Am I developing an E.D.?

Greetings....I'm finding this site very insightful regarding health, eating etc.  I've never posted to a forum like this before but would appreciate some opinions and advice.

In the last few years I have gotten even more intensely focused on being active and healthy than I ever was in the past (and I've always been pretty healthy). I lost significant weight and have gained muscle; I started using a daily calorie counter and eat very organic/raw/health consciously etc.

Recently however, I've started feeling a bit overwhelmed and slightly obsessed with my health regiment...then several people have started commenting that I look too skinny/thin. I'm wondering if I've developed some kind of Eating Disorder (E.D.) even though I eat regularly (just very particularly) and work out consistently.

Beyond other people's comments I've also started noticing that my emotions and mental state are heavily based on whether I've eaten well, the lbs. on the scale etc. When I go over my daily calories I get depressed and down on my self. I'm finding that I measure out my foods pretty religiously and almost feel guilty eating if I haven't worked out on any given day.

What do you guys think? Have I started to develop some kind of ED cycle?

Thank you...

I am not sure because i have the same problem lately. The same exact symptoms and everything. :/

I went through the same thing... Im still going through it and it did lead to problems. Whatever you do, it is not worth it! As long as your excersising every once in a while and eating right foods you're good and if you're at a healthy weight then try as hard as you can to stop thinking about it.

I was already at a very healthy weight but I would eat a lot of crap **as in an entire pizzaa for lunch and then two servings of pasta for dinner or 20chicken mcnuggets cause I could** and so I started cutting out unhealthy foods and excersising just to get rid of a bit of tummy flab and found that the more I excersised the less I wanted to eat...

Just remember that losing weight at the begining feels great but after a certain point it becomes so daunting and it's all you're thinking about. I once went to buy grocceries and after spending an hour in there, I ended up coming out with a diet coke and chewing gum.

Not worth it, focus on the better things in life. And if you can, talk to your friends and family about it or get the help early on.

:-)

Tizzful...thank you for sharing your experience and welcomed advice. I'm definitely at a healthy BMI/weight (almost to the "too-low", unhealthy range, but not quite). I'm pretty good about the "eating a lot of crap" thing but can relate to your eating an entire pizza with my occasional cashew butter/honey munch-down fests.

I exercise a lot but still feel this intense urge to continue meticulously reporting my daily calorie intake and restricting my calories for fear of gaining back the weight. What were some of the techniques you used to stop this type of obsessive thinking? You mentioned talking to friends/family, anything else?

Thanks!

Brianasoccer,

It's good to know there are others experiencing the same concerns! Have you reached a healthy weight that you're happy with (as I have) but still treat your eating habits/calorie-intake etc. as obsessively as I discussed?

Perhaps we can brain-storm some helpful advice for eachother?

Thanks...

Everyone says i have reached a healthy weight and i should not try to lose anymore. I want to lose 5 more pounds but i kept saying that so idk when my 5 more pounds, 5 more pounds is going to end. I dont know if i will ever be happy with my weight. but i kinda have reached a plateau and stable weight for now so i am kinda happy. I just get so stressed when i eat a little too much calories or gain a half a pound or anything. It ruins my whole day because i am so mad at myself.

I am new to this but I lost alot of weight thru extreme diet and exercise.  I quit exercising last January and started watching calories to maintain.  The weight kept coming off of me until I was under my BMI.  I have gotten my weight back up to 140 lbs but I did it in 6 weeks. 14 lbs of pure fat.  I understand what you are going thru.  Counting Calories can make you crazy.  I worry all the time about weighing 240 again but I ate bad bad bad because I was scared and I was looking bad.  I wish I could find my happy medium.  I just wanted to know how normal people remain the same weight because I have yo yo my whole life and never watched it.  I also wanted to know how to eat so I could continue exerercise.  I lost all my muscle mass and know I am all squishy.  I hope you find peace with it but I could really still use someone to talk to about it.  I am 44 years old and am 5'6'.  Sometimes I wish I never would have gone on a diet and just exercised.  Now it has all come back in my belly and is hanging everywhere.

I definitely think you need to be extremely cautious and your concerns warrant attention.  Remember, EDs manifest in a variety of different forms, rather than simply the stereotypical 'diet turned wrong' situation [which is actually startlingly inaccurate in most cases].  Your situation sounds extremely dangerous to me, and if preoccupation with food is interfering with your life or mental state, then yes, that's a genuine cause for concern and would be deemed an eating disorder.

Would you consider seeking professional help such as therapy?

Cheree,

Thanks for the response! It's good to hear that you got back to your healthy BMI but I'm sorry to hear you're unhappy with losing muscle mass/stopping exercise.

While I obviously have my issues, I can offer some good advice in regard to exercise. Exercise should never just be done to reach a certain weight/body type and then stop. Unfortunately our bodies don't work that way. While it sounds like you exercised pretty vigorously to lose weight, once you got to your desired weight you quit.

When a person reaches their healthy/desired weight you can adjust your exercise routine but should never stop. It has to become a regular part of your lifestyle.

An easy way that you can get back into exercise is simply to walk (at a good pace) for at least 30 minutes everyday. Eat the same amount but just make this addition to your life and you'll start to see that weight "hanging everywhere" slowly start  to melt....

Hope this helps!

rose_intense,

Thanks for your response....I appreciate your advice greatly. Since my post, I've eased up on my calorie counting obsession and just focused on being happy in my exercise regiment while continuing to eat healthy.

I've also been very conscious of allowing myself a treat once in a while without feeling guilty because I know my exercise routine is not going to stop, so it really is okay.

I agree that the path I'm treading requires extreme caution. I am considering professional help just to hash out some of my concerns (looks like my health insurance will cover this-cool!).

Has anyone out there worked with a therapist/psychologist in regard to an eating disorder? Any recommendations for what type of therapist I should seek out?

Appreciated...

WOW - I thought I was the only one completey obsessed with all of this.  I am 42, 5'6" and around 145.  I know my body is just fine, but have to keep telling myself I'm fine.  Even knowing that I can wear a size 6 pants doesn't convince me some days.  The number on the scale definitely makes or breaks my day and I obsessively count calories on a spreadsheet or even find myself calculating numbers if I'm in a meeting and bored!!  I used to weigh 220 and the thought of being there again absolutely terrifies me. 

I think it's such a shame that we women have these body issues - I definitely thought they'd be long gone by my age!  I was visiting a nutritionist who told me I have an excellent diet.  When I produced my excel spreadsheet with my calculations, she did suggest that I may be taking this a bit too far and thought that a conversation with a counselor might do the trick.  Although I agree with her, I haven't followed through on it yet.

I would love to talk with you.  Please give me a call 214-864-9298.  It would be nice to have someone to talk with verbally about this thing as well.

Curious what does your diet look like and how many calories to you eat.