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Sensory Processing Disorder & Whole30


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I am an adult with sensory processing disorder attempting the Whole30. On day 3 and so far I have stuck to approved foods but it fully followed the guidelines, mainly because eating vegetables is so very hard for me. I can basically only tolerate broccoli with cheese on it, and now with no cheese I gag while eating. I tried some cauliflower rice last night which I was able to stomach mixed with salmon when it was the only other vegetable on my plate, but last night trying to eat that after already being triggered by the broccoli I started gagging excessively and threw up. I was able to stomach a small amount of cut up spinach leaves in a beef bowl, that was a victory. 

Is there anyone else in here who has SPD and has been successful? I am hoping whole30 will change my palate just enough to allow me to enjoy a few more veggies without gagging and vomiting. I have done therapy since I was a kid, which did allow me to enjoy more foods besides chicken fingers and French fries, but chewing will be a lifelong problem for me that I need to learn how to live with and still live healthy. I don't want to be overweight and I want to set a good example for my daughter, however gagging at the table wasn't a good example, so I think I will probably eat alone until I can nail down what meals I can enjoy with my family and not gag. 

Any tips or advice would be welcome! 

 

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I don't have SPD, but if you can pinpoint what it is about the textures/flavors/whatever of things that you like or dislike, maybe we can offer ideas on vegetables that might work better for you? I don't know if that's quite how it works, so maybe not that helpful. But just off the top of my head, if you like the texture of mashed potatoes, any root vegetables or winter squashes can be cooked and mashed for a similar texture, or if you prefer firmer vegetables, you might be okay with zucchini that's just been sauteed enough to warm it through (it gets soggy pretty quick if you overcook it though). Or if you really just need to hide them, but you're okay with scrambled eggs, you can blend spinach or other leafy stuff into your eggs (like, with a blender or food processor so they're completely processed) and then cook them like normal scrambled eggs.

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Thanks Shannon! Basically, I don't like anything crunchy, lumpy, with seeds or skin or multiple textures in it. Meat cannot be fatty at all and must be the same texture/consistency throughout or I start gagging. For example - if I bite into a piece of chicken that still has some tendon on it, I gag. 

I can tolerate most veggies in smoothie form where there is no crunch and it is a single texture, but I know smoothies are against the spirit of the Whole30 so really trying to avoid doing them. I will try doing the squashes in a mash! I do like soft carrots, having those tonight. Thanks for the tips!

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I would second th idea of blended soups. I made a great butternut squash soup tonight. A good immersion blender will allow you to blend soups into a velvety consistency. I got mine for around $40 at Costco. Think of it as a "warm smoothie" 

 

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So I think that as discouraged as they may be, I may have to rely very heavily on soups and smoothies to make it through this whole30. 

I was truly hoping that this Whole30 would make my SPD better but it seems to be making it worse. Before, I could make it through 5 or 6 bites of broccoli, but after 6 days of broccoli and other veggies like carrots and spinach, I now start gagging on the first bite. I gagged and choked through my entire dinner tonight and it ended in lots and lots of tears, and I'm starving. 

I guess my question is, if I have to be heavily reliant on soups and smoothies to be Whole30 compliant with ingredients, is there even a point in doing it and being this strict? Will I reap the benefits doing it with so much pureed stuff? 

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Doing soups and smoothies is definitely better than not doing any vegetables at all. Leaving out sugar and soy and msg and grains is still better than eating those things. So yes, you'll still benefit from doing it.

I would focus on soups as much as you can, rather than smoothies, and if you do smoothies, use minimal amounts of fruit, as one of the issues with smoothies is that they tend to be sweet and therefore can keep you craving sweets, not to mention it can cause spikes in blood sugar levels.

 

As an aside, if you aren't already, you might look for a therapist who can help with this. Most of what I've heard of are ones for helping kids because many who have adhd or are on the autism spectrum have sensory issues, but there must be someone out there who can help adults as well. There might be exercises you can do or other treatments. I would think it would be worth looking into, since figuring out a way to be able to eat a wider variety of foods easily is bound to improve your quality of life.

 

 

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Thanks Shannon, good to hear the affirmation. I have had 14 years of various kinds of sensory and behavioral therapy that has enabled me to function as a typical person, whereas before I could only eat a vey small handful of things like certain kinds of chicken fingers and puréed foods, but I can eat many more things now, sadly just not much "healthy" stuff. But there is a lot I can cut out, like sugary drinks and daily candy, that's for sure. So this is helping me do that. 

Medical doctors shrug off the SPD because I'm not terribly overweight and try only really attempt to prescribe me medicines to fix that I don't have energy, or are feeling down, etc. when I know it is my diet. I just don't get many nutrients typically. 

Ultimately I have a disorder that is newer and not well studied in adults, and I was really hoping to find another Whole30 person w/ SPD that could relate because most people can't. Making it 6 days is a huge success for me, and I'm going to keep doing it as long as I possibly can!! 

 

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Sorry to hear about the increase in aversion/gagging you experienced. I would like to offer you a glimmer of light about that though, if I may. From personal experience, and from reading through the forums off and on for the last couple of years, many people experience food aversion, especially when beginning the program. During my first whole30 I had about 3 days where I would find myself gagging when I started to eat. Now, please understand I in no way belittle SPD or what you are experiencing (I am a pediatric occupational therapist and have a fair understanding of SPD in children, I regret that I am not well versed in SPD in adults), but I just wanted you to know that maybe and hopefully this increase in gagging and aversion is a temporary change. 

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  • 5 months later...

I wanted to give an update! I did not finish my January Whole30. It became super overwhelming for me, I was starving and crying all the time because I felt so limited in what I could eat due to my SPD. I made it 9 days and lost 17 lbs in those 9 days, if that gives you a glimpse into how little I was eating. Needless to say, it was not healthy. I am back and have started my 2nd whole30 attempt. Some things are really different this time - first of all, I'm back working. I really wanted to do whole30 while I was on a break between jobs for a couple of months, but it ended up that was worse for me, because I sat around all day obsessing about the food, and getting myself very worked up over it. Now, I'm super busy in my new job and have less time to stress about what I'm eating. The first 5 days have flown by, as opposed to last time, when every minute was torturous.

Another realization that I had is that I was trying so very hard to stick to the exact rules of the whole30 and avoid all liquid soups, smoothies, rxbars, etc. I was making myself a full meal at each meal period and hating everything I or my husband made. This time, I have been working on eating more veggies in general between then and now, and have improved a little. One big stride was I can now eat some salad - very tender baby greens salad - but only if I have the offset of a crouton with that. So I'm not having salad on whole30, but I do think this slow transition of eating raw veggies was positive for me.

The other thing is that I am allowing myself to have a smoothie with fruits, leafy greens, and coconut milk. To me, a person who very much likes to do things by the book, I realized that it would be better for me to do a smoothie once a day and be able to complete the whole 30 days, than to not be able to do it at all. Something is better than nothing. All of the ingredients are whole 30 approved. I'm getting a big portion of leafy greens I wouldn't otherwise be able to tolerate eating. So it's working for me.

I guess at the end of the day, I had to recognize that SPD will always make it hard for me to be "normal" and make eating "easy". But I can make tweaks to make something work for me and still be successful. Something is better than nothing. Hope this helps anyone who may have the same challenge I do!

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