Hi Connie,

My sunday dinner consists of chicken, instant mashed potato, yorkshire pudding and gravey. The mash cannot touch the chicken or yorkies otherwise I find it very difficult to eat. For many years my mum commentedon the fact thet I never said someting smelled nice. She wondered if I had a problem with my sense of smell. The reason that I never say it though means that no-one will expect me to taste it. The normal reaction once you've said something smells nice is "why don't you give it a try?" For me thats the worst thing ever to suggest.

I do sometimes wonder if I am over sensitive to tates becuase just to smell it I can taste it.

My mum had the same problem when I had cooking lessons at school cos I would only cook things that I liked e.g. biscuits and cakes. So for her being diabetic she couldn't have any. For most of my time at secondary school I lived on 5 buttered cobs at dinner time.

.

So relieved I am not the only one or the one with the most limited diet.
After watching this show I am inspired to try melon ... just not yet ... but I do want to try.

Hi All,

I have survived on a very limited diet all my life, and surprisingly feel quite healthy. My Christmas dinner is always a plate of chips, and I really did believe I was so odd. The term fussy eater does suggest one has a choice, when in my case, I would love to eat normal but cannot. I find it causes extreme embarassment when you are in a situation where you have to eat, and as a result, I would sooner avoid meals, etc as opposed to suffering the humiliation of eating through another plate of chips, and being bombarded with lots of questions about why I am not eating the same as everyone else. Whilst I sympathise with everyone else, it is consoling to know that I am not the only one with strange eating habits. I wish everyone well, and it is great to hear from you.

Hey all,

As others have said, it's great to read all your comments and know I'm not alone in the world with all this. I'm 23 now, working through a long life of not eating properly and hiding it all from my close friends for fear of what they might think. Not sure if I have been greatly effected physically but sometimes wonder if I have been effected mentally by this.

If anyone would like to talk, explore and work to understand ourselves better then I would really like to get some e-mails going back and forth? If anyone is interested in this or even setting up an online group somewhere.

I would be happy to set-something up.

All the best,
Neil

Hi all,

So enlightening reading your posts i like the rest of you have been living on a very restricted diet. Im a 23 year old male been a "fussy eater" since i can remember. While younger mum would take me to the doctors but the only response we ever got was he will grow out of it. Guess what it never happened.

Over the years i notice myself i have made progress ever so slowly. Including eating sausage rolls with the meat, as during primary school and my early teens i used to remove the meat and just eat the paste. At my worst my diet consisted of chips, bread and cereal. Only until i got older i realised i need to try and eat different foods but even to this day never got the nerve to really push the boat out. i remember saying to myself if only someone could invent something to remove my taste buds it would be so much easier lol.

I would always fear about my health but i would say im suprisingly fit (not healthy! but fit) i play football quite regularly normally twice a week and am proud to say can keep running long past majourity of my friends can if we playing football and they are all "normal eaters".

Currently my diet would consist of cereal, chips, bread, sausage rolls some chicken and only in the past couple of years plain pizza and sausages. Although i must say my big weakness is potato chrisps of all flavours. Dad used to say i dont understand how you can eat all those weird flavours of chrisps but put food near you with those flavours and im nearly sick. But its never enough because my eating habbits still stop me from going out for a nice meal with friends and even going away on holidays because i worry what i will eat.

Im sorry to say i as off yet havent saw the show but am going to make a point of watching it this week!! its just so refreshing to know that im not alone in this big world in my habbits because for me it can be very disheartening that i cant eat like other people i know. i honestly think i would probably be such a more confident person, i wouldnt say im shy now but with having that extra bit of confidence makes all the difference. i truely believe if this show can even help the contestants in any slight way it could and possibly will change there life unbelievably. i only pray there may be a chance for me someday in the future to take part in something like this with others knowing that at the end of it i would come out a more confident out going person than went in.

Hi everyone,

I tried posting this last night but my message seems to have vanished?

Anyway, I myself suffer from fussy eating and I've recently set up a forum at fussy-eaters.com (use fussy-eaters.co.uk for now - having teething problems with the .com domain!) so please join up and start chatting.

Thanks,

Ben

Thanks for that Ben, I hope the rest of the people here come and join in.

Lets see if we can get something together.

Hi all
Like everyone here I am so happy to discover I am not alone! I have had a food phobia since I was 6. My diet consists of chips, potato waffles, white bread with the crusts cut off, crisps, chocolate, boiled potatoes and skinless sausages. Recently I have managed to progress to roast beef, plain chicken breast and, only in the last year, cheese omelettes.

I understand completely about how embarrassing it is. Since I was 6 I have always had to take a packed lunch, both to school and to work. My packed lunch has always consisted of: 6 slices of crustless white bread with margarine, a bar of chocolate, a bag of ready salted crisps and water. It is embarrassing and whenever you start a new job or meet new people you have to start explaining yourself all over again. I can completely understand why people like us lie and avoid talking about it. I used to do this but I slowly started explaining to a few close friends. Eventually I realised that people were really nice, even if they didn't really understand where I was coming from! It is hard to do, but it does make life feel that bit less pressured. People do understand.

I also hate the Christmas nights out and stuff. Paying for four courses and eating the ice cream - that's me! Also when you go on a night out with a group and they say, "Well the bill is £120, lets split it £20 each" - and all I've had is a portion of chips!

I am making progress. I am slightly less scared of trying new foods, but I still find it extremely hard. My problem now is that I may try something and find its okay, but I struggle to actually add it into my diet.

Anyway sorry for going on but it is so good to know I am not alone. Let's hope the doctors get a name for this soon!

Sarah
xx

I too have stories the same as everyone else here. Im glad , well no im not, but u know what i mean that there are so many of us who have the same problems and feelings. Seeing this programme and reading these subsequent posts have made me realise im not alone. i think its a good idea if we all join together and make friends as it will help us in my opinion. Please feel free to chat to me as i want to make as many friends with the same problems as i can. i think it will help

Oh my goodness!! I can't believe i'm not alone! I have been a 'fussy eater' since the age of about 18 months and seem to be getting worse not better. When i was younger my parents were always told - don't worry she'll grow out of it, I can say now that i am never going to 'grow out of it' it's just not that easy!

It's so good to know there are other people who are like me, my whole life i've felt totally alone and isolated - there's just no way anyone can understand what ur going thru unless they have the same problem. Unfortunately the people around me find it very difficult to understand and therefore do not offer the sort of support and encouragement i need (my mum does try tho!). I have tried to change myself but it is so difficult, my boyfriend complains that i'm never going to do it but he doesn't seem to understand what it takes to change! I have already been to a dietian who was rather unhelpful telling me there was nothing they could for me! I have now been on a waiting list for quite some time to see a psychologist, i'm trying to be realistic and not pin all my hopes on it but i do hope it will give me something to help me change.

Anyways, sorry for harping on so much but it's just so great to be able to talk about it to people who are in the same position as me!

Nic

i watched the show last night and shocked to realise im not alone.
i have had a limited diet for about twenty years now, im 25 and live on plain pizza and egg fried rice (no peas), i dont eat any meat so people think im a vegaterian but i dont eat veg, i only eat cheese from asda and dont drink milk. its really embarrassing as im a manager in big retail shop.i get offered tea or coffee and feel stupid to say i only drink juice. its so embarrassing at lunch to be aked wat im having as i have same everyday, cheese on dry white bread with no crusts. people expect me to be dead healthy as im a size 8 but when they realise my diet are shocked. i feel ill everyday, its either a head ache, or feel tired and i hate going to the doctors as told i just need to start eating properly.
i would love to know why i am like this and how to start eating but i know im not going to change wish i could go for a proper meal as my boyfriend is fed up of pizza hut.

I have been watching this programme with interest as my husband is a "fussy eater" I agree with the posters on this site that indicate it is a wrong discription. He is not choosing to be "fussy" he genuinely cannot eat normal food. His diet is high in fat and carbs and he is now 28 so he and I are starting to worry about his health. We are also trying for a baby and to date no joy so we dont know if his poor diet is a contributing factor. His diet consists of white bread,potatoes, (occasionally) rice beef (thinly sliced well done, preferebaly the packet one!!)sausages, bacon (fat cut off)chicken nuggets, Burgers, abosultely no onion!! (no vegetables, yorkshire pudding, noodles crisps sweets!and thats about it. We never have a meal together which I miss. we certainly cant do restuarants or if we do , He wont eat anything and could very well be starving..(we always have to go to burger king or macdonalds afterwards!) so its not worth it.I am supportive of him as I know he doesnt choose to have a limited diet. It is hard for him sometimes and I really feel for him if we are with friends in a restuarant as sometimes he has to ask for the kiddies menu as there is nothing in the adult part he would eat. He cant stand sauces, vinegar and vegetables or fruit and gets very frustrated if he has asked for this not to be included and it is, He gets embarrassed asking it to be removed and says he can still taste it and like a previous poster cannot eat it.Eating out can be stressful and he hates ordering food like this. We have talked about it and he has always been like this, even his mother says he was like this since he was a baby..textures and the look of food really bother him and he is quite squamish where food is concerned. He would love to go on a farm like this one as he is very keen to change for his own health and for us to be able to do things together like go for a meal in a nice restuarant..
Hi Dawm and Ricks Mum nice to meet you on here, I think the show is excellent and I will be watching tonight!! may get some inspiration to help hubby

Hi Connie and Everyone Else

I am John Clark's brother. He has asked me to let you all know that should you wish to discuss this subject with him, he is happy to speak to anyone.

If you wish to speak to him, then please get in contact with the TV company and ask them to put you in touch with him.

Take care

Hi Flossie and Wolveslad

Flossie, your diet seems very very similar to Ricks, with the exception of pizza which Rick does'nt eat. He is like you in that his cheese has to be of a certain kind and he only drinks juice. Please take no notice of the psychologist though, he was suggesting to Rick that he had had some sort of trauma in his life when he was young. This could'nt be further from the truth. I know they have to justify themselves but Rick grews up as an only child really - his sister is 10 years older. Ricks diet started really at weaning. He never liked solid foods right from being six months old. He would be sick with anything at that time - even his milk. We obviously kept trying different things all his life. 22 years later we are still trying different things. It annoys me that psychologists come out with stuff that is basically their opinion without knowing the true extent of the problem. Rick has seen many many psychologists and dietitians etc, they all have different opinions. When Rick was 14 he kept fainting, I took him to the doctors who put a blood pressure strap on him and asked him to stand, Rick fainted, you could see his blood pressure dropping on the machine. The doctor - and I quote - told him to eat Mars Bars. As I have previously said, I consider it a eating disorder not fussy eating. No one wants to be like this. In Ricks case we will just have to keep looking for help.
Hope all goes well.

Vickie Davies

I am with you all that have had or still have these eating problems. Mine started very early 3 or 4 years old. I would turn my face up at everything and push it all away, apart from chips, cheese, mash, mince & gravy white bread / buns, time went by, holidays with my parents were a nightmare, we would go out for a meal and my dad would humilate me, by saying to the waiter / waitress, can I just of a plate of chips for him here, in a real sh*tty way, embarassing me that much I didn't even want the chips that I loved. My mum took me to the doctors and they said I was fussy and would grow out of it, 20 years later still eating the same things, friends and family though it was so funny, it was a real joke to everyone, I suffered from a lot of depression through my teenage years, drinking & taking drugs did not help my cause. I always seeked help from doctors only to get no where and no one could understand it. I always though about trying other foods but I got really worked up and felt anxious and sick at the thought, sight and smell, so by the time any new food was near my mouth, I was all ready heaving, so if I ever got it in my mouth I would heave or sick it back up instantly. Eventually a doctor put me in touch with a psychologist who used cognative behaviour therapy, these involved relaxation techniques and some mild hypnosis - the type where you don't know if you have or you haven't been hypnotised, but you know you have been somewhere, he went all through my childhood looking for signs and when and how things changed. The key things that I think of today are my mum, putting mustard down my mouth for swearing as a child and my dad humilating me every time we ate anywhere, these had all been forgotten all that time later. I stopped taking drugs and drinking heavily, learned to drive, and went to these sessions, I remember the first day I ate something different after being very relaxed and less anxious about these things, you would not believe how happy I was. Time was going by and generally felt much better for the changes in my life, but it was a long way to go, I found it good to eat the things i was used too first, before I tried new things, then I didn't really on eating that because I was really hungary, this helped. It all involved introducing one other type of food to my diet and mixing that with the rest of my diet, I would eat chips, but only have gravy on mashed potato, so I would have chips and gravy, as silly as that sounded I didn't like the way the chips used to go with gravy on them. I don't like the textures of food in my mouth, it freaks me out. I would start to eat cheese and onion pies, meat & potato, cheese & tomato pizzas, this was very difficult, everything was based around cheese, potato, bread, and mince meat. Slowly trying different little bits of other things. I am now 29 and cook food myself, and make casseroles, pizzas, pies, I have tried different meats, I had a real phobia of sausages but I really enjoy them now but I still haven't tried any fruit or any real vegetables, the smell, texture and look of food stills puts me off. Mt friends and family now understand me and my problems and help out where they can, I feel better mentally and psyhicaly but there is still a long why to go, my food is not as healthy as I would like it to be, but its a start. I am stuck again in another little routine or habit where I struggle to try newer things than what I eat now. This may be a bit jumbled up, but I just got sent the site and needed to respond and share my troubles with you all. If you would like to ask me anything about any part of my life or what I have mentioned then please ask, I want to help anybody who has struggled or who is still struggling like I have and still do. It helps to talk and for people to understand you and help you. I am confident and happy with the progress I have made, but it is still baby steps. At the time, you can never see how you will ever eat anything different. You can beat it, I promise you. Paul.

Hey Minster07

Your story is really sad, but things are starting to look up. I understand how you feel about chips and gravey, I have to dip rather than have it poured on my chips. I have only been able to do this in the last 6 months.

Everyone hits patches where they can't seem to move on but it'll come don't worry.

Visit www.fussy-eaters.com this is a new forum that has been set up since Farm of Fussy Eaters.

Hopefully speak to you there

Elissa

Hi - Rick Mum again,

Well its all over now, I have to say I am very impressed and have certainly seen a different Rick than the one I have seen all his life. And to all of the others I met you briefly, I now feel I know you - and well done. Dawn - please keep in touch - get my email and phone numbers from UK or Leopard - I would like to know how its going. A lovely lovely programme - however some air brushing on me would have helped. I look forward to another programme of a similar nature as it helps to see/talk about these problems.

Best Wishes
Vickie Davies (Ricks Mum)

to flossie32
hi i feel exactly the same as you i posted earlier dont know if you read it. Like you i have a very restricted diet i think your really brave going to eat at pizza hut i can only eat at home and it has to be cooked by me. I am also a size 8 and people do assume that you have a really good healthy diet and say things about the size you are. I also feel really tired all the time and suffer with all sorts of things like headaches and colds.Dont be fobbed off by your doctor go back and tell them you need help ask to be reffered to a dietition, i did this and am now seeing one she is great and without her help i wouldnt be eating what i do.

Hey everyone

It's been an emotional two weeks

All the participants have made such a great progress that has spurred many of us on. The realisation that "you are not alone" is probably one of the greatest achievements of this programme. We have managed to create a small communiy together that will no doubt continue to grow.

I do hope that there will be another series of Farm of Fussy Eaters as it has proved that changes can be made, even if the main input is for two weeks. The changes that the particpants have made will last a lifetime.

Could I make a suggestion that if another series is made then could you look more into the health issues related to fussy eating as I feel that this could have been more informative.

If anyone wants to join in the community please feel welcome to join us at www.fussy-eaters.com

Thanks for reading all my rants over the last two weeks

Elissa
x x

Thanks everyone for your tips and support

Its strange tho the way we all seem to have the same trends eating high in fat and alot of carbs. i wonder why we can all eat chips and dont find them frightening.
i do feel more help is needed and maybe suggestions of where we could get help should be mentioned on the show.

I am so glad to know that i'm not a freak!! I too am a fussy eater, and have been labeled nervous obssisve annorexia!!! I dread eating out, from as long as I can remember I have hated going round friends houses - i have to avoid going round my boyfriends house an dhave so far managed to avoid telling him. I get so embrassed, ive tried being hypnotised,forcing myself to eat....
I live on chicken and chips...how do i get on this programme, im desperate to change before it ruins my life....

I am so glad to know that i'm not a freak!! I too am a fussy eater, and have been labeled nervous obssisve annorexia!!! I dread eating out, from as long as I can remember I have hated going round friends houses - i have to avoid going round my boyfriends house an dhave so far managed to avoid telling him. I get so embrassed, ive tried being hypnotised,forcing myself to eat....
I live on chicken and chips...how do i get on this programme, im desperate to change before it ruins my life....

I am so glad to know that i'm not a freak!! I too am a fussy eater, and have been labeled nervous obssisve annorexia!!! I dread eating out, from as long as I can remember I have hated going round friends houses - i have to avoid going round my boyfriends house an dhave so far managed to avoid telling him. I get so embrassed, ive tried being hypnotised,forcing myself to eat....
I live on chicken and chips...how do i get on this programme, im desperate to change before it ruins my life....

thank god there are other people out here like me!! I'm 18 and for as long as I can remember i have lived on plain chicken, chips, white bread, marmite and plain crisps! I feel like such a freak...I skip meals at school so my friends wont know im a freak and i simply refuse to go round my boyfriends house which is runing yet another relationship!I've tried everything, ive been hypnotised, seen therapists and been dignosed with nuervous annorexia and a food phobia - helpful!
I dread going on holiday and have been known not to eat for days, not becuase i'm not hungry im always starving just becuase i can't find anything i eat. I'm 18 and my life is ruined i can't go on like this

Hi everyone.
Wow i have to say i'm amazed at the amount of people who are exactly like me when it comes to food. I too have been 'limited' lets say in the way i eat as is my sister. She has always blamed me saying she probably just copied me growing up. We recently talked about the show and it was the first time we both spoke about needing help with our fussy eating! It has always been just how we are. I will only eat chips, Fish as long as it is cod either boiled or in batter, eggs only boiled or i will have fried egg if its on toast although i won't eat egg if i haven't made it myself. Bread has to be white i occasionally eat apples golden delicious type no veg although i have been known to eat green beans but this tis the weird thing i have to take all the peas out of the middle which takes time so i can't be bothered anymore. i always laugh at myself when i'm trying to explain my eating habits to my friends. i laugh it off because of the embarrassment i feel when i see their faces. If there is ever a night out which includes a meal i tend to meet up with everone afterwards as i always get funny looks from people sitting there when i'm not eating. i would love to know why i am like this and my sister can't be a fussy eater because of me hopefully! ha i would love to see if i could change because i never thought it would be possible to get me to eat. i can cook food and have to daily as i work in a kitchen but when it comes to eating it well the thought terrifies me.
I think i've ranted on enough ha if there is another series of this programme i know myself and my sister would be interested in being involved.

Rach x