Eating Disorder Frustrations

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how overwhelming!

Just to explain the topic here, (im sure im not the only one)
I was diagnose with Anorexia at the age of 14, when I very unhealthfully and quickly went from 180lbs to 129lbs over the course of a few months. This caused quite a few complications including gall bladder removal and lots of therapy, however I feel confident in my recovery. I went away to college and struggled somewhat with maintaining a healthy weight, and with the exception of a few set backs, i generally was active enough to counteract the calories i was taking in.
That brings us to today.
I am an adult, in a comfortable relationship and I have been at a full time sit down desk job for a year now, and Boy oh Boy have i gained weight. I avoided a scale for a long time, but when my jeans no longer fit I started re-evaluating my diet. I am back up to 170 which had me in tears for a week, and would like to make it back down to 140.
This is the hard part, as a recovered(recovering?) anorexic, to not just go overboard! Its hard for me sometimes to convince myself to eat a snack even when i know i need it and have done 500 calories worth of exercise already that day!
I am lucky to have a man who is good at convincing me to eat, and also gets me out of bed in the morning to do our big hike (we live out in the middle of the mountains) and i feel very lucky to be alive and want to be healthy enough to have children!
I am thankful for this opportunity to post my struggles because I know i am not the only one. Its just so hard not to slip back into that unhealthy groove that i KNOW works to loose weight, even tho i understand that it is not the right way to do it. Anyone have thoughts?

Replies

  • iluvsparkles
    iluvsparkles Posts: 1,730 Member
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    how overwhelming!

    Just to explain the topic here, (im sure im not the only one)
    I was diagnose with Anorexia at the age of 14, when I very unhealthfully and quickly went from 180lbs to 129lbs over the course of a few months. This caused quite a few complications including gall bladder removal and lots of therapy, however I feel confident in my recovery. I went away to college and struggled somewhat with maintaining a healthy weight, and with the exception of a few set backs, i generally was active enough to counteract the calories i was taking in.
    That brings us to today.
    I am an adult, in a comfortable relationship and I have been at a full time sit down desk job for a year now, and Boy oh Boy have i gained weight. I avoided a scale for a long time, but when my jeans no longer fit I started re-evaluating my diet. I am back up to 170 which had me in tears for a week, and would like to make it back down to 140.
    This is the hard part, as a recovered(recovering?) anorexic, to not just go overboard! Its hard for me sometimes to convince myself to eat a snack even when i know i need it and have done 500 calories worth of exercise already that day!
    I am lucky to have a man who is good at convincing me to eat, and also gets me out of bed in the morning to do our big hike (we live out in the middle of the mountains) and i feel very lucky to be alive and want to be healthy enough to have children!
    I am thankful for this opportunity to post my struggles because I know i am not the only one. Its just so hard not to slip back into that unhealthy groove that i KNOW works to loose weight, even tho i understand that it is not the right way to do it. Anyone have thoughts?
  • zenmama
    zenmama Posts: 1,000
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    First of congratulations for taking that step to recovery I know it is hard trust me. But now you need to look at the BIG picture....you know this casues damage to your body beyond what you can see and know. Therapy is good...loosing body parts is not. And I know I don't need to tell you anything you don't already know. Stick with this site, continue therapy if you can, and take one day at a time. You can do this the right way...instant gratification is just that instant.....best wishes to you!!!

    :flowerforyou:

    dd
  • latinmermaid
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    I have never battled an eating disorder but have battled weight. I applaud you for recognizing what you need to do and for being able to to defeat your demon. :flowerforyou: I know that this will probably still always be a struggle for you but in just reading your words please know that you are a strong person. It is wonderful to hear that you have a person in your life that loves you for you and is a great motivator for you. Just remember that if you are exercising you need to make sure you are eating enough calories. Decreasing your calorie intake when you are exercising can cause your metabolism to slow down and actually cause you to gain weight. Just stay strong, think postive thoughts, and know that you can overcome anything.

    best of luck!:bigsmile:
  • iluvsparkles
    iluvsparkles Posts: 1,730 Member
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    All of these replys are just wonderful, and I wanted to say that anyone who has not viewed the link above needs to! I read it all the way through and it really helped me put things in perspective!! Here it is again http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions
  • FUZZBUZZ4
    FUZZBUZZ4 Posts: 334
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    I have flirted with anorexia.. i am currently trying to reverse that way of thinking so i feel you pain.. i find it really hard but when i find myself starting to be obsessive i take a deep breath and try and remember that eating the right amount will NOT cause me to gain weight and will help my metabolism along..

    i was just wondering as someone who is trying to sort of battle a disorder at the moment.. how do u get over the fear?
    :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:
  • iluvsparkles
    iluvsparkles Posts: 1,730 Member
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    This website helps, but i have to admit, the fear part has not much changed. I am still terrified of becoming fat (even when i think about becoming pregnant one day) Its dealing with the irrational fear that is most important. Talking about the fear helps just like we are doing right now. Usually, not eating is the first way I deal with that fear, and this site along with moral support from others helps me to concentrate that energy into PLANNING a healthy diet and sticking to it, instead of planning No diet and hoping i dont die, just so i can loose some inches. CHin up, and keep me updated. I'd be happy to talk more about it!
  • wendyjcliff
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    You know how many calories a day you should eat so try to make sure you eat all of them. Easier said than done but if you record them faithfully then you know when you are cheating. Just like when we cheat and eat too much. If you record it then you cannot lie to yourself.
  • wendyjcliff
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    You know how many calories a day you should eat so try to make sure you eat all of them. Easier said than done but if you record them faithfully then you know when you are cheating. Just like when we cheat and eat too much. If you record it then you cannot lie to yourself.
  • iluvsparkles
    iluvsparkles Posts: 1,730 Member
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    recording these things has definitely helped. When you loose track of what youre eating, its the easiest thing ever to Over (or under) eat. Im very thankful for this site!
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    :flowerforyou: welcome.
  • MontanaGirl
    MontanaGirl Posts: 1,251 Member
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    I have flirted with anorexia.. i am currently trying to reverse that way of thinking so i feel you pain.. i find it really hard but when i find myself starting to be obsessive i take a deep breath and try and remember that eating the right amount will NOT cause me to gain weight and will help my metabolism along..

    i was just wondering as someone who is trying to sort of battle a disorder at the moment.. how do u get over the fear?
    :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

    Fear is the same, no matter what it is related to. The only way to defeat fear is to face it head on. Over and over, day in and day out. And stick to your guns. There is no other way to defeat fear than to keep challenging it and winning. Probably not the answer you wanted - but I have done this in other areas and it works. It's hard, long and slow sometimes, but it works! If you avoid facing your fear, it just grows stronger. If you face it down it gets weaker and you can go further each time you face it down. I have the opposite problem than you - every time I lose 2 lbs in a week I get really excited, then freak out inside and have a panic attack. Then I have to battle the fear and face it and get through it with out giving up and go on. Good luck facing yours!! :heart:
  • Phatmomma
    Phatmomma Posts: 204 Member
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    I can relate to you on many ways as a former model and former fitness model in a world where back in my day (the 90's) you could be considered fat at a size 5 and a 23 inch waist and told to loose 10 lbs!
    But I digress... That said, toss the scale. Instead get you a pair or GOAL pants or dress or whatever. Then also buy the next size down and use those as your guideline every month. So you never get smaller than your goal and you can also track that you are losing weight but are not a slave to the scale. My biggest fear is going back to my own obsessive exercise which now they say is also a form of anorexia or just keeping myself so busy I didn't have/make time to eat.
    Plus you have to love your curves. They will be gone soon enough. and if you are planning on becoming preggos, get some therapy or a support group. You don't ever want to htink of the wonderful and unique changes your body will make as a Mommy to be as anything but BEAUTIFUL. Not fat but wonderful and perfect for the way God needs you to be to have a lovely healthy little baby. Pregnancy has a lot of worries but weight gain should not be one. Who wants to look like Nicole Richie pregnant. That was just scary and so sad. Have fun and good luck and have fun making those babies. That burns a lot of calories too!:devil: :blushing:
  • LightenUp_Caro
    LightenUp_Caro Posts: 572 Member
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    I've had struggles with eating disorders and I too find myself slipping back into that mindset. Its so hard to lose weight the healthy way when your whole life you've done it wrong and got faster results. It will always be a constant struggle. I'm only 20 and after being "better" for 2 years I have to come to grips with the fact that I'll always have to keep myself together on this plan.
    After seeing myself drop to such a low body weight its really easy to have extremely high expectations for myself and impatiently wait for the scale to drop.

    I've had to stop looking at my "diet" as a diet. I've realized that the scale is my enemy, as it has always been. Watching the numbers fall, or sit where they are seems to trigger me.

    So I keep off the scale and work on being happy and healthy.
    This time in my life I want to enjoy my body, my fun, my food...everything. I don't want to obsess over it.

    As long as we stay in this mindset, we will be okay.
  • jenniferjwilliams32
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    :happy: I thougt i was the only one going threw that i had lost all the way down to 200 and i started back eating and now am at 303 what do i do with out getting sick and starving my self cause its not healthy.
  • walnut
    walnut Posts: 216 Member
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    Yes, you are most definitely not the only one struggling with this. This is my first time trying to loose weight in a healthy manner, and I find myself reminiscing a lot about unhealthy shortcuts.

    The other side of my nostalgic memories is the negative effects of an eating disorder. Obsession just leads to more obsessing, and the anxiety only gets worse. Just remember that the weight you loose through unhealthy means is not as permanent as a healthy lifestyle change, in which you'll loose more slowly, but it's more "guaranteed" to stick.

    :flowerforyou:
  • poppytwirl
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    As of right now, by medical standards im not anorexic, but that is the lifestyle i've had for a little less than a year, with strange eating patterns my whole life, and i cant get out of it. Im losing more weight, and my family is worried about me. But I just cant bring myself to eat more than 250 calories a day, and when i eat that much, sometimes i just end up purging it. I HATE when people jokingly say "ohh i ate too much, I better go purge" then they laugh. Because in reality, girls with that problem (that i have sometimes) we cant help it, we hate to do it, but we have to do it. And we feel like crap afterwards. The little food i had yesterday, i threw up, and it made me so weak that i fell asleep for two hours afterward. I felt too weak when i woke up, i didnt want to move. I cant sleep. I have to weight myself all the time.
    I've caught myself thinking one more than one ocassion; this is pointless, its just food, its not going to hurt you. Where are you going with this anyway? then Im also thinking; DO you want to get fat? Do you want to go up a jean size, and watch your legs accumilate more filth? Do you want to feel full all the time and have your period?
    It's a love hate relationship i guess? thats an understatement. I feel worse about consuming 100 calories all at once than I do failing a test.
    Sorry for the autobiogrophy.
    I guess im just saying, I deal with it by starving myself more, and letting it get worse, and let it control me. I cant get over it.
  • iluvsparkles
    iluvsparkles Posts: 1,730 Member
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    Hey poppy. Glad you got the courage to post here... its been a while since i posted this thread earlier this year, and alot has changed for me, and i think that it can for you to.

    I admit that my initial way of coping with stress is to limit my food intake drastically, but logging my food here has helped me tremendously on holding myself accountable, and making what i DO eat really count, full of protein and good fats...

    Just remember that 300 calories a day is no where near enough to LIVE on, so at this rate, you will find yourself in the hospital like i did. Nip it in the bud while you still can, and please send me a private message if you ever wanna chat about Ana. I know you love her, but just like a disruptive relationship in life, Ana can only hurt you, even if she makes you feel better sometimes...
    let me know if you have a facebook or anything...
  • bonnykate
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    I didn't go the anorexic route; try bullimia . . .

    Luckily, I was seventeen and still living at home, eventually my parents caught me and made it too difficult for me to hide it, and I stopped.

    Since then, I've realized that I'm not the only woman in my family whose dealt with this: my aunts, my sister, and my cousin all have had a some form of eating disorder.

    Even though I know how badly I hurt my body, I STILL struggle on my "fat days" to keep from shoving a finger down my throat. I would agree that you never really recover from an eating disorder; you are always recovering, just as a former alcoholic is always recovering. HOWEVER, don't let it get you down. If I'm feeling like I need to puke up all the food I've binged on (yes, sometimes I still binge; I've taken the purge step out, and it's one step at a time, right?), I remind myself that one off day won't make me swell up like a balloon and just to stick to my normal healthy eating plan the next day. And actually, for me, the calorie counting really helps - it puts things into perspective to realize that even if I've gone over my diet, I've probably just eaten the right amount of calories to maintain my weight. Of course, if it gets REALLY bad and I desperately want to purge, I tell my fiance about how I'm feeling and he helps talk me out of it. Keep letting that boyfriend of yours help you out; it sounds like he's doing a great job.

    Finally, I totally understand what you mean about not feeling comfortable eating the "extra" calories you've earned through exercise. I really have to work to convince myself that it's okay to eat more than the minimum calories recommended for a day when I don't exercise, because that crazy bulimic part of me starts to freak out and tell me I'll never lose the weight if I eat more than 1200 calories. If your eating disorder ever gets like that and tries to mess with your head, just tell it to SHUT UP. You're beautiful, period, no matter your size.

    Best of luck, and congratulations on being healthy!
  • iluvsparkles
    iluvsparkles Posts: 1,730 Member
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    Hi Bonny! Glad to see you here too!

    I just realized that we might as well start a 'thread' of sorts for people like us who struggle daily with the fear of food.

    I haven't before now for a couple of reasons, so yall tell me what you think. So far so good on all of the posts, but just for those who might not be as 'in tune' with the subject...

    ED is a sensitive subject. I would love for all posts to be geared towards healthy eating and with helpful information that we can learn from, and encouragement

    Here are my conditions for this thread:

    A. Be sensitive!! We all know how fragile body image can be! so try to steer away from judgmental comments that might keep someone from having the courage to post their feelings here...

    B. Please do not encourage others in their relationship with Ana or Mia. We are here to support healthy lifestyle, NOT to help each other feel better about our B&P or lack of calories.

    C. We all slip sometimes, and we can use this thread as tool to KEEP it from happening.

    Who's with me? It is time to embrace our bodies!

    ED isnt something to be proud of, so lets try to boast about our HEALTHY choices, not our unhealthy ones!

    Tell me YOUR story!