Because so many of us have/have had EDs, I thought it might be useful to post a couple links for quizzes that help us identify if we have an ED. The first one seems, to me, the most complete.

http://www.something-fishy.org/isf/questionnaire.php

http://www.eating-disorders.com/doyouqz.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/27755/quiz2.htm

Hi Razzle, sorry to pounce on you here, but I can't find a journal for you. Here's the deal. I have overcome an ED just over a year ago. I was pretty underweight and have gained 50 pounds since recovery. About half of that I needed to gain back, but the other 25 pounds is the extra that came back with my healthy weight. Which is why I'm here low-carbing.

I've been lc'ing for about 2 months now. In the first week I lost 7 pounds of water, gained that back, and now can't seem to move an ounce. It's only been about 8 or so months that I've had the extra 25 pounds to lose, but I thought that would be long enough for my metabolism to recover and let me lose? I have to admit that I was heading back down the severely restricted calorie route again just before Christmas this year and was about 12 pounds lighter than I am now. Did that set me back that much?

My question is, how can I make this work? I've tried adding fat to my diet and calories, and just gained more weight. I am currently taking in about 1900 calories a day, give or take, and will post a day's menu if you like, but I can give you the breakdown here m(according to Fit Day):

Total calories for today: 1943
Fat = 129 grams (61%)
Carbs less fibre = 31 grams (6%)
Protein = 153 grams (32%)
I also drink about 6-7 litres of water a day.

I have read and re-read everything and by rights I should be losing weight! Can you offer any suggestions or advice? Am I expecting to be able to lose weight again too soon? Do I need to be patient and just wait and it will eventually start working? Do I need to cut more calories?

I'm going to get some anti-fungal today, because I did have a yeast infection the other week and want to be sure I'm not harbouring some Candida.

Any other advice you have would be most appreciated.

Thanks very much.

whether you really need to lose that 25 lbs. I was in and out of ED clinics and psych wards all through high school and college. When I finally understood how badly I had damaged myself and my loved ones with my anorexia, I got on the wagon and gained the weight necessary to be compliant with my doctors. I gained 40 lbs total (20 plus the 20 to exit the hospital). That was 10 years ago. Since then I have fought the anorexia but have been overcome with bouts of OCD and depression that are another way for me to be controlling. When I learned I was pregnant I ate what ever I had deprived myself of for so many years and gained 90 lbs. But I have a gorgeous baby and a new perspective on life. When starting this WOL with some BFL exercise regimen I was forced to take before pictures. It was at that point that I realized that those pictures of myself taken 2 years ago where I felt so hideous and fat and overweight from those extra 20 lbs were really of a tiny frail weak person that was still 10 lbs under the insurance charts.

My point is assess whether those pesky 25 lbs are really unnecessary pounds. If so, then continue on your path, you are doing well. Don't obsess and make sure you are hydrating yourself. We have damaged our bodies so much that they go on strike temporarily but will concede sooner than later.

Good luck.

Nancy

I appreciate that took the time to answer and to share a part of yourself with me. Seems to be a lot of us around these boards, really. I have put a lot of thought into wether or not I should even worry about losing or gaining or just let my body be. I have really tried to just honour what my body needs to do, and stick to the low carb WOL at the same time. I have put the scale away and will only look at it again if my clothes begin to feel loose or I notice that I look like I've lost weight. I will not obsess over every pound that I haven't lost.

That's where I'm at these days. Every day is a struggle to remember that of course, and some days are better than other, but I remain strong, thanks to all the support of people here just like you!


Thanks again for your reply. It means so much.

donna--

i really relate to your story. i'm in pretty much the same place. recovering from an ED (brought on by extreme low carbing....eeek!) and now trying to lose some of the 'interest weight' that i've gained.

i'm having a hard time losing, and i'm scared that i might have irrevocably wrecked my metabolism.

boo.

anyway i like that you're not using numbers in your stats. (i made mine up! hah!) i'm going to go remove my fake numbers right now.

anyway, big hug, i know what you're going through. recovery is great in so many ways. i'm NEVER going back to anorexia. i can't and i won't. but i want to get my healthy body back, too. we can do it. right?

./su

Donna,
Keep me posted of your success and I will do the same. You can count on me for the low times but just remember that persistence will work and this WOL will be a great thing for all of us.

Best of luck and I know you can do it...

Nancy

Capnsue: absolutely lets keep in touch! I'll check in later today and see if you have a journal. (I should be getting ready for work right now!)

Nancy, I'll do the same with you. I like the idea of being in touch with people who have the same issues to deal with along with this WOE.

Thank you both so much! Talk to you soon!!!

Have a wonderful day!

I have admitted this else where but I will fess up here too

15 years ago I was bulimic. Upon recovering from my eating disorder over the course of 10 years I managed to gain 60 pounds. I have managed to take 48 of that off in the past 12 months.

I have to admit, there have been times over the past 12 months I have almost fallen into old habits of taking a laxative or making my self sick after eating something I know I shouldn't have. Old habits die hard don't they? I catch myself and have to take a step back and reassure myself....you are okay. You do not have to go to extremes to lose weight.

Do we ever really get over an eating disorder? Or do we just manage to control the anxiety brought on in a different way.

since being on this board, I feel as if I've gotten rid of most of the vestiges of my ED (and am dealing with the underlying core issues that gave birth to it in my childhood). I've also found certain specific practices helpful.

- stay off the "stalls" board and away from that mentality, too. We lose weight how we lose weight. Let that be. (As the 12-step folks say, "let go and let god")

- staying off the scale for weeks at a time (forever would be ideal!)

- switching my focus to how I feel, not even size or body fat (which are better than the scale, at least--good interim mindsets for me)

- reading body image books and "fat liberation" books (like Fat?!So?) Even if I'm smaller than the intended audience of those books, the messages are still truthful and useful to me...and help me be more positive with my fat friends.

- limiting my exposure to mass media images of deathly skinny women and instead looking at the women walking down the street (who look nothing like Calista or Hallie, interestingly enough)

- being grateful for my body. Writing about that gratitude.

- raising my goal weight when it became clear that I'm not going to weigh 150 ever again (gods willing--if I am dying of a horrible disease I guess I might)

I'm still a work in progress (who isn't? ) If any of these approaches help any one else, that'd be a bonus to posting them.

Dear Friends,

After years of therapy, my therapists would be so proud that I am passing on their advice, that I resisted for so long.

I agree with everything Razzle mentioned especially the stalls and media thing. Forget Calista, Jennifer, Angelina and all the other Pez heads...remember those that have babies adopted them, makes you wonder if their weight affected their fertility, I know it did mine. We have or can have beautiful babies of our own.

I've turned this WOL into an outlet for my self controlling addictive personality. Instead of focusing on how little I eat and giving myself a gold star for 100 calories a day I have refocused my energy into ensuring that I meet all my protein, carb, fat and fiber numbers as prescribed by my doctor and sticking to the BFL exercise plan irregardless that I will never be an After picture!

I have turned my irrepressible need to be anal about everything into my work and how I raise my daughter. Instead of obsessing and perusing book after book to find the cal count of 3.5 grapes (even though I already knew it) I take that wasted time and dedicate it to my daughter.

I have learned to set attainable goals and intangible goals such as being able to sleep at night knowing I am happy and lucky to have all I have. Knowing that my DH worked in TOwer 2 but made it out alive with his colleagues. Knowing that I will never let my daughter know that her mommy was weak and let food and strangers dictate her life. These little things help me SURVIVE.

We can do it...

Nancy

Razzle, Hannahsmom, thank you for those great posts.

i'm still in the mourning stage of my ED. i miss certain aspects of it. like being cold all the time and my tiny ass sliding painfully around in the bucket seats on the Q train.

hannahsmom, you live in nyc too? i live in brooklyn, used to work in manhattan but lost my job last week. i worked in soho which meant that i had to look at skinny fashonistas every time i walked down the street. nothing like working amid models and trendy boutiques to make you feel like a huge blob.

now that i pretty much keep to my neighborhood in brooklyn, i see a lot more real women. that's really important.

have you guys read overcoming overeating by hirshmann and muntner? how about geneen roth?

We sold our house in NYC after 9-11 and moved to Nyack on the Hudson. I know what you mean about the fashionista thing. I worked at IBM on 57th and Madison so everyday I worshipped the models going in for fittings at Chanel across the street and all those ladies who lunch ( and puke) that drop 10K on size 0 clothes in a second. Now that I work in White Plains I see many more realistic women even though I have noticed that the average teenage girl is now incredibly thin, it's like they are being grown that way.
As I am still very actively surrounded by these thin women (my cousin is an actress/interior decorator) who smoke (I just quit) and drink champagne. I still find it hard to re-configure my brain. There are days when I just stare at the women at work and pray that I don't look like that and silently wish to die in a size 2. Then I look at my Hannah's picture and slap my face!
But I agree, I still long for DH to wrap his two hands around my waist and being able to correct the saleswoman when she asks to get me something in a 6 and I say No I'm a 2. IT's sick sick sick!
Well, I hope things look up on the job front! Talk to you soon!

There's a little test I'm aware of at http://river-centre.org/pretest.html

The River Centre test uses server side scripting, which means your computer has to be connected to the internet to be able to do it. So I've made a client side scripting version of it, which means that you dial-up users with only one phone line can read the questions out to your friends over the phone, fill the form in and give them their result in the same phone call, without having to go online to process it. You could also customise it and stick it on your own web site or a CDROM if you feel like it. I've thoroughly tested it to make sure it gives the same results as the River Centre original server side self assessment in all circumstances, but I can't claim any responsibility if there are mistakes in the javascript maths and boolean logic. I've attached it to this post. Unzip the contents into a new directory and open "index.html". Hope that helps.

Attached Files

eat26.zip (86.8 KB, 2 views)

hi everyone ,,, what's scaring me reading this thread is the way you seem to be triggering each other, talking about what you miss about it, and other aspects of the ed. don't go down that hole again. think more on what you hated about it and what scared you. (((((((((((hugs)))))))))))) paddy