OMG I didn't even realize I still have an eating disorder

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Okay I just recently learned people with eating disorders can eat normally and not starve themselves but what makes them still have one is their thinking, even if they don't starve themselves and go skipping meals.

I have had this thinking in my teens just by what I was told in school and what I learned on TV about obesity and what my mother tell me and what I read in magazines. I learned that when you skip meals, you are more likely to eat more at the next meal and you gain weight that way. I thought instead "That won't happen if I don't let myself eat more at that meal if I skipped my previous meal" and also I learned people eat when they are bored or depressed because they think they are hungry when they are not. That just told me "don't eat between meals and you are maybe bored when you feel like eating so don't eat" and also when I eat and still feel hungry, I didn't go for seconds because I was afraid what if my body is trying to trick me to eat and get fat. Also the fact I get told when I was in high school I have very good self control and will power. My cooking teacher told me those were all eating disorder thinking I had and I was being encouraged by those comments.

Then I learned you are more likely to gain weight when you eat too fast and I thought, I never gained weight from eating too fast and I only eat one plate so therefore it won't have me gain weight if I don't go for seconds because I won't end up eating more for that meal than my body needs.

Also if I were to ever end up on medication and it was always making me hungry, I will still eat three times a day and not eat when I feel hungry since it's just the side effects of the pills and people again weight that way thinking they are hungry because they are being tricked by the medicine. I also got told that is eating disorder thinking. Well I guess having an ED is a gift then in some ways because it gives us will power and more self control while lot of people don't have very good will power. Maybe if they had an eating disorder too, there be less fat people in our country because they have good will power. Maybe the obesity rate wouldn't be as high. Even stress and depression wouldn't make them gain weight because they be using will power to not eat and only eat when it's meal time and wait four hours before eating again because their weight and body image be so important to them than food they will find other things to deal with stress and depression than using food for comfort.

It's always been about control and having very good willpower and people gave me compliments for it. Well f**k what my teacher said, at least I have very good self control thanks to my ED and I find ways to not get fat after reading something or hearing about it. It's all about will power and having good self control. Problem solved.

You know the reason why people get fat isn't just because of your external explanations.

There is cultural, I've been to house that say "you have to finish everything on your plate"

My thing is, "Eat till your full,"

That's my only self control, eat till I'm full. I drink the recommended amount of water, I drink juice with my meals, and I have a snack in the middle of the day.

Also I know when my body is hungry hungry, I kind of get hungry around specific times in the day. So that's when I eat and I eat till I'm full.

Though lately I've been having problems do to depression and things coming up. Where I haven't been eating till I'm full which causes other problems.

Well, then I guess my grandmother must have had excellent self-control and willpower, seems how having an eating disorder is what killed her.

Y'know, it really makes me angry when you say that eating disorders are a "gift". They destroy people's lives. My grandma's eating disorder almost destroyed our family. You just think it's a "gift" because you're too self-centered to realize that you're hurting the people you love!

I don't think having disturbed thoughts regarding eating is equal to an eating disorder. I get really stupid thoughts about unrealistic weight goals or that I'm not going to eat for the next day or won't eat any fat at all but I rarely act on it anymore. I don't think that makes me have an eating disorder.

It sounds like you need to sort all this out with a counselor and maybe see a nutritionist too.

Whatever, there are pros and cons to everything.

Its sorta sad, to see a woman such as yourself being so naive.

I had an eating disorder. Why would you want to go down that path?

I did sports nutrition at college if you want a free unbias opinion on a diet....

Personally, it does sound like its a cultural thing, I reckon you should just eat til you're full.....

...I don't know really, never had a weight problem, my metabolism is faster than Usian Bolt on steroids...

I'm not even starving myself. If it's such an eating disorder to not eat for comfort or when you are depressed and bored, if it's such an eating disorder to not over eat just because the medicine is telling your body you are hungry when you are not, fine, then woo hoo I am glad I have one if that is an eating disorder. Same as eating healthy and not eating much sweets and empty calories. Just as long as I am not starving myself to stay thin or over eating, I won't die. I even find it hard to believe that healthy eating can literally kill you, I mean seriously, do we need junk food to live or else we die if we never have it?
What if you have a medical condition where you are never full because your body always wants to eat, eating disorder if you don't give in even if you still eat three times a day but you just deal with feeling hungry all the time? It is considered an eating disorder when those people do eat all the time just because their bodies want to so they get obese. But yet if they didn't give in to eat and only ate three times a day than all the time like every half hour or an hour, it's still an eating disorder just because they are ignoring their fake hunger.

I mean seriously, where do you draw the line for what is an eating disorder? What if someone were to decide to lose weight so they change their eating habits, they cut back on sugary foods, they start to work out, they just eat healthier and bam their weight goes down, eating disorder?

What about people who only want a small piece of cake than a big or medium piece, eating disorder? I have seen lot of people like that and I never assumed eating disorder. Same as when they turn away sweets or candy when it get offered to them. I just figured they were in no mood for sweets. Even I have done it because I felt full and didn't feel hungry or because I didn't feel like having it or because I have had enough sweets.

Or what about people who hardly eat fast food because it's unhealthy for you, eating disorder?

I was pissed off what my cooking teacher told me so basically I had one since I was 15 but I just didn't starve myself then because I still ate three meals a day and I finished everything on my plate. She told me all this was an eating disorder Or maybe she was full of it. Gee I thought an eating disorder was when you starve yourself or overeat, not all this. Now I am finding out there are different levels of it and even eating healthy is an eating disorder and not all people with eating disorders starve themselves. Wow I wonder if people who do weight watchers have an eating disorder now?

Seriously where do you draw the line for what is an eating disorder? Either tons of people have it who are trying to lose weight or be healthy or my teacher was full of it.

Since you did mention the medicine then it's most likely the side effects making you feel more hungry, in fact one of the medicine I take for my allergy does actually often make me feel like that, especially recently.

Some people tend to go to the extreme like eating salad 3 times a week with nothing else and that can be rather unhealthy because you obviously need meat, abit of fat to survive (especially in the winter time), carborhydrates etc and without all of that, it's pretty unhealthy.



The chart tells you that you need one of each per day (should hopefully make it more clearer).

And I do agree that it's better than eating nothing.



It depends on how the person does it, if it's to the extreme and they can't help trying to not think about it and freaking out etc then they would consider it as an eating disorder (but if you were anorexic though).

Yet for a person who is a little overweight, it wouldn't be called an eating disorder.



No.



No, that wouldn't be called an eating disorder although that is a good thing to do and fast food is good on occasions, just not on regular basis.



She probably assumed you had large portitons as in america, everything is practically large compared to here in the UK and not feeling full, she probably assumed you did have one.

But personally I wouldn't call that an eating disorder.



Hahahaha -- I dunno why that made me laugh but from what I've heard, some people actually somehow turn anorexic, I've heard all sorts of stories about them, you could suggest googling them.


- SBI.

Yeah I refuse to eat the same foods for every meal that same day like I will not have stuffing twice that day for lunch and dinner. But I do have it everyday until it's gone so it won't get old. This is with any foods I cook or make. But I won't have it for every meal. I also have more than one thing for lunch and dinner to be healthy. I go for snacks too when I feel hungry but it's something healthy than junk food but lately it's been sweets because I need to gain some weight, more body fat so I have an excuse to eat sweets again but yet lot of weight didn't pack on like the pregnancy books says it would. they all say to cut back on sugary foods and soft drinks because they're empty calories and will make you gain too much weight and it be hard to lose after the baby. So I did just that and also did fat free milk and fat free cottage cheese because the books said if you are gaining too much weight, do not go on a diet, change to fat free foods. So I did all that to avoid lot of weight gain so I only gain the healthy weight. My husband thinks that is counting calories, is it? He thinks I took the healthy eating to extreme because I wasn't eating lot of sweets and was turning them down and refusing to eat processed foods and fruits dipped in white syrup because it also said it makes you gain the unhealthy weight. My mom told me lot of people don't have the will power to eat healthy during their pregnancies so they gain tons of weight and they all say it's too hard to eat healthy.


Calories is always the last thing I want to worry about, I just don't want to over eat. If I go to fast food, I refuse to count calories because I don't go there often do one time there isn't going to make me fat if I consume lets say 1500 from one meal. Then I got told that was eating disorder thinking because I had to think positive. WTF. Wouldn't someone with an eating disorder be counting calories at McDonalds about what meal to order and decide to order a tiny meal that is less than 700 calories vs me getting what I want without worrying about how much calories a meal has because I don't eat there often and it's rare when I do fast food?


My idea of healthy eating was eating balanced diets and I was shocked they call it an eating disorder, they even have a name for it but I forget what it's called. I didn't know it meant not eating anything else that your body needs such as only eating salads and nothing else. I am guilty of eating one thing every meal before I was pregnant because I was so obsessed about my weight. Then I stopped when I got pregnant. I was so happy to not have one anymore and I could eat normally finally.

I suffered from severe anorexia for almost 14 years. It is the most unpleasant thing I have ever done to myself. I was down to 76 pounds at one point, and in and out of treatment centers for years. I put my family, friends ,and lovers through hell. I had seizures, anemia, heart problems, and almost committed suicide numerous times. You do not feel happy, you do not feel in control, and you do not feel proud of your will power once it gets really bad. I had one son 6 weeks early and another son that was not growing while I was pregnant because I was not eating properly. I was so out of control and obsessed with my weight that my oldest son started to exhibit eating disordered behaviors (he is already naturally underweight). That was my most recent wakeup call and I have been in remission for about 2 years. Honestly though, I get anxious if I have to get weighed ever and if I see it over 100, I get very upset. I do not own a scale now, or exercise, or starve myself. I have a high metabolism and maintain a low weight naturally.

In my opinion, the line between eating disordered and not, is how much the disordered thinking controls you. If there is an extreme preoccupation with food and weight, if the number on the scale can ruin your day and make you want to die, if you are underweight and continue to think you are fat and lose weight, if you are hiding your obsession from others, if you get anxious after you eat (or even touch/smell) food. If you abuse laxatives or throw up, then that is eating disordered. Eating 3 healthy meals
a day is not eating disordered.

There is specific criteria for anorexia, bulimia and ED-NOS (click link below)

http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/med ... disorders/

The fact that you think that an ED could be a gift really upsets me. Having an ED is not about will power; it is about wanting to die and making oneself suffer a slow suicide.

Sorry, this is a touchy subject for me.....