Girls with/used to have ED's, does/did this happen to you?

I'm NOT promoting unhealthy eating or anything, I just need some advice from people going through the same as me:

 

I don't tend to eat over 700 calories a day, it's been around 400 the last couple of days. My metabolism has always been really really slow and suffered from IBS a couple of years ago which I think has subsided, but I have severe constipation, I have to take a herbal laxative around once a week for anything to happen, and people have told me it's because I'm not eating enough actual food for anything to happen. I was just wondering if anyone would want to divulge and tell me if something similar happened to them, and if they found a solution which was NOT to eat more, because I don't particularly feel I'm ready for that yet...

 

Sorry for the gross topic btw...  

honey-----when I was still anorexic and NOT in recovery----I think I may have pooped like------gee----only maybe ONCE a week IF THAT.
 I know you don't want to hear it---but having to take a laxative to make you POOP once a week is NOT HEALTHY AT ALL! You should be doing it NATURALLY DAILY!!!
   I also know that you don't want to hear that EATING MORE food and eating healthily will help regulate your body....but honey----I'm sorry it's the truth. You aren't POOPING because you aren't putting enough FOOD into your body to become WASTE! Your body is seriously using it ALL to live on PLUS MORE!
  hun---really BAAAD stuff can happen from not regularly EXCRETING (as nasty as it sounds).......you can get SERIOUSLY clogged up (again---I know that's gross but you've gotta hear it)........eventually,....even if you ARE taking that lax. to poop once a week---all you are probably pooing is bile----NOT GOOD---
    hun----I'm hoping that others back me up on this so that you understand that
YOU HAVE TO EAT MORE for your body to regulate again! No-one is going to cheer you on in eating 400-700 cals. or less a day. I don't want to be harsh or anything---cause I KNOW you are aware that this is TOO LITTLE
      please don't do this to yourself !
I'm rooting for you as is EVERYONE here!

Like lileberly said, there is no amount of exercise and herbal laxatives that will make you poop regularly if you are eating an unhealthily small amount of food. When I used to restrict calories severely, I only went to the bathroom every several days and was often constipated. This is not good for your body. The system needs to move along naturally. You should try adding more fiber to your diet--and yes, more calories, even if you don't feel ready. You are going to have to become ready if you know you want to change what you must realize is unhealthy. I know it is hard. I was there once and it was years ago now. I won't go back because I realize how hard it was, plus I've left that mindset behind. When you see it is unhealthy and want to change, you will--and probably not until then, so think about how much you want it and why.

yeah it's true, if you don't eat enough you have nothing to poop out and any bowl movement becaues extremely difficult and infrequent...just because there's so little there. 

You dont have to eat more, but try more fruit and veg and rather than eating say bread have high fiber cracker bread or something.

You can also get fibre suppliments from health shops which are safe to take everyday.

Remember to drink lots of water because dehydration can cause constipation. 

I don't eat wheat, eggs or diary, so pretty much all my diet consists of is fruit and veg!

 

May take your advice on the fibre supplements though. Thanks for not lecturing.

I agree with the other posters. If you don't eat enough food, what do you expect to end up in the toilet - magical fairy feces? :P

I had the same problem during my ED. I went every 3-4 days, it was pretty sad. Also, if you are eating just fruit and veggies, you are probably not getting enough fat. Fat helps "move things along." So try adding some nuts, peanut butter, seeds, olive oil, or avocado to your diet. A serving of nuts or seeds is only 1/4 a cup, so try starting with that.

Well, lots of people are saying eat and you will poop. Just so you know, I eat and my body only goes about every 9-12 days. I do feel sick sometimes and have to take laxatives but usually my body takes care of it. I have been this way my entire life and it is just how my body works. I have seen a doctor and they say that if your body behaves a certain way for your whole life the only time to be concerned is when it changes and does something else all of a sudden. I have my period every 21-25 days! That is "not normal" either, but as the doctor said, its usual for me. I say find ways to get more fiber in your diet and see if that regulates you. Get some talk therapy and start to feel good about yourself! Good luck!

I know that you said that you want to fix the problem without eating more, but the harsh reality is....eating more is the ONLY way to become more regular. You may argue with me and try a million other things, but in the end , the only way to have more regulated bowel movements is to eat around 1200 calories a day.

I am NOT saying this from a judgmental standpoint. I have been in your shoes, and trust me, i know it is hard. However, I can promise you that if you push yourself, and get to the point where you can eat 1200 a day, you will feel better in SOOOOO many ways.

Also, as a side note, once I stopped eat 500 calories a day, and ate a higher calorie, more balanced diet (around 12-14 hundred cals/day), I actually lost weight and ended up naturally being thinner than I was when I was restricting my calories. So if you eat more, it is not always weight gain and looking "fat"  at the end of the road.

The above post is absolutely correct. Eating more CAN help you lose weight and help your body functions work better. Fat moves the bowels, and oils are the natural lubrication that makes you go. The more you depend on any kind of laxative(even if it's "natural" or "herbal") will cause your body to hang-on to body water, salt and other electrolytes, and fat to normalize everything. You're totally confusing your system. It may feel good when you use those laxatives, but it makes the condition worse every time you use it.

And I've been in your position...I was anorexic/bulimic and have IBS. And it really is difficult. But I noticed you said in regard to eating more, "I'm not ready for that yet". Hun, I know you do not want to hear this, but NOBODY with an ED is ever "ready" for it when they recover. You'll never be "ready"! "Readiness" is a sense of assuredness and a feeling that you can do it, right?? For people with EDs, that ONLY happens once you start healing, because the mind-body connection needs to be ameliorated first, because you gotta stop your brain from playing tricks on you through nourishment...Break the vicious cycle, and you'll start seeing things clearly. And once you start doing that, you'll "feel ready". But your body's gonna start telling you, in many ways, that what you're doing to it is wrong, and it WILL get much more difficult, and become more and more of a battle....You've got to just let go and trust that health is a much better road - And if it helps any, remind yourself that nourishment helps you control your weight in a much EASIER way, because your body isn't fighting you back while you try to do it! TRUST ME ON THAT!!!!!!!!!!

I've read medical journals, and studies show that people with EDs' colons start to act really strangely and these problems can be ongoing even AFTER you start eating again if you don't fix it soon enough. I believe the term they used was "impacted colon" or the slowing of the emptying of the colon in individuals with EDs. Countering this by using laxatives can cause the colon becomes a flacid sac-like thing(sorry for the mental image i'm creating here but it's all fact) and work even less efficiently because the muscles don't need to work for themselves, and becomes weak. The more impacted it in a weakened state, the liklier it is that colon damage will happen(cracks in the colon), and the less efficiently your colon works, meaning you'll have to use a laxative each and every time you need to make a bowel movement for the rest of your life. My aunt was anorexic and she now depends on laxatives every single day, and will probably be taking them for the rest of her life. She can't go anywhere, to any restaurant, to anybody's house, anywhere where she might eat, without bringing some milk of magnesia with her. She hates it.

Another thing to keep in mind: Digestion problems mean problems with vitamin/mineral absorbtion... So if you're not making good bowel movements, it's highly likely that your body won't absorb important vitamins and nutrients, regardless of whether you take a supplement or even if you do eat. This will give you skin problems, breakouts and also effects your hair, nails, eyes, everything...

So make friends with your body. And let yourself be nourished. You may not feel ready, you may feel like absolute **** when you start...But once you're nourishing your body AND brain, things will become much clearer, and you'll start to see that life does NOT have to be this difficult hun!!!!!!!!!!

Take care + Be well!

~Jaya

Original Post by pink_collection:

You dont have to eat more, but try more fruit and veg and rather than eating say bread have high fiber cracker bread or something.

You can also get fibre suppliments from health shops which are safe to take everyday.

Remember to drink lots of water because dehydration can cause constipation.

Actually, you do have to eat more if you want your body to be healthy.  If you continue down the road of a very low calorie diet you have a very bleak future in the short term until you either end up hospitalized or manage to start eating enough and allow your body to repair some of the damage that you've been doing by eating too little.

1200 calories is the minimum recommendation for an adult woman who is trying to lose weight, add another 300 calories for teens.

You really need to eat more, including healthy fats and fiber as well as protein.  If you can just add a spoonful of peanut butter or pumpkin butter or something everyday and increase a little bit at a time, you will be in much better shape.  Also, don't exercise those calories off, your body desperately needs them. 

I have the same thing. I guess, all you need is fruits and veggies! ;D

because, I acually eat alot, but I'm skinny, and that's not the problem.

They say that because they don't understand. but I do. I really

need to eat fruits and veggies myself. Just some advice.