My story: I have struggled with eating disorders since I was 20 years old - that's almost 15 years (I will be 35 years in March 2012). For the first 6-7 years it was Anorexia and at my lowest I weighed 100lbs. I began experimenting with laxatives which led me to become bulimic to maintain my weight in between 140-160lbs for a few more years. When I was 31, I entered inpatient and outpatient treatment for Bulimia as I was struggling with significant distress - Clinical Depression and Social Anxiety Disorder. I eliminated purging behaviours but continued to binge eat which has led me to Binge Eating Disorder (BED). I have gained 200lbs as a result of my binge eating in the past 5 years. My entire adult life has been the "all or nothing" approach and one thing that can be said for sure is starvation, purging et al DOES NOT WORK. It destroys every piece of who you are and takes over your entire life.

This is my first real shot at true recovery despite all of "attempts" in the past few years (which typically involved a never ending cycle of heavy restricting and binge eating). What does that mean? I have (FINALLY) "normalized" my eating to disengage in disordered eating behaviours and have implemented the cognitive approaches to battle my dysfunctional thinking.

I am looking for friends on this journey. Preferably people who understand at least some of what I am talking about here. So don't be shy! Add me as a friend and let's help keep each other motivated and accountable Thanks for reading!