Anyone watch "Thin" tonight?

Tonight on HBO they had a documentary called "Thin" about anorexia, which was filmed at a treatment facility called Renfrew. It was terribly depressing and just sad to see those girls and their relationships with food/scales.

Watching that made me feel incredibly lucky.

ahh man i wanted to see that so badly...wish i had HBO. how was it?
annorexia is something i really cant wrap my mind around. just think of the willpower they have...not to mention a warped view of what really matters in life i guess.

When you get to theplace where you can't force yourself to eat, it's not willpower. Willpower is what we do.

didn't mean to put it in a positive light, but yeah. point taken ;)

I did watch that tonight - I had been waiting for some time to see it.  It was incredibly sad...but at the same time, and I know this is kind of gross, but some of those girls didnt even seem that skinny to me.  It kind of scared me, when I realized my own reaction to that.  It just goes to further re-inforce how distorted my idea of beauty is. 

I watched it. Legb- i thought the same thing about some of the girls. I was talking to my friend afterward and I also realized how distorted my image of what beauty is. That Shelly girl I didn't think was that thin... even though she started at like 82lbs or something. *shrug* I think that documentary did a good job at making you feel the desparation these girls were feeling...

It's really difficult, after losing almost 25lbs I am afraid to put it back on again and sometimes I scare myself by how frightened I am.  

I was at a party last week and I ate what could be amounted to a couple of handfuls of party mix = 250cals then I had a normal sized piece of coffee cake with no icing = 250cals and one glass of wine = 100cals.   I was upset that I ate so much, but I really did restrain myself compared to how I used to eat at parties.

Like today,  I ate one small square of chocolate and I felt bad because it wasn't in my "plan" for today.

Does anyone else feel like this?

Definitely. I feel guilty everytime I eat something I think I shouldn't be... but then again I feel guilty anytime anything goes in my mouth. I feel guilty if I drink anything besides water.

raven - I was/am the same way.  I would eat this amazing meal, and then RUIN it by feeling guilty.  And I just decided hey, its not like I eat like this every day/night so I am going to kick back, relax, and just enjoy the moment.  I mean, whats life without little moments?? Like the best feeling in the world is that first bite of dessert after a long day.  Every now and then is fine...why rob yourself of letting loose every now and then?? In moderation, of course ;)

ooh man i missed it! id love to watch it. the guilt thing, as some of you mentioned, i think is a huge part in eds. its not control anymore, its more of a compulsion and relationship with yourself, in that you don't see what's going on (really) and you think by focusing on that, you can avoid dealing with other issues. if anyone knows when its on again, let me know!

"Thin" is actually a book, as well.  I saw it in Barnes & Noble the other day and was flipping through it.  It appears to be the same documentary of which you are all speaking.

Fri-1115a
Sun-130p
Wed(22)-515p

Check the HBO site for more times if those won't work.


And eating disorders are all about control. For most people, that's the one thing in their lives that is a constant. You can ALWAYS control what goes into your body. Guilt is a secondary factor for most people.

I somehow don't think she looks that bad.

I thought she was the author/interviewer (and was somewhat recovered)?

umm...although some doctors don't necessarily view it this way, it is absolutely possible to be anorexic and at only slightly underweight, at a healthy weight, or even overweight. Everyone on this site talks about not losing weight because they're not eating enough...ever think this might work on anorexics too? I spent a good amount of time at Renfrew this past August. I was eating less than 200 calories per day, passing out, had to quit my part-time job because I couldn't concentrate, ended up in the hospital twice, etc. I'm 5'7" and the lowest I got down to was 109 lbs and stayed there for about two months, meanwhile I was starving myself and hurting myself mentally and physically. Being thin is one of the characteristics of anorexia, but unfortunately this disease has a lot more to do with the mental and emotional state of the victim. That's why there is such a large group of overweight anorexics in our society who suffer in silence because they think they are not "worthy" of the title. I don't mean to offend anyone at all, and I definitely don't post a lot, but this is just something that has been on my mind a lot lately as I begin gain weight and people assume I'm cured. That's not what this disorder is about.

ladyashleigh - thats really a good point you made.  Thats exactly what I thought of when I was watching this...I wonder if maybe my perception of eating disorders isnt correct.  We always think of skinny stick looking girls as being anorexic - but it doesnt always have to be so.  It would be interesting to know how widespride this issue is that you are talking about.  Im sure its a lot more common than we all realize.

You have a good point ladyashleigh918.

I thought she was the author/interviewer (and was somewhat recovered)?

She was one of the ladies in the film... She weighed like 82lbs when she came in.

Thank you for your post ladyashleigh!!  I think that is exactly what members on this site are concerned about in so many threads.  Often the person in receipt of that concern says 'I'm most certainly not anorexic, look at how much I weigh!', but I think it goes much, much deeper than a number on the scale.  Thank you for offering your insight. 

I watched it.  I wentdown to 98 pounds that was my weight last month.  Im recovering as we speak and it has helped SHITLOADS.  I promised myself I WILL NEVER go back to my old ways again.  From watching that documentary I actually realized I really did have a problem.  And slowly day by day im getting rid of this disease.  So don't mess yourself up it's not worth it probably everyone says the same exact thing welp im saying it agian cuz its not worth it.  Plus when you get too low in weight even after you gain it back at night youll have insomnia youll feel your heart beat in weird ways its scary.  Just listen to my great advice.....Eat 1,200 calories a day. Period.  And once you get into a habit of eating way too low I promise you wont be able to get out you just wont.  OS either take my advice or throw it away youre choice =)

thebled- Major kudos to you for getting help! It's going to be a struggle but you can do it! :)

I watched the show too. I have to agree with the others that someone of the women on the show did not look too thin to me. For instance the Young Lady on the End (the one who went home and went out to eat w/Shelly) did not look unhealthy to me. I have to say I myself have felt the way most of the girls did in the show. I consider myself borderline bulimic (if such a thing). I have thoughts post meals on how i should purge but fortunely i dont like the idea of vomiting so i never do. However these thoughts have crossed my mine.

To be honest w/you i think anyone on a diet has the same tendency they did. We all now eat slower, cut or food in small pieces, drink lots of water b/t bites. We all depressly try to control the amount of food in our bodies daily. We all deny ourselves on regular bases food choice rather good or bad. And most of all we all have Guilt upon no matter what we eat! I know i do. (sigh) How i long for the days back before i had kids and i could eat whatever and whenever I wanted and not gain an ounce!