'Rare condition means I only eat bread, cereal and Hula Hoops every day'

A man suffering from a rare disorder has revealed he's "never" consumed fruit, vegetables or meat, instead subsisting on two loaves of bread daily. Thomas Sheridan, 35, admits that the mere thought of sinking his teeth into an egg and sausage sandwich fills him with dread, to the point where he'd "throw up".

After years of struggling with his peculiar food dislikes and being brushed off as merely a "fussy eater", Thomas was finally diagnosed with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in 2023 when he was 33. The condition renders him incapable of consuming certain foods, leaving him clueless about most tastes and textures, as the idea of even nibbling on a piece of fruit or vegetable induces nausea.

Thomas gets by on a diet of white toast slathered in butter, three bowls of Shreddies, and Haribo sweets, supplementing his nutrition with protein shakes to meet his vitamin needs. However, he yearns for the day he can savour a bowl of scouse.

Despite being prescribed antidepressants, Thomas hasn't found relief and has resigned himself to living with his condition.

He is currently raising funds to cover the £6k cost of private hypnotherapy sessions, hoping this could be the key to realising his "dream" of enjoying a communal meal with his family, reports .

Thomas, who hails from Liverpool and is presently unable to work due to his health issues, confessed: "It's torture. I'm not living at the moment, I'm only surviving. I want to live a normal life and be able to go to work and not feel like a freak. It's closed so many doors for me."

Thomas' reluctance to try different foods surfaced when he was just a toddler. Despite being a healthy 9lbs at birth, it wasn't until he reached 18 months that his parents noticed something amiss, with Thomas recalling, "one day I just shut my mouth".

He recounted being taken to various doctors, one of whom shockingly advised his parents, Tom, aged 65, and Sheila, 59, to "just starve him" until he felt compelled to eat. His father even resorted to "bribe" attempts with presents, but nothing worked.

Thomas explained that attempting new foods is a no-go for him as his mouth "just closes over", and past efforts have made him feel sick. During his school years, his parents permitted him to come home for lunch to have toast, rather than pushing him to eat the school meals.

Reflecting on the impact of his condition, Thomas shared: "It didn't really affect me until I was about 18, because I had a small bubble of people I was around. When you become an adult, you see people's opinions change of you, when they know you've got an eating disorder."

His experience at school further highlighted the lack of awareness, as he said, "Because the school didn't know anything about it, when they gave me work experience, they put me in a college, in the catering department. I was prepping all the foods, I was quite good at it and then I thought about going to college, maybe about food."

However, when he voiced this idea, the response was dismissive: "I mentioned it, and then people were just like 'what's the point of that, you can't even eat a chip?'".

Thomas admits he feels "isolated" when social occasions involve eating out, recalling a particularly rough experience: "There was one time when we started drinking and everyone used to talk about bacon sandwiches when they were roughed up.

"I attempted to make an egg and sausage butty one day and as soon as the egg touched my mouth I vomited about 10 feet across the room."

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Currently out of work due to his condition which renders him physically unfit for work, Thomas shared: "The last time I worked over a 10-day period, I lost a stone and a half,".

He is facing the tough reality that not working hinders his ability to purchase staple foods like Weetabix. Thomas has been prescribed nutritional supplements to counteract his diet's lack of variety.

He can tolerate only specific flavours that he's accustomed to. His dietary limitations have resulted in difficulty gaining weight, with his lowest point being just 8st 2lbs.

To maintain his current weight, he sticks to a bland diet of two loaves of bread, three bowls of cereal, and a packet of Hula Hoops daily. Thomas revealed he has sought therapy, a common recommendation for ARFID sufferers, but found the "inconsistencies" challenging.

He explained the difficulty with therapy consistency: "They said 'you'll probably get a different person every time. We can't guarantee you the same person."

Unlike anorexia or bulimia nervosa, ARFID doesn't have the same level of recognition and only made it onto the World Health Organisation's International Classification of Diseases in 2022. However, the British Dietetic Association acknowledged ARFID as an eating disorder back in 2013.

Thomas reveals he has never encountered another individual diagnosed with the same condition. He is now on a mission to raise £6k for private hypnotherapy that could potentially broaden his dietary horizons.

To contribute to his fundraising efforts, click here.