A dad-of-two who says he is ‘forced’ to live on a diet of Easter eggs claims to have already eaten more than 200 this year.
Ashley Kean, 30, says he is ‘getting quite sick’ of feasting on the Easter chocolates and longs for a normal diet after only being able to digest chocolate, mashed potato, Yorkshire puddings and fruit.
Between January to April every year, Ashley says he will almost-exclusively eat the Easter treats - at a cost of hundreds of pounds - and will often make his way through up to six a day.
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He says his strange habits started when he was a baby and have continued into adult life. He has been to see the doctor about it, but was told everything was 'normal' - leading him to think it could be psychological.
“It is massively frustrating, especially at Christmas,” Ashley, from Castleford in West Yorkshire, explains. “From the start of January through to April, I eat over 250 Easter eggs.
“It averages out between three and six a day depending on how hungry I get. It’s like the best part of the year for me. I eat a lot of the £1 Easter eggs and spend a lot of money on them.
"My diet is quite boring and not something I enjoy. I can't have meals with my two kids so we can't go out for family meals and stuff like that.”
Ashley says that he threw up every time he tried a new food as a baby, whilst he was being weaned off milk. He has now developed a severe aversion to trying new foods due to the fear he will again be sick.
Despite visiting numerous doctors over the years, no one has been able to identify the issue Ashley says he even requested a ‘full-body MOT’, expecting that his diet had left him with health problems. But all his results came back showing full health.
Ashley says one possible diagnosis could be Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder - a condition characterised by the person avoiding certain foods or types of food.
So far this year he has eaten 208 Easter eggs since January - spending around £330 on the sweet treats.
Now, he says his dietary restrictions have left him depressed and searching for support or help.
"It's getting to the point where it’s coming towards Easter and I've had them for the past nearly four months,” he explains.
"I'm getting quite sick of them. On the outside I look like normal 30-year-old. It’s depressing but it’s something I’ve always lived with.
“The amount of chocolate I eat isn’t normal, yet I’m not diabetic or anything, how is everything fine?
“A lot of people say, ‘If you only eat chocolate, why aren’t you the size of a house?’
“I requested a full MOT from the doctors a few years ago because I thought, ‘Surely I can’t be perfectly fine’. I did all the tests and they said all my levels were perfect. But how when this is my diet?
“There's no meat, veg or takeaways. I love mash but don’t eat chips or jacket potatoes. I’ve tried different foods over the years to try and change my diet but now it’s the fear of being sick.
"I hate being sick and don’t want to put myself through that. Before I had kids, I couldn’t stand the smell of food or touching food.
"But since having kids I can cook food for them and my partner. It does frustrate me that I can’t go out with them and have a meal – if we go out for a meal, I’ll just sit and have a couple of drinks.
“It’s frustrating because where do I go from here? It’s getting to the point where it’s my diet and I have to accept it.”
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