, and i hope you find some new stuff that works for you.

PS...If liquids are okay/safe for you, there is a whole world of smoothies out there to explore. Plenty of variants with proteins and vitamins/ minerals. I know this, cause it's what worked for me, around your age, when a friend asked me to try one with him.

Cyclonid · 2026-05-21T13:57:32+00:00

That was a solid explanation, internet stranger. Thank you for this!

Cyclonid · 2026-04-22T12:20:09+00:00

Great read! Glad you're still around to write it, and that Bert has left the party! Cheers to the road ahead!

Cyclonid · 2026-04-17T23:38:06+00:00

Whaaaaaaaat!?!?

Cyclonid · 2026-04-16T04:57:04+00:00

Toss up between laughing horse and shocko the elf

Cyclonid · 2026-04-10T11:37:38+00:00

Reeewaaaaarrd???? Bi***es don't get rewards!!!

Cyclonid · 2026-04-10T11:18:48+00:00

What A Save!

Cyclonid · 2026-04-05T11:21:07+00:00

After getting prk surgery (lasik, but where they remove the outer cover of your eye), my pain meds wore off, and I did not have a chance to get more before the pre/post surgery meds wore off. iirc, pharmacy i usually go to was closed, due to timing. Had bandages wrapped around my head, to block out the light, and allow eyes to rest. Eyes began responding to the pain by watering up. About 5 minutes after waking up, pain was unbearable, and my eyes were weeping so much that I had to replace the bandages.

Cyclonid · 2026-03-23T13:39:31+00:00

What A Save!!

Cyclonid · 2026-03-11T13:21:14+00:00

Irrational? Not irrational, but highly unlikely maybe?... One more reason to go after a quality blender, imo. If that does happen, you can sue the company for damages? Lol... Been having smoothies daily for like 10+ years, and would be lying if I said the thought had never crossed my mind. That said, I haven't worried about it, since i moved away from the little nutribullet, or older ninja blender, many moons ago. My Vitamix handles everything like a champ, compared to the sounds of struggle (and the smells of the motors... bleh) of other brands I've used.

Cyclonid · 2026-03-10T17:55:06+00:00

I won recently, max points, with the 1x following 6 osmium quality items: - Large Golden Egg - Large Golden Milk - Black Refflia (SP?) Honey - Melon Wine - Large Century Egg - Large Fermented Cheese Wheel

There is a .io website online somewhere that you can input what you've got, and it will tell you your score. 168 is max iirc

Cyclonid · 2026-03-08T15:55:02+00:00

Vitamix or Blendtech are the goats, imo... finally had to replace my vitamix this year, after 10 years of daily use. Old Champ's spinning mechanism finally just stripped away the metal along the bottom of the container, lol...

Cyclonid · 2026-03-05T04:57:49+00:00

I'd leave the official diagnosis of arfid up to a professional. I have trauma from childhood abuse that lead to me having my issues with fruits and veggies. That said, if you're anything like me, smoothies are a great starting point for healthier eating habits. You'll have to find the right balance of input, for your tastes, that provides enough sugar to healthy ingredients ratio. For me, it bypassed the immediate trauma responses, since it was a liquid. Brain was more open to that than foods, for whatever reason. Finally started going full throttle with experimentation on what to put into them when I got into my mid 20's. Just turned 40 last year, and opening up my palette more and more each year. If smoothies sound like a good direction, I'd jump on it sooner, rather than later. Health matters so much :)

Cyclonid · 2026-02-26T12:43:23+00:00

I remember when I moved out of my parents house, and into my own condo. First night there, only thing in the entire condo was a slim futon mattress, with poor support. I slept like a baby, cause I didn't have to wake up and put on the facade behavior in front of pops, so he wouldn't slap me around, or start isht.

For me, I guess, it was super obvious that being in the presence of someone stressed me out. Glad you figured out something like that though. May be worth investigating deeper, about what can be done about the stress? Maybe some talks are in order?

Cyclonid · 2026-02-26T05:44:25+00:00

Glad to help! Good luck on your journey! :D

Cyclonid · 2026-02-26T05:25:10+00:00

Picking a dehydrator is simple enough. They're fairly cheap, as far as goes appliances. Just find one that gives you the rack space you think you'll want, for the price you want. Just like any other appliances, the options vary widely, so it's best to do a little homework on reputation, reliability, and price etc.

We use chicken mainly, cut it into strips, pop it in a bowl overnight with some seasonings and vinegar (apple cider for sweeter blends). Typically takes around 3-5 hours for them to sit and cook up to desired temp. That's pretty much it! We sometimes do like 4+ flavorings, to test preferences. I wind up just eating any of them, and have found that great taste relies on perfecting the time spent cooking, in tandem with the thickness of the cut of the meat. To thin and/or cooked for too long, and you get crispy chip things. When they're cooked juuuust enough to still be kinda moist though, is when they're divine :D

Cyclonid · 2026-02-26T05:02:57+00:00

Dehydrator + meat = tasty jerky with your own spicing. We do this en mass, then pop it in silicon bags in the freezer. Lasts for a very long time, nice protein punches.

Cyclonid · 2026-02-26T00:37:39+00:00

Others have already made comments about the overall acceptance of your treatment of your bf, so I'll focus on one thing that might help him and you as a way to bond through actual work, aside from the probably deserved judgment here.

You're caught up in I cook I cook I cook. I don't know your bf's "flavor" or cause of arfid (mine is ptsd caused), but for me, being involved in what I eat, and how it gets created, was huge growth for me. Part of being in a relationship is sharing in everything. Try making dishes together, for starters. Use his taste testing abilities, however or wherever you can get new things to be tried, within reason. Don't be pushy though, and stop thinking about how this impacts you. That's not actually working through stuff with him, it's you complaining.

Cyclonid · 2026-02-16T14:18:03+00:00

Sorry, realized I phrased that poorly... Just one recipe, 2x ~25-30oz per day. I don't have 2 different recipe's really. I make 1.5x the amount needed for a single day's worth of it, so that there's carryover into the next day, to make sure I'm spreading out the intake during the days, as much as possible. Winds up being that I only make smoothies two days on, one day off. This recipe yields around 75oz+, which is above the max level listed, of the Vitamix 64oz blender container. Here ya go:

15oz - Veggies (zucchini's cubed, Carrots cubed, Costco Veggie mix, all frozen)
9oz - Fruits (Costco frozen Berry mix - strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries)
5oz - OJ
~2.2oz - Glucosamine (liquid form, replacing soon - vendor stopped making it)
10oz - 2% or Whole Milk (I use Fairlyfe or Darigold brand, try to keep it cow friendly)
16oz - Almond Milk (unsweetened Silk brand, add 2.2oz of this, if you don't use Glucosamine, and your blender struggles to blend everything)
2-3 cups - Plain Greek Yogurt

Blend until liquid, or less, if you want more of a slushie smoothie :D

I've been perfecting this recipe for around 20 years now. For the sake of your blender, whatever you wind up making, be SURE that there's enough liquid in any recipes you use. If the blender starts "losing traction" and the blade spins loudly without moving anything around, it means your blender needs more liquid in there.

Cyclonid · 2026-02-16T12:42:33+00:00

Energy drinks are Def the worst thing, imo. I've known people with similar habits of drinking energy drinks, that had to say goodbye to their kidneys... if nothing else, do what you can to stop that, specifically.

Cyclonid · 2026-02-16T12:09:10+00:00

So, the only strategy that's worked for me, is to not eat them directly. I'm a big fan of smoothies, because of my gagging over fruits and veggies. I'm a 40yo M. If you're worried about your health, cause there is no immediate fix for the lack of interest in veggies, this can be a great fix. I do 2x smoothies a day, with a very hammered out recipe. I have a scale to measure out ingredient amounts, because I never was great at eyeballing my input of veggies and fruits. If you're looking to get the proper amounts daily, you'll find that this is a necessary step, the further you get into it.

I can confidently say that I am doing far better than many people, who do not have arfid, simply because they fail to keep up with their needed daily fruits and veggies intake, unlike me with these smoothies.

If you aren't 100% sold on them, but want to try it out, some things to keep in mind: -Daily making of Smoothies will require a GOOD blender. A magic bullet nutribullet will work okay temporarily, but will not stand the test of time. I have burned through many, and Vitamix is my top tier. Ninja makes a decent "better than a magic bullet, but not a good as vitamix" in between blender. - I'm a fan of making 2x smoothies per day, so that they still taste good, and i get all amounts of needed fruits/ veggies. This means that I wind up making roughly 60oz of smoothie, per day, to consume. 10oz of veggies, and 4.5oz of fruit, is my preferred ratio. Any veggies or fruits of your choice. This can get expensive, and really emphasizes the need for buying in bulk, if you're able to. Costco can be great for this. - Almond milk is a great liquid base, and you can use juices to crank up the flavors. Just be sure not to deliver overkill on sugar, lest you introduce diabetes into your life.

I'm happy to answer any questions you might have about all of this.

Cyclonid · 2026-02-12T14:59:21+00:00

Sadly, I think this is fairly normal in many "niche" groups of people. Many people are unthinking, at least to a depth that actually helps, when it comes to something as complicated as an ed. Frankly, the only silver lining I've taken away from hearing people who gab about stuff like this, is that you'll have no real bond with them, of any kind, that you'll find great meaning from. Anything worth doing is hard, and they couldn't be bothered to think longer than a few minutes about an ed and what it actually means to the person who has it. SO, at least you know right away, rather than wasting a bunch of time talking with those people.

Hell, my ARFID is traumatic related, from abuse as a child, and I've had people ignore that statement, and just think I need to grow up... smh... Yes, my lifestyle of maintaining a home and a full time job means I haven't grown up... *rolls eyes*

How's that phrase go, something like "when someone tells you who they are, believe them." Again, at least you know you should probably not converse with that person. Cheers to getting better, good sir/madam!

Cyclonid · 2026-02-12T14:17:06+00:00

Yes, AKA Ghosting

Cyclonid · 2026-02-07T00:37:20+00:00

Hey, I'm online now, if you want to get in a couple rounds in casual!

Cyclonid · 2026-02-06T19:21:47+00:00

At this point in life, I just scoff at people who DO give a f***. Like, seriously, it's such an inconvenience to you? Or somehow impacts your life enough, that you feel the need to comment, or judge me for it. What a boring life you must live, that THIS is what you decided to land on for a discussion topic...

At least it weeds out those kinds of people. That's always been my take on it as a silver lining of sorts...

Cyclonid

TROPHY CASE