[Mark Lapierre]

Dunno if it will make you feel any better about your situation, but I was the same when I was 22, though I'm 8cm taller. Not quite the same though, I did have a few foods I liked eating at that age, but the list was scarily like yours (thankfully I wasn't a huge fan of soda).

I can't help with muscle gain, and of all the methods of weight gain I've tried, none of them have been healthy or affordable or appetising (except perhaps to visit France for 2 weeks and live with a Greek family for one. I put on 6kg).

But perhaps I can help with your appreciation of food. Like I said, I used to limit myself to a few selections, usually things loaded with the flavours which come with most fast foods. Loads of fats, oils, sugars, salts. I'm grateful that I changed my diet before it became too much of a habit (a few years before that I was living at home and eating the healthy food my Mum cooked. I didn't like it, but it was healthy).

I'm not sure exactly what changed my attitude towards food, but here's a few things which I'm sure helped:

1) Eating with friends who love food. Somehow just being around people who knew how to cook well and who loved doing so made the food taste better.

2) Variety. I decided that my palette was as emaciated as my body, so whenever I went to a restaurant I first decided to pick something from the menu I'd never tried before. Surprisingly I actually liked most of it. Eventually once in a while I'd decide to pick something specifically because I had no idea what it was (if I went to a Chinese restaurant for example)

3) Combine flavours. This will have to wait until you have some favourable flavours you can combine. Don't be afraid to throw things together even if it seems as if you shouldn't (it might not work, but it might also turn out fantastic). I love feta, eggs, and avocado. Try this. Melt a dollop of butter in a pan, add a pinch of turmeric, crumble some firm feta and dump it in the pan then stir for about 10 seconds. Add some well beaten eggs and then stir until it's well scrambled. Mash up an avocado with a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise, a tablespoon of lemon juice and a couple of teaspoons of honey. Spread the avocado/mayo dip thickly over some toast, then spoon out the scrambled eggs/feta on top. Top with some chopped chives. It's probably too much for most people, but it's delicious to me! (and packed with protein and fat)