When does healthy eating become disordered eating?
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czmiles926
Posts: 130 Member
Is it bad to weigh out all your food and track every single calorie even if you're not trying to lose weight?
If your bmi was just underweight but you didn't want to gain any weight would that be bad?
If your bmi was just underweight but you didn't want to gain any weight would that be bad?
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Replies
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The fact that you are worried about it means it's probably disordered eating or at least on the verge of that. The good news is that you recognize there may be a problem. It might be a good idea to talk to a professional at this point.
https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1575987-eating-disorder-resources32 -
To address your thread title first, I think healthy eating becomes disordered when it either keeps you from enjoying eating, causes negative emotions, or keeps you from doing other things in your life. Like if you feel guilty if you can't weigh your food for a meal, or you refuse to go to a friend's birthday dinner.
Beyond that, I agree with @usmcmp if you are worried about it that could be a sign in and of itself.
Being underweight can be just as unhealthy as being overweight. Eating enough to fuel your body properly is also an important part of "healthy" eating. Please take care of yourself!22 -
Yes. As you are tracking calories for pure weight management. Now, if you were tracking nutrients instead....making sure you get enough protien and not too much cholesterol. Then that would be different.3
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I took the eating disorder screening quiz and it said I was at risk of an eating disorder:( I also use mfp to make sure I eat enough protein as well because I don't eat meat.
I was always underweight but when I first went to uni and made my own meals for the first time I started to gain weight which scared me. I like to control my food but I don't think im that obsessive because some days I don't use mfp (when I'm eating out or at other people's houses).5 -
czmiles926 wrote: »I took the eating disorder screening quiz and it said I was at risk of an eating disorder:( I also use mfp to make sure I eat enough protein as well because I don't eat meat.
I was always underweight but when I first went to uni and made my own meals for the first time I started to gain weight which scared me. I like to control my food but I don't think im that obsessive because some days I don't use mfp (when I'm eating out or at other people's houses).
No one knows you as well as you know yourself, but sometime we (as humans in general) can miss or dismiss warning signs that crop up for unhealthy behaviors. It's a great sign that you're self aware enough to 1) take the quiz and 2) feel like you need to question your own behaviors that may be unhealthy.
I see nothing wrong with counting calories/using MFP to ensure that you're getting enough nutrition and keeping track of your macros. The being scared to gain weight when you're already slightly underweight is concerning though. It hints at a disordered mindset. Counting your macros is a great step in maintaining health, but being scared of moving into a normal weight category is basically the opposite.
Ask yourself (and be brutally honest with the answer), Why am I afraid of gaining some weight? I understand not wanting to gain *too* much, but if we're talking 5-10 pound, which would still be a healthy weight for you, why is that a frightening concept? Is it vanity? Do you feel more in control if you weigh less/monitor your intake more? Are you not sure that you can be healthy if you were heavier? Is it for athletic performance? The answers to that question will go a long way to helping you see if you're developing disordered thinking about weight and/or food.
I wish you good luck, and if your campus has a mental health counselor that you can access may I suggest that you bring up your concerns with a professional?13 -
Only a professional can tell you for sure if you have an eating disorder. If you don't have a mental health professional, speak to your GP and they can help you get started finding one. A GP should also be able to help you figure out if you are in fact at risk and need to see someone.2
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I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I spent most of my life at the bottom of the healthy weight scale for my height. It was mostly my job and my not prioritizing food. I'd skip eating all of the time if I was too busy. That's obviously bad for your health.
You DO need to gain enough to get to the bottom of that healthy weight scale. But if staying on the lower end makes you happy, I get it. I liked looking a bit thinner than I needed to be. But when I'd inadvertently fall underweight, I didn't hesitate to gain a bit on purpose...but keep the very slim look.
But it IS an issue if you refuse to get into the healthy weight range. Since you're not in deficit and probably want to continue to look slim, then add muscle through strength training so that you're healthier and still have that modelesque look.6 -
Healthy eating is the opposite of disordered eating. Healthy eating means that you're eating enough of everything you need every day, but not too much of anything over time. Healthy eating incorporates a relaxed attitude towards food and eating and the way your body looks. It means that you eat food you like, and that you enjoy eating and that you like your body. It does not mean you don't give a sh|t about nutrition or appearance.8
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czmiles926 wrote: »Is it bad to weigh out all your food and track every single calorie even if you're not trying to lose weight?
If your bmi was just underweight but you didn't want to gain any weight would that be bad?
There is no absolute definition/answer. Do you feel stressed/guilty/anxious if you don't log/weigh/measure? Do you feel stressed/guilty/anxious when you eat, even if its a reasonable sized meal? If yes or maybe, it would not hurt to find a professional to talk to.1 -
in my experience, it is when food becomes something you are illogically anxious over, when any change to a plan to eat out or what food is going to be served changes and you cry and scream and refuse to eat because that's not what you planned. when you reward yourself for not eating with more not eating.
an eating disorder or disordered eating is obsessive, illogical and controlling.
please seek help if you feel like this or anything resembling this.2 -
Why did you never come back to your thread OP? lol4
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kat_princess12 wrote: »Only a professional can tell you for sure if you have an eating disorder. If you don't have a mental health professional, speak to your GP and they can help you get started finding one. A GP should also be able to help you figure out if you are in fact at risk and need to see someone.
This exactly. A quiz is not a mental health professional diagnosis.1 -
Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »Why did you never come back to your thread OP? lol
Because *kitten* happened3 -
czmiles926 wrote: »Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »Why did you never come back to your thread OP? lol
Because *kitten* happened
I hope you are well.0 -
It's not always easy to know where the lines are. But you're already underweight and still trying to lose weight, that's concerning. I'd have a talk with your Dr if I were you.1
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Depends on who you ask too. I have friends who think that refusing a free lunch to save calories for the week end is a sign of an eating disorder.
IMO you pretty much HAVE to get close to an eating disorder to lose weight though. Think about it, you have to think way too much about food and plan meals and say no to some things you really want so you don't gain weight. That's definitely not a normal way of thinking about food either.
Bottom line is that if we overate enough to be obese, we probably have another kind of eating disorder in the first place. So obviously we'll have to take extreme steps to fix it. Like I told my friend... yeah, maybe refusing a free lunch seems crazy, but you pretty much have to get close to crazy at times if you want to lose the weight (just IMO, of course).12 -
Depends on who you ask too. I have friends who think that refusing a free lunch to save calories for the week end is a sign of an eating disorder.
IMO you pretty much HAVE to get close to an eating disorder to lose weight though. Think about it, you have to think way too much about food and plan meals and say no to some things you really want so you don't gain weight. That's definitely not a normal way of thinking about food either.
Bottom line is that if we overate enough to be obese, we probably have another kind of eating disorder in the first place. So obviously we'll have to take extreme steps to fix it. Like I told my friend... yeah, maybe refusing a free lunch seems crazy, but you pretty much have to get close to crazy at times if you want to lose the weight (just IMO, of course).
Most insightful comment I have read and 100% true. Thinking about food all the time, measuring and logging by the gram is definitely neurotic to people that don’t do it but it works for weight loss and it’s technically “easy” after you get through the mental part so it becomes your new “normal.” And then you refuse the drinks and pizza during social time with friends because you already ate your allotted calories for the day etc. I guarantee you that when you leave the party, your friends are talking about you. It’s just human nature unfortunately.4 -
fitoverfortymom wrote: »czmiles926 wrote: »Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »Why did you never come back to your thread OP? lol
Because *kitten* happened
I hope you are well.
I'm ok. My eating habits aren't disordered I was over thinking (like usual). I have lost weight recently (not good) and my sleeping pattern and appetite have been a bit screwed up (due to questionable lifestyle choices) but I'm starting to recover.8 -
There is no absolute definition/answer. Do you feel stressed/guilty/anxious if you don't log/weigh/measure? Do you feel stressed/guilty/anxious when you eat, even if its a reasonable sized meal? If yes or maybe, it would not hurt to find a professional to talk to.
This. And unless you are starving yourself constantly or over exercising and under eating you should be fine. I was anorexic for many years when I was young. I didn't eat a lot of the time or only ate a few crackers and water each day in order to keep that number on the scale where I wanted it.1
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