"Recovered" eating disorder question

HI, guys.  So, I had anorexia a few years ago, and now I have been maintaing my weight for about two years.  I'm 22 now.  However, I still tend to eat my food very slowly, it can take me almost an hour to eat something if I so desire.  Also, I always feel the need to eat late at night so I'll save my calories for that time.  Does anyone else have this?  Also, how do you get over the eating-very-slowly thing?  Any advice would be great.  Thank you so much!

Doctor/nutritionist/therapist. Hopefully you had professionals involved in the initial effort to recover and if so, revisit them to deal with these lingering issues.

A nutritionist with some meal planning would be particularly useful to stop the when and how you eat problems.

i agree with hedgrenyou need proffesional help . although you are maintaining it seems you have very ed based habits . you need to work at spacing your calories out and learn that nothing bad will happen . i know the eating slow can be hard , is there anyone you can eat with who eats a normal speed , try to set yourself a time limit , and avoid distraction like tv magazines . what is your bmi ?

I only save a normal amount of calories for a late night snack, like i'll have some cereal amd yogurt, or soy crisps and almond butter.  It's not like an abnormal amount of food.  Everything else is spaced out normally-  I eat breakfast, lunch, a snack, dinner and a snack.  I just prefer to eat that snack later on in the day.  I'm eating about 1900 calories a day (I'm 5 ft).  My BMI is 19.2  But, ya, maybe talking to someone would help, or eating with someone would help as well. 

Thanks for your advice!

Does the size of the meal make a difference to the speed you it it?  Would it help to make your meals smaller and more energy-dense by including more high-cal foods rather than full of big, bulky low-cal things that often do take a long time to eat... eg a peanut butter sandwich rather than a green salad?

I don't think eating later in the day is necessarily a problem.  But if you take three hours+ to eat three meals that's a big part of your day gone.... make it difficult to hold down a job or have a social life?

No, It does not take me like three hours to do so.  It's not like a mjor issue- I have plenty of time to do other things.  I wasjust wondering if anyone else was going through this as well.  But I do appreciate your response! All of you suggestions have been very helpful!

1st off: Eating late at night is not bad. I have a snack every night before bed. And often, because of my schedule, dinner is late too. Nothing bad has happened. It would only be a problem if you aren't eating the rest of the day or you're bingeing at night. Or if it severely hinders sleep (for some people it does, some doesn't).

2nd: Some people are just naturally slower eaters. If it doesn't hinder your life, then it's probably okay. I know I was the slowest eater in my family even pre-ED. Then I slowed down more, and now I'm back to normal for me (which is still slow for others). A lot of why I do it is because I truly enjoy my food and like to savor things. Think about the reasons why you eat slowly, how you ate before you got sick, and how you're eating now in relation to before. Then you will know if it's a problem or not.

its sounds like you are doing really well , but i really think you should boot up to 2500 theres nothing to be frighened of you need those calories. as for the slow eating as long as it isnt stopping you from doing other things i think you will be ok , i think you ll find as you get more confidence you will eat quicker and you probably wont even notice. i think you rteally should look into seeing someone a theapist and a dietician you dont have to do it alone h x

Can you eat faster if you need to - like if you need to leave the house in 30 minutes, or if you're eating with friends, and you know that they'll finish in 20 - 30 minutes or so and want to get moving?

If you really cannot do that, it is interfering with your quality of life significantly, and I think it's very important that you seek professional help.

If you can eat at a normal pace, but eat slowly sometimes, I would think about why you do that, and try to cut down on it gradually - one normal paced meal a day, then two, etc. If you find that you struggle to do that, I would again seek out a therapist to work on why that's such a struggle.

Since the poster is worried about how slow she is then I think it is an issue. I could be wrong but people who naturally are I don't think have second thoughts and an hour is too long. I remember ip people would cut their food so small and prepare for so long. It was not a natural way. Eating at night is fine as long as you have some balance during the day. Skipping meals or snacks when you are more active to "save" for the end is not ok. Having a bigger dinner and night time snack because it works better for you is ok cause you are still fueling yoru body during the day. The only way to break bad habits is to challenge yourself and set up a plan.