I worked very late tonight and am exhausted, but just wanted to let you know you're not alone. Will try to write more tomorrow.

Karryann, I was bulimic for years, on and off, as I tried every diet going around. I finally gave up on dieting. I gained a little every year, but at least I wasn't bingeing.

After I got crippled by arthritis (could barely walk) I investigated autoimmune paleo. It wasn't a diet, it was a lifestyle. Pain is a great motivator. But somehow, paleo eating meant I was never hungry! I accidentally lost 40 lbs over the next year, eating 1500-2000 calories a day (instead of 800-1200, my typical dieting approach). That was with no exercise the first six months, and then some gentle walking.

If my carbs are over 150g two days in a row, the cravings start to appear. For me, it's not calories, it's carbs.

I think that as long as you're not promoting the ED and you're not trying to use the forum in place of proper medical care and therapy, you should be okay.

I think Paleo is good for EDs, in general, because it promotes a healthy relationship with food. It's good to see you're having success.

I did used to have an unhealthy mindset towards dieting that veered toward anorexia nervosa or orthorexia or EDNOS. I wasn't sure how to classify it at the time. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I was quite overweight, so although I was self-aware enough to see the error of my ways I also knew I wouldn't get professional help, even if I could afford it, for the things I was feeling overriding my logic until I was a skeleton at death's door, which would have been a very, very long time. That's how it works, where I live, and where many others live. "Squeaky wheel", normal. Same with asymptomatic food intolerances, it could be easily ignored.

My family was very supportive, though, and helped me a lot in finding a way of eating that would work for me so that I could be healthy. (One of my mother's "favorite" things to tell me was that she would be there to visit me in the hospital after I inevitably fainted from what I was doing to myself. I never fainted, luckily, but I would have been glad for, and comforted by, her presence, especially so she could speak up for me to the doctors.) I found which foods made me feel the best and which were hurting me, as well as resources explaining correct portion sizes, etc.

(DISCLAIMER I: PLEASE CONSULT A DOCTOR OR PROFESSIONAL OR SOMEONE, ANYONE WHO YOU KNOW CAN HELP, IF YOU FEEL YOU HAVE AN UNHEALTHY ATTITUDE TOWARDS FOOD OR HAVE AN ED! NOT EVERYONE CAN RECOVER ON THEIR OWN! I DO NOT SUPPORT EDS OR PRO-ED ORGANIZATIONS!)

The Paleo diet, with a few modifications for my personal allergies/intolerances and preferences, gave me a good starting point. I don't strictly keep LCHF (actually, I'm pretty high carb) and I don't fuss over macro/micronutrients or omega 3s because fretting about those details send me back to how I was. I just combine my high-fiber nutrient-dense diet with CICO. I consider that a Paleo-esque or Paleo-ish diet, both because of those modifications and out of respect for the views of those who are very strict about what is and what isn't properly following the Paleo diet (even though there is at least one book I know of that advocates customization). I have no wish to be hated and ostracised by a community that has already proven themselves to me as those who are potentially full of kind acceptance and cruel exclusivity as all humans are. Pack/community/herd instinct, perfectly natural, especially among those who have felt themselves discriminated due to other's prejudice and find it easy to look for in the most innocuous of comments.

(DISCLAIMER II: I KNOW MY WAY IS NOT THE ONLY WAY, I AM NOT FORCING YOU TO DO AS I DO AND I AM NOT A MILITANT CICO SUPPORTER OUT TO ATTACK YOU!)

I don't think of myself as "recovered", and I don't think I ever will fully "recover". I'm just keeping out of relapse and relearning how to care for myself correctly in both body and mind so it becomes habit enough to keep me well.