help me please!!! i need advice!

Hey everybody!  I have a really bad eating pattern. I barely eat during the day (maybe 300-400 calories tops), and then I PIG OUT on whatever I want at night. I save up my calories for dinner because Im scared Ill binge at night and go over my calorie limit. I cant get out of this horrible horrible routine!

Im only 14 years old, 5'4 and 112 lbs. I shouldn't be eating like this! I exercise a lot each day swimming and running... and usually burn about 2000 calories/day total. And im not trying to lose weight... i want to maintain.

Also, im going off to boarding school next year! I cant have this eating pattern at boarding school! AHhhhh! please any advice is appreciated.

Has anybody else been through this? saving up so many calories for dinner and restricting during the day? how did you get over it? advice?

thanks sooo soooo sooooooo much!

 

Sounds like you already know how you should eat but aren't doing it.  That's the sucky thing about healthy eating, no one else can do it for you.  Figure out a good eating schedule and do it.  That's all there is to it.

I was 25 before I realized this so you have a good jump on me here.  The sooner you learn, the better.

It took me at the age of 37 and 38 to figure out how to eat ! rcflyr, you are right on !!!

Sooner than later.  Trial and errror.

At 14, what are you doing with all of this overthinking, restricting and "whoa is me"?  You have posted regularly here and it's always 'whoa is me'.  Do you want to have an eating disorder?  Do you want people on the internet to feel sorry for you? Catch this now at 14 and just eat right !!!!

According to the tools on this site you are eating what you are burning so that's good for maintenance! Your problem is that your fear is dictating how and when you eat. I'm not sure how you can change that without some sort of counseling but here's a few facts which might help.

When you wake up in the morning, your body has been keeping your metabolism low because you haven't eaten while you were asleep (duh). When you wake up, your body needs food right away to boost your metabolism. The food you eat is digested into blood sugar (which is what your body needs) which lasts about 3-4 hours. Your blood sugar level and the related hormones regulate how hungry you are. If you don't eat enough to last the 3-4 hours, your blood sugar will drop, hormones tell the brain, and you get hungry. OR if you eat a lot of refined carbs (white flour, sugar), your blood sugar will spike and then crash, also leaving you very hungry much sooner. This happens pretty much every 4 hours throughout the day. Of course, individuals vary but this is the basic idea.

So if you aren't eating enough during the day, and your low blood sugar is triggering hormones which are telling your brain that you are starving, then you will get VERY hungry by evening and overeat. You also run the risk that your brain will trigger your metabolism to slow down and if this happens often enough, it could be permanent. It's how our bodies evolved to adapt to times of famine before we had unlimited access to food.

If you want to normalize your eating habits, the best thing to do is eat small meals of protein, whole grains, and fruit and non-starch vegetables, every 3-4 hours throughout the day so you don't allow your blood sugar level to get low enough to make you very hungry.

This does not address any psychological reasons for eating though... only physical. If you eat due to emotions or other psychological reasons then that's a whole other issue.

And just so you know, I struggle with this very issue myself and I'm constantly working on changing my own habits. So don't think you're out there in left field all by yourself!

 

playergirl- i dont know what youre talking about... i never said "whoa is me"... thats not even how you spell it... its "woe is me" not "WHOA is me".

and actually, im recovering from an eating disorder, anorexia. i didnt have it awful... but i definately had it. it runs in my family. my mom was anorexic, as well as my grandmother, 2 aunts, cousin, and older sister.

i dont want anybody to feel sorry for me...thats not me at all. i was just wondering if anybody else saved up calories for dinner...or if they used to...

 

thanks jennytu!

i know...its a struggle but ill have to force myself to eat normaly. do you know if youre metabolism will go back to normal after you start eating regularly? can your metablolism be PERMANENTLY damaged/disruppted?

Whoa is me beanaparker !!! You know how to spell.  Duh is me.

See you know how to do things and speak out when it benefits you.  You know what you need to do.  You do !

For the most part, as you will see from the first link, I am a nice and helpful person.  Unfortunately, there is one post (not by you) that set me off and yes, I am still angry. Below are just some of your posts ... all about helping you.  We all need help and we all have questions.  You know and you said " im recovering from an eating disorder, anorexia".  I can see that in you - it's all about asking help for a serious problem.  You acknoweldge the problem, but dismiss it all as "i didnt have it awful".  Well, when you restrict your calories for quite some time at the level it's at, it is a problem.  This is a problem that really and honestly cannot be solved over the internet.   I do hope that you talk with your mother and get medical intervention that you need.  No one on the internet is equipped to advise you properly " im recovering from an eating disorder, anorexia" and it is a serious problem.

http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/7808 7.html from that post you wrote .....

"i need advice!!! please help me i'm clueless!....."Things are going a little better 4 me. I talked to my mom about the exercise...(I completely trust her. she went through anorexia too as a teen, and knows how i feel."

http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/7930 3.html from that post you wrote .....

"Im a 14 year old girl who's 5'4 and 105 pounds. Im on a 2100 calorie diet.

Ok my problem is I don't spread my food out throughout the day like at all. I save up virtually everything for dinner because I don't like going to bed on an empty stomach. Anyone else having this problem? "

http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/7930 0.html and this post just the title is enough ......

"fat face...skinny body?"

I hope you will get through this with the real life help that you need.

Wow.

A lot of emotion sure got stirred up around this one.

Player is right in that anorexia is a serious disease and cannot be solved on the internet. And its revealing that beanaparker is apparently posting so much asking for help around an eating problem that has to do with restricing calories during the day and then eating too much at night and feeling out of control around it all.

I say it is "whoa" is me. Bean, you want help stopping this neurotic pattern as in "whoa" - dont you? And unconsciously thats what you are communicating and what others are hearing. But you're stuck asking for help like a broken record because you are not getting what you need, and you're not getting what you need because you are going to the wrong place.

Beanaparker, luckily you are young enough to get over this eating disorder if you stop minimizing it and get psychological treatment. It takes a lot of courage to let yourself see it, and get a handle on it, but this really is something for you to work out with someone who can spend the time necessary and has the skills necessary to help you for real.

So as much as it may feel like you dont want to hear it, please try. You wouldnt have asked if you werent able to handle hearing the answer.

God bless and good luck to you. I know you can do it, but posting over and over asking for help to stop is not going to bring you the relief you want and so much deserve.

My best Anucha

i eat like that everday and i love it its what works for me , nothing wrong with that

Think this through logically...

You: I can't get out of this horrible routine!

Why can't you?

You: I shouldn't be eating like this!

Why shouldn't you? You've probably been eating like this for a while and turned it into a habit. So, the habit dictates that you should in fact be eating like this! And now that you know that you should be eating like this based off of your recent history, you can turn it around. Make a plan as to what you would like to eat throughout the day based on what is healthy. Try to stick to the plan as much as possible but if you can't, who cares? Don't beat yourself up about it! After all, why SHOULD you beat yourself up? What good does it do you or anyone else? None whatsoever!

I recommend this book to you: http://www.amazon.com/Feeling-Good-Therapy-Re vised-Updated/dp/0380810336/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?i e=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213029461&sr= 8-1

It's called Feeling Good by David D. Burns M.D. I have suffered from social anxiety disorder (and disorders, such as anorexia, often have many things in common) for 7 years and began reading this book last week. It's already begun to change my thinking. I went from beating myself up for HOURS every day and constantly fearing my own admonition to not having a single negative thought toward myself in 5 days. It's only $8 and it could quite possibly help you. I would definitely give it a shot.

Good luck to you. Let us know how you're doing!

Thankyou so much ladyfirelyght! I definately will check that book out. infact I just got a borders gift card for graduation, so ill use it for that:)

you're right. its absolutely pointless for me to beat myself up over what i eat or how i exercise. it doesn't do any good for me or anyone else! i mean... honestly. WHO CARES if i eat too much. even if i do gain a few pounds... the most important thing for me at 14 years old is to make nutritious choices and enjoy my teenage years.      &nb sp; it'll take awhile for me to change my thinking around.....but i know i can do it:) Also, i just got checked out for OCD and turns out i have it pretty bad....hehe...im getting some meds for it. that should help a lot with eating more normaly too.

Thanks soo soo much everybody!

P.S. Has anybody tried those Shatiraki Tofu Noodles??? I finally found them yesterday at whole foods! THEY ROCK OUT LOUD! They're so incredibly low in calories and go great with ANYTHING! Im not a picky eater at all (tastewise), but I think they taste just like regular pasta!

       &nb sp;          (one entire pack= 40 calories:)

That's awesome! Very good attitude, keep it up :) Send me a message after you've read the book a little if you have anything you want to discuss.