Posts by shmeezel

I have this problem, it happened after I cut fried foods out of my diet for a year.  I can't eat anything too oily anymore without... you know, as well as intestinal cramping and bloating.

Maybe our bodies just like the way we were doing things, and this result isn't such a bad thing since it enforces a moderate consumption of fats?

Eating a lot and weight-training worked for me.  It did take a little while, mostly because I fought the urge to eat and just ended up binging, and also tried to do cardio which triggers even heavier binging. 

Working different groups of muscles in upper, lower body and core with free weights, machines, crunches seems to have done wonders.  I can't say for sure but it seems like my body distributed the fat to where I was building the muscle? Maybe for energy purposes.

I started recovery in December (freaked out a LOT) and swung right from restricting/over-exercising into binging about 6000-15000 calories a day, every day for 3 months! It was really traumatic, I kept wanting to restrict but I stocked my fridge with healthy food, ate regular small meals and then didn't restrict after a binge. I've been doing resistance training (weights, crunches, muscle building) the whole time but NO cardio (running, anything fast triggers HUGE binges when trying to recover). I blew up like a balloon and it was very upsetting but the more you fight having to eat more, the worse binging happens.

The past two weeks the binging/food fears turned off and it's like coming out of a bad dream, but I feel alive again!  My body gained to its "set point" or happy weight and stopped thinking I was going to starve it. The belly and "fat" turned out mostly to be bloating and water retension and have gone away to reveal curves and muscles (check my user pics if you want proof!!)  I haven't weighed myself but I'm back in clothes I wore when I was a healthy weight before ED.  I've binged 3 times over these weeks, but a LOT smaller, and on average I eat 2000-2200 calories a day. 

You have to eat what feels like a lot to be healthy again, but it's worth LIVING.  The weight you gain in the belly at first will redistribute, you won't feel crappy and won't be "fat" forever.  Get your body back, you can do it!

Lala: Augh I can't wait either! I'm finding that something that seems to be helping with the redistribution is resistance/weight type exercise for building muscle.  I've been doing something for each group of muscles... gluteal exercises seem to have caused a weight shift to my bottom, and I didn't even have a butt before I lost weight!  As far as clothes shopping goes, it's the way things look rather than sizes that is the problem; it's kind of nice and much more convenient to find things in the adult section now.

Fox: Aw, I love the way babydolls look! I'm wearing one with puffed half-sleeves right now :)

I guess I can't avoid physicians anymore and just will have to bite the bullet... I'm just scared they'll judge what I tell them... I've been avoiding doctors because in the past  I've gotten sarcastic/judgemental/teasing comments from doctors on stuff like my sexual activity, body fat, tattoo and even my... personal female parts shall we say.  I've also heard horror stories of doctor's responses to eating disorders. 

Hmm.  That's an interesting study.  There's still so much about the human body nobody quite understands.  I hope that research into eating disorders continues because they're becoming far more common.  Thank you for the advice!

Good to hear your mind is in the right place; the body will follow! You seem to have a good head on your shoulders :)

I feel your pain :( I am 5'2" with a short torso and teensy boobs... as well as having no butt so the thing that sticks out the most on me is my belly!

I do tons of resistance and weight training so my body is toned, and underneath the belly are hard abs that will never be seen.  Even when I dropped to a dangerously low body weight to try to get rid of the belly-thing, it was the only body fat that remained!

Basically, I have tried everything... all I can say is that we both have to learn to love our bodies as they are.  If you look around at everyday women and girls a lot of them also have this belly/small boob combination so I guess it can't be that bad.

hilary77: Thank you! I'm glad that it's possible... it had to have been a huge struggle from what I've experienced and I'm just beginning to try to over-write years of faulty programming about food and self.  You are very strong.

I'm currently seeing a therapist through my university whose methods seem to be described in the link you posted, with an occasional session with a psychiatrist from a local hospital who does a few free cases at my school.  What's it like to have a life without food issues?  I can't remember :(

pgeorgian: I agree wholeheartedly! It's just very difficult.  On occasions I can say I abstain from my eating disordered behavior I'm still punishing all my screw-ups and when I can't get things just right with OTHER harmful behaviors.  What I mean is, the cost of perfectionism is just diverted into something else just as self-destructive.  The real recovery IS getting over the belief that everything has to be perfect.

headingup: Thank you for your optimism :)  I'm beginning to come back into actual living and it's amazing; it feels like waking up after sleeping for years!  I'm having a lot of difficulty with #2 on your list though.  How is your recovery going? You have a great attitude toward it.

1.If you have to choose between locally grown or organic, which do you usually choose? -Locally grown. Times are tough for farmers :/

2.Favorite way to prepare potatoes: Only like sweet potatoes and make them as baked fries or microwaved sweet mushy deliciousness.

3. Do you press your tofu before preparing/cooking it (if you eat soy)? Don't really like tofu.

4.Name your favorite recipe that is a tradition in your family: Can't think of one, my parents both suck at cooking and my family eats pretty gross stuff.

5.Any food allergies? Most vegetable/cooking oils and too much liquid animal fats give me intestinal pain and swelling and... other things.

6.When you want to go to a fancy dinner, where do you go? I haven't had a fancy dinner in ages.

7.When you have a cold, what do you crave? Tea and spicy soup.

8.What kind of water do you drink? Tap

9. Name a flavor of soda you'd love to see: Watermelon

10.If the recipes you ate as a child were compiled into a cookbook, what would the title be? "The Fried All-Carb and Sugar Diet for Lethargic Young 'Uns"

11.If you were allowed to grow one food that can't grow in your climate, what would it be?   Ohhhh MANGOES definitely.

12.Favorite type of mushroom? Any!

13.Most frustrating part of your kitchen? It's the size of a closet.

14.Last food you burned?  It's been a while... um... cookies when I was 14?

15.Usual response to a veg*n's favorite question, "But where do you get your protein?"  Smartdogs, soy cheese, black beans, cottage cheese (i'm not a vegan), tuna, string cheese, lean deli turkey, EGGS.

16.If you were baking your own birthday cake today, what flavor would it be?  Yellow cake with my grandma's (now my and my mom's) recipe chocolate frosting.

17.Favorite brand of chocolate chips? Any!

18.You have $200 of your tax return reserved for Williams Sonoma- What do you buy?  A brand new pan that doesn't stick!

19.Do you plan your menus in advance? Any tips to share?  Yes. I try to plan 5-6 eating times a day, making sure protein is a large part of each and tally my protein and fiber grams.  Tip: If you are eating a lot of protein, make sure to eat enough fruits & veggies and fiber otherwise... use your imagination.

20.You have 3 minutes before you have to leave the house and you're starving- What do you eat?  Luna bar or string cheese.

21. If Martha Stewart, Paula Deen, and Rachel Ray got into a fight, who would win and how?  Martha Stewart would knife them because she's been to prison! Although Paula might give them cardiac arrest with all the butter she puts in EVERYTHING.

22.If you eat oatmeal, what do you add to it before serving?  Garam masala, or bananas + maple extract + touch of cinnamon.

23. If you got to travel to one country and learn all the traditional dishes there, where would you go (ignore commitments in your current place of residence)?  Japan for all the fish... or else India because I can't live without oodles of flavor and spice!

24.Favorite late night snack?.  I don't eat past 7 if I can help it or else I am bouncing off the walls and can't sleep.

25.Favorite springtime food?  Berries are cheaper and delicious then so I eat frozen blueberries a lot or else strawberries and fruit salad.

26.Favorite food-related magazine?  Don't have one.

27.Which do you prefer: shoyu, tamari, conventional soy sauce, or Bragg's Aminos?  None really... I like hot sauce :)

28.What vegetable or fruit do you dislike the most?  Potatoes bore me and cauliflower's also pretty bland and nutritionally blah.

29. Name a holiday food you look forward to all year long: PUMPKIN everything around fall, and chocolate/mint combos in winter.

30. If you could convert anyone to veganism with your magic wand, who would you convert?  Nobody.