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1234
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19 May 2009, 10:47 am

For the past 2-3 months my eating has just gone down.

I always eat quite monotonous, but this is just ridiculous.
I'm eating way too restrictive, and it just keeps getting less and less.
Right now I'm eating the following:
Try to eat everyday: Oat cakes, rice cakes, veggie burger
Try to eat but usually fail: Eggplant, tomatoes and rarely zucchini
Have occasionally: A fruit smoothie
Nibbles: small piece of chocolate, a cashew or two
Can eat, but it's not healthy: Sponge cake (one cake has 4 eggs, though it doesn't have much sugar or fat apart from that, if I'd eat 1 cake a week, I'd be getting in 4 eggs, which is a bit much)

That's all I'm eating right now and the more times passes, the less effort I take to prepare myself anything. I'm losing weight and this time it's not voluntarily.

And seeing that I don't see this changing any time soon (as I suppose it's a phase), I was wondering if it'd be a good idea to use protein powder as a supplement.
'Cause I'm quite sure I'm not getting in enough protein and I'm certainly not taking in enough calories:\


And would it be an idea to order some green powders like Spirulina or Chlorella as well (as they can provide extra nutrients) or is that just nonsense/a hype?


I know that supplementing isn't the ideal solution, I know I should just force myself to eat good foods and a variety of them, but right now I just can't.

Thanks in advance:)



TallyMan
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19 May 2009, 11:52 am

Rather than just mess with your diet, possibly in a harmful way, I suggest you get the advice of a professional nutritionist or maybe your local doctor could help? It sounds like you may have an eating disorder of some sort; and if so it would make more sense to sort that out.


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19 May 2009, 12:24 pm

TallyMan wrote:
Rather than just mess with your diet, possibly in a harmful way, I suggest you get the advice of a professional nutritionist or maybe your local doctor could help? It sounds like you may have an eating disorder of some sort; and if so it would make more sense to sort that out.

yes,was going to post that as well.
a dietician who specialises in ASDs,if that is what is causing issues with food,as that is what home staff were told to also get involved by the dietician am see,she can only work with am to an extent as she doesn't understand autism.

Am also have extreme food problems [all autism related] and get prescribed tinned milkshakes called Ensure via dietician as GPs here won't prescribe them without input of dietician,ask own doctor to see if could be prescribed Ensure-or an alternative [they usually offer soups as well if dont like milkshake].

But are able to buy some types in shops without prescription,am used to get a decent one called Complan before was prescribed Ensure,another one that might find in shops is Build Up,they use Build up in hospitals here and some of the flavours are nice,the dietician said its not as fattening as complan,if are not overweight any of them are ok.


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19 May 2009, 1:15 pm

I dislike eating so much that I developed a very nice way of squeezing as much nutrition into one meal as possible and I constantly seek new ways to improve this further.

I usually don't eat for several hours after I wake up, just some fruit and maybe a cup of tea.

Later in the day I make a big serving of rice along with mixed vegetables fried in canola oil (omega 3 omega 6) and butter (fat), to this I add sesame oil (more fat) and roasted sesame seeds (huge source of protein) as well as coco-flakes (even more fat) and some chicken or prawns.

After a meal like that I just need to eat fruit and hard bread to sustain myself for the rest of the day. I eat a lot of fruit but other than that I just have tea. Late at night I make oatmeal and sometimes I boil a few eggs. Every now and then I have raw fish with soy sauce and wasabi as a midnight snack as well.

I'm normally really skinny and have a strange metabolism. I can't eat sugar or fast carbs because it just makes my metabolism go haywire and puts me in a constant state of undernourishment. I need to stock up on fat, slow carbs and protein and stick to this in order to sustain myself.
When I eat like I do now, I can actually workout and my body looks trimmed and athletic, but if I eat faster carbs, junk food or just don't get enough concentrated nutrition I become skinny and have constant headaches instead. I'm glad I found a routine diet which suits me. I never really worry about food anymore.

About protein powder. I used it for some time but it didn't really do that much for me. It could help with the worst headaches but it can't, in my experience, compare to balanced food where you really squeeze in excessive amounts of protein and fat. I need to eat excessively because my body just burns everything so fast. Adding extra fat and protein on top of the carbohydrates helps slow it down a bit.



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19 May 2009, 4:19 pm

TallyMan, I'm quite positive that this is not an eating disorder.
Perhaps it's disordered eating, but not an eating disorder. I've had one in the past (thanks to some rather unpleasant experiences in my life and an aunt forcing me to eat which messed up my entire eating pattern) and my mentality was VERY different. I got treated for it, went to an outpatient program (which didn't do anything for me but oh well, I recovered after I got the hell out of there)... and I am an expert at recognizing eating disordered type behaviour in myself. When I notice I haven't had enough calories or nutrients for the day, I always try to make up for it (by getting an extra portion of vegetables, handful of nuts, adding extra oil to the pasta sauce etc.). Because I NEVER want to go back there again, my metabolism, heart and health are too precious to screw up like that.
I've been to a nutritionist in the past, but all they do is give me a standard 2000-2400 calorie meal plan and that's it.
I know enough about food to figure out my own plan, I can make a plan easy, but the question is, how will I get it all down? I can only eat so much food before it makes me gag:\ Even though I want to eat more of it.


KingdomOfRats
,
thanks for the information about supplement shakes and soups... I'm not sure we have Ensure here or the other brand but I'll have a look and inform my dr. perhaps.
I've never heard of a ASD specialized dietician... but perhaps, if I do get a diagnosis, I could inform about that too:) I'll look around for Complan and Build Up as well:)

Thanks Zoonic :D
Your 'super meal' sounds like a good idea, though I'd have to spread it out over the day as there's no way I can eat it all at once:\ I wish I wasn't vegetarian sometimes, 'cause prawns can be quite delicious^^ And you've just reminded me I could sneak in some omega 3s by adding flax seed oil to my smoothies.
I forgot about sesame seeds!
Besides protein, they also contain a ton of calcium:) I used to roast them and grind them up with a bit of salt and season my rice and stir fries with it for a bit more calcium (which is also a challenge for me to get as I don't like drinking and I hate milk and milk alternatives).
I might add less fat though, as too much fat in my diet makes me feel very weird, almost lazy. I tend to function better with lots of carbs, slightly less protein and very little fat in my diet. But I think I'll give your meal a try! I like rice much better than most other grains anway.

I understand that protein powder will always be less nutritious than real food, but seeing that I'm not getting enough food in me and always leave it to the last minute (I have a very hard time detecting hunger. I'll only find out I'm hungry when it's too late and I'm near fainting), I thought it might be good to have a protein shake at hand for fast nutrition so I'd boost my calorie intake but also so I'd have enough energy to quickly find something else to eat.



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19 May 2009, 8:51 pm

If you make your own sponge cake try making it with (natural or vanilla) protein powder...instead of flour...

I am gluten sensitive and someone told me you could do this...makes really light, rich cakes and pancakes...IMHO, once you try a cake with protein powder, you'll NEVER go back...

...and your sponge cake would suddenly be VERY healthy stuff...

Also, NEVER underestimate the power of flavouring vegetable dishes with celery...even use the leaves as a herb.



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19 May 2009, 10:26 pm

Dried egg whites are the best protein supplement.



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20 May 2009, 4:15 am

I do have a bag of dried eggwhites here (though I used it for other purposes than nutrition..I used it to make sugar flowers)... but I just cannot get over the smell and how it gets all slimy when reconstituted with water:\


mechanima wrote:
If you make your own sponge cake try making it with (natural or vanilla) protein powder...instead of flour...

I am gluten sensitive and someone told me you could do this...makes really light, rich cakes and pancakes...IMHO, once you try a cake with protein powder, you'll NEVER go back...

...and your sponge cake would suddenly be VERY healthy stuff...

Also, NEVER underestimate the power of flavouring vegetable dishes with celery...even use the leaves as a herb.


Thanks for the tip!
I've already cut down on the sugar in the sponge cake, but I never thought about adding protein powder to it... I'll have to try!

And yes, I have to admit that, though I can make really yummy dishes for other people, I often eat very bland food (e.g. just heat up some frozen peas and eat it, roasted vegetables without salt or anything)..
I've never considered celery though, 'cause I don't really like it, it makes me feel weird when I eat it...
but perhaps I could add it to soup and then fish it out once the soup's done, so I'll have the flavour in there:)



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22 May 2009, 11:58 am

Protein powder is best to use shortly after you lift weights.



1234
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23 May 2009, 6:58 pm

I've read that, but right now I wouldn't be using it to improve my workout's etc, seeing that I'm not even getting enough food in me to be able to sustain my body throughout such a workout.
For now, at least, I'd be using it to add more nutrition to my diet in a way that is quick and easy (as I'm having trouble eating right at the moment, seeing that most everything makes me gag).



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29 Jun 2009, 10:45 pm

I had a VERY similar issue from the ages of 2 through 19--all I could eat was peanut butter and jelly, bagels, and grilled cheese...anything else made me gag and choke. I have now grown out of it for the most part, but I will tell you this: marijuana did more to help my eating problem than YEARS of therapy and nutritionists. I eventually became an addict and needed help, but if you don't have an addictive personality I'd go so far as to recommend trying it out to see if it calms your gag reflex and allows you to eat more, and a wider variety of, food.



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30 Jun 2009, 2:07 am

protein powder is by it's name a macronutrient supplement which means protein is a macronutriont by the word macro it means that it takes a bigger part within your diet and very likely your body will sustain some variation of excess often with benefit for muscle building.

that being said you will likely not harm your long term or immediate health by opening a jug and munching in a few spoonfuls (a few servings about 200grams of protein let's say about the same as in a big steak or two...)

sure having lots of protein break down to sugar in your body releases some nitrits to your circulation and there a bit harmful but it's mostly nothing to be concerned about so long you don't stink of ammonia