have I developed an eating disorder?
About 2 months ago i started eating a lot better and working out. It was going very smoothly at first. I was eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and working out between 30-60 minutes a day. However as the weeks went on I became harsher on myself and started eating less and less. It has reached a point where I feel overwhelmed by guilt if I eat more than 500 calories so I only eat some dinner every day. I also walk home and if I have the energy I still exercise for 30 minutes.Honestly, I do not feel depressed or anything. However I'm practically incapable of eating like a normal person and I'm quite paranoid about gaining weight. I have reached the weight I hoped to be and I still want to lose more. Should I get help? Is this a serious issue if I'm still relatively happy?
At first I think it can seem like you're doing the right thing because you can just slap a big "I'm just being healthy!" label onto bad eating habits. But I think you should seek professional help, just in case. Eating disorders can sneak into anyone's life so it's vital that you check with a therapist about your motivations when it comes to food and self improvement.
You may not feel depressed now, but you're body will certainly adjust to the lack of food in more ways than one (physically as well as emotionally).
Be careful.
You may not feel depressed now, but you're body will certainly adjust to the lack of food in more ways than one (physically as well as emotionally).
Be careful.
Original post by cheerykimmy
About 2 months ago i started eating a lot better and working out. It was going very smoothly at first. I was eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and working out between 30-60 minutes a day. However as the weeks went on I became harsher on myself and started eating less and less. It has reached a point where I feel overwhelmed by guilt if I eat more than 500 calories so I only eat some dinner every day. I also walk home and if I have the energy I still exercise for 30 minutes.Honestly, I do not feel depressed or anything. However I'm practically incapable of eating like a normal person and I'm quite paranoid about gaining weight. I have reached the weight I hoped to be and I still want to lose more. Should I get help? Is this a serious issue if I'm still relatively happy?
Yes it's a serious issue. If you are a male you should be eating 2500 calories a day. 2000 for a woman. Even if you are trying to lose weight, 500 calories is not enough to get your body the nourishment it requires.
Think about it this way - if you are not putting enough petrol in your car, and try running it on empty, what do you think is going to happen in the long run?
Your lack of appetite may be an underlying health problem, so go and get yourself checked out by a doctor.
He's not running on empty though, he's calorie cutting, which is a technique commonly used for losing weight quickly. Although, it is quite extreme you have dropped down to 500, I think the lowest I've heard was 1-1200, perhaps you were hoping for quicker results?
But since you have reached your goal weight, you should not attempt to go further, as that would suggest you did have an eating disorder, and you would then become anorexic. Focus on eating more calories per day, even if it's 100 extra per couple of days, you'll soon be back up to 1,000 then remain stagnant for a while and improve again slowly, not too quick. Make sure you keep exercising though so the weight you're putting on is muscle mass and not just putting you back at the weight you were before.
But since you have reached your goal weight, you should not attempt to go further, as that would suggest you did have an eating disorder, and you would then become anorexic. Focus on eating more calories per day, even if it's 100 extra per couple of days, you'll soon be back up to 1,000 then remain stagnant for a while and improve again slowly, not too quick. Make sure you keep exercising though so the weight you're putting on is muscle mass and not just putting you back at the weight you were before.
This is a serious issue and you're clearly somewhat worried about it to post on here. It could grow into something a lot worse.
On 500 calories a day i rly doubt you're getting in the nutrients/proteins n that which you need every day. You body will slowly become weaker and thinner on 500 calories. There are many health risks you will face under eating that much. You may be relatively happy now, as you've achieved a certain goal, and haven't been calorie cutting for so low for very long. But trust me you'll feel the downside affects (mentally and physically) that comes with under eating so much.
If this persists for longer than a month and you continue calorie cutting so much i would suggest seeing a professional about this as they can help. Being thin and a specific number isn't as liberating, and great as we all think!
On 500 calories a day i rly doubt you're getting in the nutrients/proteins n that which you need every day. You body will slowly become weaker and thinner on 500 calories. There are many health risks you will face under eating that much. You may be relatively happy now, as you've achieved a certain goal, and haven't been calorie cutting for so low for very long. But trust me you'll feel the downside affects (mentally and physically) that comes with under eating so much.
If this persists for longer than a month and you continue calorie cutting so much i would suggest seeing a professional about this as they can help. Being thin and a specific number isn't as liberating, and great as we all think!
Original post by cheerykimmy
About 2 months ago i started eating a lot better and working out. It was going very smoothly at first. I was eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and working out between 30-60 minutes a day. However as the weeks went on I became harsher on myself and started eating less and less. It has reached a point where I feel overwhelmed by guilt if I eat more than 500 calories so I only eat some dinner every day. I also walk home and if I have the energy I still exercise for 30 minutes.Honestly, I do not feel depressed or anything. However I'm practically incapable of eating like a normal person and I'm quite paranoid about gaining weight. I have reached the weight I hoped to be and I still want to lose more. Should I get help? Is this a serious issue if I'm still relatively happy?
Speaking from experience, 500kcal isn't nearly enough. Especially if you exercise a lot. Even worse if you're already underweight. If you want to avoid passing out in public, I suggest you start eating a bit more at least. You can survive a very long time on a low calorie diet, but 500 is a slow death.
Original post by cheerykimmy
About 2 months ago i started eating a lot better and working out. It was going very smoothly at first. I was eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and working out between 30-60 minutes a day. However as the weeks went on I became harsher on myself and started eating less and less. It has reached a point where I feel overwhelmed by guilt if I eat more than 500 calories so I only eat some dinner every day. I also walk home and if I have the energy I still exercise for 30 minutes.Honestly, I do not feel depressed or anything. However I'm practically incapable of eating like a normal person and I'm quite paranoid about gaining weight. I have reached the weight I hoped to be and I still want to lose more. Should I get help? Is this a serious issue if I'm still relatively happy?
Hi. Just fyi I've removed a duplicate of this post (I moved all the responses to this one) and moved the thread over to mental health.
This is the sort of thing that can really sneak up on people. It starts off as something that may well be healthy for you body, but over time it gets more and more compulsive and less and less healthy (for your body and mind). It tends to not be so obvious that it's getting worse so you can quite suddenly find yourself in a tough situation that it's really hard to get out off.
Recognising that potential early on though means you can alter it before it becomes that tough, hard to get out of situation.
The feelings and behaviours you're describing here sound like it's somewhere on that road. You shouldn't be feeling so guilty for eating that you eat too little and 500 calories is too little.
I would have a talk with somebody like your GP now while it's not a huge deal for you so they can help you put it on the path to something sustainable and healthy rather than that spiral of compulsions and unhealthy habits.
Here's a link to some info and advice on The Mix on eating disorders and ways you can get support:
http://www.themix.org.uk/mental-health/eating-disorders/do-i-have-an-eating-disorder-5878.html
You may not feel depressed or anxious but that is most likley do to the effect of hunger numbing any emotions you may help. I would definatley get help as it could spiral out of control very easily and you could either end up in hospital or in the worse case dead due to the fact that once the body has no more fat to burn it starts burning the heart muscle.
Original post by Dazeo
He's not running on empty though, he's calorie cutting, which is a technique commonly used for losing weight quickly. Although, it is quite extreme you have dropped down to 500, I think the lowest I've heard was 1-1200, perhaps you were hoping for quicker results?
But since you have reached your goal weight, you should not attempt to go further, as that would suggest you did have an eating disorder, and you would then become anorexic. Focus on eating more calories per day, even if it's 100 extra per couple of days, you'll soon be back up to 1,000 then remain stagnant for a while and improve again slowly, not too quick. Make sure you keep exercising though so the weight you're putting on is muscle mass and not just putting you back at the weight you were before.
But since you have reached your goal weight, you should not attempt to go further, as that would suggest you did have an eating disorder, and you would then become anorexic. Focus on eating more calories per day, even if it's 100 extra per couple of days, you'll soon be back up to 1,000 then remain stagnant for a while and improve again slowly, not too quick. Make sure you keep exercising though so the weight you're putting on is muscle mass and not just putting you back at the weight you were before.
I was getting good results just from eating healthy really but I do think I had some twisted desire to lose as much as possible? Maybe that's why i started cutting down so much. I still want to lose about 3 more kilos but after that I think I'll start upping calories slowly to maintain.
(i'm a girl btw ahaha)
Original post by bonbonoj
This is a serious issue and you're clearly somewhat worried about it to post on here. It could grow into something a lot worse.
On 500 calories a day i rly doubt you're getting in the nutrients/proteins n that which you need every day. You body will slowly become weaker and thinner on 500 calories. There are many health risks you will face under eating that much. You may be relatively happy now, as you've achieved a certain goal, and haven't been calorie cutting for so low for very long. But trust me you'll feel the downside affects (mentally and physically) that comes with under eating so much.
If this persists for longer than a month and you continue calorie cutting so much i would suggest seeing a professional about this as they can help. Being thin and a specific number isn't as liberating, and great as we all think!
On 500 calories a day i rly doubt you're getting in the nutrients/proteins n that which you need every day. You body will slowly become weaker and thinner on 500 calories. There are many health risks you will face under eating that much. You may be relatively happy now, as you've achieved a certain goal, and haven't been calorie cutting for so low for very long. But trust me you'll feel the downside affects (mentally and physically) that comes with under eating so much.
If this persists for longer than a month and you continue calorie cutting so much i would suggest seeing a professional about this as they can help. Being thin and a specific number isn't as liberating, and great as we all think!
I have been sticking to 500 calories for 3 weeks now. Before that I was slowly cutting down. In a lot of ways I feel happier because it boosts my mood to see that I've lost weight in the morning, but I know that in the long run this isn't good for me. I've been having dreams where people try to force me to eat and I freak out, it's pretty disturbing. I am considering going to a professional if I become underweight.
This is literally the story of my life - I can't quite believe how similar it is. However it's currently 18 months later for me and I'm desperately trying to recover now from being under weight, being malnourished, compulsive over-exercising, a painfully slowed digestive system and purging of even carrot sticks, because the feel of them in my stomach is even too much. Really if possible, regardless of not feeling depressed or not feeling like there's a problem at the moment - it'll come eventually. Try to even out a little bit now before it goes much further.
Google orthorexia, the symptoms seems to match up. It’s not that you are in a physical state of illness more that you just have an unhealthy obsession about what u consume and weigh. Hope that helped! X
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