Asperger's and dieting

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Please help. I don't know how to eat anything in moderation. Whether because of age or because of medicines I have had to take for fibromyalgia and neuropathy, I am gaining weight.

But I don't know how to have foods that are healthy and not obsess and only eat them. Moderation by dictionary definition would be something like not only eating one thing, not eating it to the point where you don't eat other things necessary for good health. It was never a weight problem until recently.

Is there a mathematical way to know if I am eating something in moderation? If I do one of those things where you keep track of calories and write down what you eat daily, all that happens is that I get discouraged and never write everything. I get to discouraged by evening or earlier and just give up keeping a food log. So I need a mental way of knowing when I have passed the point of eating an acceptable amount and crossed over to eating it obsessively.

The food may or may not change but it seems I have always had one food that I eat obsessively. I'm not asking for specifics on what I should add or not have in my eating habits (I hate the word diet.)

I am asking for advice on how to stop obsessing on certain foods and on how to eat the right balance of foods. Pleae let me know if you have any advice or if any of you do this also.

Mindful eating would probably help to not overeat. What you do is when you eat it's the only thing you do, no TV, no music, no computer, you just pay all of your attention on the food. I find I feel as if I've eaten more and I stop eating earlier, it particularly reduces any snacking.

Variety would depend on how many different foods you currently eat. It would also depend on whether you eat a lot of ready made stuff or cook from scratch. For example last night I cooked and my dinner had five different veg in it but I made a big batch (bolonaise) and will be eating the same for dinner five days in a row, then I will cook something with different veg. I get most of my variety from my veg as it's cheep to experiment with and it's not processed.

Yes, it is easy to become obsessed and anxious about food. I came close to this at a previous job, when what I eat, and everything else about me apparently annoyed my colleagues. I'm more relaxed about what I eat now but feel free to ask me anything about healthy eating if you want as I've been following it for several years.

A very rough guide I've heard used is a palm size of protean (meat, eggs) a palm size of carbohydrate (pasta, potato) and two palm sizes of veg. That's for dinner, and it is only a guide (personally I think it's a bit stingy) so vary it a bit if it leaves you hungry.

Portion sizes aren't too much of a problem. And I don't eat when bored, fortunately. In fact I think eating is boring. But a healthy diet requires a variety of foods. And getting that variety is my problem.

I went to nutritionist and she told me to count calories. I did that for a couple of months, but it was too difficult to stick to it for much longer.

My only tip is to think of low calorie foods to taste good. Salads would be a good example, but dressing isn't the way to go since dressing adds calories. Instead of dressing, you might use garlic and onions, since they give taste without giving that much calories. You can also use avocado; avocado has calories, but those are healthy calories.

I know this advice is not for everyone since others might not like salads the way I do, but thats the only thing that seems to work for me.

Nothing to do but keep trying I guess.

I have had eating problems. I tried many things and finally:

You may eat because you miss something.
Eating fills the gap.

You may eat because you are anxious.
Eating is reassuring.

You may drink water and think what you miss and what makes you anxious, and make something about it. Good luck

Since this is obsessive behavour then it is possibly your crutch so rather than trying to stop obsessing about one food it might be best to work with it such as choosing a food that is a fairly good balance of nutrients/fat/protean ect. It won't be a great diet but it might be possible to have a decent one that way. Is it always one food, or do you think you could manage two? Are you able to vary how you eat the food, or does it have to be served in the same way every time?

You may find Overeaters Anonymous helpful: oa.org