It can be difficult to balance a healthy lifestyle with the needs you might have as someone who experiences sensory difficulties. One minute a certain food is perfectly fine, and the next you cannot get it out of your mouth fast enough. The unpredictability of sensory issues, in particular, makes healthy eating a challenge for many people. There are, luckily, some ways to navigate a balanced diet with these needs in mind.
Know Your “Safe Foods”
Safe foods are foods that you are comfortable eating most or all of the time. It can be beneficial to keep a stock of your “safe foods” on hand for days when everything else is giving you issues with taste, texture, or consistency. Identifying a “safe food” from each food group is helpful to make sure that you can still get a balanced diet when you are having sensory issues. If not, try to find at least one from as many groups as possible.
See A Dietician
A dietician or nutritionist can often work with you and your sensory needs to find different ways to get nutrition into your diet. This might include substituting ingredients to improve your eating habits, choosing a different brand, or finding a healthier food with a similar taste and texture as one that you already enjoy. Seeking out nutritional food counseling Clarkston MI can make a huge difference for many people.
Give Yourself Grace
It can be easy to beat up on yourself if you have a period of time where you struggle to eat a lot of nutritious food. It is important to remember in these instances that even if you are eating “junk” food, feeding yourself that way is better than not feeding yourself at all.
Whatever your needs may be, remember that you are not the only one experiencing these types of issues. Sensory issues related to food do not make you “picky” and it is okay to have days where you struggle to eat certain things.