How Is My Sister Losing Weight While Constantly Grazing? Posted: 10-16-07 16:31pm
My sister was diagnosed with bulimia
earlier in her life and now seems to have
relapsed into an eating disorder in
response to stressful life events. She is
very secretive, so I have not been able to
determine how her eating disorder actually
works, and I am perplexed and distressed.
She seems to graze constantly and
compulsively throughout the day. She
almost always has some little crumb of
food in her hand and often hoards food in
her pockets. Meanwhile, she has a
significant amount of weight. I'm trying
to understand how this is possible. I
understand the concept of bulimia, with
large binges and purges. But how does
someone purge when they're eating small
amounts constantly? It seems unlikely
that she is vomiting up a tablespoon of
food every few minutes. She eats normal
amounts at meals, and I am also certain
that she is not controlling her weight
through exercise. What technique could
she be using to lose weight while eating
virtually all the time? Thanks for your
help.
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Ingi
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Posted: 10-16-07 16:37pm
Maybe she isn't eating? Sometimes people
with eating disorders lead people to
believe they are eating by putting food in
their pockets and moving food on their
plates into smaller areas.
She maybe throwing up. Even throwing up
small bits a day would cause someone to
lose weight.
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whangdoodle
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 16 Oct 2007 Posts: 2
By the Way, Posted: 10-16-07 16:43pm
In my original post, I said, "She has a
signficant amount of weight," but what I
meant to say was that she has *lost* a
significant amount of weight. Sorry for
the confusion.
Ingi, Thanks for your thoughts. I'm
absolutely certain she's eating. She does
it when she thinks nobody's looking, and
she does it all the time. Maybe you're
right about the vomiting, but I'm just
confused by how that would work with
small, gradual intake. Maybe it's a
"skill" she's developed?
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Sue M
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 17 Oct 2007 Posts: 4 Location: ,
Posted: 10-19-07 13:24pm
Your sister might be purging by using
laxatives.
Or she might be "filling up" until she has
enough in her stomach.
Myth: Bulimics binge, eating great
quantities of food at once
Truth: Bulimics can be "normal" eaters, or
grazers
Myth: Bulimics purge by vomiting
immediately after they binge
Truth: They can wait a couple hours or
longer
When a person has been bulimic for some
time and go the vomit route, they get
knowledgeable:
1. What foods are easy to bring back up
2. How long different types of food stay
in the stomach
Sadly, it's extremely difficult to
overcome an eating disorder on one's own.
If you can, please get your sister under
the care of a professional.
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glynnis
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 07 Oct 2007 Posts: 33 Location: , london
Posted: 10-25-07 07:03am
she could be eating lots of food in secret
and then purging wen no one else is
around. she could also be over using diet
pills or laxitives to keep her weight dwn,
these r often part of the disorder.
sit her dwn n tlk 2 her calmly, let her
know ur there for her and that u wanna
help and understand.
i completely agree with sue m there are
many myths about bullimics, the case is
just that evry1 is different
