Eating disorders and fitness

venturagabriela
venturagabriela Posts: 19 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I've had MyFitnessPal for months (January 2017) and I was able to lose 45 -46 lbs in a healthy way. (Calorie deficit but with nutritious food) and until around may of this year I began to feel more and more overwhelmed by the need to binge. That was followed by purging, also known as bulimia. A lot of other factors came into play such as anxious thoughts and the dreaded insecurities some of us have. From may till now I've gone weeks doing it and weeks recovering. It has been a cycle of remorse and relapse but I have reached out for help.. clinically. The reason I'm coming on here to say this is to ask for advice and help on what I should eat and have more of in order to get back to a healthier state of being. Of course I know that it's easier to ask a doctor but in such a large community someone has to have an idea of how to over come this naturally. Just for reference I'm 5'4 highest was 150(January) and 114 ( may). I'm currently 120 and I can not stress enough that I'm not trying to lose/ gain weight I just want some advice. Thank you for your time

Replies

  • Lois_1989
    Lois_1989 Posts: 6,410 Member
    Hello, I'm afraid I don't really have the advice you are looking for. It seems to be that food and eating is becoming an emotional response for you (as it does with so many of us!), which really can only be overcome by seeing a therapist. Having not been in your situation I can't really comment, but I wanted to let you know that I wish you all the best, and I do hope you can get advice to overcome this!
  • amandacalories
    amandacalories Posts: 107 Member
    You need to see a therapist. A weight loss website cannot give you the help that you need.
  • venturagabriela
    venturagabriela Posts: 19 Member
    Lois_1989 wrote: »
    Hello, I'm afraid I don't really have the advice you are looking for. It seems to be that food and eating is becoming an emotional response for you (as it does with so many of us!), which really can only be overcome by seeing a therapist. Having not been in your situation I can't really comment, but I wanted to let you know that I wish you all the best, and I do hope you can get advice to overcome this!

    Thank you nonetheless, I appreciate it
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    If you can ask your doctor, and it's easier, why don't you do that? Do you think you will get different answers, maybe some answers you will like better?

    A healthy diet is just part of a healthy life. Focusing in specific foods to eat is restrictive and goes against building both a healthy body AND a healthy relationship with food.

    Eat a variety of foods you like. Aim to balance your meals so that you get in enough of everything, every day, but not too much of anything, over time. Allow yourself to enjoy what you eat. Eat in company if you can and wish.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,152 Member
    Speaking to your treatment team would be the best option.

    MFP may or may not be suitable for you. You can't overcome an eating disorder just by changing your diet, the problems are psychological and need to be treated as such, whether this be with therapy of some sort or medication.

    If you feel you must use MFP, go through the guided setup choose Maintain your weight and it will give you the calorie allowance you need to maintain your current weight, it will also give you the MFP standard Macro splits for Carbs/Protein/Fat. These will give you a good base line for what your intakes should be for a normal diet.
  • venturagabriela
    venturagabriela Posts: 19 Member
    amandacalories wrote: »
    You need to see a therapist. A weight loss website cannot give you the help that you need.

    I'm in the process of that, but thank you for your honesty
  • venturagabriela
    venturagabriela Posts: 19 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    If you can ask your doctor, and it's easier, why don't you do that? Do you think you will get different answers, maybe some answers you will like better?

    A healthy diet is just part of a healthy life. Focusing in specific foods to eat is restrictive and goes against building both a healthy body AND a healthy relationship with food.

    Eat a variety of foods you like. Aim to balance your meals so that you get in enough of everything, every day, but not too much of anything, over time. Allow yourself to enjoy what you eat. Eat in company if you can and wish.

    I've only met with a therapist and until my nutritionist is available, getting unbiased advice from others hits me in a better way than a doctor sugar coating it. But thank you, really.
  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
    A therapist will tell you to avoid a place like this.
  • venturagabriela
    venturagabriela Posts: 19 Member
    tinkerbellang83 wrote: »
    Speaking to your treatment team would be the best option.

    MFP may or may not be suitable for you. You can't overcome an eating disorder just by changing your diet, the problems are psychological and need to be treated as such, whether this be with therapy of some sort or medication.

    If you feel you must use MFP, go through the guided setup choose Maintain your weight and it will give you the calorie allowance you need to maintain your current weight, it will also give you the MFP standard Macro splits for Carbs/Protein/Fat. These will give you a good base line for what your intakes should be for a normal diet.

    Thank you for your advice on a better way of using this app, though now that I think of it, it might be best to avoid obsessing over calories.
  • venturagabriela
    venturagabriela Posts: 19 Member
    TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »
    A therapist will tell you to avoid a place like this.

    There are some ups and downs to it but you're right; a calorie counter isn't absolutely necessary
  • meganpettigrew86
    meganpettigrew86 Posts: 349 Member
    I've had issues with bulimia in the past, I have found obsessing over this app helped. It helped me by giving me a structured way to watch what I ate and if I binged I could record it and see it didn't effect the end result, i.e. I didn't need to puke it.
    I did some research and it is often recommended to make a food diary when your experiencing an unhealthy relationship with food i.e. bulimia. It helps me, but also telling my partner about my history helped too. Do you have a close person who you can talk to about it? Maybe talk about your triggers?
  • venturagabriela
    venturagabriela Posts: 19 Member
    meganpettigrew86 wrote: »
    I've had issues with bulimia in the past, I have found obsessing over this app helped. It helped me by giving me a structured way to watch what I ate and if I binged I could record it and see it didn't effect the end result, i.e. I didn't need to puke it.
    I did some research and it is often recommended to make a food diary when your experiencing an unhealthy relationship with food i.e. bulimia. It helps me, but also telling my partner about my history helped too. Do you have a close person who you can talk to about it? Maybe talk about your triggers?

    Yes I do and with trust I will tell them , thank you very much. It means a lot to hear from someone who has dealt with it. Wish you the best
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