anorexic????

Here's the deal  when I was 18-23 I was severely anorexic. I think???? I was 110 lbs and 5"9' I wore a size 0 pants you could count every rib. Well I didn't watch what I ate or obsessed over food I just didn't feel like eating, I didn't feel Like I was fat. I think it was more out of depression than anything. Even now I have to force/remind myself to eat. If I ate one good  meal a week, and snacked the rest of the time on Chips, ice cream, candy bars but no real food. Then I got pregnant and I knew I had to eat healthy I went to 130lbs and had a healthy baby girl . Well I never lost that weight because I continued to eat remained 130. Then I got pregnant with my second and went up to 150 which I got down to 130 after  her. So you see the pattern well I had my last daughter 7 yrs ago 170lbs 39 yrs old. After having her I got down to 155 lbs. I contribute it to hormones and pre-menopause.  Well  I have decided I want to loose some weight so I join CC I found I wasn't eating enough calories and my life style is active I burn 10,000 calories a week and was only eating 5400- 6300  calories. After two weeks of CC I have upped my calories to 9000 a week. I now weight 144, My measurements are hips 37, tummy 36, waist 29, bust 37. I think I am tower shaped, and want to tone my waist some.  I mainly want to tone. My Body mass is 21.4.   Well because I decided to diet or try to loose weight my friends who are heavier than me and also dieting All call me Anorexic, I even had someone answer my post saying my body mass was to low and I was not taking in enough calories that I did not need to diet.

Another reason I want to get toned is so I can fit in my wedding dress as I will be married 25 yrs next year and want to get remarried in it. I almost fit just can't get it over my waist.

I keep asking questions on different areas of CC but not one answers  I think they see my weight and height and say she's nuts, and wont answer my posts.

Hope to get some answers on this post.

My Question is am I anorexic? Is it okay to loose Weight????

Oh one more question why would my burn meter read estimated be only 1839 @ mid-night and my eat meter be 2100 calories. Just with my daily routine I burn 1400 calories + a day.  Does that 1839 Include sleep .

Thanks Cathy

Well I'm new here so I don't know much about professional help and don't know that I'm the best to give advice.  But I believe I had read somewhere on here that a good BMI is from 20 to 24.  So I think the LEAST that you would maybe want to go is 135ish because at 5'9"  thats a BMI of about 20.  So you are probably at a good weight right now to be honest but you could lose a little weight if you wanted.  But you wouldn't want to get down to that and then think "oh 10 more pounds" or you may end up where you were before.  But don't go back to down to 110 or anything low like that, just be in a good reasonable range.  If you want to tone maybe you could work out and exercise more rather than only dieting?  I'm not really sure.

I know what you mean with when your friends say stuff about you and its necessarily true..  I eat regularly and good proportioned meals, and if i go out with my friends who are in a closer weight to me if I would eat before we go out and say "Oh I already ate" when everyone else wants to get food somewhere, they would be like oh okay.  But almost EVERY time i go out with people who weigh more than me, if I already ate they are like "yeah right, your annorexic, you don't eat"  'what do you think we're fat because we want to eat?"  even if thats not the case, I simply may not be hungry, but they will immediately assume its something major.

With a BMI of 21.4 you're classed as slim and healthy.  If you want to tone up the usual way is to eat a 'maintenance' amount of food (1900-2100) and focus on getting the best nourishment but do rather more exercise.  What this means is that you create a little muscle... and more muscular bodies burn a little more energy.  So it's a good way to reshape without necessarily losing more weight.  After 25 years and three children, however, your waist would be forgiven for having grown a little!

Anorexia nervosa is a serious medical condition and only a doctor can diagnose it.  This short questionnaire is designed to flag up if someone warrants further investigation.  I don't honestly think you'd be able to answer 'yes' to two or more of these.

• Do you make yourself Sick because you feel uncomfortably full?
• Do you worry that you have lost Control over how much you eat?
• Have you recently lost more than One stone (14lbs or 6.5kgs) in a 3 month period?
• Do you believe yourself to be Fat when others say you are too thin?
• Would you say that Food dominates your life?

Hi! I have the same stats as you - 5'9" 144 lbs, but I'm about 20 years younger than you! That's a huge compliment, lady :) I think your stats are just fine. Don't try to lose weight, just try to mix up your carb/fat/protein mix and build up some muscle. You will be surprised by how much trimmer you will look, without the unhealthy weight loss. That is my plan right now - I do intense cycling that mixes speed for cardio and big hills for muscle strength. I'm also trying to build up my protein intake (I'm always low on this anyway, since I'm not a huge meat person) and lowering my fat intake. I'm already seeing progress on the measurements, without losing a pound on the scale. Again, there is no need for you to lose weight. Good luck!

There is more to an eating disorder then just weight and food. Many people who may not be classified as anorexic but have ednos are still in a place where it can be destructive to their mind and body. I would look at why you don't take care fully? You mentioned depression at one time but learning how to manage your depression in a healthy manner is the only way to get it to a better point. If you are busy and forget as you say to eat then pre planning your meals and snacks to be adequate. You want to be a healthy mom/person and also set a good example for your kids about balance. As we age though you can't expect to be the same size as your teens/20's. So I would try to focus on being healthy and allowing your body be its set point. It sounds like you are still undereating as well. You don't want extremes so try to focus on a healthy adequate diet that is filled with nutrient dense foods. Of course some fun foods as well

110 for 5'9 may have been anorexic but 140 isn't so don't worry.  an anorexic bmi would be under 17.5.

You can get to a bmi of 18.5 and be healthy.

The eat meter reads as high as all the foods you ate/entered is.  The burn meter is your burn rate (for your weight and activity level) + added exercise you did/entered at midnight it starts over for the next day.

Original Post by sfredbull:

You can get to a bmi of 18.5 and be healthy.

I wouldn't recommend this. BMIs are presented in a range for a reason, NOT so that you can delibrately go down to the lowest number. It is meant to accomodate a variety of body sizes. If you go to a bmi of 18.5 and get sick or have something distressing happen, wherein your physical or emotional response is to not eat, your bmi and weight will drop, thereby placing you into an unhealthy, underweight category.

21.4 is a perfect weight for you height because you are right in the middleo of your range. Stay there, don't lose any further, just stay right where you are. You couldn't ask for a betterweight at this point.

can i point out to everyone who posted on here that anorexic is neccessarily being skinny or underweight.  It has to do with the fear of eating and the fear of gaining weight and in most cases it is kind of like there is someone in your head telling you not to eat.  You can be underweight for many reasons and you can eat hardly any food but still not be anorexic. 

But if your BMI is above 20 then you are healthy for a full grown woman.  You wouldnt want a BMI of 18.5 at you age...it wouldnt be that healthy.  A BMI of 18.5 is the lowest end of healthy for a growing body...which you are done growing.  Anywayssss i would say you should be on a maintenance diet and not a weightloss diet because you simply do not need to loose in my opinion.  You can tone your body without loosing weight.  Was your wedding dress from when you were at an unhealthy weight? if so i wouldnt suggest trying to fit it again.

Ask yourself if you have any problems eating food or feel like you need to get rid of food once eaten.  Are you afraid to eat certain foods?? Any odd food behaviors and i would suggest talking to a doctor or phsycologist.  if not then you should tell your friends..i am not anorexic i am just tiny and i wish to fit my wedding dress so dont make me feel bad about being healthy....and make sure you are being healthy. 

I want to thank everyone for replying and for the encouragement.

tiff88 that's exactly what I get, or when I say that I am trying to eat healthy by eating a large Jillian salad they say "Ok, Mrs Anorexic" Thank you for expressing how you fell about what they say I know for me It kinda hurts. Well It really Hurts that they don't understand.

gi-jane Can't answer yes to any of those I think I have a pooch belly I sometimes look like I'm pregnant and even my friends will ask if I am when I wear something that shows it. I just get really busy and forget to eat, I actually stop my house cleaning to day and ate some Whole wheat rice covered with cream of mushroom soup and chunks of chicken. I used the comment from my other post for that Thanks

ftay Thanks for the compliment :)    If I am going to up my protein would a whey protein drink be good? How much protein should I get?

abbi333 I am going to make me, a what I want to eat Menu for each day and post it on my frig then when ever I go to it I will see what I have ate and what I need to eat. I am going to use continue to use my ablounger, ( I am up to 300 sit ups a day) and I can really feel the burn some days I am a little sore others I am not.  I am also going to continue to walk.

sfredbull thanks for the clarification on the burn meter. It confused me some. just one more question when I go to my activity (I am unable to view meter I work 4-12 and add everything after mid-night the day after) it will say what exercise I did now if I only eat the 2100 calories that my eat meter says and I burn  2000 calories (not including my sedentary). is that OK or do I have to eat more or add additional exercise. I have it set to loose a pound in 2 yrs. Now why does it say to eat 2100 calories and i need to burn only 1800 at midnight or does that mean just what i will burn. Some nights a 2800 just with work. which on those nights I drink 2 caps and eat ice cream with peanut butter just to bring my calorie intake up. (I  have a HR monitor/with chest strap.)

no_audience and summerlovin13 Thank You I agree I have had enough problems being too thin. I don't need to go threw that again. The wedding dress I want to fit into I wore when I was 135 lbs.  and it was a little big. I have tried it on and I almost fit just about a inch or two  too big in the waist. ( I was married six months after my 1st daughter). I don't worry about the food getting out of me except for the fact that I have diverticulitis and irritable bowl syndrome so I have to eat the fiber to keeps me  moving or I really bloat up. I have gone 14 days with out a BM and once I did I lost 15 pounds. I don't like taking medications of any kind. Eating the fiber one every morning with some other food and Benifiber and a hot cup of coffee. Gets me moving. Which is doctor recommended.

Again thanks I really appreciate the replays.

Yup, and if they would eat a cake and you would joke and be like "thats fatty" or say "ok, mrs. piggy"  its socially unacceptable and rude.  but its okay to say things the other way.

I wont even touch that one cause its not true.

Trust me as someone who has been up and down in recovery of anorexia and every weight in the book over 15 years I have heard every stupid comment. I encourage you to use your voice and tell them how you feel and how the comments hurt. You have to focus though very hard on what your body needs. I think you also need to focus on mental health and stop the calculations. Sit down and come up with a balanced plan with adequate excercise and things should fall in place. You don't want to be mentally stuck too in this obsession. It is a mind and body approach

Thank You very much for that advice and I will try to tell them that I can't help it if I have a different metabolism then them and weight a lot less, that I care about what and how I eat, I will tell them not to get me wrong I eat huge piece of cake and one, Okay two donuts on occasion but I don't make it my life's desire to eat them. I will explain to them that I am not watching the calories I eat to loose weight but I am being sure I get all the food groups along with fiber and minerals.

I will continue to use CC because  since I have been on CC and inputting the foods I am eating, I am also able to see how much fiber I am eating a day and keeping that in the 30-40 gram range which is what I am suppose to do. Keep my sodium lower, protein where it needs to be etc.  I know what I am going to have for breakfast, and dinner so that's imputed the day before and then I say Okay now I have to eat this many calories so I add ice cream and I will need protein so I add peanut butter , even a piece of cake because I am low on Carbs. etc. This way I know what I should eat to stay the weight I am and be eating healthy and tone. Other wise I was not eating at all except for dinner. Now I am at least staying within range of 2100 calories. I wear a Heart rate monitor that tells me how much calories I burn and if I know how many I will eat I can then figure out how many more I need to eat. example: Yesterday I was going to eat 2200 calories well I had burned 2300 by 10:30 ( I work 4 to 12 am) so I ate another helping of left over spaghetti and had whole milk, so by midnight I was only 200 calories under what I had burned total for the day. So I am going to continue to Calorie count and keep my calories close to what I need to eat, I am not going to worry if I go over, Like I said I want to eat healthy and tone, and I will still be able to fit in that wedding dress in a year.