​Hi everyone! I hope you’re all doing well. Today I wanted to talk about my surgery recovery. Around two weeks ago, I had surgery for some issues in my chest. I knew that I needed to gain weight beforehand, because I figured I’d lose a pound or so due to the surgery. What I hadn’t realized was that post-surgery, gaining weight, and even maintaining weight, is something that is extremely difficult to do. Within 4 days, I had lost over five pounds. I was medicated and had to use IVs for nourishment because of the low appetite. I needed to do something fast, so I followed the doctor’s helpful tip, which was to have smaller meals every two hours, instead of larger meals every 4-5 hours. This has helped me tremendously. I’ve also incorporated the 530 calorie boosts back into my diet daily, and I set a daily alarm so I don’t forget to drink. I hope you all never have to use these tips, but if you do have to undergo surgery, hopefully the recovery process will be a bit easier now that you have this tip! There are many bumps in the road of recovery, but making sure you can handle them and prepare for them is what really matters. Have a great week!

​Hi everyone! I hope you’re doing well. Today I wanted to talk about something that makes my dining experience much better: variety. I actually look forward to eating breakfast on days where I know there are multiple things I can choose from in my pantry, like different types of cereal! This small difference can change everything. On days where we need to get groceries, and I only have one type of breakfast cereal in my pantry, I probably won’t enjoy the meal. The simple difference of choice can change the way I feel towards a meal. Even if I’m having pasta for the second night in a row, I like to change things up by having it with butter one night, and red sauce the next night! Hopefully you or your loved one will look forward to their next meal if there are some choices. Have a great day!

Hi everyone! I wanted to make a part two of my last post! My previous post talked about how to make going to restaurants easier if your loved one has ARFID. Today I wanted to share a few more tips!

The first tip is to share the menu ahead of time with your loved one. This helps them feel more prepared for when they get to the restaurant, since they know what to expect. Speaking of knowing what to expect, it can be helpful to show some photos of the restaurant, because there will be less surprises when they get there, since they’ve seen what the restaurant looks like! 

My final tip is to let your loved one pick a dessert for their meal if none of the entrees appeal to them. If there’s a dessert with high calories, they can have that instead! It’s better than not eating anything! Anyway, I hope these tricks helped you! Have a great day!

​Hi everyone! I hope everyone is having a great summer! Today i wanted to talk to people who’s loved one struggles with arfid to give you some advice on how to make a restaurant meal easier for someone you know who has arfid.

For people with arfid, restaurants can be very scary and stressful places to go to. However, there are some ways to make the dining experience easier. One thing is to go to a restaurant that is familiar and close to where you live. This allows us (people with arfid) to feel more relaxed for some reason, because it feels safer and more comfortable. However, it’s reasonable to not want to always dine out close to home. If that’s the case, there are a few ways to ease anxiety. One way is to allow for your loved one to step away from the table and maybe sit outside for a few minutes. This can help create some space and allow time for your loved one to relax. The final tip I have is to ask for ingredients on the side. Your loved one will feel more comfortable choosing how much or how little toppings/sauce they want to add to their meal, which gives them some control.

I hope this helps you the next time you dine out! Have a great day!

​Hi everyone! So, last time I posted, I talked about what it was like to try new foods at a new restaurant. However, I wanted to talk more about that today. When I was there, I was super nervous. I kept thinking to myself, “it’s okay, it’s okay”, and honestly, just telling myself that helps me relax. Next year, I’m probably going to go to Taiwan on a school trip, and if I get to travel there, I have to be able to eat some foods, so that helped motivate me to try something new. If I was able to try something that’s a traditional food, I’d be able to go! That’s how I was able to get into an open mindset! Thank you for reading this, I hope you all have a great week!

​Hello, or as they say in Taiwan, 你好！I’m currently learning mandarin in school, and last week, our teacher took us to a Taiwanese restaurant. I was really nervous because I had to order in Chinese and then I was going to eat Green onion pancakes, or 葱油饼, and I’ve never tried it! But, I took a bite and I loved it! I even tried a sauce despite not knowing what was in it! So, next time you go to a restaurant, maybe try one new thing! 

​Hi everyone! This is part 2 of my sensory skills series. Today I wanted to talk about smell. Smell can really affect things that are related to food. For example, if I smell a certain food before I try it, it may dissuade me to try the new food. However, smells can help you cope. Aromatherapy works really well for me when I’m feeling stressed, and there are so many different essential oils to use. I like peppermint and lavender the most, and if I use an essential oil roller, it soothes me. As usual, If there are any sound related issues you have, email us and I’ll send you a skill back, and if there are any skills you know that might be of use, feel free to send that to us as well! Have a great day!

​Hi everyone! Welcome to part 3 of my sensory skills post! I recommend you read the first two posts first, but feel free to start with this one! Sight is a sensory skill that I struggle with the least, and it mostly helps me instead of putting me back. For example, when I feel like I can’t study and sit still, I put on a fireplace video, to help me relax and stay focused. When I am stressed about a meal, I watch some tv! I hope this helped you, and if there are any sight related issues you have, email us and I’ll send you a skill back, and if there are any skills you know that might be of use, feel free to send that to us as well! Have a great day!

​Hello everyone! Welcome to part 1 of my 4-part sensory skills blog series! The sense I’m going to be talking about today is sound. As someone with sensory processing disorder, I am very sensitive to sound. It’s part of the reason why large crowds are hard for me to be around. It overwhelms me, but it can also be helpful. For example, if I’m feeling very stressed or sad, I listen to some music to cheer me up. If I need to block out noise, I listen to brown noise. If I’m bored, I may listen to a podcast! If there are any sound related issues you have, email us and I’ll send you a skill back, and if there are any skills you know that might be of use, feel free to send that to us as well! Have a great day!

​Hi everyone! I hope you’re all doing well. Instead of creating one or two posts for the month of March, I am going to be posting weekly! This is because I have a theme that I can’t talk about in just one post, and that is sensory. 

I was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder before I was even diagnosed with ARFID, and it is very common to have this if you have ARFID. If you don’t know what it is, it basically means your body avoids sensory, or seeks it. I avoid sensory, especially when it comes to food. It also makes your senses stronger, meaning that smells, feelings, sounds, sights, and of course, tastes can be overwhelming for you. So, this month, I will be posting once a week about four of the five senses, where I write about how I deal with them, what coping skills involve those senses, and more! I won’t be including taste, because that’s what I almost always write about!

Anyway, I hope you are all excited for the posts during March! Have a great week!