Measuring food CAN be a lead way towards eating disorders

Alluminati

Telling someone who is dealing with an eating disorder sometimes isn't enough. Like I said before, our brains actually function differently. You don't know what its like to live with an eating disorder so you cannot just read a damn article and automatically know how to get someone recovered. Its the victims choice. Its something the victim will live with for the rest of their life. Something they will have to fight forever.

I will always be an anorexic, but I'M FIGHTING IT.

Then why are you on MFP, a calorie counting website?

trogalicious

Telling someone who is dealing with an eating disorder sometimes isn't enough. Like I said before, our brains actually function differently. You don't know what its like to live with an eating disorder so you cannot just read a damn article and automatically know how to get someone recovered. Its the victims choice. Its something the victim will live with for the rest of their life. Something they will have to fight forever.

I will always be an anorexic, but I'M FIGHTING IT.

...and mental health professionals can possibly offer help.
... but only if you want it.

Sarra33

OP: I am a recovering anorexic. I am 5'8" and at your age I had starved myself down to 90 pounds. I have also binged my way up to 165. I am working now on coming down from that right now.

If you are truly serious about your recovery I would suggest that you look at a heart rate monitor/fitness tracker (Polaris, Fitbit etc) and food scale as tools you can use in your recovery.

I use my food scale to make sure I am staying in a healthy range. My natural inclination is to starve myself so I use my Fitbit to make sure I get my 10,000 steps and 30+ active minutes in and eat at a 750 calorie deficit each day. These tools don't trigger me, they keep me on track, help me to know exactly how to treat my body in a healthy way to achieve my goals.

If you can't handle those tools without triggering your ED then you need professional help. You really do. And I say that with love, I have a son your age and it would break my heart to see him behaving the way you are.

Granted I am twice your age and have a lifetime of dealing with this under my belt, that helps a lot in the perspective department.

cecesquats

everyone gets that eating disorders are bad. no one is disagreeing. because of your past with an eating disorder, it is pretty clear that you need professional help. at this point, you are just looking for attention on mfp.

AusteenaHayes

Telling someone who is dealing with an eating disorder sometimes isn't enough. Like I said before, our brains actually function differently. You don't know what its like to live with an eating disorder so you cannot just read a damn article and automatically know how to get someone recovered. Its the victims choice. Its something the victim will live with for the rest of their life. Something they will have to fight forever.

I will always be an anorexic, but I'M FIGHTING IT.

Then why are you on MFP, a calorie counting website?

Did I not make myself clear? Counting calories is not a trigger. Its measuring.

cecesquats

Did I not make myself clear? Counting calories is not a trigger. Its measuring.

you do understand that in order to count calories correctly you have to measure your food, right? & also, counting calories is a type of measurement.

angelamb1970

Not measuring can also lead to Over eating/ binging, also eating disorders. Measuring has opened my eyes to mindless eating, and is keeping me accountable

CipherZero

Okay I just want to make things clear about measuring. It can possible, not always, but possibly lead to an eating disorder. Or even could lead to a relapse as well. Measuring foods DOES NOT work for EVERYONE.

Nothing works for EVERYONE

And ANYTHING is possible

... except for skiing through a revolving door.

zacksnana

Telling someone who is dealing with an eating disorder sometimes isn't enough. Like I said before, our brains actually function differently. You don't know what its like to live with an eating disorder so you cannot just read a damn article and automatically know how to get someone recovered. Its the victims choice. Its something the victim will live with for the rest of their life. Something they will have to fight forever.

I will always be an anorexic, but I'M FIGHTING IT.

Then why are you on MFP, a calorie counting website?

Did I not make myself clear? Counting calories is not a trigger. Its measuring.

I think i understand. You are here to count calories. Not to measure anything you add to diary. I would find it difficult to add 60 grams or 3/4 cup of cereal without measuring but that's just me. If you have a way YOU prefer, then that is your choice.

Ok. Then continue doing that. Why all the fuss? Carry on. Good luck

/thread.

Lourdesong

I think you're madly in love with your mental disorder.

I think it's your identity and is what gives your life meaning.

Being a 'victim' and having 'issues' is so much fun to go on about, huh?

trogalicious

I think you're madly in love with your mental disorder.

I think it's your identity and is what gives your life meaning.

Being a 'victim' and having 'issues' is so much fun to go on about, huh?

that's what it seems like from here too.

OP doesn't want help. They don't even want validation.

they want attention, and I'm done giving it to her.

sheermomentum

Telling someone who is dealing with an eating disorder sometimes isn't enough. Like I said before, our brains actually function differently. You don't know what its like to live with an eating disorder so you cannot just read a damn article and automatically know how to get someone recovered. Its the victims choice. Its something the victim will live with for the rest of their life. Something they will have to fight forever.

I will always be an anorexic, but I'M FIGHTING IT.

Then why are you on MFP, a calorie counting website?

Did I not make myself clear? Counting calories is not a trigger. Its measuring.

Its neither counting nor measuring that's the real problem. Its obsessing over keeping the count 100% accurate and BELOW a dangerous limit that you have set yourself for an extended period of time. But then, you know that, don't you? Because anorexics tend to be both obsessive and highly intelligent, don't they? And over-achieving, perfectionist, and very, very stubborn.

Everyone who is here, is here for their health,and has their own story. We'd like you to join us in that goal, despite that fact that some of us decide to be effing a-holes on this board sometimes. So if you feel it would help you, go ahead and count, and measure if you are in any doubt, and use those activities to make sure you reach the healthy goals that you know you should have. I personally doubt you need to measure many things to get a count that is within about 90% of accurate. But if you truly feel that you can't measure without triggering, then you need to focus on NOT counting calories, because I have no doubt that your estimates and logs (here or mentally) are pretty darned accurate, due to your likely intelligence and years of experience that I suspect you have counting calories in your head.

We all wish you health and happiness. I wish you self-respect and to love yourself inside and outside no matter what comes. If you don't want to seek professional help, then seek your own help; that is your right. But I see a great deal of love and concern for you here on this board, and I hope you see the same.

Missboss888

Well this was an interesting thread....

earlnabby

It is actually very simple. A person who already has the compulsion to be obsessive about things will become obsessive about weighing and measuring. Just like an addictive person will switch to food or tobacco if stopping alcohol or any switch among these.The weighing and measuring will NOT lead to an ED. The obsessive thinking in the person's mind will do that

LAT1963

Eating can lead toward eating disorders.

Seriously, these are mental illnesses. A person without the disorder is not going to become obsessive because they measured. A person with a disorder is going to have disordered attitudes about measuring.

Don't mistake symptoms for causes.

sheermomentum

Oh, and just to go back to your original question in that other thread, where you were asking what you can do to jumpstart the loss of a last 10 or 15 pounds: you don't need to. You're a little too thin now, but you're beautiful.

stephe1987

If you don't measure your food, how do you know how much you're eating? If you are already thin then I'm guessing you are eating regular-sized portions (unless you have a disorder where you overexercise and/or vomit up your food). But if you're overweight then it's good to measure/weigh food so you can know how much you're eating. A lot of people are used to super-sized portions. They think they're eating a single serving when they're actually eating 2 or 3 servings. It is good to use a food scale so one can adjust one's portions back to a single serving and lose weight.

Does that mean you have to use a food scale the rest of your life? It depends on the person. For some people, just seeing how much food is in a serving can help them adjust to normal portions, lose and maintain weight. After a while they can "eyeball" and get a pretty close guess to the number of calories they're eating. Other people need the food scale to keep themselves from overeating. Everyone is different.

There will be times when someone won't be able to bring a scale with them, but those will be special occasions such as holidays at someone else's home or going out to eat at a restaurant. I would guess that the next weigh-in will tell them if they overate and if they did they can just do more exercises or maybe cut out some sweets/salty snacks the next week to make up for those extra calories.

donalynvaughn

Measuring food, counting calories, weighing oneself daily, exercising daily, etc. all can manifest in someone with an eating disorder, but in no way CAUSE an eating disorder. Eating disorders have deep emotional and psychological roots. The food behaviors are a manifestation of the disorder not a cause.

milkandtea

I weigh every single thing I eat down to the gram and I couldn't imagine using MFP without doing so... It's not compulsive or disordered behavior - it's just meant to keep logging as accurate as possible.

Maitria

OP, I don't know if you would count this as measuring, but what about following the My Plate guidelines for healthy meals? If you are working out a lot, I would consider setting it at maintenance so you can get some use from all the exercise. You'll probably some days eat a little less and a little more on others. It's obviously not as precise as measuring or weighing, but if that's triggering for you, that's not the plan for you, like you said. I actually really like the My Plate site, just wish there was a bit more emphasis on how fats can be healthy.