CHAMBERMAID Debbie Taylor eats nothing but Monster Munch, and has done for the past ten years.
The 31-year-old says: "I was 11 when I last ate a proper meal. I think it was a roast dinner with vegetables. For the past ten years I have lived on nothing but beef Monster Munch crisps."Throughout my teens I had trouble with food, going through periods of anorexia and bulimia.
"Around the age of 15 I started selective eating. I thought it was a sign my anorexia and bulimia were getting better.
"I began with toast sprinkled with salt. I enjoyed the taste and the lack of fatty butter or margarine.
"A few years later I moved to dry roasted peanuts, then came custard creams and finally beef-flavoured Monster Munch.
"They don't make me sick or leave me feeling full. I love the taste and sometimes, if I'm lucky, there will be a ball of pure flavouring at the bottom of the pack. Usually I eat three 45g bags a day - two in the afternoon and one in the evening.
"If I overdo it I get a sore throat because of the additives and have to drink lots of tea or Coca-Cola, which are the only liquids I consume."
Debbie, lives with partner Gerald, 55, and her 11-year-old son Luke in Harlow, Essex. She says: "They just have to put up with me. When I was pregnant I made sure to eat properly and I still cook them both wholesome food.
"I know I have a bad diet. My nails don't grow much and just break off. When I brush my teeth my gums bleed.
"It's not healthy but then neither is smoking and lots of people do that.
"I have tried to eat normally but the tummy pain I get isn't worth it. The doctor reckons it is because my stomach has shrunk so much.
"I know it sounds crazy but I don't see myself changing my eating habits any time soon."
Selective eating like Debbie's is recognised as an eating disorder with serious health implications.
Susan Ringwood, of eating disorder charity Beat, says: "Previously, selective eaters were seen as youngsters, particularly boys, who survive solely on things like chips and sandwiches.
"Recent research shows more adults are doing it too although there is no data to know exactly how prevalent it is."
Sufferers typically focus on consuming just a few types of high-fat or carbohydrate food and can go for years without eating anything else.
Experts believe such dedication reflects deeper issues which must be addressed to overcome the illness.
Susan says: "We are learning more about the reasons someone becomes anorexic, bulimic or starts to eat selectively.
"Often people are genetically hard-wired to be vulnerable to eating disorders and various societal and cultural factors can trigger their development.
"Selective eaters may be feeling their world is spinning out of control. One way to impose order on the chaos is to restrict their diet.
"If you suspect someone is a selective eater you shouldn't challenge them about their diet.
"Ask if there is anything going on they would like to talk about.
"Their thoughts and feelings are the real issue, not the food."
Here, three more selective eaters share their experiences.
I only eat Yorkshire puddings
'I've always been a selective eater' ... Yorkshire pudding-addict Aaron
The mobile phone technician says: "I have always been a selective eater. My mum said that as a toddler I had no interest in food and that I was on powdered milk until I was about seven.
"Texture has always been my biggest problem and I only like plain-tasting food.
"I only eat safe textures and if something is not quite the same all the way through, if it's inconsistent - hard in some places, soft in others - that will really put me off.
"The first thing I remember eating is buttered rolls and the odd chocolate bar.
"By the time I was 11 I would either have a plate of Yorkshire puddings, two big pancakes or a plate of boiled potatoes. I didn't like gravy or ketchup or anything, just salt - or if I was having pancakes, sugar. My normal day would be pints of milk or energy drinks in the day, no water, and just one meal in the evening.
"Usually my mum would make me 12 Yorkshire puddings - I only ate the home-made ones.
"Christmas Day wouldn't be any different for me, Mum would still make me a plate of Yorkshire puddings.
"Sometimes when I got up I would feel dizzy and my mum took me to see nutritionists. But they have always said I'm bang on my BMI so they have never really had a problem.
Aaron, of Norwich, Norfolk, continues: "I don't eat proper meals, I just drink a lot of milk and eat cheese spread sandwiches, that's the best I can do right now.
"I have learnt to like cereal and pizzas and to drink water and I think my health is better now.
"My normal day would be to have a bowl of cereal and pint of milk for breakfast, cheese spread sandwiches and a pint of milk for lunch and a cheese spread sandwich then bed.
"I found out that I'm in the top ten per cent of people with an unusually high number of taste buds on my tongue.
"That must mean I taste things differently to most people. People have suggested that it's to do with family issues or something in my childhood but I don't agree.
"I can't think of one thing in my childhood where something happened and I went off food - I was never on food to begin with."
I only eat Marmite
You either love it or you hate it ... Essex girl JoJo is mad about Marmite
The 20-year-old explains: "When I was a baby I caught a bug and Mum was told to take me off solids until it passed.
"After I recovered it was impossible to get me to eat normally again.
"I'd shake my head when she tried to feed me solid food and if I got a mouthful I'd spit it out.
"More than 18 years later I still have issues surrounding what I eat.
"My diet consists of Marmite sandwiches and the odd packet of crisps.
"I start the day with Marmite on toast, then I have a Marmite sandwich, with two rounds for lunch and the same for dinner.
Parties "If I'm hungry I'll snack on two packets of ready salted crisps.
"I discovered I liked this diet when I was a little girl of three.
"At other kids' parties I would take along my own packed lunch because I wouldn't eat the same goodies as everyone else.
"Now I work in a country garage where the whole team has to bring in their lunch so I don't feel odd about it any more."
JoJo, of Colchester, Essex, adds: "Eating out can be embarrassing because you have to constantly explain why you only eat bread and crisps.
"Often I just say I'm not hungry.
"Although I'm single now, I managed to date a boyfriend for a year without him discovering what I ate.
"People always think I must be ill but according to my doctor I'm perfectly healthy. The only nutrient I lack is iron. I'm a happy person but I know selective eating doesn't enhance my life. Usually it gets in the way.
"I tried hypnotherapy but it was too expensive to carry on. The therapist suggested I'm associating food with being ill but that's not how I feel. It's the texture of strange foods I can't get to grips with.
"I'd love to eat normally but it's really hard to change my diet after living like this for so long."
No comments:
Post a Comment