When does it become unhealthy?

servingthealiens

I'm not naming names because that would both be inappropriate and rude, but there are more than a few people I'm starting to worry about on this site.

For example: one person has been consuming 300-500 calories NET per day for at least 3 weeks. Another is eating 900 max per day and was upset that they couldn't log the cold medicine they took. Another had a "terrible" day, ate 800 calories that day, and then fasted entirely for the next two.

Just as overeating is a disorder, I'm sure there are people who calorie-restrictive EDs that use this site as well. It's just disturbing to see people do this and think they're "getting healthier". I know it's not my problem and really has nothing to do with me, I just worry sometimes that people take it too far.

udallmom101

I totally am with you on this. I worry about people sometimes too. It's just my nature.

cem789

i did this a few years ago, starved myself on under 500 calories a day, i lost 20 pounds in about 4 months... yes only 5 pounds a month for starving myself... and it all went back on in 6 months.

i started dieting again at the start of september and in 3 and a half months i have lost 14 pounds, and i have been eating properly every day... say another few pounds in 2 weeks, 16 pounds in 4 months for eating properly

warning to those on under 500 calories, it doesnt work, you will lose the same amount of weight eating 1200 calories a day, i dont know why this is, but its truth that starvation mode is fact

LOVEsummer

I know what you mean. I don't think there is much you can do for anyone with an ED unless you are reaallllly intimately close with them. Ultimately people have to choose to help themselves.

I can personally say I am happier now, eating enough and working out and SEEING RESULTS!!! than I ever was when I decided that 800 calories a day was a good idea... I can only hope these women have someone strong in their life to help pull them up like I did.

ED are a sad scary part of the world we live in and I do my best to encourage these women when they take small steps towards a healthy lifestyle.

I feel ya though, it is hard to watch

19marie74

I did that yesterday. And I didn't even mean to. I only had 950 calories max. I didn't know that I didn't eat much until I logged it before going to bed by then it was to late to eat something. But I worry when I see people do that as well.

servingthealiens

Yeah, I have the odd day here and there when I'm not that active and don't get hungry, aren't feeling well, too busy to eat a lot or what have you, but 90% of days, I'm having to measure and plan very carefully to stay under or at my calorie goal, and there have been PLENTY of days when I have had to work out a little extra to even the score.

And, FWIW, I lost about 6 pounds in 8 weeks eating full, healthy meals, and even going over calories and/or fat here and there.

I can't imagine staying at or under 800 calories a day and beating myself up for it to boot. I guess that's why EDs are an illness.

ohwhataday

I definitely agree!

schnarfo

i had an ed for over 5 yrs... and the funny thing is now that im actually thinner now than i was for the most part of that time! i wouldnt be suprised if people with EDs use this site, a lot of my friends in ED support chats used calorie king to add everything up and this site is better than that. most will stay away from the community though for fear of being jumped on!

TheMaidOfAstolat

As a recovering anorexic (and I say recovering because it never goes away)...it is truly disheartening to know that there are people on this site striving to be 'sick'. I'm trying to gain weight now...I have been for quite a while, muscle, not fat mind you. They will learn in time how much the body truly goes through. The fact that they will be thin, not healthy is something that they will learn in time, hopfully before the damage is done.

khk2010

I'm glad you said something about it. It may help someone and open up the topic.

bkegurl36

I am totally with you on this! It makes me worried when I see people who have very unrealistic weight goals and calorie goals! It makes me sad when I see that, it makes me wonder when it will hit them that their goals are unrealistic and not healthy. I myself had a problem back in high school with binging and purging or simply not eating at all! My parents hired a nutrition therapist for me and I was not getting any better until she threatened to put me into a rehab center where they watch you eat and make sure you don't purge! That was the breaking point for me. I just dont want people to have to put themselves through unhealthy measures to lose weight like I did. But with most people you cannot get through to them and unfortunately they have to learn the hard way and go through it themselves.

servingthealiens

As a recovering anorexic (and I say recovering because it never goes away)...it is truly disheartening to know that there are people on this site striving to be 'sick'. I'm trying to gain weight now...I have been for quite a while, muscle, not fat mind you. They will learn in time how much the body truly goes through. The fact that they will be thin, not healthy is something that they will learn in time, hopfully before the damage is done.

First let me say, great job. I've never had an ED, but growing up I had a very close friend who did (anorexia), and I watched her many struggles with it. It got so bad that her cat had to be given to her older sister who wasn't in the house because she was starving it and seeing it as "fat". Even now, as an adult, she still has to remain vigilant of unhealthy patterns and thoughts, and keep her fitness and weight goals realistic and healthy. She has a daughter now, and doesn't want to set an unhealthy example for her.

You've made huge, huge strides in just what you say here, and you're to be commended. Hopefully you will be an inspiration to others who want to get into recovery, and will help them see that it's possible.

servingthealiens

I am totally with you on this! It makes me worried when I see people who have very unrealistic weight goals and calorie goals! It makes me sad when I see that, it makes me wonder when it will hit them that their goals are unrealistic and not healthy. I myself had a problem back in high school with binging and purging or simply not eating at all! My parents hired a nutrition therapist for me and I was not getting any better until she threatened to put me into a rehab center where they watch you eat and make sure you don't purge! That was the breaking point for me. I just dont want people to have to put themselves through unhealthy measures to lose weight like I did. But with most people you cannot get through to them and unfortunately they have to learn the hard way and go through it themselves.

The thing is, "healthy" is such a wide range, that it's very easy for people to fool themselves. It's possible to be a bit underweight and healthy, and a bit overweight and healthy. But when I see someone 4" taller than me wanting to get to a goal weight 20 lbs lighter than mine, alarm bells go off.

I've had people tell me I don't NEED a diet and it's true: I really don't. I'm within a healthy BMI. But the fact of the matter is, I have legitimately put on about 12 unattractive pounds in the last couple years, and they need to go. However, the difference is, I know that when I lose that weight (or within a couple pounds either way), I'll be content and will maintain. I won't see how skinny I can get or how little I can weigh.

schnarfo

I am totally with you on this! It makes me worried when I see people who have very unrealistic weight goals and calorie goals! It makes me sad when I see that, it makes me wonder when it will hit them that their goals are unrealistic and not healthy. I myself had a problem back in high school with binging and purging or simply not eating at all! My parents hired a nutrition therapist for me and I was not getting any better until she threatened to put me into a rehab center where they watch you eat and make sure you don't purge! That was the breaking point for me. I just dont want people to have to put themselves through unhealthy measures to lose weight like I did. But with most people you cannot get through to them and unfortunately they have to learn the hard way and go through it themselves.

The thing is, "healthy" is such a wide range, that it's very easy for people to fool themselves. It's possible to be a bit underweight and healthy, and a bit overweight and healthy. But when I see someone 4" taller than me wanting to get to a goal weight 20 lbs lighter than mine, alarm bells go off.

I've had people tell me I don't NEED a diet and it's true: I really don't. I'm within a healthy BMI. But the fact of the matter is, I have legitimately put on about 12 unattractive pounds in the last couple years, and they need to go. However, the difference is, I know that when I lose that weight (or within a couple pounds either way), I'll be content and will maintain. I won't see how skinny I can get or how little I can weigh.

ive been in recovery for 2 years properly. before that i was having therapy without much affect. for the first yr i maintained a healthy weight and since feb last year my weight has crept down and down to now i am at an unhealthy weight however i am eating abover 1200 calories a day and many occasions over the amount needed to maintain at my height according to mfp. Im not going to lie... its a struggle to get that many calories in and every time i weigh myself i have to fight the unhealthy thoughts of well if i just stick to 1200 ill lose more... how low can i go. the difference though is this time im not actually acting on it. i can see a true reflection of myself when i look in the mirror not a distorted ed view. Like another poster said earlier about wanting to gain muscle thats where i am at now. if i can do that then id be back to the healthy range

I guess there must be hundreds of people on here in the same boat.

TheMaidOfAstolat

As a recovering anorexic (and I say recovering because it never goes away)...it is truly disheartening to know that there are people on this site striving to be 'sick'. I'm trying to gain weight now...I have been for quite a while, muscle, not fat mind you. They will learn in time how much the body truly goes through. The fact that they will be thin, not healthy is something that they will learn in time, hopfully before the damage is done.

First let me say, great job. I've never had an ED, but growing up I had a very close friend who did (anorexia), and I watched her many struggles with it. It got so bad that her cat had to be given to her older sister who wasn't in the house because she was starving it and seeing it as "fat". Even now, as an adult, she still has to remain vigilant of unhealthy patterns and thoughts, and keep her fitness and weight goals realistic and healthy. She has a daughter now, and doesn't want to set an unhealthy example for her.

You've made huge, huge strides in just what you say here, and you're to be commended. Hopefully you will be an inspiration to others who want to get into recovery, and will help them see that it's possible.

Thank you. I struggled with anorexia and bulimia from the ages of 10-13, I'm 25 and some days it is still a struggle others...it's a non issue. For me it was never about weight or body issues...it was a control issue. I had lost my grandfather and a friend within a week of each other (grandfather from cancer and the friend to suicide). I had no control over what was going on around me...but I could control my body...and that is what started my ED. Control, not body image.

servingthealiens

Thank you. I struggled with anorexia and bulimia from the ages of 10-13, I'm 25 and some days it is still a struggle others...it's a non issue. For me it was never about weight or body issues...it was a control issue. I had lost my grandfather and a friend within a week of each other (grandfather from cancer and the friend to suicide). I had no control over what was going on around me...but I could control my body...and that is what started my ED. Control, not body image.

That was my childhood friend, too. Her mother was extremely abusive, and it was her way of trying to control her environment. Her mother could do anything else to her, except outright FORCE her to eat. It actually kind of makes sense, really. It's not a healthy reaction, of course, but an understandable one.

I, too, grew up with abuse, and my coping mechanism was totally giving up. I gave up on school, my appearance, athletics, everything. So in a way, it was anorexia in a different area of life. I know what it feels like to feel out of control and develop unhealthy habits, and how hard it is to overcome them. There are some issues and tendencies I still struggle with and probably always will.