Eating disorder

if you're for real (and not a troll) then we can't help you. You need to talk to someone (a family member, friend, therapist, etc) but yeah it sounds like you're developing one if you don't already have one

Unless you eat more calories than you burn each day, you won't gain weight. Them's the facts. Accept the facts, and go find a therapist, because it's your best bet to stop an eating disorder in its tracks.

You will do just fine without sugar. But not without food.

Eating disorders are often physiological and not psychological; a symptom of malnutrion. And yes, people can be eating too much of certain types of food and still be malnourished. I supposedly had binging disorder, yet I was "cured" just by changing what i eat. All of my health problems have been eliminated, or greatly reduced, by diet alone.

Do you eat fat? You need to eat lots of fat if you want to heal your body, including the brain. And by fat, I do NOT mean canola and soy oil. I mean animal fat (from wild or grassfed animals preferably), coconut oil, avocados, etc.

Do you want to be "skinny" or do you want to be healthy? Healthy people live longer with a higher quality of life.

Unless you are diabetic you really don't need to be tracking sugar anyway, also there is no RDI for sugar.Getting sugar from natural sources is fine, eatting a whole cake not so much. You should get help because you need to be eatting more than 500 calories. I also noticed that you only have the three pounds left to your goal, having so little to lose there is no reason to eat so low. Eat more, and talk to a professional!

Oh, and as for the eating disorder part. It really depends. I didn't have an eating disorder. I mean, I guess to some people you could call it that, but I don't think so. I could call it more like a phase. But, it really depends on who you are. For me, I was just so wrapped up in trying to lose weight that I was being too controlling with my food.

I believe it becomes a disorder if you are 100% afraid of gaining weight and you are afraid of eating for that reason then yes that is a disorder. If it becomes everything you think of and it cripples your way of life, then yes I would say it's a disorder. If you really want to know then I agree you should talk to a professional.

But if you're like me then you need to just restart your way of thinking and start over. Food is not bad. Sugars are not bad. Carbs are not bad. It's just how you choose to take them in. How much you take in that can be bad.

Howdy.

You need to work out how much to consume daily to keep healthy.

I'll lay out the basics for you:

Think of your body as a biological machine - like a machine, it needs energy to function. If it does not get the energy it needs, it will eventually be unable to function.

A calorie is a unit of energy.

If your body uses more calories then you consume, weight-loss will occur because your body will start to burn your fat reserves for energy instead. (I believe that this is called the 'Starvation Response')

If you consume more calories then your body uses, weight-gain will occur because your body will instead store fat for future use.

It sounds like you don't want to gain weight - so my suggestion is to work out the calorie intake you need to maintain your weight.

Firstly whats your sex, age, height, weight and bmi? These are important factors in determining your daily calorie intake. For example a 23 year old, active, 6ft female is going to need more calories than a 60 year old, sedentary, 5ft 4 male - because they burn more energy!

As a 23 year old female, 5foot 3inches in height, weighing in at 117lbs (8.5 stone) with a bmi of 20.75 and a moderately active lifestyle in theory I would need to eat 1700 cals a day. However the NHS advises that a female my age should eat 2000 cals a day.

I would suggest having a talk with your GP and doing further research if you are having problems determining how many calories you should eat in a day.

Now some of the more complicated factors:

500 cals sounds like an unhealthy undereat to me.

Under eating can cause all kinds of problems of which I am sure you are aware. but here is a good website outlining the implications of severe under eating http://anorexia.emedtv.com/anorexia/health-risks-of-anorexia.html

Under eating slows your metabolism - so your body will work slower to burn calories and you will feel lethargic/ tired . You will also have problems with your bowel movements (because there's barely anything to digest) so you may become constipated. Not getting the right nutrients also has a bad effect on your skin, hair, teeth etc - so you feel less physically attractive.

The mental effects are also pretty bad - if you continue to develop this attitude towards weight gain and not eating the correct amount of calories, you could become anorexic, bulimic or even anorexic-bulimic - and that's not pretty at all because the obsession would rule your life.

It's easy enough for anyone to preach. However I am actually a recovering bulimic (after having it for nearly a decade) and I can tell you that the long term effects of an eating disorder are nasty, both mentally and physically.

Now for some common sense factors:

Replacing meals with loads of sugar is not a good idea. Its also dire for your teeth.

Make sure you get plenty of fish, fruits, veg, lean meats etc! But also try to indulge yourself occasionally - we all deserve treats!

Doing the right amount of exercise is also great for your body. It can even help your focus and esteem.

Just make sure, you work out your correct and healthy calorie intake and try to stick to it. - If you have any doubts once again consult your GP or do some research.


Sorry if I've missed anything out, I tried to hit the important parts on the head.

Good luck to you. I would be concerned if you were a loved one of mine. It's good to see you are thinking about it, as that's the first step in coming to terms with the possibilities.