LOCKED TOPIC

Stupid question from eating disordered brain

Im sure that everyone here is sick to death of people like me posting here but i do have a real question that im unsure of the answer to.

I have an eating disorder which i am in treatment for however the nutrition side of things isnt going so weel and im waiting for a appt ith the dietetian to help with this. I am currently in a safe weight range right now. Are we allowed to post numbers? please remove them if not. I used to weigh 260lbs at 5'5. I am only 21 years old. I was 20 when i weighed 260lbs and i was desperatly unhappy. I am now in a safe weight range but have developed an ED, with restrictive and purging behaviours.

I know that my body is unhealthy, i know my mind is too. I know that my life is in danger and thats why i am in treatment. I even made a big step today and called the crisis team for help as i hadnt been able to get myself to at for a considerable lenght of time. I have now been able to eat something small, which is a step towards trying to get in some nutrition.

My question involves calorie intake and exercise. Right now i know that my calorie intake is not good, i am starving, my doc says my brain is starving. I have incredible urges to exercise but because i know that im not taking in enough i am fighting the urge to exercise. I have sat around most of today, doing nothing but watching tv. I know that although im eating way under my cal needs how is it possible to not lose weight, or even gain weight. Im scared that becuase ive done nothing today and eaten a little, i will either not lose, or i will gain weight. Is this possible?? Im not being stupid here im really asking this question. Yesterday i had to work all day and i only lost 100g. I normally lose much more than that. So if i did nothing today, am i going to gain?

Please keep in mind that i dont need to gain weight. I am in a healthy range, i just need to be getting more regular nutrition. I can afford to lose weight.

I know this post sounds stupid, i know many people who read it are going to think what an idiot i am. Im not some angsty teenager, im nearly 22 years old and im unwell. I do know that, i am getting help.

I hope someone can answer my questions. If this post is unsuitable for CC please do remove it. I am not intending to encourage any ed behaviours, i know ed's kill.

Im also sorry if you are reading this and it makes you angry or frustrated. My logical brain would be thinking the same thing if i was readin it, however right now my logical brain isnt working so well.

There really is no way for you to gain or maintain your weight unless you are eating enough. If youre arent eating enough, your body will break down its fat and/or muscle stores, and you will lose weight. Depending on what your metabolism is doing though, you may be eating less that what the charts and calculators tell you but still maintain. Thats only because your metabolism has been slowed.  Keep in mind that you should try to be eating more so that you can increase your metabolism to the point where it can maintain with you eating the proper amount of calories that you need daily. I hope I answered your question!

I hope that you can soon get to the point where you dont have to worry so much about your weight...Its really hard, I know. I also hope you wont always have to write multiple disclaimers on your posts just to avoid being accused of being pro-this or pro-that.  Keep working toward wellness! :)

Echoing what's been said above.....  as a self-preservation mechanism, your body will try to slow down the rate at which it uses energy (the metabolic rate) if it thinks there is a 'famine'.   So you'll keep losing weight but it will be at a slower rate than someone with a more normal metabolism.  People who have had gastric bands fitted, for example, and who are physically prevented from eating a lot of food often experience the same thing.

Your body weight, however, is only one factor, as you already know.   As your doctor says, malnutrition is affecting your brain function and your thought processes.  Poor diets negatively affect behaviour.  If you can find a way to eat regularly and increase the nourishment you get, you'd find that you felt so much better on a lot of different levels.   Regular meals all by themselves have been found to be a very positive first step.  For that you don't actually need a dietician, just a little organisation and a friend to support you.

Good luck

Thank you both for your replys, you did answer my question.

I am kind of stuck at present with my nutrition, i cant eat anywhere near enough do function and dont have supports available for me to help with this. Right now im waiting for my treatment team to "come up with something" as they put it. I know im the only one who can change it but right now i dont see how to. I guess i just continue to try and survive until something changes.

Thank you again for your replys.

Go buy a case of ensure and start with that.  You may have to gain some weight in learning proper nutrition and exercise habits so that you can lose to a healthy weight range and maintain a healthy weight.  The ensure will help to get you the necessary nutrients in the short term.  At your height, your maintenance calories will be somewhere between 1800-2100, more when you are not sedentary.  Purging is pretty much useless, you still get most of the calories but very little of the nutrition and a whole host of potential medical issues.  Digestion starts in the mouth, and continues on in the intestines where most of the nutrition is absorbed.

Original Post by smwhipple:

  You may have to gain some weight in learning proper nutrition and exercise habits so that you can lose to a healthy weight range and maintain a healthy weight. 

 This is exactly what I was going to say.  It doesn't matter if you don't need to gain weight because you are at a healthy weight range, kayeanne.  If you've damaged your metabolism by under-eating and/or purging for an extended period of time,  you might have to gain some weight while the metabolism takes some time to correct itself.  This is just a fact of life.

To truly have a shot at recovery, you need to stop paying attention to your weight during recovery.  If you gain, then you gain.  You can always lose some weight again later on down the road when you are in a healthier mindset.

I can't stress enough that you need to stop focusing on whether you need to lose or gain right now.  What you need to focus on is your recovery and doing whatever it is your nutritionist says that you need to be doing.

Good luck.

I am trying to get some nutrition into me however the idea of drinking 300calories in the form of ensure is just a bit much right now. Thats more than im having every day so i think its going to be a case of building up to that. Im really struggeling with the ed voice telling me that i dont need to eat and dont deserve to. Not listening to the ed voice is going to be the trick in getting more nutrition in me but my treatment team refuses to work on anything other than "fuel consistency", getting me to eat. Its a bit of a catch 22.

I cant remember the last time i ate that many calories, i normally gain on anything above 600 so try not to go above that.

I know purging is pointless and has serious health implications, of which i have developed some, however its really hard for me to stop. I guess just another thing im going to have to work on once ive been able to maintain my weight and nutrition.

Purging, even just once, can kill you. It can result in an electrolyte imbalance that will throw off your heart and cause cardiac arrest. You also put yourself at risk of tooth decay due to stomach acid eroding enamel, dehydration, amenorrhea - or loss of period, arrhythmias and scarring of your hands. It can also lead to the tearing of the esophagus, and the stomach.

While we have offered you lots of advice already you are posting that you cannot take that advice.  There is clearly a limit to how this website can help. You need to listen to your treatment team.  CC cannot help you on this matter if you actively continue to restrict your calories or continue to binge/purge.

As you know from the Posting Guidelines, Calorie-Count is all about healthy and sustainable weight management.   Please be aware that this website does not support unhealthy eating patterns (such as binging/purging, restricting calories) and those posts which support these continuation of these disorders without pursuing treatment will be deleted/locked.

Here are some websites which may help everyone understand the significance of binge eating disorders.

https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/binge-eatin g-disorder/DS00 608

There are some resources we can point you to so you can get help:

• Matthew Tiemeyer's Eating Disorders page on Calorie Count
• Matthew Tiemeyer's Gudie to Eating Disorders on About.com

In addition please check out the Eating Disorders Resource thread with hotline numbers and websites to help you and your family get the help you might need.

Please know that Calorie Count cannot and will not support you eating less than 1200 calories a day. We consider this unhealthy and CC is all about HEALTHY weight loss or weight maintenance

From Mary Hartley, Calorie Count's Director of Nutrition: "By eating only 800 calories, you will not get enough energy, protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and other components of food. In time, you could become malnourished, which can cause severe health risks such as respiratory infections, kidney failure, blindness, heart attack and even death."

Here is a brief reason why never less than 1200 from the Advice section of Calorie Count Plus, under the Q&A tab:

Why must I eat at least 1,200 calories a day when I want to eat less?

In order to get the daily food servings you need for a balanced diet, it takes about 1200 calories a day. With careful planning, you could have a balanced diet on 1000 calories, but the restrictiveness of a very low calorie level can lead to binging and weight cycling, which will take you further from your weight loss goal. What's more, very low calorie diets can cause excessive muscle breakdown and metabolic adaptations, which can drive down your calorie requirements. In the end, you'll need fewer calories to maintain a higher weight

Your body needs at least 1200 calories per day to survive.  1500 for female teenagers due to internal development.

Here is a very rough scientific break down provided by a dietician for a 5' 2", 19 year old female weighing approximately 100 pounds, sitting around all day and doing nothing (please note, doing nothing is literally doing nothing, not even getting up periodically to mosey around the house):

-The heart needs 12% of the calories (144 cals)
-The kidney needs 12% of the calories (144 cals)
-The Liver needs 23% of the calories (276 cals)
-The brain needs 23% of the calories (276 cals)
-The skeletal muscle needs 30% of the calories (360 cals)

Posting Guidelines

Calorie Count's mission is to promote healthy and sustainable weight management. Please help our moderators follow this vision and respect the following guidelines.

• Your post is subject to modification or deletion by our moderators. Repetitive, off-topic, disruptive, and frivolous posts will be removed. We will take down any posts that violate either the letter or the spirit of any of these rules.
• Promotion of starvation diets or habits that exhibit signs of an eating disorder ("pro-ana", "pro-mia", etc.) is prohibited.