Hi. I am a 16 yr old female, 5’6” (or
168cm) and at the moment I weigh 50kgs (at
the start I was about 64kgs)
i walk for 50 mins 5 times a wk, go for a
3.6km run about 4-5 times a wk, do
kickboxing and yoga once a wk and I also
do abdominal workouts all throughout the
week. Lately though I havnt been
doing as much because I get dizzy spells
esp. When I stand up.
I weigh myself everyday and get soooo
angry and upset if the number on the
scales hasnt gone down.
I have recently been eating around 300
cals a day for 2-3wks at a time, followed
by a binge. I then vomit an use
laxatives to make up for it- and the cycle
begins again. Im so fed up with it
all.
It all started when I began to notice my
body changing and getting what my dad
called ‘puppy fat’- which I obviously
wasn’t happy with- so I decided to go on a
'diet'- I exercised and ate healthy by
switching normal milk to no-fat soy milk,
brown bread to white etc etc. And
going vegetarian. After a while I got
disappointed because I wasn’t losing
weight fast enough. Someone gave me a
weight watchers book which I memorised and
followed and I read absolutely everything
to do with diets, exercise, fitness,
nutrition etc. But then I bought a
calorie counter book an decided to count
calories instead of the points, and based
my ‘diet’ around that. At the start I
ate 1500 cals a day, but then it went down
to 900, 800 and now its 300.
I no this is probably a bit low but it’s
the only way I can lose weight fast.
But now I don’t know what is normal eating
and normal exercise. I know im not
anorexic cos im not thin enough (im not
sure if im bulimic) but the reason im
asking is that everyone (family/friends)
are bugging me about my weight loss (ive
lost around 15kgs). One of my teachers
even told me not to lose anymore weight
infront of the whole class. I was
embarrassed and angry at her. How come
a naturally thin girl is praised for her
looks, but when a fat girl is trying to
lose weight ppl try to stop her? I
don’t understand. Its like everyone
else can be thin, but not me. Its like
nobody wants me to be happy and beautiful.
I hate binging and im scared that when I
start eating im never gonna stop. I
love feeling in control and getin that
buzz when I don’t eat. Am I bulimic?
If iam how do I stop?
Im sorry if this is too detailed or
whatever but it kinda makes me feel betta
to share this wid everyone cos I havnt
told anyone b4.
I just want to go back to being a kid with
no worries or problems.
|
zilbucks
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 25 Apr 2004 Posts: 210 Location: NY
Posted: 05-01-04 03:49am
I'm sorry what your going through. I
wouldn't necessarily say you are bulimic,
unless you binge and throw up your food,
which it doesn't eem like you are doing.
You may not *look anorexic, but what your
doing is starving your body from
nutrients. When you go under a certain
amount of calories, your metablosim slows
down, in order to preserve the nutrients
that you are allowing it to receive, int
turn weight may hang around longer, than
if you were to go say 1200 calories. I
was allso a vegtetarian- not anymore- and
its tough to get the right nutrients/
protein that your body needs- in turn I
was becoming dizzy, moody, and my periods
actually stopped. Now that I have
healthy fats and protein back in my diet
i'm no longer dizzy- the moodiness
asscociated with hunger is gone, and my
periods are very consistent. Lack of
calories and vitamins can casue dizzy
spells, which I assume is why you are
having them. You sound alot like me
excercise wise. Lets say you eat 300 -
500 cals a day and are doing all of that
excercise, you most likely burned all the
calories you ate- which means your total
daily calorie count = zero. So although
you may not look anorexic, you have the
mentality and eating pattern of a true
anorexic- which is not healthy. I'm glad
you joined this forum- it's hard to get on
track when your consumed by what you
believe you should and want to look like.
Take care of your body, give it what it
needs, and the weight will eventually take
care of itself.
|
bellax0femmina
Active User, Really EHEALTHy
Joined: 09 Apr 2004 Posts: 823 Location: New Jersey
Posted: 05-01-04 05:13am
Just because you may not look sickly thin,
doesnt mean your anorexic. To me, it
sounds you are both bulimic and anorexic
and should get some help. You can loose
weight, but they way youre doing it is not
good or healthy. Working out is fine, but
eathing 300 clas a day is not. I suggest
you get some help and get yourself on the
right track! Im here for support if you
need me!! =) good luck!
<3
gaby
|
hayleyJade
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Posts: 5
Posted: 05-02-04 15:19pm
Its such a relief to get a response from
you both thanks for your support and
opinions really. I cant talk to anyone
and its so hard to hold everything in all
the time.I definately wil try to stop the
throwing up an using laxatives cos I no
its really bad for me. I kinda no my
eating habits are not all that healthy but
I will start eating more when im skinny
enough - and I no most people say that but
I do mean it, I wouldn’t purposely hurt my
body and get to the stage where im nearly
dead or anything!
I have another question tho. My friends
and parents have spoken to my teachers and
are making me go to counselling. They say
I have no choice. Is this legal? Surely
if a 16 yr old can move outta home without
their parents stopping them, then they
cant make me do something I don’t wanna
do, what a waste of time!!!! Please
please please I need your help, if I go,
what should I do?
|
zilbucks
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 25 Apr 2004 Posts: 210 Location: NY
Posted: 05-02-04 16:22pm
Hayley, I can relate to you on a quite a
few things.
1) I used to be bulimic
2) I was forced into therapy when I was 16
(not because of bulimia)
3) light headed ness, etc from lack of
food
4) extreme excercise
it scares me to see what you are going
through right now. No you shouldn't *have
to go to a counselor if you do not want
to, however whn I was 16 law took over my
rights to choose if I wanted to go or
not.- I don';t know if that applies where
you live or not. I wish when I was
forced to go I had taken advantage of the
counsleing, becasue of issues i'm
currently dealing with. I'm telling you
right now, whether or not you choose to
believe me- #1) laxatives do not make you
lose fat, they just make you relieve
yourself, causing the scale to register
lower.
#2) if you starve
yourself down to your desired weight, then
begin to eat normal or bigger amounts of
healthy food, guess what happens? Your
body gains weight. It does this becasue
you have starved it so long, that your
stomach shrinks, your metabolism slows
down, and tries to hold on to whatever
food it can.
#3) when your metabolism
slows down, you lose weight muuuuuch
slower, then if you were to eat regular
healthy portion sized meals- hence you
starve yourself, your body actually begins
to eat its muscle in turn, you lose
muscle, so all the excercise you are doing
in trying to build muscle tone your body
whatever is actually being x'd out.
#4) if you were to eat
4-5-6 meals a day, healthy ones to start
with 1200 calories- which is low, you'd
lose weight healthier faster then you
would by starvation, laxatives, orrr
bulimia. I actually gained all my weight
from bulimia believe it or not.
#5) if you go for long
periods with out eating, say days or weeks
months, and you introduce a solid becasue
you are sooo hungry and deprived- the
shock to your system from what you have
done, may actually kill you.- your
dizziness that you are experiencing from
such low calories is actually lack of
oxygen to your brain, which will make you
moody, and confused and unable to focus.
I wish you would go to the counselor, I
wish everything I just said gets through
to you, becasue I have been through it
too. Please keep us updated on how you
are and try and be good to your body
|
Hoffmanm
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 2
Posted: 05-03-04 14:00pm
An average teenager should be getting
around 2000 - 3000 calories a day.
Starving yourself is the perfect way to
gain weight.
Your current exercise plan is good, keep
it up, but you need to eat more, I would
suggest a healthy mix of fruits and
vegetables, along with hefty amount of
meat. The nutrients you gain from eating
meat will keep your body well supplied.
And your body weight will go up, its
called muscle mass. Muscle is 5 times
heavier than fat. But keeping that
muscle mass up, and eating enough food
will get rid of that fat, it'll take time,
but you're trading muscle for fat. Don't
worry about your body weight, that will
only depress you, concentrate on physical
abilities, when you have high physical
ability, you'll realize that you aren't
fat anymore. Avoid scales, they will
only depress you.
|
zilbucks
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 25 Apr 2004 Posts: 210 Location: NY
Posted: 05-03-04 14:12pm
Everything hoffman said is right hayley,
but I just want to add so you don't get
skiddish- muscle weighs more than fat and
takes up much much less space
|
purple333
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Dec 2003 Posts: 1420 Location: Sydney
Posted: 05-03-04 15:47pm
Everything you are being told above is
right. Just to put a picture in your mind
to maybe help my daughter is 150cm &
now weighs 47kgs her weight had dropped to
32kgs & she herself descibed herself
as looking like someone in a concentration
camp so way too low (in her case although
she was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa it
was in fact due to her having irritable
bowel syndrome) her weight has gone up
abit higher than she'd like because her
body was so starved that it is still in
the mode of sasying hey! I'm finally
getting food but it may not last so i'll
store some just in case it stops
coming!!
In other words her body was starved so
when nutrients/food came back her body
stored it, as her body realizes that the
food will keep coming her weight will
balance out. She does alot of walking as
her university is on the side of a hill
& she carries huge weights in books.
Her ideal weight for 150cm is between 42
& 45kg so!! As you are 168cm your
ideal weight is definately above 50kgs -
just that comparison says you are anorexic
& your body will not be reacting
normally.
What your teacher did was totally wrong
& will only have made things worse.
As to whether it is legal to force yu to
see a counsellor - itr depends on where
you live & also on whether you have
made any statements that make people think
you might be a risk to yourself or others
(like say suicide as then often other laws
come into play).
My advice is reduc e the exercise abit,
increase the food/calorie intake (include
meat unless being a vegetarian is actually
a moral choice) & realize that it will
take quite q while for your body to
understand what the hell is happening
& accept that you will (asssuming you
do) keep feeding it & that it doesn't
have to store food against the time when
the food stops.
As to seeing a counsellor, 1) it might
help - even if only by shutting people
up/calming their nerves etc!! 2) if you
really hate the person insist on seeing
someone else - you can't get help from a
person (my daughter had a couple of real
idiots before finding someone who actually
listened, was consistent & made
sense!! 3) you do need help.
