Are The People On Here more Susceptible To Eating Disorders?

deevatude

I realized how easy it was to develop an eating disorder after being on this weight loss journey for so long.

heres on example, i started out on eating 1200 calories, i hit a plateau for about 3 months. so i tried to eat less and increase the workouts but that didnt work. When i asked for advice on here on what to do, i was told to eat more food. Increasing calories completely terrified me because i feared i would gain weight by eating 1600 calories. so i stayed eating 1200 calories, working out extra hard and not eating any exercise calories back for another month.

another example is, theres this feeling that most of the people on here who have been overweight their whole life go through. Once you lose weight, no matter how small you are, you always feel that you look/are "fat".

Then there are those people who will argue til death that eating 900 calories is perfectly fine. Once someone mentions that eating too few calories isnt so good for you, theres quite a number of people that will scream and shout with personal experiences, "evidence" and rebuttals to everything on why theres nothing wrong with eating 900 calories a day. That discussion makes people angry for some reason


Im just asking if anyone has noticed how easy it is to develop a form of an ED, going through a weight loss journey?

Chief_Rocka

The fitness world in general is a breeding ground for obsessive behavior.

I think part of the reason is that more attention to detail yields better results, up to a certain point. It's often difficult to know where to draw the line between consistently doing the things that matter and obsessing over details that don't.

ILoveTheBrowns

sometimes ill crave a giant wendys burger for 3 days before i eat it because ive been trying to get abs the last 3 months and can never bring myself to eat crappy even though i know 1 wont destroy me...its mental

BeautyFromPain

The fitness world in general is a breeding ground for obsessive behavior.

I think part of the reason is that more attention to detail yields better results, up to a certain point. It's often difficult to know where to draw the line between consistently doing the things that matter and obsessing over details that don't.

/endthread

jofjltncb6

Given how often threads end up with a reveal by the OP that they're recovering from an eating disorder, I'm beginning to wonder if there are many on MFP that *aren't* dealing with an ED.

RobKarmic

Absolutely honestly use a height to weight chart to know what your ideal weight is some people just keep looking in the mirror and saying hmm I think I could survive losing a bit more

I've been watching a show called super size vs super skinny and it's so easy to get an eating disorder the way the people on that show think is very similar to many people I know

DopeItUp

Not at all. Hell, this site squawks a warning that you and your entire family will be killed if you log less than 1200 calories a day. Furthermore, it adds calories for exercise. It also comes complete with a (mostly) helpful forum full of people preaching eating correctly.

I would say that people who just try to lose weight on their own with no information tend to eat way too little and they think that starving themselves is the only way. That or they invent or follow crazy harebrained fad diets that are always destined for failure. Easy ways of developing eating disorders.

This site, however, promotes nutrition information/knowledge and fitness together. It only takes a little bit of knowledge to diet in a safe and healthy manner.

iWaffle

Im just asking if anyone has noticed how easy it is to develop a form of an ED, going through a weight loss journey?

I think that's just people in general. Anyone who stuffs their face every day to the point that they develop diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. have an equally dangerous eating disorder. That accounts for about 2/3 of the people in the United States. Some eat too little, most eat too much. Find the place in the middle and you'll be healthy. Food isn't evil, food isn't a mood suppressor. Food is energy to do fun stuff.

tehzephyrsong

There are some people who are more susceptible to developing an eating disorder (which I like to consider a very specific flavor of obsessive-compulsive disorder) than others. I'd say we're all at least a little obsessive here, as you almost have to be if counting calories is going to work for you, but there are definitely some of us who are more anxious than others and who are thus more at risk of going down that road. I'm not sure data exist to say definitively whether more people with that predisposition tend to use calorie-tracking apps and sites like this, but I wouldn't be surprised if that particular flavor of anxiety were overrepresented in our sample here.

RobKarmic

I'd also like to mention it's not completely calorie relevant to when you're not eating enough as long as you're eating every 4 - 6 hours more than 150 calories and your goal is still to lose weight then you shouldn't be doing any damage to your body because it's not being sent into starvation mode or lack of nutrients

if you're not trying to lose weight you should absolutely be eating more than 2,000 calories a day

beansprouts

I realized how easy it was to develop an eating disorder after being on this weight loss journey for so long.

heres on example, i started out on eating 1200 calories, i hit a plateau for about 3 months. so i tried to eat less and increase the workouts but that didnt work. When i asked for advice on here on what to do, i was told to eat more food. Increasing calories completely terrified me because i feared i would gain weight by eating 1600 calories. so i stayed eating 1200 calories, working out extra hard and not eating any exercise calories back for another month.

another example is, theres this feeling that most of the people on here who have been overweight their whole life go through. Once you lose weight, no matter how small you are, you always feel that you look/are "fat".

Then there are those people who will argue til death that eating 900 calories is perfectly fine. Once someone mentions that eating too few calories isnt so good for you, theres quite a number of people that will scream and shout with personal experiences, "evidence" and rebuttals to everything on why theres nothing wrong with eating 900 calories a day. That discussion makes people angry for some reason


Im just asking if anyone has noticed how easy it is to develop a form of an ED, going through a weight loss journey?

According to what you wrote...you have not been on a weight loss journey...((Apparently...you have been treading water in the same place for more than a year))...So why would you feel the need to worry about whether or not "OTHER "people were the victims of "eating disorders"...If all that you wrote is true about your very low caloric intake with no weight loss..then you need to see a doctor about your eating disorder.

ldrosophila

I would venture to guess a large percentage battle some kind of ED. I battle it. Probably why we are on a fitness sight because we want to learn how to have a normal relationship with food, hopefully.

RiverDancer68

There are some people who are more susceptible to developing an eating disorder (which I like to consider a very specific flavor of obsessive-compulsive disorder) than others. I'd say we're all at least a little obsessive here, as you almost have to be if counting calories is going to work for you, but there are definitely some of us who are more anxious than others and who are thus more at risk of going down that road. I'm not sure data exist to say definitively whether more people with that predisposition tend to use calorie-tracking apps and sites like this, but I wouldn't be surprised if that particular flavor of anxiety were overrepresented in our sample here.

Yes, yes, yes!!! I had to take a break at the beginning of the year because I had dropped my weight too low. Prior to MFP, I never paid any attention to calorie counting (I just ate when I was hungry and stopped when I was full), but it became obsessive and I got down to about an 18.9% BMI. I put some weight on and have really tried to not let it get to that point again...I have General Anxiety Disorder and a mild form of OCD, so weighing food, and counting my calories down to the decimal point took over my life...for awhile

kandilynn03

Honestly, I've only been on these forums for a few weeks. But I've learned more in that time about diet, nutrition and exercise from people on this site, than I have in my entire life trying to figure it all out on my own.

Sometimes, people give contradicting advice, but I didn't know about or understand basal metabolic rate or total daily energy expenditure before I got on here. I didn't understand macro-nutrients at all, sometimes they still confuse me. But I'm learning, and knowledge is power.

So I don't think people on here are more susceptible to eating disorders. People with ED might be on here, but there are a lot of people learning how to lose weight. Or people that are healthy and just use MFP to track what they are doing.

beansprouts

There are some people who are more susceptible to developing an eating disorder (which I like to consider a very specific flavor of obsessive-compulsive disorder) than others. I'd say we're all at least a little obsessive here, as you almost have to be if counting calories is going to work for you, but there are definitely some of us who are more anxious than others and who are thus more at risk of going down that road. I'm not sure data exist to say definitively whether more people with that predisposition tend to use calorie-tracking apps and sites like this, but I wouldn't be surprised if that particular flavor of anxiety were overrepresented in our sample here.

Yes, yes, yes!!! I had to take a break at the beginning of the year because I had dropped my weight too low. Prior to MFP, I never paid any attention to calorie counting (I just ate when I was hungry and stopped when I was full), but it became obsessive and I got down to about an 18.9% BMI. I put some weight on and have really tried to not let it get to that point again...I have General Anxiety Disorder and a mild form of OCD, so weighing food, and counting my calories down to the decimal point took over my life...for awhile

If you are currently in here trying to lose another 19lbs...This site did not make you obsessive...YOU HAVE BEEN OBSESSIVE ALL ALONG.(get help).

jofjltncb6

There are some people who are more susceptible to developing an eating disorder (which I like to consider a very specific flavor of obsessive-compulsive disorder) than others. I'd say we're all at least a little obsessive here, as you almost have to be if counting calories is going to work for you, but there are definitely some of us who are more anxious than others and who are thus more at risk of going down that road. I'm not sure data exist to say definitively whether more people with that predisposition tend to use calorie-tracking apps and sites like this, but I wouldn't be surprised if that particular flavor of anxiety were overrepresented in our sample here.

Yes, yes, yes!!! I had to take a break at the beginning of the year because I had dropped my weight too low. Prior to MFP, I never paid any attention to calorie counting (I just ate when I was hungry and stopped when I was full), but it became obsessive and I got down to about an 18.9% BMI. I put some weight on and have really tried to not let it get to that point again...I have General Anxiety Disorder and a mild form of OCD, so weighing food, and counting my calories down to the decimal point took over my life...for awhile

If you are currently in here trying to lose another 19lbs...This site did not make you obsessive...YOU HAVE BEEN OBSESSIVE ALL ALONG.(get help).

I'm on MFP alternating between gaining 10-15 pounds and losing 10-15 pounds. Should I get help too?

beansprouts

I'm on MFP trying (and succeeding) to either gain 10-15 pounds or lose 10-15 pounds. Should I get help too?

If you can't decide whether you are trying to gain weight or lose weight...Then absolutely...you should seek help too.

jesz124

No i wouldn't say it's easy to develop an ed when your on a weight loss journey. I think people mistake self control and motivation for obsession these days. If you are devoted to eating well and being a regular at the gym you can be branded obsessed by people who are not so interested in their own health. It may look obsessive to an outsider perhaps, but I think there's a huge distinction between this type of behaviour and an e.d. Do you literally mean a full blown case of anorexia/bulimia or just being very regimented when following a low cal diet?

RiverDancer68

There are some people who are more susceptible to developing an eating disorder (which I like to consider a very specific flavor of obsessive-compulsive disorder) than others. I'd say we're all at least a little obsessive here, as you almost have to be if counting calories is going to work for you, but there are definitely some of us who are more anxious than others and who are thus more at risk of going down that road. I'm not sure data exist to say definitively whether more people with that predisposition tend to use calorie-tracking apps and sites like this, but I wouldn't be surprised if that particular flavor of anxiety were overrepresented in our sample here.

Yes, yes, yes!!! I had to take a break at the beginning of the year because I had dropped my weight too low. Prior to MFP, I never paid any attention to calorie counting (I just ate when I was hungry and stopped when I was full), but it became obsessive and I got down to about an 18.9% BMI. I put some weight on and have really tried to not let it get to that point again...I have General Anxiety Disorder and a mild form of OCD, so weighing food, and counting my calories down to the decimal point took over my life...for awhile

If you are currently in here trying to lose another 19lbs...This site did not make you obsessive...YOU HAVE BEEN OBSESSIVE ALL ALONG.(get help).

Actually I like to stay between 130-140lbs, I just haven't gotten around to changing my MFP goals (I'm lazy). I honestly don't even get on a scale anymore, I'm here for fitness and feeding my (yes, I'll say it) obsession with nutrition and health. I've had plenty of help though, but thank you for your concern.

RiverDancer68

There are some people who are more susceptible to developing an eating disorder (which I like to consider a very specific flavor of obsessive-compulsive disorder) than others. I'd say we're all at least a little obsessive here, as you almost have to be if counting calories is going to work for you, but there are definitely some of us who are more anxious than others and who are thus more at risk of going down that road. I'm not sure data exist to say definitively whether more people with that predisposition tend to use calorie-tracking apps and sites like this, but I wouldn't be surprised if that particular flavor of anxiety were overrepresented in our sample here.

Yes, yes, yes!!! I had to take a break at the beginning of the year because I had dropped my weight too low. Prior to MFP, I never paid any attention to calorie counting (I just ate when I was hungry and stopped when I was full), but it became obsessive and I got down to about an 18.9% BMI. I put some weight on and have really tried to not let it get to that point again...I have General Anxiety Disorder and a mild form of OCD, so weighing food, and counting my calories down to the decimal point took over my life...for awhile

If you are currently in here trying to lose another 19lbs...This site did not make you obsessive...YOU HAVE BEEN OBSESSIVE ALL ALONG.(get help).

I'm on MFP alternating between gaining 10-15 pounds and losing 10-15 pounds. Should I get help too?

:flowerforyou:

RiverDancer68

There are some people who are more susceptible to developing an eating disorder (which I like to consider a very specific flavor of obsessive-compulsive disorder) than others. I'd say we're all at least a little obsessive here, as you almost have to be if counting calories is going to work for you, but there are definitely some of us who are more anxious than others and who are thus more at risk of going down that road. I'm not sure data exist to say definitively whether more people with that predisposition tend to use calorie-tracking apps and sites like this, but I wouldn't be surprised if that particular flavor of anxiety were overrepresented in our sample here.

Yes, yes, yes!!! I had to take a break at the beginning of the year because I had dropped my weight too low. Prior to MFP, I never paid any attention to calorie counting (I just ate when I was hungry and stopped when I was full), but it became obsessive and I got down to about an 18.9% BMI. I put some weight on and have really tried to not let it get to that point again...I have General Anxiety Disorder and a mild form of OCD, so weighing food, and counting my calories down to the decimal point took over my life...for awhile

If you are currently in here trying to lose another 19lbs...This site did not make you obsessive...YOU HAVE BEEN OBSESSIVE ALL ALONG.(get help).

And, if you notice I did state that I have OCD (and have since I was a young child)