Am I suffering from an eating disorder?

[Qwerty55]

Don't talk about your body or personal problems at work. Discuss body image and food distortions with a psychologist. See a dietitian to get a better eating program and better information about foods and nutrition. Your current eating plan doesn't seem healthy, balanced or nutritious.

 

I have been planning on seeing a nutritionist and psychologist for a while. I can't deny my mindset on my food intake is stressing me out at times

[Qwerty55]

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I want to show a glimpse of my current body

[IAmFCA]

The greatest peace will come from knowing in your bones the truth about mean behavior. It reflects on the person doing it, and not on the person at whom the behavior is directed.

 

It seems like your anxiety about weight is a logical if harmful lesson born from how you internalized the bullies' behaviors. Is there a way to detach it altogether? To think of the care and feeding of your body in a scientific way, erhaps?

[Hollyj]

Thank you. I will try to look into that. What I just described above is the daily meals I eat per day.

 

I was hoping to see what you ate for each meal. What you wrote did not provide that info.

[DanZee]

I was hoping to see what you ate for each meal. What you wrote did not provide that info.

 

She lives in Asia. I think what she described is pretty typical there.

[Hollyj]

She lives in Asia. I think what she described is pretty typical there.

 

I agree, but she is trying to lose weight. I wish I could eat bread with every meal -typically western- but do not. I only eat at breakfast. There are a lot of things I would like to eat, but do not.

[itsallgrand]

It sounds like the weight you need to drop is your mother. Who helps a child to get large and then bullies them about it?!

 

It's hard to heal from abuse when you still live with and are constantly exposed to your bullies.

[SherrySher]

I agree, but she is trying to lose weight. I wish I could eat bread with every meal -typically western- but do not. I only eat at breakfast. There are a lot of things I would like to eat, but do not.

 

Same.

Some days I think.."to heck with it" and consider going full binge on junk, but then I remember I like my waist line, so I don't.

[Hollyj]

Same.

Some days I think.."to heck with it" and consider going full binge on junk, but then I remember I like my waist line, so I don't.

 

Yup! It sucks!!! I love bread!!!!!!!!!! I allow one bad day a week. Pasta is pretty much a thing of the past, so, is rice. :(

[Wiseman2]

Agree. That's why a psychologist should be your first stop to life-long health and lifelong satisfaction with yourself, your body image, your food. Posting pics here is the same thing as fishing for compliments at work (indirectly) and the age old "does this make look fat?" need for compliments and reassurances. What are people supposed to say? "Oh you're just right"? Well that does nothing for your inner struggles with food/body issues and poor eating habits and poor self esteem.

It sounds like the weight you need to drop is your mother. Who helps a child to get large and then bullies them about it?!

[catfeeder]

There's something about the anxiety of working a new job that causes me to change my eating and drop a lot of weight. If you're not light headed and you're taking some nutrition and staying hydrated, what is it that concerns you, exactly?

[maew]

Body composition and body fat % is a much better indicator of health than how much a person weighs. I am 5'4" and weigh... get ready... 147 lbs! Some physicians would consider this overweight based on BMI... but looking at my physique and size (I fluctuate between a 6 -8) no one would ever guess I weighed that much. It has everything to do with my activity level and the fact that I have a strong, athletic build. I had a body scan done a couple of years ago and I am at the low to medium range of body fat for a woman my age.

 

I say this because I want to dispel the myth that the OP or anyone that is above their BMI is at an unhealthy body weight. What a person weighs is less relevant to how much body fat they have and where the fat is deposited.

 

Going back to your meals OP... 300 Calories per meal is actually fairly decent, and if you are eating more protein then you will be less hungry which might explain why you don't eat as much. If your total Cals per day are 1200 that might be a bit low, however as long as you have energy and are otherwise healthy, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

And try to ignore what others say about you... I know it's not easy but just focus on being healthy and doing what feels right for your body.

[thisisrichey]

This is a medical question. I would say consult a doctor but they aren't really the experts on nutrition (and keep changing their mind on what is "healthy" for nutrition). I would recommend educating yourself and reading anything you can about how the body works and what it needs for nutrition from a variety of sources and decide for yourself what the truth is. (do NOT use DIETING SITES or FITNESS EQUIPMENT SITES for this information). dont' read anything that somebody is trying to use to SELL you something.

 

To help get you started, i have been slowly and over the years doing a TON of lifestyle changes for my fitness and health (they are 2 different things. health is how well your body is optimizied to prevent diseases - aka bp, cholesterol levels, risk of diabetes, oxygen/carbon dioxide levels, etc.) - fitness is how aesthetically well you look and feel - aka waistline, physical capabilities, etc.). The 2 are COMPLETELY differnt and what's good for 1, may harm the other. anyway here is my short take on health and fitness:

 

1. learn how the body works.. period. truly works. (there is a LOT of mis-information out there). Basically, the body is an "optimization" machine. Whatever your habits are, the body works to "optimize" how it operates to those habits (caloric intake, strength needs, what your body faces consistently to ensure it can survive those consistent conditions). 1/2ing your calories over time just means the body will "re-tune" to survive on 1/2 calories (which means you WON'T lose any weight once it re-calibrates to survive exactly on 1/2 calories). So dieting and caloric intake is not the answer.

 

2. REalize that there is a TON of mis-information out there. Infact most all of it is. For the best, and TRUE, information about how the body works and thus how you can help it work to stay healthy and fit, listen to The Cabral Concepts podcasts. It will take a little while to see the patterns and common concepts about helping your body out - but this is by far the truest and best source i've found.

 

3. Understand how your activity and what you do or don't do changes your body - aka how metabolism works, how to manipulate it, what the difference between cardio vs resistance workouts are and what the concepts are behind how they manipulate your body - you'll be surprised.

 

4. Lastly.. what's MORE important than nutrition is TOXIC CLEANSING. There are so many toxins we encounter and absorb into our body each day now, that cleansing is actually more important than nutrition or exercise. Nutrition sould actually be designed to SUPPORT and optimize toxic cleansing. And activity is used to also extend and enhance cleansing (believe it or not). Put short, anybody will agree that allowing toxins into the body and to linger within the body is a BAD thing for us. It is what causes all our deadly diseases like cancer, brain damage, demential, etc. toxins DESTROY our body and organs. Nothing you can EAT or drink will REMOVE those toxins (in fact they put MORE toxins in). So.. TOXING CLEANSING today is far more important than watchign calories, or whether you did push-ups to long-term health and fitnesss. I STRONGLY recommend you learn about toxic cleansing and how it works (i've been doing it for a year, my brother and his family over a year - and it's absolutely changed our lvies around BOTH in health and fitness).

 

Best start to learn about toxic cleansing and the body and everything I'm referring to above? Listen to the podcast "The Cabral Concepts".

 

Good luck.

[thisisrichey]

btw.. you don't have an eating disorder.

you may have ocd and some misguided ideas about how to change your body - but that is not an eating disorder.

 

Good luck.

[katrina1980]

Hi Qwerty I am going to share something very personal with you. I have posted about this before and even created a couple of threads about it, or posted about it within a thread.

 

I used to struggle with a very serious eating disorder; thankfully I have worked through it for the most part, but my unhealthy obsession with food and my weight took a real toll on me, emotionally. I still struggle if I'm honest, not to the extent I used to though.

 

At my lowest I was 102 pounds and I am 5’6”. In retrospect I was way WAY too thin (I actually shudder when I see old photos), but people were complimenting me!! Telling me I should go model or something, including my own mother who used to model herself, and was also obsessed with food.

 

Modeling never interested me, but my obsession with food intensified, until it essentially became all consuming.

 

A 1000-1200 calorie diet does not suggest you have an eating disorder, but your obsession with food is not healthy nonetheless.

 

My calorie intake was about 600-800 per day; I never threw up but I took laxatives daily which used to make me very sick but hell I was super thin so didn’t care!! That was my mindset and the mindset of someone with an eating disorder.

 

That said, right now I don’t think you have an eating disorder but as you start dropping more weight, the positive feedback you receive might lead you to want to keeping dropping and dropping, your obsession intensifying, so be careful with that.

 

It can be a real mind f*** lemmetellya.

[Batya33]

My understanding is 5 feet is about 100 pounds for women and you add about 4 pounds per inch depending of course on your body type. I think starving yourself is silly and declining those office snacks that are sweet or salty is generally smart. So is drinking a lot of water while working. Also it means more visits to the restroom which means more moving around. I do cardio every day and walk a lot besides. I try not to be sedentary. I am 5”2 and your weight would be far too high for me. Why not focus on healthy eating and lots of water and exercise and if you think you’re going overboard ask your doctor?

[katrina1980]

My understanding is 5 feet is about 100 pounds for women and you add about 4 pounds per inch depending of course on your body type.

 

I think this sounds about right B. I am 5'6" and 115 pounds, which my doctor tells me is still a bit underweight -- she said my ideal weight is around 124-125, which is right on part with what you just posted.

 

However, personally I don't feel comfortable at that weight, and like where I am, am healthy etc. So I think the rules can be bent a bit on that.

 

But agree, lots of water, exercise and believe it or not getting a good night's sleep!

 

And OP I think it's great you walk to and from work! Take stairs instead of elevators too!

 

It all adds up!

 

Also you might consider buying one of those new Fitbit Versa smartwatches. I'm thinking of getting one myself!

 

It counts your steps each day, how much actual sleep you get each nigh, etc etc etc.

[Seraphim]

Hi Qwerty I am going to share something very personal with you. I have posted about this before and even created a couple of threads about it, or posted about it within a thread.

 

I used to struggle with a very serious eating disorder; thankfully I have worked through it for the most part, but my unhealthy obsession with food and my weight took a real toll on me, emotionally. I still struggle if I'm honest, not to the extent I used to though.

 

At my lowest I was 102 pounds and I am 5’6”. In retrospect I was way WAY too thin (I actually shudder when I see old photos), but people were complimenting me!! Telling me I should go model or something, including my own mother who used to model herself, and was also obsessed with food.

 

Modeling never interested me, but my obsession with food intensified, until it essentially became all consuming.

 

A 1000-1200 calorie diet does not suggest you have an eating disorder, but your obsession with food is not healthy nonetheless.

 

My calorie intake was about 600-800 per day; I never threw up but I took laxatives daily which used to make me very sick but hell I was super thin so didn’t care!! That was my mindset and the mindset of someone with an eating disorder.

 

That said, right now I don’t think you have an eating disorder but as you start dropping more weight, the positive feedback you receive might lead you to want to keeping dropping and dropping, your obsession intensifying, so be careful with that.

 

It can be a real mind f*** lemmetellya.

I used to be way too think too. I was 90 pounds and 5’4”. I have a cousin who is severely anorexic and weighs 70 pounds.

[IAmFCA]

Qwerty and Kat you remind me of an experience & maybe this will be validating to you Qwerty in some small way.

 

In high school I had a medical concern that requires a major operation and bedrest to recover. I was an athlete with extraordinary leg strength. I could do wall sits while hanging on the phone, maybe half hour or more just talking away. My schedule required I go up and down three flights of stairs from one classroom to another. No big deal.

 

After my absence and weight loss, I could hardly make it through my schedule. The stairs were impossible; I almost went home.

 

Apparently, I looked amazing. It made me so mad. Why should a woman look amazing when she is so thin she can hardly walk stairs as a teenager? It's a crazy aesthetic!

 

Whatever people say about our looks - most often it is well intended... and utterly useless.

 

PS at least exchange the white rice for brown rice? Blend in some greens and some vitamins? Update us, if you like, on your doctors visits I look forward to hearing a dietitians ideas and also a psychiatrists ideas about letting go of the symbolism and permitting yourself the sensory pleasures of good food. (My assumptions... maybe the recommended path for you will be entirely different than that!)

[Jibralta]

Okay, I was wrong about 400 calories. I researched that one cup of white rice is around 200 calories. Since I only take half of it, it's around 100 calories of rice and 100-200 calories of protein and veggies. Which makes it around 300 calories per meal. Daily, I only eat 3 meals a day and one glass of milk in the morning. I drink water during meals. So I estimate I intake 1000-1200 calories per day.

 

Qwerty, to determine your best daily caloric intake, use your basal metabolic rate (BMR). It is a simple calculation:

 

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )

 

Then multiply that number by an activity factor:

 

Sedentary (little or no exercise): BMR x 1.2

Lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week): BMR x 1.375

Moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week): BMR x 1.55

Very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week): BMR x 1.725

Extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training): BMR x 1.9

 

Yup! It sucks!!! I love bread!!!!!!!!!! I allow one bad day a week. Pasta is pretty much a thing of the past, so, is rice. :(

 

See, my metabolism is completely different. Cutting carbs is effective for many people, but if I cut carbs I am in trouble. Everyone is different.

[Honeycomb8]

At my lightest, I was 102 at 5'6 and a half lol.

 

I used to exercise around 1-2 hours a day and ate super healthy.

 

I think you need to just eat smaller portions and cut down on the rice. No need to obsess.

[Hollyj]

Qwerty, to determine your best daily caloric intake, use your basal metabolic rate (BMR). It is a simple calculation:

 

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )

 

Then multiply that number by an activity factor:

 

Sedentary (little or no exercise): BMR x 1.2

Lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week): BMR x 1.375

Moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week): BMR x 1.55

Very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week): BMR x 1.725

Extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training): BMR x 1.9

 

 

 

See, my metabolism is completely different. Cutting carbs is effective for many people, but if I cut carbs I am in trouble. Everyone is different.

 

I envy you!!!

[Starlight925]

Jibralta's equation is absolutely correct.

 

A few years ago, I was in the hospital for 11 days, on a feeding tube (Pic line). LSS, I'm completely fine now, but for those 11 days, no food/no water, but fed through the line.

 

The hospital nutritionist told me that I was not going to lose (or gain) weight while in the hospital, and that they'd be giving me exactly enough calories, taking into account that I was completely sedentary, for those days, and that I'd weigh the exact same when I left. She used the calculation that Jibralta posted.

 

I weighed, within ounces, the exact same the day I left as when I came in. They weighed me on the way out to make sure.