normal eating habits? [WARNING: potential trigger]

To me it sounds like you have a serious eating disorder, but of course I can't judge for certain from the little you wrote. I guess you are still underweight, but apart from that the thought of food/eating/diets/weight gain etc are dominating your life. That is not normal and I strongly suggest you get outside help asap!

Reply 3

WetMyWhistle

1

I tried that South Beach thing...works only when you do it right...which was HARD (at least for me!). I tried a liquid diet thing too...drank frappucinos, jamba juice smoothies and stuff...ended up really craving grilled chicken. Diet pills are a joke. As is that Hollywod diet thing (that drink that "cleans out your system") It makes you not want to eat, drink, smoke, etc. But it's soo disgusting.

Basically, lower your intake (how much you eat), keep away from saturated fats, and heavy carbs (unless you do a major sport) and move as much as possible.

Oh, and indulge every once in awhile. :-)

Reply 4

eurasianfeline

Rachelingo

ok i know this might seem pathetic but i just cant seem to get it right.

You're NOT pathetic. :hugs:

for the past few years i was on a sort of constant diet. wel when i was 15 i was very severe and lost alot of weight to the point where my parents were freaking.then after id gained a bit i always wanted to diet but had lost the will power and wasnt so bothered.i would skip lunch but snack constantly so never lost weight. last year however i fell back into the severe diet catagory and now weigh less than ever before....

Do you constantly weight yourself? How many times a day? When you lost weight significantly, how much did you lose?

i stopped dieting a while ago and have managed to maintain my weight (although now im thinking about gaining a little if i can cope with it). I eat 3 meals a day and for meals tend to stick to relatively healthy things. however my problem is that i dont really get hungry so when i eat im never hungry i just eat cos its around meal time and cos i like food.

everyone like food. we like & need it because it gives us energy. but food can also be very comforting. when we're upset, sometimes we indulge in a moment or 2 of comfort eating. there's nothing wrong with it as long as it makes us feel good and we don't feel guilty afterwards. it only becomes compulsive eating when the person goes completely out of control, and an eating disorder when the person feels horribly guilty afterwards that he/she tries to inappropriately compensate for it - be it purging or everexercising or absuing laxatives or starving for the next day or so.

you might not feel hungry because your body is not, or it might also be the fact that you're tricked your mind into ignoring the hunger for so long during your dieting that you no longer KNOW the sensation of hunger. my advice is to try and eat only when you're hungry - because if you're not, your body is being fed without the "hungry" trigger, so very often it doesn't know when to stop. it takes time to learn to trust your own feelings of hunger and fullness (not stuffed - which is when your body is so full of food you can't eat anymore) - and often the sensation of hunger is very loud, while fullness is very subtle and quiet and is easily not heard until you're too stuffed.

this leaves me with the problem that iv started snacking again.... like il have a chocolate bar at night and then have a cereal bar straight after. then snack on cereal as soon as thats finished... iv always been sort of like this...having bouts of bullemia in the past as well as anorexia however having to some extent put these ed's behind me i still dont have normal eating habits.i seem to eat so much more than other ppl by snacking after meals (i dont really get full see as i wasnt hungry in the first place).

im worried cos im starting to find my bad habits really triggering.its like now that im not anorexic i have to be the opposite.im goin to uni soon and im really concerned that this is going to mess it up for me.

try and think carefully before you eat - are you really hungry? if you are, how hunrgry are you on a scale of 1 to 10. I learnt this technique (and is trying to stick with it) from a book my ED councillor gave me. Can you wait till you're actually REALLY REALLY hungry before you eat? It takes a lot of tries and very easily you might find yourself in front of the fridge, hunting for food frantically. How often do you binge / snack after normal meals?

If the situation is only worsening, I strongly suggest you see a councillor or some sort becuase you sound like you ARE having an eating disorder, and chances are the longer you try to put it off, or convince yourself that it'll turn better over time, the worse and harder it might be for recovery. For some people it might, but i wouldn't take the chances if you've been having your eating problems for so long already.

:hugs:

Reply 5

SlyPie

12

I don't know. I think you're fine; just don't think about it.

I eat whenever I want, whatever I want. I've never tried dieting or anything. I just eat when I get hungry or even when I'm not but just crave something, which happens often. I don't exercise either--I guess I just don't think about it.

Don't worry about it..I think you're stressing out too much. Like the other day I had a craving for chocolate at 11 at night so I went out to buy some (I mean I don't think that's crazy , at least i don't think so.)

I'm about 7.86 stones at 5'6" so I'm not like having a huge overeating diseases or something. I'm sure you will be fine.

Don't worry okay. Tons of people our age love to eat whatever they want and they are still fine. So please, don't stress out.....I know plenty of people who eat when they want and have a chocolate bar a day (sometimes for lunch), then buy fast food, etc.

Reply 6

Rachelingo

OP

today i felt a little hungry b4 lunch cos i hadnt snacked yay and i havent snacked between lunch and dinner yet.however its usually after dinner about 10pm i get really bad :frown:

i get that this is more normal but now im scared il lose weight again because other than chocolate i dont eat any unhealthy foods so my calorie intake at each meal would never be incredibly high. my rents will freak if i lose.

i lost about a stone and a half. i now weigh between 7st7 and 7st9 and im about 5"7.5 ish. im trying to let myself go to 8st but its not as easy as i thort it wud be.

I just wanna be normal and not count calories everyday or binge eat. arg. i was reading all those food diaries and every1 seems to eat sooo much less than me i dont gettit. i havent gained weight in a while but i still feel like im gross for eating so much crap constantly.I feel like iv got over my more normal ed by creating a whole new one just for myself.

does no one else snack like this?
Or can any1 tell me of healthy high calorie meals (im getting kind of bored of pasta and rice) so i can eat enough without feeling greedy?

Reply 7

Rachelingo

OP

ps thanx for advice so far btw

Reply 8

twiggy24

hey! i know how you feel... i tend to count calories everyday and wish I didnt :redface:

. I'm trying to maintain my weight now but i'm kinda paranoid about gaining any, so I always make sure im eating about 2000. i neva feel hungry either, except after goin to gym! i just eat coz i know i hav too! (and I seem to eat more than everyone else too!)
Anyway, u can get 'build up' drinks/complan which might help u put on weight. For high calorie meals... ummm...when i was trying to gain weight i just added olive oil/ spread, or nuts, or avocado to everything as it doesnt fill you up/make u feel greedy, buts high calorie &healthy. Have mashed potato instead of boiled/ high calorie sauces with pasta like the olive oil tomato ones. Some ready meals are healthy but high calorie like some vegetable curries, etc. Drink juice/milk/milkshakes through the day. I find if u have a big breakfast that helps too.... like cereal (like muesli- which is higher calorie),& juice, and then toast and spread,then you dont have to have such a big lunch/dinner.

I'd go and see a doctor/counsellor if the binging etc worries you.

Hope i helped a bit! xxx

Reply 9

habosh

hmmm,well I suffer from this paranoida thingie,sometimes I feel I don't eat enough,for example today I put somerice we had some guests and dinner...etc,I asked what might happen if you exercise and not eat enough,I was told you'd get overtraning where you don't get any benifit at all,so I ate some rice and a salad and it wasn't much yet I felt extreamly guilty for hsaving dinner,I was hungry after lets say 4 hours,and ate a peach just now a small one ,and yet now I feel exreamly guilty :frown:

I snack on fruits alot,really alot,specially between meals

Reply 10

This is turning into an "anorexic" thread!

Reply 11

Helenia

20

Indeed, and I'm not happy :frown:

habosh - I'm very sorry I never replied to your PM last week - I was away all weekend and have been busy since I came back. I'll reply later this evening. Don't feel guilty for what you've eaten, or for feeling hungry four hours after a meal.

Reply 12

habosh

Helenia

habosh - I'm very sorry I never replied to your PM last week - I was away all weekend and have been busy since I came back. I'll reply later this evening. Don't feel guilty for what you've eaten, or for feeling hungry four hours after a meal.

it's ok hun :wink:

hmm I try to, avoide guiltiness hiding by the results nervousness excuse :p:

Reply 13

kikzen

14

habosh

hmmm,well I suffer from this paranoida thingie,sometimes I feel I don't eat enough,for example today I put somerice we had some guests and dinner...etc,I asked what might happen if you exercise and not eat enough,I was told you'd get overtraning where you don't get any benifit at all,so I ate some rice and a salad and it wasn't much yet I felt extreamly guilty for hsaving dinner,I was hungry after lets say 4 hours,and ate a peach just now a small one ,and yet now I feel exreamly guilty :frown:

I snack on fruits alot,really alot,specially between meals

no need to feel guilty :biggrin:

and hey, at least youre not snacking on cakes and biscuits :biggrin:

Reply 14

habosh

kikzen

no need to feel guilty :biggrin:

and hey, at least youre not snacking on cakes and biscuits :biggrin:

I cant afford eating less than 4-5 fruits aday how hard and much I try to dicsplen(sp?) my self :p:

Reply 15

friendlyneutron

11

I know how you feel, i'm still trying to get over my ED and have literally no idea how to eat. It's either too much or too little and I still have a hang up on calories and certain foods. I would see a dietician again but i dont want to upset my parents as they think i'm doing much better than I am!

Reply 16

RieLouise

1

friendlyneutron

I know how you feel, i'm still trying to get over my ED and have literally no idea how to eat. It's either too much or too little and I still have a hang up on calories and certain foods. I would see a dietician again but i dont want to upset my parents as they think i'm doing much better than I am!

I feel a similar way. I don't want to disappoint anyone - my parents have spent money on private treatment (although, ironically, the best treatment I have received was on the NHS). It is something of a dilemma.

Feast or famine is my mentality at the moment.

Reply 17

friendlyneutron

11

do you think it's something that gets better with time or do you have to make a real effort at it? hopefully things should settle when i start back at school but then again it could be a trigger, which i really don't want as 6th year's going to be an important year for me, i had to drop out of 6th year last year because i was so ill and i'm not going to go through that again! I guess that thought will be able to keep me going, hopefully.

Reply 18

Sometimes it gets better when you move out from home. If you have already done that, then professional treatment is the thing to get. It is not like a cold - comes on it's own and goes away on it's own.
Quite honestly reading (all) your remarks makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up... you need professional help. Please do go and get it!

Reply 19